North Korea fires seven missiles

North Korea fires seven missiles
 
Holding exercise on US Independence Day signals its defiance of US-led sanctions 

Seoul - North Korea yesterday fired a salvo of seven missiles off its east coast, in an act of defiance apparently timed for July 4, the United States’ Independence Day.

The provocative timing looks to be Pyongyang’s way of telling Washington that it will not be cowed by recent US moves to get tough over its nuclear weapons programme.

In a span of about seven hours yesterday, Pyongyang launched seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, known in South Korea as the East Sea.

It was the biggest barrage of ballistic weaponry since the North fired a long-range Taepodong-2 and six smaller missiles in 2006, coinciding too with Independence Day in the US.

Both South Korea and Japan swiftly condemned the action as provocative.

‘Our military is fully ready to counter any North Korean threats, said a statement issued by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The United States State Department urged Pyongyang not to ‘aggravate tensions’ and called the launches ‘not helpful’.

Russia and China yesterday urged all parties to show restraint and to return to the negotiating table.

The missiles came from a base at Kitdaeryong near the eastern port of Wonsan, according to officials in Seoul.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing intelligence sources, said the first three appeared to be Rodong missiles, while the rest were an upgraded version of Scud-C missiles.

Scud-C missiles have a range of up to 500km, which could hit most of South Korea.

The Rodong has a range of up to 1,300km, putting most parts of Japan within striking distance.

Defence analysts say the North has about 600 Scuds and another 200 Rodong-1 missiles.

The test-firing was in defiance of United Nations resolutions, which ban North Korea from firing Scuds, medium-range missiles or long-range missiles.

It came two days after Pyongyang fired four short-range cruise missiles.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul’s Dongguk University said the successive missile volleys were ‘a thinly veiled warning to the United States and the international community that it may launch long-range missiles the next time’.

He said yesterday: ‘The North is exercising salami tactics, firing short-range missiles on Thursday and launching missiles with longer range today.’

Mr Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think-tank, noted that July 4 is not only US Independence Day but also the anniversary of a 1972 joint communique in which the two Koreas agreed to work towards a peaceful reunification of their peninsula.

The latest tests came as the US is leading international efforts to tighten sanctions against North Korea, with an envoy visiting Beijing last week to enlist help from China, the North’s main trading partner and ally.

The US has also been squeezing the regime’s key source of foreign currency in the past weeks by shadowing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying banned weapons and cracking down on firms accused of helping the North in its trade in missiles and other arms.

North Korea’s state news agency carried no reports on the launches.

Speculation has been running high in South Korea and Japan that the North might launch more missiles in the coming days. It had warned ships to stay away from its east coast until this Friday.

US and South Korean officials believe ailing leader Kim Jong-Il, 67, is staging a show of strength to bolster his authority as he tries to put in place a succession plan involving his youngest son Kim Jong-Un. AP, Reuters, AFP,

New York Times

Source : Straits Times - 05 July 2009

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