By Kim Tae-gyu

Kim Jang-soo, presidential

aide for security affairs

The top presidential aide for security affairs, Kim Jang-soo, said Sunday North Korea may fire a missile toward the middle of this week.

Kim's prediction comes as the North's brinkmanship seemed to reach a crescendo with threats of nuclear attack and advice for embassies to evacuate from Pyongyang.

"Around April 10, North Korea's missile provocations may come," presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing quoted National Security Office chief Kim as saying. "But we leave all possibilities open and are well-prepared for any scenario."

April 10 is the date Pyongyang advised foreign embassies to leave by. "It appears to be a calculated move," the former defense official said.

He added that although there has been no sign to suggest an all-out war as of now, the North will risk major damages in the case it instigates local conflict.

He said Pyongyang adopts a "headline strategy" of coming up with fresh threats everyday to make news. "It shows that the North thinks our public opinions are significant," he said.

The date also coincides with that by which the North requested some Korean companies in the inter-Korean joint industrial complex at Gaeseong to leave.

North Korea has barred South Korean workers and cargo from entering the industrial park since April 3 and 13 companies out of a total 123 stopped operations as of Sunday.

Most political watchers think North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is ramping up his rhetoric ahead of the April 15 birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, founder of the country.

Some also worry the totalitarian regime may carry out provocative activities such as missile launches, as it did last December, which infuriated the international community along with its Feb. 18 atomic test.

In particular, the recent movement of two Musudan rockets to the country's east coast prompted the United States to dispatch its advanced missile defense system to a military base in Guam.

The medium-range missiles are believed to be capable of flying more than 3,000 kilometers, which would put not only all of South Korea and Japan in range but also Guam.

Spokeswoman Kim said Cheong Wa Dae has no immediate plan to send a special envoy to the North to defuse the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Main opposition Democratic United Party Chairman Moon Hee-sang urged President Park Geun-hye last week to send a representative to the North to grapple with the spiraling crisis.

He suggested seasoned U.S. politicians as candidates, including former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as former Secretaries of State such as Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton.

Some lawmakers from the governing Saenuri Party agreed with the proposal but Cheong Wa Dae said that it has not considered the idea.