July 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. doesn’t see any indication North Korea is poised to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile capable of landing near the Hawaiian Islands, according to four government officials.

The officials, who are privy to information about North Korean launch preparations, said there are no signs of the work necessary to launch a long-range missile during the U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebration. The officials don’t rule out the firing of short- and medium-range missiles capable of reaching Japanese waters.

A North Korean ballistic-missile launch in April, followed by a test nuclear blast in May, underscored the regime’s defiance of international calls for it to scrap its nuclear- arms effort. The U.S. is especially concerned about North Korea selling nuclear and missile technology to other governments.

The U.S. assessment of North Korean missile intentions contrasts with evidence seen earlier this year before a major launch. Commercial and intelligence satellites tracked for at least a week North Korean preparations to assemble and fuel a three-stage Taepodong-2 missile before its April 5 launch and failed attempt to put a satellite in orbit, the officials said.

“There were a lot of signs of an imminent launch in early April,” said physicist David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who has co-written a new analysis of the April event.

Launch Steps

“On the one hand, North Korea announced a launch window and splashdown zones for the first two stages, but there were also a lot of activities required for a launch that we saw by satellite, including transporting the launcher to the site and erecting it on the pad, trucking fuel to the site, and fueling the stages,” he said.

North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 missile on July 4, 2006, which failed after about 40 seconds, and fired five short- and mid-range missiles over the Sea of Japan. The National Air and Space Intelligence Center, which tracks ballistic and cruise missile trends, said in a new report that “although both launches of the Taepodong-2 ended in failure, the April flight demonstrated a more complete performance than the July 2006 launch.”

Vessels Cautioned

North Korea has cautioned commercial vessels to stay away from its eastern coast through July 10, an advisory that reinforces the notion that the nation may launch short- and medium-range missiles soon with no warning, the officials said.

Japan’s top-selling newspaper, the Yomiuri, last month cited a Japanese military analysis that said North Korea might fire a long-range missile toward Hawaii early this month.

There is no indication North Korea is preparing for such an action, the officials said.

The Yomiuri report came the same day as congressional testimony by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General James Cartwright, saying it was estimated North Korea would need as long as five years to develop a credible Taepodong-2 missile capable of threatening the continental U.S.

Cartwright said he had no reliable estimate of how long it would take for North Korea to develop a nuclear warhead. North Korea conducted a nuclear-bomb test in late May, prompting a new round of sanctions from the United Nations Security Council.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, acting on what he described as “some concerns if they were to launch a missile in the direction of Hawaii” ordered the deployment of Army Thaad missile interceptors and a precision-tracking sea-based radar to the islands to improve their defenses.

One of the officials described Gates’s move to beef up Hawaii’s missile defenses as being prompted by concern over potential longer-term North Korean capabilities.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 1, 2009 18:59 EDT