http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20...23010-4554r.htm
N. Korean threat activates shield
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 20, 2006
The Pentagon activated its new U.S. ground-based interceptor missile defense system, and officials announced yesterday that any long-range missile launch by North Korea would be considered a "provocative act."
Poor weather conditions above where the missile site was located by U.S. intelligence satellites indicates that an immediate launch is unlikely, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
However, intelligence officials said preparations have advanced to the point where a launch could take place within several days to a month.
Two Navy Aegis warships are patrolling near North Korea as part of the global missile defense and would be among the first sensors that would trigger the use of interceptors, the officials said yesterday.
The U.S. missile defense system includes 11 long-range interceptor missiles, including nine deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The system was switched from test to operational mode within the past two weeks, the officials said.
One senior Bush administration official told The Washington Times that an option being considered would be to shoot down the Taepodong missile with responding interceptors.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice added that any launch would be a serious matter and "would be taken with utmost seriousness and indeed a provocative act."
White House spokesman Tony Snow declined to comment when asked if shooting down a launched missile was being considered as an option.
President Bush had telephoned more than a dozen heads of state regarding North Korea's launch preparations, Mr. Snow said. He did not identify the leaders who were called by Mr. Bush.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. has made it clear to North Korea that the communist regime should abide by the missile-test ban it imposed in 1999 and reaffirmed in a pact with Japan in 2002.
"The United States has a limited missile defense system," Mr. Whitman said. He declined to say if the system is operational or whether it would be used.
"U.S. Northern Command continues to monitor the situation, and we are prepared to defend the country in any way necessary," said spokesman Michael Kucharek.
Any decision to shoot down a missile would be made at the highest command levels, which includes the president, secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In Tokyo, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan and South Korea are trying to avert a launch.
"Even now, we hope that they will not do this," Mr. Koizumi said. "But if they ignore our views and launch a missile, then the Japanese government, consulting with the United States, would have to respond harshly."
John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the Bush administration is consulting with other Security Council members on how to respond to a Taepodong launch.
In Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said North Korea's ambassador had been summoned and told any missile launch would result in "serious consequences."
U.S. intelligence officials said there are signs that the North Koreans recently began fueling the Taepodong with highly corrosive rocket fuel. Normally, when liquid fuel is loaded into missiles the missile must be fired within five to 10 days, or it must be de-fueled and the motors cleaned, a difficult and hazardous process.
The Taepodong was first tested in August 1998, and North Korea claimed that it was a space launch vehicle that orbited a satellite. U.S. intelligence officials said the last stage of the missile was powered but did not reach orbit. A new test would likely be a more advanced version.
"Our concerns about missile activity in North Korea are long-standing and well-documented," said Mr. Whitman, the Pentagon spokesman.
The test preparations began several weeks after the Bush administration imposed new rules on U.S. companies that prohibit American or foreign firms incorporated in the United States from flying North Korea's flag on merchant ships.
According to the Treasury Department, Korean War-era sanctions were loosened in 2000 in order to entice North Korea into abiding by the missile flight test ban.
One reason for the concerns about a launch is that North Korea has issued threatening statements through its official press and broadcast organs that it is ready to go to war with states such as Japan and the United States that impose economic sanctions.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
Full Version: N. Korean threat activates shield
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > U.S. Military Issues > U.S. Military Issues Archive
North Korea-Missile Test
North Korea lashed out at US for it plans to build a missile defense shield
South Korea says there will be "serious repercussions" if North Korea goes ahead with the test of a long-range missile -- and it's demanding the North halt plans for such a test.
President Bush, meanwhile, has chatted with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the phone about the Korean situation.
North Korea is criticizing the U.S. for its plans to build a missile defense shield.
The North says plans for such a shield by the U.S. and Japan would lead to a dangerous arms race.
North Korea is allegedly moving toward testing a long-range ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the U.S. coast.
A member of the South's ruling party has issued a statement, saying the North has been told of the "serious repercussions of a missile launch."
There are conflicting reports about whether the rocket is fueled and ready to fire.
