North Korea The Moment of Explosion Today or Tomorrow

Tensions have escalated between North and South Korea in recent weeks. The communist North has vowed to increase production of nuclear weapons materials, and threatened a pre-emptive strike against the U.S.

North Korea dramatically escalated its warlike rhetoric on Thursday, warning that it had authorised plans for nuclear strikes on targets in the United States.“The moment of explosion is approaching fast,” the North Korean military said, warning that war could break out “today or tomorrow”.

Pyongyang’s latest pronouncement came as Washington scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defences, preparing to send ground-based interceptors to Guam and dispatching two Aegis class destroyers to the region."South Korean and US intelligence authorities have obtained indications the North has moved an object that appears to be a mid-range missile to the east coast," the agency said citing a South Korean government source. The missile is believed to be a mid-range Musudan missile, with a reach of some 3,000 km or more.

Pentagon Press Secretary told reporters that “test flights” of certain missile systems could now be possible. While the range of the road-mobile KN-08 is suggested to be between 4,000 – 5,000km, it is uncertain whether the missile is in operational capacity with the North Korean military.

This threat is the latest in a series of provocations which include the declaration of a renewed state of war between the Koreas, an announced restarting of the Yongbyon reactor, live-fire exercises featuring targets that depict U.S. soldiers, and a closing of a joint Korean industrial complex along the border.

There was no immediate American reaction to the North’s latest statement, but US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Pyongyang represented a “real and clear danger” to the United States and to its allies South Korea and Japan.

China, the North’s sole major ally, appealed for “calm” from all sides and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said he was worried that the situation could spiral out of control.