| By JUNKO TAKAHASHI
Staff writer
Japan said Tuesday it had obtained information that North Korea fired into the Yellow Sea another Silkworm antiship missile earlier the same day.
But South Korea flatly denied there had been a missile launch. A South Korean defense ministry spokesman was quoted by AFP-Jiji as saying that "there was no sign that North Korea test-fired a missile today."
The official reportedly said Seoul reached the conclusion after a thorough investigation and through coordination with U.S. intelligence.
On Friday, Japan successfully launched two spy satellites into orbit, primarily to keep an eye on North Korea. Pyongyang denounced the move as a "hostile act," and Japan has been on high alert since.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo ***uda, the Japanese government received information from intelligence sources that shortly after 10 a.m. North Korea fired a short-range missile into the Yellow Sea from its northwestern coast.
***uda admitted that Japan has not confirmed that any missile was launched.
He said the government received advance information that North Korea had banned ships from entering waters near its northwestern coast, often an indication of an impending missile launch.
In the lead up to the two previous launches on Feb. 24 and March 10, North Korea banned ships from entering the sea off its eastern coast, from where it fired Silkworm missile into the Sea of Japan.
The government apparently does not feel threatened because the type of missile, whether or not it was actually fired, is unable to reach the shores of Japan.
"A missile of this sort has only a range of between 50 km and 100 km," ***uda said. "We don't even have a particular comment about this."
Koichi Furusho, Maritime Self-Defense Force chief of staff, said he believed a missile was launched as part of a routine drill.
"It is not something you should pay special attention," he said, adding the suspected missile was reportedly launched into waters opposite the Sea of Japan.
The suspected launch comes after Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba made a controversial remark during a Diet session last week that possessing offensive capability is "worth considering." He was implicitly referring to a possible missile attack by Pyongyang against Japan.
Pyongyang is also believed to be trying to escalate its brinkmanship to draw the attention of the United States, which is currently preoccupied with the war in Iraq.
"It seems like they are trying to get Washington's attention, but the effect has been watered down after having done the same thing twice before," a senior government official said.
The Japan Times: April 2, 2003 | |
