LOC09:57
06:57 GMT
TOKYO, April 29 (KUNA) -- North Korea is still working on preparations for
a medium-range ballistic missile launch, South Korea's presidential office
said Monday, denying a news report that the North halted such preparations,
Yonhap News Agency reported.
"Our assessment is that preparations for a Musudan missile launch are still
going on," Presidential Spokesman Yoon Chang-jung was quoted saying in Seoul.
For weeks, North Korea showed signs of preparing to fire the missile, known
as "Musudan," which is believed to be capable of reaching as far as the US
territory of Guam. Pyongyang had widely been expected to fire the missile
around the April 15 birthday of Kim Il-sung, the country's late founding
leader and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. No such firing happened,
raising speculation that the country might have decided against a launch.
A major Japanese newspaper reported earlier Monday that North Korea
suspended preparations for a launch and the US military lowered its
surveillance level by a notch, saying no radio signal related to launch
preparations has been detected since around April 20.
"We decided to immediately deny the report because this is a matter related
to our national security," Yoon meanwhile said.(end)
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