Jul 20 (NHK) - The United States is bracing for the possibility of another ballistic missile launch by North Korea.
A US government official told NHK on Wednesday that movements of missile test-related equipment and personnel have been observed outside Pyongyang over the past few days.
The official said the activity is similar to that seen before the July 4th launch of what the North claims was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. Analysis shows that another test-firing could come in the next 2 weeks.
But another official said it's difficult to say at this point whether North Korea would actually fire a ballistic missile, because signs of a possible launch are evident on a daily basis.
The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Paul Selva, told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that although North Korean missiles have the range, they lack the ability to strike the US with any degree of accuracy.
But observers say repeated test-firings would enable the North to upgrade its ICBM technology.
