North Korea: Fears in Asia over North Korea's nuclear ambitions were back on the agenda at the weekend as the secretive communist state's neighbours watched anxiously to see if it would test-fire an intercontinental missile.
There have been movements in North Korea that indicate that preparations were afoot to launch the test of a Taepodong-2 missile, which could be used to carry nuclear warheads to Seoul, Tokyo, Russia and even as far as Alaska.
Japan and the United States let it be known that they would seek an immediate reaction by the United Nations Security Council if Pyongyang carried out such a test.
The last time the Stalinist enclave carried out this kind of test, it gave everyone in the region the jitters. North Korea tested a Taepodong-1 missile in August 1998, part of which flew over Japan and into the Pacific.
Pyongyang said the 2,500km-range missile was for launching satellites but the UN issued a statement expressing its concerns.
The Taepodong-2 missile is believed to have a range of 3,500-6,000km.
US military intelligence reported that North Korea had almost completed preparations for the launch at facilities in the northeast of the country, including the fuelling process.
Nerves were rattled further in the region after Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported that the Pyongyang government had ordered its people to hoist the country's national flag and await a state message on television.
North Korea is due to mark the 42nd anniversary today of the start of work by its leader Kim Jong-il at the central committee of the Workers' Party, a significant event in the North Korean calendar.
Pyongyang declared itself a nuclear power last year and even though attentions have focused more on Iran's nuclear capabilities than on North Korea's of late, the threat has not eased.
A missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to meaningful targets on the west coast of the US is the missing piece in Pyongyang's nuclear puzzle.
Six-country talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, the US, China and Russia on Pyongyang's nuclear programmes are currently locked in stalemate.
Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso initially told Fuji TV that if the weapon fell on Japan, it would be "regarded as an attack" and promised a "harsh" response, although he later toned down his remarks.
Washington, a permanent member of the 15-member Security Council, could ask the UN to consider censuring or imposing sanctions on North Korea.
This would bring it up against fellow permanent member China, which is North Korea's only ally of significance.
Reaction by the UN Security Council is more likely to be non-binding, such as a presidential statement or a press statement. Adoption of a Security Council resolution requires affirmative votes by a minimum of nine countries and no opposition from any of the five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - that have veto power.
