North Korea test-fired an anti-ship missile off its east coast Monday as President Bush and other leaders opened an Asian summit, the communist country’s latest military exercise amid tensions over its nuclear program. On Tuesday, Japan said it suspects that North Korea may have test-fired a missile off its eastern coast for a second straight day. The government said it was trying to confirm the information. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday declined to further identify the type of missile, but said North Korea has fired the same type two or three times this year. ``The land-to-ship missile North Korea test-fired today is seen as part of its annual exercise,’’ said a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul.
Okay, no problem.
Monday’s test came as Bush, meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, promoted a plan in which the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea would jointly give North Korea written assurances it wouldn’t be attacked, in exchange for its promise to dismantle its nuclear program. Senior Bush administration officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said they’d concluded the missile test was a deliberately provocative action intended to grab attention.
Ya think?
The missile would not have posed any immediate security threat to neighboring countries, a Japanese Defense Agency official said, adding that the missile reportedly had a range of about 60 miles plus or minus 60 miles. North Korea test-fired two short-range anti-ship missiles in late February and early March. In those tests, North Korea fired the missiles at targets about 70 miles off its east coast. Washington and South Korea have criticized the tests as attempts to force the United States into direct talks. In April, U.S. officials said North Korea test-fired another short-range anti-ship missile off its west coast, in apparent response to the launching of spy satellites by Tokyo to monitor the isolated communist nation days earlier.
Attaboy, Kim, they launch a satellite, you launch a rusty Silkworm. That’ll show ’em. |