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US frets over N Korea missile brinksmanship
US officials are concerned about the possibility of a North Korean ballistic missile launch, saying that any testing of its longest-range missile is provocative. "North Korea's missile activities and, you know, missile programs are a concern to the region," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. "And a ballistic missile launch by North Korea would be unhelpful and, frankly, provocative," Wood said on Tuesday. There were signs that "the North Koreans are preparing for a Taepodong-2 launch," according to a US counter-proliferation official. "Whether it will carry out the launch or not is entirely unclear, as is the timing for a possible launch," the official told AFP. A source quoted by Seoul's Yonhap news agency said US and South Korean intelligence agencies had recently spotted a train carrying a long cylindrical object believed to be a Taepodong-2 missile, which is theoretically capable of hitting the United States. Launch preparations were likely to be completed in a month or two at a new west coast site, the source said. The missile has a maximum range of 6,700 km (4,150 miles), meaning it could theoretically target Alaska. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-04 |
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