US keeping eye on North Korea’s missile mission

US defence secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday that the US military was keeping a vigilant eye on North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes, and was continually expanding its defences against a possible missile attack by Pyongyang.

Mr Carter said the United States was on track to expand the number of ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska and Hawaii to 44 from 30, and improve their quality, but no further interceptor expansion was planned for now.

North Korea told UN age-ncies on Tuesday it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week, a move that could advance the country’s long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on January 6.

News of the planned launch drew fresh US calls for tougher UN sanctions already under discussion in response to North Korea’s nuclear test in February

Mr Carter said the United States remained concerned about North Korea’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and was investing heavily to continue to improve US defences against a possible attack.

International pressure grew on North Korea to call off a planned rocket launch, seen by some governments as another missile test, while Japan put its military on alert to shoot down any rocket that threatens its territory.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Thur-sday said a planned rocket launch by North Korea could “never be tolerated”, as her defence ministry vowed to shoot down any missile that threatened its territory. “The fact that North Korea said it will launch a long-range missile following its nuclear test is a threat to peace on the Korean peninsula and to the world, and should never be tolerated,” Ms Park said.

Russia’s foreign ministry said Pyongyang was dem-onstrating “an outrageous disregard for the universally recognised norms of international law”, while France said the launch wo-uld merit a firm response from the international community. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also urged North Korea not to use ballistic missile technology, which is banned by Security Council resolutions.