North Korea is apparently preparing for a long-range missile test which may come within two weeks, a news report said in Seoul on Saturday.
"A train carrying a long-range missile has been spotted at the weapons research centre near Pyongyang," an unidentified intelligence source was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
"It is highly likely that the North may fire (the missile) and South Korean and US intelligence authorities are watching closely," the source told Yonhap.
The source said it was expected to take about two weeks before the North places the missile on a launch pad and gets it ready to be fired, adding the US and South Korea were closely monitoring North Korea's missile sites.
Two US defence officials in Washington said on Friday that US satellite photos had shown vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime might be preparing to launch a long-range missile.
The vehicle movements resembled work done before North Korea fired a long-range rocket last month, the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.
Tensions have been running high since the communist North fired a long-range rocket in April and carried out its second nuclear test on Monday.
US not to accept N-armed N Korea:
Meanwhile, the United States has warned it would not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea as China appealed for calm amid fears that Pyongyang was readying for a long-range missile test.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a high-level security forum in Singapore that North Korea's actions, including its nuclear test earlier this week, could spark a regional arms race.
"Our goal is complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and we will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state," Gates said.
"North Korea's nuclear programme and actions constitute a threat to regional peace and security. We unequivocally reaffirm our commitment to the defence of our allies in the region," he added.
Tensions have been running high since Kim Jong-Il's regime said it staged its second atomic bomb test on Monday and renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
The communist North has warned it could launch an attack on the South, which hosts US military forces, and vowed to respond strongly to any fresh sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
North Korea fired another short-range missile on Friday and US satellite photos have revealed vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime may be preparing to launch a long-range missile, two US defence officials said on Friday.
