Tokyo - North Korea warned that North-east Asia was "on the brink of war" yesterday following reports in Japan that Pyongyang is preparing to test-fire another ballistic missile. The war of words raised fears that regional tension is intensifying in the wake of an earlier rocket launch over Japanese territory and a dispute over a suspected nuclear weapons factory in North Korea.
The Japanese government confirmed yesterday that it possessed information that the North may be getting ready for a test-firing. "We do have some intelligence reports about movements on that part of the Korean peninsula," a spokesman for the Japanese prime minister said. "We are still at the intelligence-gathering stage, but we shall respond correctly and promptly to any threat to Japanese territory."