TracieB
07-04-2006, 06:12 PM
This is so scary...
N. Korea long-range missile fails in test launch
Rogue country sends at least five rockets into the Sea of Japan
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET July 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Tuesday five missiles were fired by North Korea in what it called a provocation, but not an immediate threat to the United States.
“We do consider it provocative behavior,” National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Four of the five missiles were short range, but the other was a long-range missile — which failed after 35 seconds — that U.S. officials believe is capable of reaching the United States. The short-range missiles landed in the Sea of Japan.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, told reporters, "The North Koreans have again clearly isolated themselves."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to confer, starting tonight, with her counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, over the missile firings, according to the State Department.
The test firings included a long-range Taepodong-2, the communist nation's most advanced missile with a range of up to 9,320 miles, and five shorter-range missiles, said Hadley.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missile launches were "no immediate threat to the U.S."
In Colorado, the North American Aerospace Defense Command was put on heightened alert, or "Bravo-Plus" status, slightly higher than a medium threat level, on Monday in anticipation of possible activities by North Korea, said Michael Kucharek, a NORAD spokesman in Colorado Springs.
NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command is responsible for defending U.S. territory.
President Bush has been in consultation with Rice, Hadley and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, is set to head to the region on Wednesday, and Hadley is to meet with his South Korean counterpart, a meeting in Washington that already had been scheduled, Snow said.
The test firings, which are seen as a provocation by the United States and other nations trying to get North Korea to submit to a verifiable nuclear program, occurred as Americans were celebrating Independence Day.
The reclusive communist nation's action came after weeks of speculation that it was preparing to test its Taepodong 2 missile. The preparations prompted warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.
The launch came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test the Taepodong-2 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.
“North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. “That is regrettable from the standpoint of Japan’s security, the stability of international society, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
North Korea's arsenal
A look at some of North Korea’s missiles:
— TAEPODONG-2: Said to be North Korea’s most advanced missile, with a range of up to 9,320 miles. Experts estimate it could potentially hit the mainland United States with a small payload. However, the missile is unlikely to be accurate.
— TAEPODONG-1: North Korea is believed to have test-launched this long-range missile in August 1998. The second stage landed off Japan’s eastern coast. The missile has an estimated range of up to 1,800 miles.
— RODONG: As many as 200 Rodong missiles are in North Korea’s arsenal. With a range of about 620 miles, Japan is their most likely target. The missiles can be fired from mobile launchers.
— SCUD: North Korea reportedly has more than 600 Scud-type missiles that are relatively short-range and would potentially target South Korea.
The missiles all landed hundreds of miles away from Japan and there were no reports the missiles caused damage within Japanese territory, Abe said.
He said the first missile was launched at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, or about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday EDT. The two others were launched at bout 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., he said.
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.
It was not clear which launch was the long-range missile. The Japanese government was unable to confirm the report by U.S. officials that a Taepodong-2 was 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.”
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.
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.
On Monday, 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.
On Monday, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns warned North Korea against firing the missile and urged the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.
The six-party talks, suspended by North Korea, involved negotiations by the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia with Pyongyang over the country’s nuclear program.
The United States and its allies South Korea and Japan have taken quick steps over the past week to strengthen their missile defenses. Washington and Tokyo are working on a joint missile-defense shield, and South Korea is considering the purchase of American SM-2 defensive missiles for its destroyers.
The U.S. and North Korea have been in a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program since 2002. The North claims to have produced nuclear weapons, but that claim has not been publicly verified by outside analysts.
While public information on North Korea’s military capabilities is murky, experts doubt that the regime has managed to develop a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on its long-range missiles.
Nonetheless, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told U.S. lawmakers last week that officials took the potential launch reports seriously and were looking at the full range of capabilities possessed by North Korea.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13704198/
N. Korea long-range missile fails in test launch
Rogue country sends at least five rockets into the Sea of Japan
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET July 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Tuesday five missiles were fired by North Korea in what it called a provocation, but not an immediate threat to the United States.
“We do consider it provocative behavior,” National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Four of the five missiles were short range, but the other was a long-range missile — which failed after 35 seconds — that U.S. officials believe is capable of reaching the United States. The short-range missiles landed in the Sea of Japan.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, told reporters, "The North Koreans have again clearly isolated themselves."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to confer, starting tonight, with her counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, over the missile firings, according to the State Department.
The test firings included a long-range Taepodong-2, the communist nation's most advanced missile with a range of up to 9,320 miles, and five shorter-range missiles, said Hadley.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missile launches were "no immediate threat to the U.S."
In Colorado, the North American Aerospace Defense Command was put on heightened alert, or "Bravo-Plus" status, slightly higher than a medium threat level, on Monday in anticipation of possible activities by North Korea, said Michael Kucharek, a NORAD spokesman in Colorado Springs.
NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command is responsible for defending U.S. territory.
President Bush has been in consultation with Rice, Hadley and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, is set to head to the region on Wednesday, and Hadley is to meet with his South Korean counterpart, a meeting in Washington that already had been scheduled, Snow said.
The test firings, which are seen as a provocation by the United States and other nations trying to get North Korea to submit to a verifiable nuclear program, occurred as Americans were celebrating Independence Day.
The reclusive communist nation's action came after weeks of speculation that it was preparing to test its Taepodong 2 missile. The preparations prompted warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.
The launch came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test the Taepodong-2 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.
“North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. “That is regrettable from the standpoint of Japan’s security, the stability of international society, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
North Korea's arsenal
A look at some of North Korea’s missiles:
— TAEPODONG-2: Said to be North Korea’s most advanced missile, with a range of up to 9,320 miles. Experts estimate it could potentially hit the mainland United States with a small payload. However, the missile is unlikely to be accurate.
— TAEPODONG-1: North Korea is believed to have test-launched this long-range missile in August 1998. The second stage landed off Japan’s eastern coast. The missile has an estimated range of up to 1,800 miles.
— RODONG: As many as 200 Rodong missiles are in North Korea’s arsenal. With a range of about 620 miles, Japan is their most likely target. The missiles can be fired from mobile launchers.
— SCUD: North Korea reportedly has more than 600 Scud-type missiles that are relatively short-range and would potentially target South Korea.
The missiles all landed hundreds of miles away from Japan and there were no reports the missiles caused damage within Japanese territory, Abe said.
He said the first missile was launched at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, or about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday EDT. The two others were launched at bout 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., he said.
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.
It was not clear which launch was the long-range missile. The Japanese government was unable to confirm the report by U.S. officials that a Taepodong-2 was 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.”
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.
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.
On Monday, 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.
On Monday, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns warned North Korea against firing the missile and urged the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.
The six-party talks, suspended by North Korea, involved negotiations by the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia with Pyongyang over the country’s nuclear program.
The United States and its allies South Korea and Japan have taken quick steps over the past week to strengthen their missile defenses. Washington and Tokyo are working on a joint missile-defense shield, and South Korea is considering the purchase of American SM-2 defensive missiles for its destroyers.
The U.S. and North Korea have been in a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program since 2002. The North claims to have produced nuclear weapons, but that claim has not been publicly verified by outside analysts.
While public information on North Korea’s military capabilities is murky, experts doubt that the regime has managed to develop a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on its long-range missiles.
Nonetheless, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told U.S. lawmakers last week that officials took the potential launch reports seriously and were looking at the full range of capabilities possessed by North Korea.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13704198/