US, allies say North Korea set for missile test

South Korea and the United States said North Korea appeared set to test a missile within days, stepping up pressure for US concessions in a nuclear standoff while Washington is preoccupied with Iraq.

Allies Seoul and Washington played down the communist state's declaration of a maritime exclusion zone - an apparent preparation for a missile launch - while Japan urged Pyongyang to avoid further steps to escalate the nuclear crisis.

South Korean and US officials said the North declared the exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan from March 8-11, in what was seen as a strong sign it was planning its second missile test in two weeks.

"We are aware that they are preparing to fire a missile, probably between this weekend and early next week," a South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman said yesterday.

On February 24, North Korea fired a short-range anti-ship cruise missile into the Sea of Japan, a test that startled its neighbours and carried out a day before South Korea swore in its new president, Roh Moo-hyun.

Another missile test had been widely expected by the North's neighbours as Pyongyang seeks to pressure the United States to hold bilateral talks and sign a non-aggression pact to resolve the nuclear crisis.

But any new test would follow a step-by-step escalation of provocations by North Korea that parallels the US war timetable in Iraq. Critics say US President George W. Bush is allowing Iraq to distract him from a crisis possibly more serious.