2 Nov 2016

North Korea planning missile launch within 72 hours

11:09 am on 2 November 2016

North Korea is preparing to launch an intermediate-range ballistic missile in the next three days.

This undated file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 21, 2016 shows a missile fired during a drill by Hwasong artillery units of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

This photo released by the North Korea's official news agency late last month shows a missile fired during a drill. Photo: AFP / Korean Central News Agency via KNS

Fox News reported the communist nation planned the launch in 24 to 72 hours.

It would be the latest in a series of launches this year by the isolated country in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities.

North Korea, which is under UN and other international sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes, has conducted repeated missile tests this year - the most recent, a failed test on 20 October.

A new study by a US-based North Korea research project says North Korean missile and nuclear tests and other major "provocations" had increasingly clustered close to US elections.

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