North Korea readies long-range missile test

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
North Korea appears to be preparing to test an advanced missile designed to reach the United States, a US official said Monday, ratcheting up tensions after its second nuclear blast. Media reports say the North Korean leader's youngest son has been picked to be the next leader. The reclusive communist country also reportedly bolstered its defenses and conducted amphibious assault exercises along its western shore, near disputed waters where deadly naval clashes with the South have occurred in the past decade. Satellite images and other intelligence indicated the North had transported its most advanced long-range missile to the new Dongchang-ni facility near China and could be ready to be fired in the next week or so, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.