North Korea Ready to Test Missile 'Any Day,' Says South, U.S. Military

Amidst nearly daily threats of nuclear war, North Korea is planning to launch a medium-range missile test "any day," according to the South and U.S. defense officials. 

"According to intelligence obtained by our side and the U.S., the possibility of a missile launch by North Korea is very high," said South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at a parliamentary hearing in Seoul.

The U.S. military similarly said that they were "highly confident" North Korea's test launch of a medium-range missile was only a matter of time, and that Pyongyang was planning to launch at least one Musadan missile from the country's east coast.

Adm. Sam Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee that America is prepared for North Korea to launch a missile or any other threat.  "I am satisfied that we are ready today, yes," Locklear said. 

Questioned if the U.S. could intercept a missile coming from North Korea, Locklear explained, "I believe we have a credible ability to defend the homeland, to defend Hawaii, defend Guam, to defend our forward-deployed forces and defend our allies."

Experts on the region say North Korea's nearly-endless flood of aggressive actions is meant to pressure the U.S. into "disarmament-for-aid" discussions and strengthen its people's devotion to new leader Kim Jong Un by showing he is a powerful military commander. Some also note that it's likely the majority of Pyongyang's threats are merely attempts to feel out, or intimidate South Korea's recently elected  - and thus untested - president, and for Kim Jong Un  - also a fairly new leader  - to prove his mettle to an inert national audience. 

South Korea said launching a Musadan missile, which is ballistic, would be a direct violation of the United Nations Security Council sanction that bans Pyongyang from any ballistic activity. 

North Korea has made a point in recent months of displaying its military brawn through open threats aimed at the U.S. and South, provocative military exercises aimed at South Korean and U.S. targets, and more. North Korea has continued to ratchet up its aggressive rhetoric on a near-daily basis ever since its third nuclear test launch in February. 

As North Korea loaded two of the country's mobile missile launchers and positioned them to fire off the east coast Thursday, Pyonyang warned several foreign embassies to evacuate Pyongyang within the next five days. 

Citing military sources in Seoul, South Korea's Yonhap news agency announced that the North had placed two Musudan missiles in mobile launchers in position to fire on the South, Japan, and potentially the US-protected territory of Guam. The missiles are thought to have a range of at least 1,875 miles.

While North Korea moved its rockets into position "within the last few days," the nation simultaneously cautioned foreign diplomats staying in Pyongyang to leave the country soon, saying that if they stayed after April 10, the North could not guarantee their safety.