The head of the U.S. Pacific Command has downplayed speculation of an imminent missile launch by North Korea.

Admiral Robert Willard said during a meeting at Asia Society in Washington on Thursday that there are no signs that he’s aware of that the North is preparing for near-term missile tests. He did, however, stress that the North’s missile program is a major U.S. concern.

Willard also said that there was a "compressed timeline" in which North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has to hand over power to his youngest son Jong-un and train him in "coercive measures."

Willard then predicted that the international community “may very well be facing the next provocation in months and not years.”

Willard’s comments come after multiple news outlets reported that the North has completed a launch tower at its second missile launch facility.