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/3193211.html
North Korea lashed out at US for it plans to build a missile defense shield
South Korea says there will be "serious repercussions" if North Korea goes ahead with the test of a long-range missile -- and it's demanding the North halt plans for such a test.
President Bush, meanwhile, has chatted with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the phone about the Korean situation.
North Korea is criticizing the U.S. for its plans to build a missile defense shield.
The North says plans for such a shield by the U.S. and Japan would lead to a dangerous arms race.
North Korea is allegedly moving toward testing a long-range ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the U.S. coast.
A member of the South's ruling party has issued a statement, saying the North has been told of the "serious repercussions of a missile launch."
There are conflicting reports about whether the rocket is fueled and ready to fire.
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/3193211.html
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Rice warns North Korea not to fire new missile
With ICBM fueled, aborting launch difficult
By Anne Gearan THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON— Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea yesterday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States.
“It would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile,” Rice said amid indications that the North Koreans could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any moment.
The senior U.S. diplomat said the United States would talk to other nations about action should the North go ahead, and “I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness.”
President Bush briefly discussed the missile test with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin during an 18-minute phone call the Russian official placed to the American president yesterday. The leaders plan to remain in touch on the missile issue, said Kate Starr, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries have urged North Korea to abandon any missile firing, but there was no sign of backing down. U.S. officials said yesterday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, giving the North a launch window of about a month.
Unlike other preparatory steps the United States has tracked, the fueling process is very difficult to reverse, and most likely means the test will go ahead, one senior administration official said.
The precise timing is unclear, the official said.
At U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton said he was holding preliminary consultations with Security Council members on possible action if North Korea fires the missile, thought to be a three-stage Taepodong-2 with a non-nuclear payload.
“We don’t really know what the North Korean intentions are at this point, so I think we need to wait for the event,” Bolton said.
The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, said economic sanctions were an option.
“I think sanctions would have to be considered, but I wouldn’t want to describe what actions we might take,” Schieffer said through a U.S. Embassy official.
U.S. officials have said the 116-foot-long missile has a firing range of 9,300 miles and could reach as far as the U.S. West Coast. Most analysts, however, say North Korea is still a long way from perfecting technology that would make the missile accurate and capable of carrying a nuclear payload.
North Korea’s missile program has been a major security concern in the region, adding to worries about a pursuit of nuclear bombs. North Korea shocked its neighbors when it test-fired an earlier version of the missile over northern Japan in 1998.
Japan says a new launch would threaten Japanese security and violate an agreement North Korea signed in 2002 and reaffirmed in 2004. Rice said it would also end a self-imposed moratorium on test firings that North Korea has observed since 1999 and a disarmament bargain it struck with the United States and other powers last year.
Rice said a launch now “would once again show North Korea is determined to deepen its isolation, determined not to take a path that is a path of compromise and a path of peace, but rather instead to once again saber-rattle.”
The reports of a potential launch came during a prolonged hiatus in nuclear disarmament talks among North and South Korea, China, Japan, the United States and Russia. The earlier disarmament deal gives North Korea economic rewards for giving up weapons.
The agreement faltered almost as soon as it was announced in September 2005, and North Korea later walked away from talks in a dispute over a U.S. crackdown on alleged North Korean counterfeiting and fraud.
There have been no talks since November.
North Korea says it needs nuclear weapons and a delivery system to counter what it contends are U.S. intentions to invade or topple the government. The United States has repeatedly denied any plans to invade.
U.S. intelligence indicates that the missile was fueled in recent days, said two officials, who requested anonymity because the information comes from sensitive intelligence methods.
The United States assumes North Korea would perform a test, not fire the weapon as an act of war, and could claim afterward that it was launching a space mission, one official said. That would still be considered a violation of the moratorium North Korea has observed since 1999, the official said.
The test would probably take place over water and occur during daylight hours, the official said. The United States would probably know of a missile launch almost instantly.
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../606200541/1052
Rice warns North Korea not to fire new missile
With ICBM fueled, aborting launch difficult
By Anne Gearan THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON— Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea yesterday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States.
