US Intel Reports North Korea May Launch New ICBM Missile As Soon As Tomorrow To Test Trump’s Reaction

Reuters reports:

The United States has seen indications that North Korea may be preparing for a new missile test-launch in the coming days or weeks, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in what could be an early test of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

South Korean media, citing intelligence agencies, said Pyongyang may be readying a test of a new, upgraded prototype of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as early as Friday, the day Trump is inaugurated.

U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, cautioned however that they did not have such precise information about the range or potential timing of Pyongyang’s missile test, should it happen. One official suggested Pyongyang could be largely seeking to provoke the Trump administration.

“If they do something, it would more likely be a test of Trump than a test of a delivery system,” said a U.S. intelligence officer who monitors North Korean activities. “They probably want to see how he reacts to a provocation, even a minor one, and if they really want to poke him, they’ll do it right away.”

Last week North Korean state media issued a chilling statement:

“Unless the U.S.’s anti-DPRK policies change, we will, officially, continue to strengthen our preemptive strike abilities and nuclear capability for our self-defense. Just because the U.S. is located more than ten thousand kilometers away, does not make the country safe (from us). The U.S. is still located on the face of the earth. Soon our ICBM will send the shiver down its spine.”