The Defense Ministry said Monday that the missile standoff with Pyongyang could be prolonged as a variety of factors would come into play before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes his order for another provocation.

“(The Seoul government) had said the North could fire its missiles around April 10, but five days has already passed by, and as there could be various situations (for Kim to consider), the stalemate could get prolonged,” ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok told reporters.

Seoul said Pyongyang could launch multiple missiles such as its intermediate-range Musudan missiles and shorter-range Scud and Rodong missiles between April 10 and April 15.

Pyongyang had urged foreign missions to leave the country, saying their safety could not be guaranteed after April 10. April 15 is the Day of Sun, the 101st birthday of the North’s late national founder Kim Il-sung.

“The North has never fired any missiles on the occasion of its national founder’s birthday,” the spokesperson said, adding had Pyongyang injected fuel into a missile before April 10, it could fire it anytime depending on its “political determination.”

There were not any unusual movements of the transporter erector launchers the North has deployed to its east coast, reports said. The launchers are used to fire shorter-range missiles such as Scud and Rodong missiles that can cover South Korean and Japan, respectively.

During a parliamentary session that day, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said there were no signs yet that the North would wage an all-out war, stressing that the South Korean military was on high alert for the possibility of provocations by the North.

While reiterating its regret over the North’s rejection of Seoul’s overtures for dialogue, Seoul’s Unification Ministry still left open the possibility of bilateral talks over the current stalemate and tentative suspension of the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong.

“We again express our regret over the North pouring cold water on our efforts to seek resolution through dialogue,” ministry spokesperson Kim Hyung-suk said during a regular briefing.

“Our basic position is as Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said in a statement on April 11, we want the North to come to dialogue and talk sufficiently about what they want to suggest.”

Kim also said the North had yet to send its response to the request by the entrepreneurs, who ran their factories at the Gaeseong complex, to visit the North to deliver their positions.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in North Korea was livened up as its three-day Day of Sun holiday began on Sunday. The North issued a commemorative stamp and held a variety of exhibitions, sports and cultural events, according to the ministry.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)