Analyst: North Korea may be preparing missile test site

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- North Korea may be preparing a site next to an international airport to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to a U.S. analyst.

Writing for 38 North, a Johns Hopkins University website dedicated to North Korea issues, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. said the Kalma Ballistic Missile Test Site located on the country's eastern coast could be the location of Pyongyang's next missile test.

According to Bermudez, Kalma was used to flight test the Musudan, an intermediate-range ballistic missile on "at least four occasions."

"But the site is also capable of launching an ICBM from a transporter-erector-launcher," or a road-mobile launcher, the analyst stated.

Using recent satellite images of the site, Bermudez said North Korea has been enhancing the area, improving several of the access roads and launch pads, as well as possibly getting ready to "install two telemetry or camera positions, perhaps for monitoring a long-range test."

South Korea's military says North Korea has secured an ICBM capable of reaching a distance of at least 6,200 miles, according to Yonhap TV.

The North Korean launch vehicle that sent the Kwangmyongsong-4 earth-observation satellite into orbit last February has a maximum range of 8,000 miles, according to the report.

Kim Jong Un's pledge to never stop pursuing the development of nuclear weapons has placed South Korea on high alert.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister and acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn said the military must step up training "in such a situation," while visiting a South Korean army training center in South Chungcheong Province.

"The security situation we face this year is very severe," Hwang said, according to News 1.