Adm. Locklear: N. Korea transports missile to east coast

A top U.S. military commander confirmed Tuesday that North Korea has moved a medium-range missile to its east coast for a possible launch from a mobile facility.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Samuel Locklear said the U.S. won't attempt to intercept a North Korean missile unless its trajectory shows it endangers the U.S. and its allies.

"As has been widely reported, there has been a Musudan movement to the east coast," said Locklear, who leads the U.S. Pacific Command.

The Musudan missile, also known as the Taepodong X, has a range of 3,000 to 3,500 miles, meaning it could technically strike Guam, he added.

The Musudan was first unveiled at a military parade in Pyongyang in October 2010, but has never been tested. Mounted on a wheeled transport-erector-launcher vehicle, analysts say, it could be launched within 15 minutes of the launcher being positioned.

The U.S. and its regional allies expect North Korea to fire the missile in the next few days.

The admiral said his troops are ready to shoot down a missile but he would not recommend the action if it's not a threat.

He expressed concern over the unpredictability of North Korea's "impetuous" leader, Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s.

"It appears it will persist, and an impetuous young leader continues to focus on provocation rather than on his own people," said Locklear, who commands 32,8000 troops. "The continued advancement of the North's nuclear and missile programs, its conventional force posture, and its willingness to resort to asymmetric actions as a tool of coercive diplomacy creates an environment marked by the potential for miscalculation."

Locklear defended the Pentagon's decision last week to postpone a long-scheduled test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Minuteman III, apparently a move to avoid Pyongyang's miscalculation.

He was responding to criticism that Washington may be caving in to Pyongyang's threats.

"I am puzzled by the delay of the long-scheduled ICBM operational test following the North Korean rhetorical threats," Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) said.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) took aim at the administration.

"North Korea's recent actions highlight the stark disparity between the Obama administration's triumphant declaration that the tide of the war is receding and the reality," he said.

Army Gen. James Thurman, chief of U.S. Forces Korea, had planned to attend the hearing in Capitol Hill but decided to stay in Seoul as North Korea's additional provocations loom. (Yonhap News)