North Korea is preparing another launch of its intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missiles within the next 24-72 hours, Fox News reported.
North Korea has had 8 previous test launches of the Musadan this year.
The timing of the launches - less than a week before the US presidential election - is not thought to be a coincidence. One of the previous launches of the Musadan occurred just before one of the presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
The Musadan missile has a range of 4,000 kilometers (about 2,500 miles). This is not enough range to strike the US. However, the range is great enough to threaten North Korea's immediate neighbors such as South Korea and Japan. In addition, North Korea's leaders have spoken of their desire to build intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and with a large enough range to strike the US.
James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, said last week that trying to persuade North Korea to give up its goal of building nuclear weapons is a "lost cause." Similarly, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se recently warned that North Korea is “nearing the final stage of nuclear weaponization”