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U.S. officials reportedly fear North Korea may test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile next week. "Putting together various signs and evidence, U.S. authorities believe that a launch within one week is possible," a South Korean government source said Thursday. Washington also claims that the movements it is seeing in North Korea are the same as those carried out before the North test-launched its Taepodong-1 missile in 1998. Experts speculate that the moves the U.S. says it has spotted may have been the deployment of target tracking and climate radar equipment or run-throughs.
The Taepodong-2, the successor to the 2,500 km range Taepodong-1, has an estimated maximum range of 6,700 km that would make it capable of reaching Alaska. An improved Taepodong-2, some observers speculate, could have a range of up to 10,000-15,000 km that would render it capable of striking the U.S. mainland.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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