- Aug 17, 2005
- 5,313
- 534
- 126
North Korea preparing for missile test
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and moved about 10 fuel tanks to a launch site in preparation to test-fire a long-range missile that could reach as far as the U.S. mainland, a newspaper reported Saturday.
South Korea and the United States made the assessment after analyzing satellite images, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed high-level South Korean government official.
On Friday, a U.S. government official said Pyongyang was accelerating preparations for testing the missile.
A test of the Taepodong-2 long-range missile may be imminent, the official said.
The official agreed to speak but only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The official said the Bush administration is very concerned about activities that point toward a test, but declined to elaborate.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that any missile launch by the North Koreans would be a provocation and would violate their 1999 commitment not to carry out such tests.
He had no comment on reports that a North Korea test launch may be in the offing.
Japanese and South Korean officials also have expressed concern in recent days about the reported North Korean missile launch activities. Kyodo News agency in Japan reported that an additional rocket section had arrived at a North Korean launch site within the past two days.
No discussions since November
In Tokyo, the Japanese government responded to news reports about a possible test by warning that any such step would jeopardize the country?s security.
The reports of a possible launch come after a prolonged hiatus in six-party nuclear disarmament talks designed to create a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons.
Persistent efforts by the United States and other members of the group to persuade North Korea to resume the discussions have not been successful. There have been no discussions since last November.
North Korea is demanding that the United States revoke sanctions that Washington imposed several months ago in response to alleged North Korean counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and other currency violations.
McCormack reaffirmed on Friday that the United State strongly supports a resumption of the six-party talks.
In my humble opinion the best thing the United States can do since they have advanced knowledge of the test is to shoot the missile down once it is past North Korea and Japan in open waters, that is if we have any sort of operational missile defense, but I am sure that would be a far shot.
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and moved about 10 fuel tanks to a launch site in preparation to test-fire a long-range missile that could reach as far as the U.S. mainland, a newspaper reported Saturday.
South Korea and the United States made the assessment after analyzing satellite images, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed high-level South Korean government official.
On Friday, a U.S. government official said Pyongyang was accelerating preparations for testing the missile.
A test of the Taepodong-2 long-range missile may be imminent, the official said.
The official agreed to speak but only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The official said the Bush administration is very concerned about activities that point toward a test, but declined to elaborate.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that any missile launch by the North Koreans would be a provocation and would violate their 1999 commitment not to carry out such tests.
He had no comment on reports that a North Korea test launch may be in the offing.
Japanese and South Korean officials also have expressed concern in recent days about the reported North Korean missile launch activities. Kyodo News agency in Japan reported that an additional rocket section had arrived at a North Korean launch site within the past two days.
No discussions since November
In Tokyo, the Japanese government responded to news reports about a possible test by warning that any such step would jeopardize the country?s security.
The reports of a possible launch come after a prolonged hiatus in six-party nuclear disarmament talks designed to create a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons.
Persistent efforts by the United States and other members of the group to persuade North Korea to resume the discussions have not been successful. There have been no discussions since last November.
North Korea is demanding that the United States revoke sanctions that Washington imposed several months ago in response to alleged North Korean counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and other currency violations.
McCormack reaffirmed on Friday that the United State strongly supports a resumption of the six-party talks.
In my humble opinion the best thing the United States can do since they have advanced knowledge of the test is to shoot the missile down once it is past North Korea and Japan in open waters, that is if we have any sort of operational missile defense, but I am sure that would be a far shot.
Facebook
Twitter