Tens of thousands celebrated the second successful nuclear test by North Korea at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea 26 May 2009. Photo by EPA/BGNES
North Korea has started preparation for the test-firing of a long-range missile on Monday.
According to South Korean media cited by BGNES, a long-range missile similar to Taepodong-2 has been transported by train from a factory near Pyongyang to a launch base in the northern part of the country.
The South Korean Yonhap news agency has announced that the long-range missile to be fired is most likely a modified version of the intercontinental ballistic missile Taepodong-2 whose test firing in 2006 failed but which is theoretically capable of reaching Alaska.
The international tension in the region of the Korean Peninsula has increased after last week North Korea carried out a nuclear test, test-fired short-range missiles, and threatened an attack on South Korea.