克里抵達首爾,期間人們擔心朝鮮導彈試射大綱
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived Friday in Seoul, amid concern North Korea will soon conduct another provocative missile test.
Kerry will hold talks with South Korean officials, including President Park Geun-hye during his visit. He will also meet with U.S. military commanders based in the country.
His visit comes as speculation increased that North Korea is preparing to test a mid-range missile to demonstrate its ability to hit U.S. targets in the region.
A U.S. official in Seoul said there is no sign of an imminent launch of the North's Musudan missile, which is believed to have a range of 3,500 kilometers and could threaten U.S. bases in Japan or Guam.
Some believe Pyongyang will coordinate the headline-grabbing missile test with Kerry's arrival. Seoul has said it expects the test to occur in the run-up to Monday's birthday celebration of North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials are downplaying a U.S. intelligence report disclosed Thursday that suggested Pyongyang has succeeded miniaturizing a nuclear weapon.
The analysis, disclosed by a congressman Thursday during a routine budget hearing, said Washington defense officials are moderately confident the North has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.美國國務卿克里星期五抵達首爾，目前人們擔心朝鮮將很快再次進行挑釁性導彈試射。
克里在訪問期間將與包括朴槿惠總統在內的韓國官員舉行會談。此外，克里還將會見駐韓美軍指揮官。
在克里訪問韓國之際，有關朝鮮試射一枚中程導彈以顯示有能力打擊該地區美國目標的猜測增多。
一名美國官員在首爾說，目前沒有跡象顯示朝鮮將很快發射舞水端導彈，據信這種導彈的射程爲3500公里，可對日本和關島的美軍基地構成威脅。
一些人認爲，平壤會選在克里抵達韓國之際進行這次世人矚目的導彈試射。首爾曾經表示，預計平壤將在下星期一慶祝朝鮮建國領導人金日成誕辰之前試射導彈。
與此同時，美國官員淡化處理星期四透露的一份情報報告，該報告稱平壤已經成功研製出小型核彈頭。
星期四，一名美國國會議員在一次例行預算聽證會上披露了這份分析報告的內容，分析報告說華盛頓的防務官員在某種程度上相信朝鮮擁有可以通過彈道導彈發射的核武器。
