North Korea 'likely preparing for a new missile test'

According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, officials from that country say radio signals indicate North Korea may be preparing for a new missile test. The North Korean state news agency also reports that Seoul is monitoring events related to a potential test. A Japanese government official stated, 'North Korea may conduct a new missile test in the coming days.' The Yonhap news agency in Seoul has also reported that North Korea and the United States are 'closely monitoring events related to the resumption of North Korean provocative actions.' However, Japanese officials emphasized that satellite images have not yet shown any missiles or mobile launchers at the site, and the radio signals may relate to winter military exercises in North Korea. Colonel Roh Jae-cheon, spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that joint monitoring with the U.S. military is ongoing. Nevertheless, a government official told Yonhap that signs of increased military activity in North Korea have been observed in recent weeks. North Korea has not conducted a missile test for over two months. The last time Pyongyang conducted such a test was at the end of summer when it passed a ballistic missile over Japan. At that time, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that if North Korea attacked the U.S. or its allies, America would have no choice but to 'totally destroy North Korea.' Subsequently, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, said that Mr. Trump would pay a heavy price for threatening North Korea with 'total destruction.' The United Nations Security Council has prohibited North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests and nuclear tests for military purposes. Following Pyongyang's defiance of the Council's resolutions, various international sanctions against the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea' have been enacted.