North Korea appeared close Sunday to test-firing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States, prompting the White House to warn of an appropriate response and Japan to threaten a "fierce" protest to the United Nations.
North Korea was silent on the issue but vowed to bolster its "military deterrent" in a burst of fiery rhetoric carried by its state news agency.
A test launch of what is believed to be a Taepodong-2 missile would inflame a region already tense over the North's continuing nuclear weapons program. The Taepodong-2 is the North's most advanced missile and is capable of reaching parts of the United States with a light payload.
"There are signs" of an imminent missile launch, Jung Tae-ho, a spokesman at the South Korean president's office, told The Associated Press. He added that security officials were "closely watching the situation."
The North last conducted such a launch in August 1998. Pyongyang imposed a moratorium on testing long-range missiles in 1999.
The White House spokesman said Sunday the United States expected the North to abide by that freeze.
"We do not want to have a missile test out of North Korea," Tony Snow told "Fox News Sunday." "The North Koreans themselves decided in 1999 that they would place a moratorium on this kind of testing, and we expect them to maintain the moratorium."
Snow noted that North Korea made a series of commitments in six-nation talks over its nuclear program in September, including that they would "bargain in good faith."
"We expect them to come back to the table," Snow said. "And we hope there's not going to be a launch."
President Bush, national security adviser Stephen Hadley and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been in contact with more than a dozen countries and communicated with North Korea through the U.N. representative, Snow said.
"If they go ahead with a test, then we will have to respond properly and appropriately at the time," Snow told CNN's "Late Edition." Asked if he could explain what that meant, Snow replied, "No."
The activity in North Korea came as the United States began a major set of exercises off the Pacific island of Guam on Monday. The five-day maneuvers, called "Valiant Shield," involve 30 ships — including three aircraft carriers — 22,000 troops and 280 aircraft.
In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said his country would take the issue to the United Nations.
"We will naturally file a stern protest and it will be fierce," Aso told TV Asahi.
He also said it would be "inevitable" that the Security Council would consider imposing sanctions on North Korea if it goes ahead with a launch. Japan also could impose sanctions on the North, he told Fuji TV.
Snow said he could not discuss specific intelligence about the suspected plans to launch a missile.
But Japan's largest newspaper, Yomiuri, reported Sunday that U.S. and Japanese officials have confirmed that North Korea has assembled what is believed to be a Taepodong-2, with two stages at the launch site, based on photos from satellites.
The newspaper and South Korea's Yonhap news agency carried similar reports citing unidentified U.S. and diplomatic officials saying North Korea also may have begun fueling the missile.
North Korean officials talked Sunday about increasing the country's "military deterrent" during a meeting celebrating the anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il starting work in the communist party, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.
"Military deterrent" commonly refers to the nuclear program, which North Korea says it needs to defend itself against a potential U.S. attack. Washington denies any intention to invade.
"The (North) Korean army and people will do their best to increase the military deterrent with sharp vigilance to cope with the moves of the U.S., which is hell-bent on provocations for war," said Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
"If the enemies ignite a war eventually, the Korean army and people will mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and give vent to the deep-rooted grudge of the nation," Choe was quoted as saying by the North Korean news agency.
The missile concerns come amid an extended impasse at the six-nation talks on the nuclear weapons program. The talks — involving the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia — were last held in November.
"We expect them to come back to the table. We do not want to have a missile test out of North Korea," Snow told "Fox News Sunday."
The North claims it has nuclear weapons, but it is not believed to have a design that would be small and light enough to top a missile
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Timothy Leary
I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life. The Spy who came in from the cold
Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.
North Korea should not be trusted with missiles at all. I cannot believe that the United Nations allowed the country to get out the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty in the 1990s. It seems to me that Kim Jong-il is doing this to scare us into submission.
You must turn on, tune in and drop out.
Timothy Leary
I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life. The Spy who came in from the cold
Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.
