Reuters News Agency says North Korea could conduct a missile test as early as this weekend as it is speeding up preparations to test-fire an intercontinental Daepodong Two missile.

The agency on Friday quoted U.S. officials as saying that the North might actually push ahead with the test rather than simply making launch preparations to grab the international spotlight.

Reuters, however, did not rule out the possibility of the North canceling the test launch.

American officials said that active movements are being detected at a missile launching base in North Hamgyeong Province, citing it as evidence that the North has already begun installing a long-range missile on the launch pad.

A potential test would be Pyongyang's first of a long-range missile since it stunned the world in 1998 by firing a Daepodong One that passed over Japan and landed in the Pacific.