SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea appears to be gearing up for another long-range missile test, the latest in a string of moves seemingly aimed at stoking tensions with South Korea and winning the attention of the Obama administration.
In recent weeks, Pyongyang has declared it will scrap peace agreements with Seoul and warned of war on the Korean peninsula.
Reports that it could be preparing to test a missile capable of reaching the western United States have added to the anxiety.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday that a vehicle carrying radar equipment was seen moving to a launch site on the North's eastern coast from a munitions factory near Pyongyang.
The South Korean and Japanese media said last week that intelligence agents had spotted a train carrying a long, cylinder-shaped object -- believed to be a long-range missile -- to the launch site at Musudan-ni.
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates has played down reports of possible North Korean missile launch, noting Tuesday that Pyongyang's last such test in 2006 was a failure and that the U.S. could shoot down a North Korean missile "should we deem it necessary."
Nevertheless, North Korea's sabre-rattling has been interpreted as an attempt to grab President Barack Obama's attention.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit South Korea next week.
Obama has expressed willingness for direct talks with the North -- including possibly meeting with leader Kim Jong Il. The stalled multi-national dialogue to disarm North Korea resumed late last year after the U.S. removed the country from its list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism. The talks also involved China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman warned Wednesday that North Korea's actions could disrupt the disarmament process.
"I think activities of this nature, should they be taking place, would be harmful to the ongoing efforts, the diplomatic efforts within the six-party talks," Whitman said. "It's always been our position that North Korea should refrain from provocative actions that might aggravate tensions in the region."
Kim Tae-woo, a missile expert at the state-run Korea Institute for Defence Analyses in Seoul, said it would take one to two months of preparation for the North to fire a missile. He said the radar cited by Yonhap is key equipment for any test.
Kim, the North Korean leader, meanwhile promoted close aides to key defence posts in a move apparently aimed at shoring up -- and proving -- his control over the military.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim named a top military official, Kim Yong Chun, as minister of the People's Armed Forces -- a position equal to defence minister -- and that he appointed Ri Yong Ho as chief of the military's general staff.
The brief dispatch gave no reason for the replacements.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, said the changes were likely an attempt to prove the country can deal with any contingencies from the heightened tension.
"I think the North is trying to show the outside world that it's thoroughly prepared for the recent grave situation, while solidifying the unity of the military," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.
The 72-year-old defence minister rose to the rank of vice marshal in 1995, and had served as deputy chairman of the powerful National Defence Commission since 2007. Kim rules North Korea in his capacity as the commission's chairman.
Yang said Ri was a hardline military official close to Kim and head of the troops defending Pyongyang.
Fears of political instability in the North deepened last year when Kim reportedly suffered a stroke and had brain surgery. Reports in the state media last month that he met a visiting Chinese envoy led to speculation he had recovered significantly.
