Report: N. Korea preparing to launch another Musudan missile in 3 days

North Korea is getting ready to launch yet another Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile in the next three days, a US news report said Tuesday.

Fox Business News cited two unidentified US officials "with knowledge of this assessment" as saying that the North is preparing to conduct a launch "in the next 24 to 72 hours." It said the potential launch would be the ninth test of the Musudan missile this year.

The Department of Defense declined to confirm the report.

Last month, the North twice tested the Musudan missile on Oct. 15 and Oct. 20. Both tests failed as the missile exploded shortly after take-off. Still, the tests showed how committed the North is to developing nuclear-armed, long-range missiles.

They were the seventh and eighth tests of the missile believed to be capable of reaching the US territory of Guam. Of the eight tests, the only successful one was a June launch in which the missile reached space and re-entered Earth's atmosphere before landing in waters some 400 kilometers away.

The missile launches are among a number of provocations the North has undertaken this year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The communist nation also carried out two underground nuclear tests in January and September. (Yonhap)