The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has deployed¹ what is believed to be its intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile in its east coast, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday citing a government source.

 

联合通讯社周二引用一条政府消息，朝鲜已在其东海岸部署远程舞水端弹道导弹。

 

The source, however, was quoted as saying that no immediate² sign of firing has been detected yet.

 

An official at South Korea's defense³ ministry⁴ told Xinhua that the military is closely watching relevant situations.

 

The Musudan missile, known to be capable of hitting part of the U.S. territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska, was test-launched four times, one on May 31, two on April 28 and one on April 15 each.

 

However, the Seoul's military believed that all of the four test-firings failed as the missiles exploded in mid-air or crashed in waters several seconds after lift-off.

 

Pyongyang has allegedly deployed the Musudan missiles since 2007. The ballistic missile is considered especially threatening as it if fired from a mobile launcher, making it hard to detect and track in times of military conflicts. It can also carry a nuclear warhead.

 

The DPRK may test-launch the deployed Musudan missile around the 66th anniversary on June 25 of the three-year Korean War or June 29 when the DPRK's fourth session of the 13th Supreme⁵ People's Assembly (SPA) will be convened⁶.

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