South Korean media have reported that intelligence estimates North Korea is preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile ahead of a trilateral summit between the US, Japan and South Korea.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the missile test could be part of military provocations, with the “isolated country” likely to show defiance in the face of the three leaders who are pressuring Pyongyang during their meeting. Friday outside Washington.

Yonhap also said the show of force could come in protest of US-South Korean military exercises scheduled to begin on Monday and continue until the end of this month.

“We continue to identify signals of ICBM launch products such as frequent replacement of missile fuel from liquid fuel plants,” KCNA quoted South Korean representative Yoo Sang-bum, who attended a briefing of the National Intelligence Service’s Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, as saying.

Yu added that North Korea is expected to conduct joint exercises with its armed forces, including testing a missile capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead.

Triple top

The vice chancellor’s comments came ahead of US President Joe Biden welcoming his South Korean Prime Minister Yoon Chok-yul and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David resort on Friday. The unprecedented trilateral summit aims to show unity and strength in the face of China.

Biden proposed the summit last May when the three leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan, as Washington pushes to strengthen ties between Seoul and Tokyo, which has seen recent progress in the trilateral framework that marks China’s growing cooperation. and Russia.

In this context, cooperation on economic security issues such as building resilient supply chains for semiconductors and batteries is expected to see high interest on the agenda, Yonhap reported.

Pyongyang accelerated its nuclear-tipped missile tests last year, raising tensions across East Asia.