“It would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile,” Rice said amid indications that the North Koreans could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any moment.
The senior U.S. diplomat said the United States would talk to other nations about action should the North go ahead, and “I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness.”
President Bush briefly discussed the missile test with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin during an 18-minute phone call the Russian official placed to the American president yesterday. The leaders plan to remain in touch on the missile issue, said Kate Starr, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries have urged North Korea to abandon any missile firing, but there was no sign of backing down. U.S. officials said yesterday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, giving the North a launch window of about a month.
Unlike other preparatory steps the United States has tracked, the fueling process is very difficult to reverse, and most likely means the test will go ahead, one senior administration official said.
The precise timing is unclear, the official said.
At U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton said he was holding preliminary consultations with Security Council members on possible action if North Korea fires the missile, thought to be a three-stage Taepodong-2 with a non-nuclear payload.
“We don’t really know what the North Korean intentions are at this point, so I think we need to wait for the event,” Bolton said.
The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, said economic sanctions were an option.
“I think sanctions would have to be considered, but I wouldn’t want to describe what actions we might take,” Schieffer said through a U.S. Embassy official.
U.S. officials have said the 116-foot-long missile has a firing range of 9,300 miles and could reach as far as the U.S. West Coast. Most analysts, however, say North Korea is still a long way from perfecting technology that would make the missile accurate and capable of carrying a nuclear payload.
North Korea’s missile program has been a major security concern in the region, adding to worries about a pursuit of nuclear bombs. North Korea shocked its neighbors when it test-fired an earlier version of the missile over northern Japan in 1998.
Japan says a new launch would threaten Japanese security and violate an agreement North Korea signed in 2002 and reaffirmed in 2004. Rice said it would also end a self-imposed moratorium on test firings that North Korea has observed since 1999 and a disarmament bargain it struck with the United States and other powers last year.
Rice said a launch now “would once again show North Korea is determined to deepen its isolation, determined not to take a path that is a path of compromise and a path of peace, but rather instead to once again saber-rattle.”
The reports of a potential launch came during a prolonged hiatus in nuclear disarmament talks among North and South Korea, China, Japan, the United States and Russia. The earlier disarmament deal gives North Korea economic rewards for giving up weapons.
The agreement faltered almost as soon as it was announced in September 2005, and North Korea later walked away from talks in a dispute over a U.S. crackdown on alleged North Korean counterfeiting and fraud.
There have been no talks since November.
North Korea says it needs nuclear weapons and a delivery system to counter what it contends are U.S. intentions to invade or topple the government. The United States has repeatedly denied any plans to invade.
U.S. intelligence indicates that the missile was fueled in recent days, said two officials, who requested anonymity because the information comes from sensitive intelligence methods.
The United States assumes North Korea would perform a test, not fire the weapon as an act of war, and could claim afterward that it was launching a space mission, one official said. That would still be considered a violation of the moratorium North Korea has observed since 1999, the official said.
The test would probably take place over water and occur during daylight hours, the official said. The United States would probably know of a missile launch almost instantly.
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../606200541/1052
South Korea: North's missile on launching pad
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Posted: 1249 GMT (2049 HKT)
GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday it was unclear whether Pyongyang had put fuel in its long-range Taepodong-2 missile but it was apparently on a launching pad.
U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggest North Korea may have finished fueling a ballistic missile for a test launch -- which Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have said would present a grave threat to regional security.
"It is not sure that they have put the fuel in the rockets, but it seems to be sure that they have assembled these missiles in the launching pad," Ban told reporters in Geneva.
According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday any long-range missile test will not be bound by the Pyongyang Declaration.
Under that 2002 agreement with Japan, North Korea pledged to uphold all international treaties on nuclear issues, extend a moratorium on ballistic missile launches and resolve issues related to the "lives and security" of Japanese nationals.
Meanwhile, China, the North's closest ally, said it had no details of any test-flight preparations and called for calm.
