MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea is closely watching the North for signs of "provocations," its government said Saturday, after a Russian lawmaker warned about an upcoming missile launch.
"The government is closely monitoring the situation, given the possibility of North Korea's provocations around the party anniversary," a presidential official was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying.
The North often schedules such tests around important anniversaries. This Sunday marks Kim Jong-il's ascent to general secretary and its ruling party's founding falls on Tuesday, the agency said.
"If the North makes another provocation, Seoul will sternly respond to it," the official said, adding no signs had been detected so far.
Russian lawmaker Anton Morosov said Friday, after attending a meeting with senior North Korean officials in Pyongyang, they were preparing to test-fire a missile that could hit the US West Coast.
Earlier, US Defense Department spokesperson Christopher Logan stated that Washington was also closely monitorig the situation amid Pyongyang's plans to test a missile capable of reaching the US west coast.
