Following Pyongyang's claim earlier this week that it could test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) at any time and from anywhere, Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada says North Korea's ICBM is not yet ready.

According to Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Wednesday, Inada said she does not believe the North has secured re-entry technology that allows a missile to return to the Earth's atmosphere after it is fired.

But she said that there is a chance it has succeeded in mounting a small nuclear warhead onto a missile.

The remarks came a day before the minister is slated to visit a U.S. base in Guam on Thursday.

Inada is set to visit the Anderson Air Base to inspect the U.S. missile defense system known as THAAD.

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