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Senior U.S. intelligence officials are tracking indications that North Korea may test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at some point this week, Fox News has learned.
A source familiar with the intelligence that was briefed Tuesday morning to U.S. counterparts at other agencies said current estimates peg the launch to occur within two to eight days.
President Biden is preparing to visit South Korea on Saturday and Japan on Sunday, the White House has said, where he will "discuss opportunities to deepen our vital security relationships."
This photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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The source told Fox News that the possible timing for the launch is based on "fuel movement" detected on the ground inside North Korea.
Last Thursday, North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters.
People watch a TV screen showing a news report about the COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea, at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, May 14. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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"We are aware of the ballistic missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners," the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command had said in a statement. "While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program."
The launches come as North Korea is also grappling with a coronavirus outbreak.