Video grab released by North Korean Television shows a three-stage white rocket, soaring away from launch site on 5 Apr 2009 from undisclosed location in North KoreaA Japanese newspaper says North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile towards the Pacific U.S. state of Hawaii in early July.

The Daily Yomiuri says Japan's Defense Ministry believes a Taepodong-2 missile or an upgraded version was delivered to the northwest Tongchang-ri launch site from a plant near Pyongyang on May 30.

Missile unlikely to reach Hawaii

But the ministry does not believe the missile would be able to reach the Hawaiian Islands.

The newspaper says the ministry believes the missile could be launched between July 4 and 8. North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 missile in 1996 on the traditional July 4 Independence Day holiday in the U.S., while July 8 is the anniversary of the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

North Korea has threatened to launch a long-range missile in retaliation for new sanctions passed by the United Nations Security Council following its May 25 nuclear test, as well as a series of missile launches.

Pyongyang has also vowed to restart its nuclear weapons program in the wake of the new sanctions.

Report: North Korea has chemical weapons

In a related development, the International Crisis Group, an independent policy analysis group, says North Korea possesses between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and sarin, that can be mounted on ballistic missiles and used to attack South Korea.  

In an editorial published Thursday in the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, North Korea accused Seoul of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula to brink of war. It denounces the South Korean government as "puppet war maniacs."

'Grave threat'

In a speech in Washington Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says his government will not allow Pyongyang to possess nuclear weapons under any circumstances. Mr. Lee said the regime must fully give up its nuclear ambitions in order to achieve peace.

Mr. Lee made the remarks a day after holding talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. Mr. Obama has called a nuclear-armed North Korea a "grave threat" to the world.

In Moscow, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao expressed "serious concern" about the situation in North Korea and called for the "swiftest possible resumption" of six-nation disarmament talks. The negotiations are aimed at giving Pyongyang fuel and other benefits in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.