South Korea's weather agency forecast overcast skies and storms on Tuesday in North Hamgyong province, where North Korea has a launch site, and said this should be the pattern for the rest of the week as a storm front moves through.
Analysts say clouds and storms would make it difficult for North Korea to track a missile once in flight, decreasing the likelihood of a launch.
"You don't want to test launch a missile into a storm," said Peter Beck, a Korea analyst in Seoul for the International Crisis Group.
Reports of test preparations coincide with a stalemate in six-party talks on unwinding Pyongyang's nuclear arms programs.
Some analysts believe that North Korea is piqued world attention has shifted to concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions and angered at a U.S. crackdown that has frozen hard currency income from alleged illegal activities such as money laundering.
Beck said that by raising the prospect of a missile test, the Stalinist state had successfully grabbed global attention and rattled security concerns, but he was not sure if Pyongyang would scrap the launch in the face of pressure or go ahead.
"If they are really playing a finesse game they will back away but ... they are not known for their finesse game," he said.
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to Seoul, said Tuesday any work on a potential delivery system, such as a missile, for a nuclear weapon creates a serious security threat.
Proliferation experts have said it is not likely North Korea has the technology to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so that it can be mounted on a missile.
North Korea shocked the world in 1998 when it fired a missile, part of which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Pyongyang trumpeted that as a satellite launch.
"A missile launch is North Korea's second-biggest 'card' after a nuclear test, and they would have to seriously consider the timing," said Masao Okonogi, a Korea expert at Keio University in Tokyo.
"I think this is a bluff," he said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/...a.missile.reut/
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Posted: 1249 GMT (2049 HKT)
GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday it was unclear whether Pyongyang had put fuel in its long-range Taepodong-2 missile but it was apparently on a launching pad.
U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggest North Korea may have finished fueling a ballistic missile for a test launch -- which Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have said would present a grave threat to regional security.
"It is not sure that they have put the fuel in the rockets, but it seems to be sure that they have assembled these missiles in the launching pad," Ban told reporters in Geneva.
According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday any long-range missile test will not be bound by the Pyongyang Declaration.
Under that 2002 agreement with Japan, North Korea pledged to uphold all international treaties on nuclear issues, extend a moratorium on ballistic missile launches and resolve issues related to the "lives and security" of Japanese nationals.
Meanwhile, China, the North's closest ally, said it had no details of any test-flight preparations and called for calm.
South Korea's weather agency forecast overcast skies and storms on Tuesday in North Hamgyong province, where North Korea has a launch site, and said this should be the pattern for the rest of the week as a storm front moves through.
Analysts say clouds and storms would make it difficult for North Korea to track a missile once in flight, decreasing the likelihood of a launch.
"You don't want to test launch a missile into a storm," said Peter Beck, a Korea analyst in Seoul for the International Crisis Group.
Reports of test preparations coincide with a stalemate in six-party talks on unwinding Pyongyang's nuclear arms programs.
Some analysts believe that North Korea is piqued world attention has shifted to concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions and angered at a U.S. crackdown that has frozen hard currency income from alleged illegal activities such as money laundering.
Beck said that by raising the prospect of a missile test, the Stalinist state had successfully grabbed global attention and rattled security concerns, but he was not sure if Pyongyang would scrap the launch in the face of pressure or go ahead.
"If they are really playing a finesse game they will back away but ... they are not known for their finesse game," he said.
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to Seoul, said Tuesday any work on a potential delivery system, such as a missile, for a nuclear weapon creates a serious security threat.
Proliferation experts have said it is not likely North Korea has the technology to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so that it can be mounted on a missile.
North Korea shocked the world in 1998 when it fired a missile, part of which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Pyongyang trumpeted that as a satellite launch.
"A missile launch is North Korea's second-biggest 'card' after a nuclear test, and they would have to seriously consider the timing," said Masao Okonogi, a Korea expert at Keio University in Tokyo.
