North Korea readying new mid-range missile test

North Korea is believed to have placed a new, powerful midrange missile on standby for an impending launch, a news report said Tuesday.

Global sanctions against North Korea were tightened early last month after the country conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launch of a long-range rocket in February.

The U.S. State Department said that in response to Saturday's launch, it was limiting the travel of Ri and his delegation to United Nations functions in NY, where they are attending a United Nations meeting on sustainable development.

"We are keeping close tabs on the North Korean military and maintaining a full defence posture", he said.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the latest test "underlines the threat that North Korea presents to regional and worldwide security". A test is thought to be imminent in light of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order to conduct a nuclear warhead test as soon as possible.

Pyongyang has recently been boastfully demonstrating its arsenal, including its KN-11 submarine ballistic missile, which underwent a partially successful test launch last week.

Hours before the announcement, South Korean military officials said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast.

Other South Korean officials have made similar recent comments without elaborating amid media reports of increased activity at the country's main nuclear test site. The U.S. Strategic Command said it also tracked the launch. But the US could expand its sanctions further against North Korea to largely block those remittances, effectively depriving North Korea of the money it relies on. "We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further destabilize the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and worldwide obligations".

The U.N. Security Council issued a press statement that "strongly condemned" the firing of the submarine-launched ballistic missile, saying it constitutes "yet another serious violation" of council resolutions.

"What is clear is that North Korea continues to engage in continuous provocative behavior, that they have been actively pursuing a nuclear program, an ability to launch nuclear weapons", Obama said Sunday in the German city of Hannover following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In the interview, Ri stated that the United States has used its power to get other countries to join in pressure on North Korea.

The test-firing comes as North Korea gears up for a rare and much-hyped ruling party congress early next month, at which leader Kim Jong-Un is expected to take credit for pushing the country's nuclear weapons programme to new heights.