A presidential security official said on Thursday that there is a possibility of an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) launch by North Korea this month.

Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo made the remarks to reporters upon arrival at Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. to attend the second meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group(NCG).

Kim refused to comment when asked if the assessment was based on intelligence shared between South Korean and U.S. authorities.

He said that ballistic missiles are a consideration on extended deterrence between Seoul and Washington, adding that mounting a nuclear warhead onto a missile of any range poses a nuclear threat and raises the possibility of a nuclear attack against South Korea.

He stressed that extended deterrence is to prevent a North Korean nuclear attack and firmly suppress such a threat at an early stage in the event of a miscalculation by Pyongyang.

Kim is expected to discuss joint Seoul-Washington responses regarding a possible ICBM launch at Friday’s meeting of the NCG, a bilateral consultative body on strengthening the implementation of extended deterrence per an agreement reached during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. in April.