North Korea has positioned an ICBM-ready installation and may decide to conduct a test around the date of the US presidential election, South Korean lawmakers said, citing the country's military intelligence. reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The North may try to draw attention to its strategic weapons development by attempting to launch a long-range missile or conduct its seventh nuclear test in the days surrounding the November 5 US election, officials said.
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Lawmaker Lee Sung-kwon said a mobile launcher had been deployed to the site for a possible ICBM test and re-entry into the atmosphere of its warhead.
Lee told reporters after a parliamentary hearing of officials from South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency.
Another MP – Park Soon-won, said the intelligence agency does not yet believe the missile was installed at the facility, although it may have already been transported to where it was deployed.
North Korea has conducted a series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests on very steep trajectories so that they can fall within much shorter distances than their designed range, partly for security reasons, but also to avoid the political consequences of launching a missile far over the Pacific Ocean, Reuters points out.
A launch on a more gentle standard trajectory, however, is considered a vital part of intercontinental ballistic missile development to ensure that the warhead re-enters the atmosphere and engages the intended target in a controlled manner.
In addition, according to South Korean military intelligence, North Korea has completed its preparations for a nuclear test at the test site in the northeastern city of Pungeri, the Associated Press adds. The last of a total of six nuclear weapons tests carried out by the communist country was in 2017. In recent months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has started flaunting his military nuclear program. Various missile systems were tested, and in September photos were released of Kim visiting a secret uranium enrichment facility.
The intelligence service also believes there is a possibility that some of the military personnel sent by Pyongyang to Russia are already preparing for fighting in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian units invaded in August. According to Seoul and its allies, Pyongyang has deployed at least 11,000 military personnel in Russia, and it is believed that more than 3,000 of them have already been sent to combat zones in western Russia.