9:24am UK, Monday June 01, 2009

North Korea could test-fire a long-range missile this month designed to strike US territory, South Korean news reports have said.

A North Korean missile

The rogue state may also be gearing up for skirmishes with South Korea around their disputed sea border, the reports added.

Pyongyang sparked international condemnation last week with a nuclear test that put it closer to having a working atomic bomb, short-range missile tests and threats to attack the South.

It also warned of further measures, if the United Nations tries to punish it.

In another move that could further stoke tensions, North Korea will hold a trial on Thursday for two US journalists.

The pair were taken into custody along the border with China several months ago and charged with “hostile acts”.

The growing belligerence is seen as an attempt to bolster the position of leader Kim Jong Il, whose suspected stroke in August raised questions about his grip on power.

The tests were also seen as part of a push to pressure regional powers into giving concessions for its disarmament.

North Korea Interactive

See who could be affected by a North Korean missile attack – and how they’ve reacted to the threat.

North Korea is preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with an estimated range of 4,000km to 6,500km (2,485 to 4,000 miles), the daily JoongAng Ilbo cited South Korean intelligence sources as saying.

Kim Jong Il

“Preparations for the launch are likely to be completed in mid-June,” one intelligence source said. Government officials would not confirm the reports.

Train cars carrying a missile departed from the Pyongyang area about two weeks ago for a missile base on the North’s west coast, the sources said.

North Korea fired a rocket in April that was widely seen as a disguised test of its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, which violated UN resolutions banning it from ballistic missile launches.

That rocket splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about 3,000km after launch, experts said, indicating the North needed further testing to perfect its ICBM technology.

The Alaskan coast is about 4,800km from North Korea, while the US West Coast is at least 8,000km away.