SKorea: NKorea may be preparing to test missile
By Hyung-Jin Kim - Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea
may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act
with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats'
safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul.
Tensions between Seoul
and Pyongyang led South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff to announce
Sunday that its chairman had put off a visit to Washington. The U.S.
military said its top commander in South Korea had also canceled a trip
to Washington. The South Korean defense minister said Thursday that
North Korea had moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east
coast, possibly to conduct a test launch.