Japan says North Korea could fire sarin missile

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned Thursday that North Korea might be capable of firing a missile loaded with sarin nerve gas toward Japan.

Abe, who made the statement at a parliamentary panel on national security, said Pyongyang may already be able to shoot missiles with sarin as warheads, The Associated Press reported.

Generally odorless and tasteless, sarin can cause death in minutes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Abe cited Syria, where dozens of people died recently in an alleged sarin attack, as evidence that Japan should take the threat seriously and strengthen its deterrence against the North, the AP reported.

U.S. researchers said satellite imagery posted online Thursday shows “continued activity” at North Korea’s nuclear test site in the northeast of the country. The images were posted to the 38 North website, a program of the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Baltimore.

North Korea will celebrate the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the nation’s founder who ruled the North for 46 years, on Saturday. The occasion comes amid speculation that Pyongyang may conduct its sixth nuclear test or fire a missile soon.

The U.S. has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group toward the Korean Peninsula, prompting North Korea to warn it will defend itself against “reckless acts of aggression.”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he told Chinese leader Xi Jinping he could get better trade terms from the U.S. if China helps rein in the nuclear threats from Pyongyang.