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20/06/2006 | Pyongyang Poised - North Korea Readies Missile Test

Spiegel Staff

North Korean is thought to be preparing a new missile test -- perhaps as early as Monday -- in violation of international treaties and Pyongyang's own promises. The new missile has a range of 3,700 miles, which means it could reach Alaska.

 

North Korea looked ready to launch a long-range ballistic missile on Monday while ministers from Japan, Australia, and the US warned that any missile test would only isolate the secretive Communist nation more than it already is.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that North Korea had finished fuelling its Taepodong-2 missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead potentially as far as Alaska. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would take "severe measures" if the missile flies, but Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the government would make no immediate "appeal to arms" if a missile drops accidentally on Japan. North Korea test-fired a Taepodong-1 missile over northern Japan in 1998.

Satellite photos have shown launch preparations at the Musudan-ri facility on North Korea's east coast, and a government official in South Korea was afraid a launch might be imminent. "We think North Korea has poured liquid fuel into the missile propellant built in the missile launching pad," the official said. "It is at the finishing stage before launching." Siphoning liquid fuel back out of a missile is a complex task, making it likely the test will soon go ahead.

An expected test launch over the weekend never happened, so it's still possible North Korea is bluffing. Weather could also delay the launch until Tuesday or Wednesday. Some experts say that if there is no launch within 48 hours of fuelling, the fuel will break down and damage the missile; others say it could remain potent for up to a month.

Six-country talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear-weapons program stalled in November, and analysts believe Pyongyang wants to steer attention back to itself now that Washington has started to worry about Iran's nuclear ambitions. A statement in North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, said only that Pyongyang had a right to defend itself.

"The Korean army and people will do their best to increase the military deterrent with sharp vigilance to cope with the moves of the US, which is hell-bent on provocations for war of aggression on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the statement said.

A missile test would violate test-ban agreements and threaten security in the region, according to Japan's Abe, and US officials took the unusual step of telephoning North Korean delegates at the UN to warn against a launch. "We needed to make sure there was no misunderstanding," a senior US official said.

Spiegel (Alemania)

 



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