Report: N. Korea test-fires missiles into sea
American officials say state appears to be readying intercontinental launch
BREAKING NEWS
Updated: less than 1 minute ago
TOKYO - North Korea test-launched at least two mid-range missiles Wednesday that landed in the Sea of Japan, Japanese media reported, and a State Department official said the North appeared ready to launch the long-range Taepodong-2.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency said they were believed to be mid-range Rodong missiles and landed about 300 miles off the western coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island.
A Pentagon official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, identified two of the missiles as Scuds.
“The launch appears not to be the launch that has been in the news. This appears to be a launch of a lesser variety of scud missiles,” the official said.
However, the State Department official said North Korea appeared ready to launch the long-range Taepodong-2 missile. The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, did not confirm that the Taepodong-2 had been launched. Experts believe a Taepodong 2 could reach the United States with a light payload.
The reclusive communist state launched the first missile at 3:32 a.m., or 2:32 p.m. Tuesday EDT, and it crashed into the Sea of Japan several minutes later, public broadcaster NHK reported. NHK said two missiles were confirmed launched, but Kyodo quoted a government official as saying four missiles may have been fired.
Han Song Ryol, deputy chief of North Korea’s mission to the U.N. in New York, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview: “We diplomats do not know what the military is doing.”
So far, no members of the U.N. Security Council, which includes Japan and the United States, has asked for a meeting on North Korea’s actions.
“We are urgently consulting with members of the Security Council,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said in a statement.
North Korea’s missile program is based on Scud technology provided by the former Soviet Union or Egypt, according to American and South Korean officials. North Korea started its Rodong-1 missile project in the late 1980s and test-fired the missile for the first time in 1993.
If the timing is correct, the North Korean missiles were launched within minutes of Tuesday’s liftoff of Discovery, which blasted into orbit from Cape Canaveral in the first U.S. space shuttle launch in a year.
North Korea had observed a moratorium on long-range missile launches since 1999. It shocked the world in 1998 by firing a Taepodong missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
The reported launches came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test its advanced Taepodong 2 missile from a site on its northeast coast.
The preparations had generated stern warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.
Temperatures further heightened Monday when the North’s main news agency quoted an unidentified newspaper analyst as saying Pyongyang was prepared to answer a U.S. military attack with “a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war.”
The Bush administration responded by saying while it had no intention of attacking, it was determined to protect the United States if North Korea launched a long-range missile.
In Tokyo, a group of ruling party members called Tuesday for immediate economic sanctions against North Korea if the communist nation conducted the test-launch.
American officials say state appears to be readying intercontinental launch
BREAKING NEWS
Updated: less than 1 minute ago
TOKYO - North Korea test-launched at least two mid-range missiles Wednesday that landed in the Sea of Japan, Japanese media reported, and a State Department official said the North appeared ready to launch the long-range Taepodong-2.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency said they were believed to be mid-range Rodong missiles and landed about 300 miles off the western coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island.
A Pentagon official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, identified two of the missiles as Scuds.
“The launch appears not to be the launch that has been in the news. This appears to be a launch of a lesser variety of scud missiles,” the official said.
However, the State Department official said North Korea appeared ready to launch the long-range Taepodong-2 missile. The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, did not confirm that the Taepodong-2 had been launched. Experts believe a Taepodong 2 could reach the United States with a light payload.
The reclusive communist state launched the first missile at 3:32 a.m., or 2:32 p.m. Tuesday EDT, and it crashed into the Sea of Japan several minutes later, public broadcaster NHK reported. NHK said two missiles were confirmed launched, but Kyodo quoted a government official as saying four missiles may have been fired.
Han Song Ryol, deputy chief of North Korea’s mission to the U.N. in New York, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview: “We diplomats do not know what the military is doing.”
So far, no members of the U.N. Security Council, which includes Japan and the United States, has asked for a meeting on North Korea’s actions.
“We are urgently consulting with members of the Security Council,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said in a statement.
North Korea’s missile program is based on Scud technology provided by the former Soviet Union or Egypt, according to American and South Korean officials. North Korea started its Rodong-1 missile project in the late 1980s and test-fired the missile for the first time in 1993.
If the timing is correct, the North Korean missiles were launched within minutes of Tuesday’s liftoff of Discovery, which blasted into orbit from Cape Canaveral in the first U.S. space shuttle launch in a year.
North Korea had observed a moratorium on long-range missile launches since 1999. It shocked the world in 1998 by firing a Taepodong missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
The reported launches came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test its advanced Taepodong 2 missile from a site on its northeast coast.
The preparations had generated stern warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.
Temperatures further heightened Monday when the North’s main news agency quoted an unidentified newspaper analyst as saying Pyongyang was prepared to answer a U.S. military attack with “a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war.”
The Bush administration responded by saying while it had no intention of attacking, it was determined to protect the United States if North Korea launched a long-range missile.
In Tokyo, a group of ruling party members called Tuesday for immediate economic sanctions against North Korea if the communist nation conducted the test-launch.
