SEOUL, April 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday that the military is preparing for possible launch of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at or around one of its most important national holidays.
Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Kyun told a press briefing that the military is closely monitoring and preparing for the DPRK's possible launch of ballistic missiles such as Musudan missiles.
Multiple South Korean government sources were quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying that the DPRK had deployed one to two mobile Musudan missiles about 20 days ago to its eastern Wonsan area.
Those missiles, which are allegedly capable of striking parts of the U.S. territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska, are highly likely to be launched on Friday that marks the so-called Day of the Sun, according to the sources.
The Day of the Sun is an annual public holiday in the DPRK that falls on April 15 to commemorate the birthday of Kim Il Sung, founder of the country and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.
If launched, it would mark the first time that Pyongyang test-fires Musudan missiles and also the first time that the country launches ballistic missiles from a mobile launcher. Pyongyang is known to have deployed around 50 mobile Musudan missiles.
Read the full story at Xinhua