Seoul straining to keep calm over missile test threat

Seoul straining to keep calm over missile test threat

[link to www.koreaherald.co.kr]

Tuesday, June 20, 2006


As the international community ratchets up the pressure on North Korea to halt alleged preparations for an intercontinental missile test launch, the South Korean government strained to keep calm and urged its communist neighbor not to take any provocative actions.

Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok attended a parliamentary session with the ruling Uri Party and said that the government was keeping a close eye on developments and preparing measures for any emergency.

Regardless of the type of payload, any attempt by North Korea to test fire a long-range missile is considered a dangerous development here.

North Korea, which has declared itself to be a nuclear state, still reportedly lacks the ability to deploy a nuclear warhead on a missile, according to experts here in the South.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it is very difficult to confirm whether the North will actually launch the missile.

Reports that North Korea was preparing for an imminent launch of its intercontinental Taepodong-2 missile has been spreading concern across East Asia and the Pacific since last week. Both Washington and Tokyo believe the missile could reach parts of Alaska and even the coastal areas of Washington state. .

The South Korean government, which is most familiar with North Korea`s style of brinkmanship, is focusing on preventing the reclusive state from "pressing the button."

"If the entire world stands up and says that it (the missile launch) is `imminent,` the North will be left with a little choice (but not to launch)," a government source was quoted as saying by Yonhap News.

The South Korean government has explained it could not make assumptions on the payload of the missile, hinting that rather than some kind of military warhead, it could be a satellite.

AP has reported that North Korean television mentioned the missile for the first time in its evening news on Monday.

The news cited a Russian report and said "The United States` claim that North Korea has a missile that can hit the United States is unconfirmed speculation," AP reported.

It added that the news also said the North "has the due right to have a missile that can immediately halt the United States` reckless aerial espionage activity."

The developments have raised alarm levels in Washington, Tokyo and other capitals.

Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin of the United States and Russia talked on the telephone on Monday and agreed to close ranks on Iran and North Korea, according to the White House.

"The presidents also discussed the potential North Korean launch and plan to remain in contact on the issue," a White House official was quoted as saying.

The United States has sent a strong warning to North Korea against a missile launch and has held consultations with the U.N. Security Council and other organizations.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would regard a launch as an abrogation of North Korea`s 1999 commitment not to test long-range missiles.

"And so it would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile," Rice said. "We will, obviously, consult on next steps, but I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness."

US officials have been in direct contact with the North Korean representatives at the United Nations in New York, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman did not offer details of what countermeasures would be taken in the event of a missile launch, such as using its own missile defense system, saying only that North Korea`s intentions were unclear.

Prevailing speculation is that the North is using its customary brinkmanship to leverage a favorable position against the United States in the six-party nuclear negotiations.

Some observers believe North Korea may opt not to launch, probably satisfied that it has already grabbed enough international attention.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, meanwhile, said he was consulting other Security Council members.

"We`re in consultations with various members of the Council on what steps might be taken because it would obviously be very serious," he was quoted as telling reporters before a meeting of the Security Council on Somalia. By Lee Joo-hee