North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile towards Hawaii on American Independence Day, according to Japanese intelligence officials.
The missile, believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles, would be launched in early July from the Dongchang-ni site on the north-western coast of the secretive country.
Intelligence analysts do not believe the device would be capable of hitting Hawaii's main islands, which are 4,500 miles from North Korea.
Details of the launch came from the Japan's best-selling newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun.
Both Japanese intelligence and U.S. reconnaissance satellites have collated information pointing to the launch, according to the report.（日本‧東京）日本《讀賣新聞》週四（6月18日）報導，朝鮮可能7月初往美國夏威夷海域發射一枚長程彈道導彈。
報導指出，朝鮮最有可能發射“大浦洞-2”長程導彈。美國偵測衛星已掌握到朝鮮東倉基地內有導彈發射台，但導彈進行組裝、注入燃料到發射之間最少約需10天。
報導稱，2006年7月4日，朝鮮曾發射“大浦洞-2”，正值美國獨立紀念。7月8日是朝鮮主席金日成逝世紀念日，因此日本防衛省推測，“朝鮮可能於4至8日之間發射”。
日韓拒評報導
日本防衛省發言人拒絕對《讀賣新聞》的報導置評。韓國國防部和局也拒絕予以證實。
不過《讀賣新聞》同時指出，夏威夷距朝鮮有7000公里之遙，即使新型的“大浦洞-2”改良型，射程也只是4000至6500公里左右，若通過日本青森縣上空的最短捷徑，也無法抵達夏威夷。
朝鮮發出禁航警告
此外，日本海上保安廳表示，再次接聽到朝鮮向沿岸船隻發出的航行警告。日本正密切注意，是否與發射導彈有關。
朝鮮此次劃定的禁航區域，為東部元山沿岸長約263公里、最寬約54公里範圍的日本海。
This is North Korea's Taepodong-2 missile which has a range of 4,000 miles. Intelligence analysts do not believe it would be capable of hitting Hawaii which is 4,500 miles away
Enlarge North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspecting the command of the 7th Infantry Division of the North Korean Peoples Army
It is understood the communist state is likely to fire the missile between July 4 and 8. A launch on July 4 would coincide with Independence Day in the States.It would also be the 15th anniversary of North Korean president Kim Il-Sung's death.
The Japanese newspaper also noted that North Korea had fired its first Taepodong-2 missile on July 4, 2006.
Officials had initially believed that North Korea might attempt to launch a similar device towards either Japan's Okinawa island, Guam or Hawaii.
But the ministry concluded launches toward Okinawa or Guam were 'extremely unlikely' because the first-stage booster could drop into waters off China, agitating Beijing, or hit western Japanese territory.
If the missile were fired in the direction of Hawaii, the booster could drop in the Sea of Japan.
News of the launch would put 'enormous military pressure on the United States,' the Yomiuri said, citing the ministry report.
Enlarge A missile fired from North Korea would have to travel 4,500 miles before it reached the U.S. state of Hawaii
A spokesman for the Japanese Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report.
South Korea's Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service - the country's main spy agency - said they could not confirm it.
Tension on the divided Korean peninsula has risen markedly since the North, led by Kim Jong-il, conducted two nuclear tests this year in defiance of repeated international warnings
The first rocket, fired in April, was widely seen as a disguised long-range missile test. A second launch came on May 25.
U.S. satellite intelligence has shown that a missile launch pad had been erected at Dongchang-ri on North Korea's north-west coast.
General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would take at least three to five years for North Korea to pose a real threat to the U.S. west coast.
The UN Security Council last week authorised member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to seize and destroy goods shipped that violate the sanctions against arms export.
On Saturday, in response to this declaration Pyongyang said it would bolster its nuclear programs and threatened war.
Growing tensions come as arms-watchdog the International Crisis Group (ICG) claimed North Korea has several thousand tonnes of chemical weapons it could mount on missiles.
The report from the non-government organisation said they believed the North's army have about 2,500 to 5,000 tonnes of chemical weapons which include mustard gas, sarin and other deadly nerve agents.
ICG also also warned South Korea may become a target.
'If there is an escalation of conflict and if military hostilities break out, there is a risk that they could be used. In conventional terms, North Korea is weak and they feel they might have to resort to using those,' said Daniel Pinkston, the ICG's representative in Seoul.
The North has been working on chemical weapons for decades and can deliver them through long-range artillery directed on Seoul which is home to about half of South Korea's 49 million people and via missiles that could hit all of the country.
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