A Japanese daily says North Korea is planning to launch additional artillery attacks on South Korea within this year.

According to the Tokyo Shimbun daily, a source close to North Korea cited a North Korean intelligence officer as saying in late November that attacks on the South Korean mainland would follow the North’s shelling of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island.

Although the daily did not mention the official's name, the source claimed that the official was a member of the North Korean Army’s reconnaissance bureau.

The Japanese daily quoted another North Korean military official as saying that the Yeonpyeong attack was planned quite some time ago and that Kim Jong-il's political heir, Kim Jong-un, would pursue even bigger military provocations.