North Korea has begun work on deploying intermediate range ballistic missiles (with ranges of 3,000 to 4,000km) it developed last year, building underground bases at two sites. This is much sooner than South Korean and American military authorities had expected.

A high ranking government source said Tuesday that, "North Korea is in the middle of building two underground missile sites in Yangdok County, South Pyongan Province and Sangnam-ni, Hochon County, North Hamgyeong Province. Construction is about 70 to 80 percent complete."

The source added, "In particular, U.S. spy satellites have discovered about 10 of the newly designed IRBMs and mobile launchers at the two sites between last year and the beginning of this year... We presume these bases to be for a new kind of ballistic missile, not Rodong 1's or Scud's."

Of the ranges of missiles currently deployed in North Korea, the Rodong 1 has the longest at 1,300 km -- capable of hitting most anywhere in Japan. The Taepodong 1, developed in 1998 and with a range of 1,600~2,200 km, has yet to be deployed.

The source said the threat posed by the new missile, which can reach Okinawa, Gwam and the vicinity of Hawaii, is part of the background behind the hastened development by the U.S. of its missile defense plans.

The new missile, unlike the Taepodong 1 that is launched from a fixed site, is loaded onto a mobile missile launch vehicle. It is, therefore, highly mobile.

The missile is presumed to be a development on the Soviet SS-N-6 sub-launched ballistic missile; it was originally expected to be revealed during last year's Sept. 9 Foundation Day parades, but the 10 missiles and five launchers were simply brought to Mirim Airbase -- the preparation site for the parades -- and not featured in the celebrations.

The missiles are 12 meters long and 1.5 wide -- shorter than both the Rodong 1 (15 meters) and Taepodong 1 (23 meters), but have a much longer range and are evaluated as a technically advanced type.

Authorities feel that former Soviet engineers either directly participated in the development of the missile, the program of which began in the early 90s and was first confirmed by South Korean and U.S. intelligence in 2000, or at the very least Russian technology applied.

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According to the Korean Times, last March, part of the warhead of a North Korean missile was found in Alaska after a test firing of one of North Korea's new extended range missiles.

The report stated: The warhead of a long-range missile test-fired by North Korea was found in the U.S. state of Alaska, a report to the Korean National Assembly revealed yesterday.

``According to a U.S. document, the last piece of a missile warhead fired by North Korea was found in Alaska, former Japanese foreign minister Taro Nakayama was quoted as saying in the report. ``Washington, as well as Tokyo, has so far underrated Pyongyang's missile capabilities.ĄŻĄŻ

The report was the culmination of month long activities of the Assembly's overseas delegation to five countries over the North Korean nuclear crisis. The Assembly dispatched groups of lawmakers to the United States, Japan, China, Russia and European Union last month to collect information and opinions on the international issue.