SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, May 30, 2009 (AFP) - North Korea is apparently preparing for a long-range missile test which may come within two weeks, a news report said here Saturday.

'A train carrying a long-range missile has been spotted at the weapons research centre near Pyongyang,' an unidentified intelligence source was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

'It is highly likely that the North may fire (the missile) and South Korean and US intelligence authorities are watching closely,' the source told Yonhap. The source said it was expected to take about two weeks before the North places the missile on a launch pad and gets it ready to be fired, adding the US and South Korea were closely monitoring North Korea's missile sites.

Two US defence officials in Washington said Friday US satellite photos had shown vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime might be preparing to launch a long-range missile.

The vehicle movements resembled work done before North Korea fired a long-range rocket last month, the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Tensions have been running high since the communist North fired a long-range rocket in April and carried out its second nuclear test Monday.