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Japan scuttles two NKor surveillance satellites shortly after launch
EFLJapanese officials have blown up a rocket carrying two spy satellites intended to monitor North Korea. Officials at the Japanese space programme said the rocket had to be destroyed after take-off because of an unspecified technical failure. The original launch had been scheduled for September, but was postponed three times because of technical problems. "Shortly after the launch, we sent a destroy order to the rocket as we concluded that the mission cannot fulfil the purpose," said spokesperson Shoko Yamamoto. "We cannot tell further details, but at least we can say this mission ended in failure." Japan already has two satellites monitoring North Korea, which is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. The BBCâs Jonathan Head [*snigger*] in Tokyo says the incident is an embarrassing setback for Japan, just weeks after China - a technologically less advanced country - put a man into space. North Korea has denounced the deployment of the first two satellites as a "hostile act" that could trigger a renewed arms race. The satellite project was intended as a response to North Koreaâs firing of a ballistic missile over Japan into the Pacific in August 1998. "It really shocked the Japanese. They realised that theyâve got to wake up and not be 100% reliant on the US," Victor Cha, Professor of Government and Asian Studies at Washington DCâs Georgetown University told BBC News Online. Until then Japan bought commercial satellite photos from the US and France. The launch came at a sensitive time for Japan and North Korea as the two countries prepared to sit down at six-way talks to resolve the crisis over Pyongyangâs nuclear ambitions. Some 400 police were around the launch site on the southern island of Tanegashima. Coast guard ships were patrolling waters to thwart possible terrorist attacks or a possible attempt by North Korea to disrupt the launch. Posted by: Bulldog 2003-11-29 |
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