North Korea last year tested a rocket to carry long-range missiles in an apparent attempt to showcase its weapons capability to the United States, a report said Sunday.

The communist state conducted the rocket engine test at the new Tongchang-ri missile base on the west coast in October, Yonhap news agency said, citing a senior Seoul official.

"We believed that the test, carried out at an hour when the US military satellite could detect it, was aimed at showcasing its missile threats," Yonhap quoted the official as saying.

Satellite images taken in January showed that North Korea had completed a launch tower at the Tongchang-ri missile base, which was bigger and more advanced than the older Musudan-ri base on the east coast.

The North launched long-range missiles at Musudan-ri in 1998, 2006 and 2009, sending its Taepodong-2 missile to land some 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) in the Pacific in April 2009.

Analysts said the new base in Tongchang-ri, whose construction was believed to be almost complete, was seen as a key in the North's quest for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICMB) that could possibly strike the United States.

The North has started to build new railways to transport materials needed to complete the new base, said the official quoted by Yonhap, adding Seoul saw no immediate signs that the North was about to launch long-range missiles at the site.

Seoul intelligence believe that the North's Taepodong-2 missile, whose maximum range is estimated at 6,700 kilometres, could reach the US west coast within about 20 minutes if successfully launched at the new base, Yonhap said.

earlier related report
Rare Korean talks offer nuclear hope
Nusa Dua, Indonesia (AFP) July 22, 2011 - North and South Korea said Friday they wanted to revive six-nation efforts aimed at curbing Pyongyang's atomic programme, after their envoys held unexpected and rare talks in Indonesia.

The meeting between South Korean nuclear envoy Wi Sung-Lac and his counterpart from the North, Ri Yong-Ho, also offered hope the rival nations may be willing to start improving ties after more than a year of high tensions.

"I had a very constructive and useful conversation with my counterpart," Wi told reporters after the two-hour meeting at a luxury resort in Bali on the sidelines of an East Asian ministerial summit.

"There was an agreement between South and North Korea to make various efforts for the resumption of negotiations on denuclearisation."

Ri issued similarly upbeat comments after what were the first-ever direct talks on nuclear issues between the two sides outside the six-nation format.

"We have agreed to make joint efforts to resume the six-party talks at the earliest possible date," he said.

The six-nation talks, involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia, are a tortuous process aimed at convincing the North to give up its nuclear programme in return for diplomatic and economic rewards.

The last round ended in a familiar stalemate in December 2008. The North formally abandoned them in April 2009, blaming alleged US hostility for its withdrawal, and staged its second nuclear test a month later.

North Korea had previously refused to discuss its nuclear programme with the South alone, but finally relented after lobbying from various six-nation parties.

Six-party host China had been pushing for an inter-Korean nuclear meeting, followed by US-North Korean talks, to pave the way for a resumption of the full dialogue.

US officials travelling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Bali also said Washington had been "deeply engaged" with the South over the past few weeks to bring the two sides together.

"The next step is for the United States to have extensive discussions, first with the South Koreans and then with the Japanese. And then at that time we will make a determination on the way forward," a US official said.

"There's no determination to rush into anything... We need to see a clear and sincere indication on the part of the North that they are prepared to work constructively with the South."

Friday's discussions could pave the way for the South's Foreign Minister, Kim Sung-Hwan, to meet his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-Chun on Saturday in Bali.

Relations between the two Koreas deteriorated sharply after South Korea accused its neighbour of two border attacks which killed 50 people last year.

Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives. The North denied involvement, but killed four people in a bombardment of a South Korean island in November, briefly sparking fears of war.

Senior ministers from all the six-party nations are in Bali this week for a hectic round of diplomacy that culminates on Saturday with the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's premier security summit.

Japan, one of the North's most stubborn opponents in the six-party talks, sounded a cautious note of optimism about Friday's developments.

"In order to reduce tension in the Korean peninsula, it's very important the two parties to come to talk. In that sense, it is a welcome sign," Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Satoru Satoh told reporters.

"I don't say a simple meeting will resolve the problem but it is important to have dialogue."

In another significant diplomatic event in Bali on Friday, Clinton discussed tensions surrounding the South China Sea and other hot-button issues with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Yang told Clinton that the United States should not interfere in China's territorial disputes with its Asian neighbours over the South China Sea.

But both sides also sought to find common ground on other issues and pledged to continue trying to improve bilateral ties.