I don't think Kim Jong-il is likely to comply with the United States at all. We have not been very nice to North Korea in the past. He'll likely blow up the whole United States and South Korea in one hit.
You must turn on, tune in and drop out.
Timothy Leary
I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life. The Spy who came in from the cold
Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.
The problem is the UN cannot do a thing to Korea because the ban on testing missiles was self imposed so if Korea test launches missiles it has not broken any rules.
Also the US can complina about it being a threat but it is difficult to prove as Korea is saying the same thing about the US.
I have been listening to the news cycle on this as it lazily drifts along talking about provocation and response without definition. But now, I am hearing what seems to be a crystallization of the notion that the U.S. will definitely shoot down the missile if it is fired. The implication seems to be that we cannot assume that North Korea firing a missile is not an attack as opposed to a test as they proclaim. Therefore we have to shoot down the missile in self-defense.
Yes but only if it was to enetr your airspace if it does not then you leave well alone simple as that. The fact is that Korea have not really provoked the US in this case, yes they are test firing a missile but they are allowed to do that and they have said it will be used in a defensive not offensive use. Also if you look throughout the Pacific rim area only Japan has expressed anger nobody else.
I read that our anti-missle system was activated today. That's a sobering thought, but it's certianly good to know that we have something to stop this from coming.
The United States has moved its ground-based interceptor missile defense system from test mode to operational amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon has activated the system, which has been in the developmental stage for years.
"It's good to be ready," the official said.
U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggests Pyongyang may have finished fueling a Taepodong-2 missile, which some experts said could reach as far as Alaska.
"There's real caution in how to characterize it so as to not be provocative in our own approach," the defense official said of the move to activate the system.
The Pentagon and State Department have said a North Korean missile launch would be seen as "provocative."
While military officials also note the United States has a limited missile defense system, they have so far declined to comment on any details about the capabilities or potential use of the system to intercept a North Korean missile.
I'm not sure of North Korea's nuclear program to begin with. I do not think that North Korea's nuclear weapons are any good. I have read that the majority of the Nuclear weapons that are being used in North Korea were Soviet nukes, borrowed from the Soviet Union. They have taken Soviet ideas and transformed them into their own.
Then I later read that North Korea was stepping its nuclear program by building new reactors in the country side.
It is a scary situation for us and the North Korean people as well if Kim Jong-il actually has a good nuclear program and has built more bombs enough to damage the world.
You must turn on, tune in and drop out.
Timothy Leary
I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life. The Spy who came in from the cold
Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.
I really do not want another war here. I think if anything should happen, that another country should spearhead it. You gotta have things on your side of the fence taken care of before you open the gate, if you catch my drift.
I have heard that the guy in charge of several nuclear reactors in North Korea is the illegitimate son of Kim Jong-il. Of course that could be a rumor, but it is an interesting rumor at that.
You must turn on, tune in and drop out.
Timothy Leary
I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life. The Spy who came in from the cold
Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.
A U.S. warship has successfully knocked down a short-range missile fired from Hawaii, the Pentagon has said, amid global concerns about a possible North Korea missile test.
An interceptor rocket fired from the cruiser USS Shiloh knocked down the warhead from a target missile about 250 miles off Kauai shortly after noon (6 p.m. ET), the Defense Department's missile defense agency reported on Thursday.
The U.S. missile defense agency said Thursday's test had been scheduled for months and was not prompted by indications that North Korea was planning to test launch a long-range missile, AP reported.
The latest test of the U.S. missile defense program is the seventh time in eight attempts the military has successfully shot down a target with a ship-based interceptor, the Pentagon said.
A Japanese warship took part in the exercise, using its radar to track the test missile, the Pentagon said.
It is the first time a U.S. ally has taken part in a sea-based missile defense test after Tokyo agreed to develop missile defense technology with America last year.
Tokyo became interested in developing the technology after North Korea last test-fired a missile, firing it over Japan's main island, according to The Associated Press.
06-19-2006 07:28 AM
