North Korea preparing for another missile launch: reports

North Korea may be preparing for another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, according to Tuesday reports.

The missile activity, according to CBS News, is at the same site where North Korea launched an ICBM in November. That test was the isolated nation’s most advanced to date, capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States, according to analysts. 

A new test could come as soon as later this week or next week, Newsweek reported. 

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The reported preparations came one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in a New Year’s Day speech that he had a nuclear launch button on his desk, and that the U.S. and the international community must see North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed country as a “reality.”

But in that address, he also said that he was willing to engage in dialogue with South Korea in order to ease military tensions between the two countries ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics, which are set to take place in Pyeongchang next month.

South Korea responded to Kim’s proposition on Tuesday by calling for high-level talks. 

President Trump on Tuesday said that North Korea was beginning to succumb to an international pressure campaign, but was unclear on whether the U.S. would welcome talks between Pyongyang and Seoul. 

“Sanctions and ‘other’ pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea,” Trump wrote. “Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not – we will see!”