"I think this is a bluff," he said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/...a.missile.reut/
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-19-voa52.cfm
US: If N. Korea Launches Missile Without Notice, Can't Assume it is Test
By Al Pessin
Washington
19 June 2006
Pessin report - Download 245k
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S. Koreans use binoculars to look at the North side from Imjingak near the border village of the Panmunjom, north of Seoul, June 18, 2006
The Defense Department says in the absence of any statement by the North Korean government it will not be possible to know whether a widely expected missile launch is a test or an attack.
Spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm reports that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile, saying he could not discuss intelligence matters. But he says if there is a launch without any advance notice from the government in Pyongyang, there will be no basis on which to assume it is only a test.
"'Test' would, to me, indicate that you are doing something like an exercise," he said. "You are testing a missile. 'Test' has intent behind it, as opposed to launching a missile. When you are launching a missile, to me, you [others] do not know what the intent of the launch is, you [others] do not know if the launch is intended to be a test or something else."
The Pentagon spokesman hinted to reporters that if North Korea launches a missile the United States might use its new missile defense system.
"The United States does have a limited missile defense system. I will not get into or discuss any specific alert status or capabilities," added Whitman.
The U.S. Missile Defense system relies on radars and other systems on the ground and on satellites to detect missile launches and deploy interceptors to shoot them down. The system has had some successful tests, and some failures, and is not yet fully operational.
The Pentagon spokesman and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again referred to any North Korean launch as 'a provocative act.' And Secretary Rice says she has been coordinating possible responses with allies.
"It would once again show North Korea determined to deepen its isolation, determined not to take a path that is a path of compromise and a path of peace," said Rice.
Secretary Rice says a launch would violate North Korea's own moratorium, and she says maintaining the moratorium is part of the agreement North Korea signed last September to pursue a diplomatic solution to the dispute over its nuclear program.
US: If N. Korea Launches Missile Without Notice, Can't Assume it is Test
By Al Pessin
Washington
19 June 2006
Pessin report - Download 245k
Listen to Pessin report
S. Koreans use binoculars to look at the North side from Imjingak near the border village of the Panmunjom, north of Seoul, June 18, 2006
The Defense Department says in the absence of any statement by the North Korean government it will not be possible to know whether a widely expected missile launch is a test or an attack.
Spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm reports that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile, saying he could not discuss intelligence matters. But he says if there is a launch without any advance notice from the government in Pyongyang, there will be no basis on which to assume it is only a test.
"'Test' would, to me, indicate that you are doing something like an exercise," he said. "You are testing a missile. 'Test' has intent behind it, as opposed to launching a missile. When you are launching a missile, to me, you [others] do not know what the intent of the launch is, you [others] do not know if the launch is intended to be a test or something else."
The Pentagon spokesman hinted to reporters that if North Korea launches a missile the United States might use its new missile defense system.
"The United States does have a limited missile defense system. I will not get into or discuss any specific alert status or capabilities," added Whitman.
The U.S. Missile Defense system relies on radars and other systems on the ground and on satellites to detect missile launches and deploy interceptors to shoot them down. The system has had some successful tests, and some failures, and is not yet fully operational.
The Pentagon spokesman and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again referred to any North Korean launch as 'a provocative act.' And Secretary Rice says she has been coordinating possible responses with allies.
"It would once again show North Korea determined to deepen its isolation, determined not to take a path that is a path of compromise and a path of peace," said Rice.
Secretary Rice says a launch would violate North Korea's own moratorium, and she says maintaining the moratorium is part of the agreement North Korea signed last September to pursue a diplomatic solution to the dispute over its nuclear program.
US makes missile defense system operational
By Will Dunham
Tue Jun 20, 10:15 AM ET
The United States has moved its ground-based interceptor missile defense system from test mode to operational amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon has activated the system, which has been in the developmental stage for years.
"It's good to be ready," the official said.
U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggests Pyongyang may have finished fueling a Taepodong-2 missile, which some experts said could reach as far as Alaska.
"There's real caution in how to characterize it so as to not be provocative in our own approach," the defense official said of the move to activate the system.
The Pentagon and State Department have said a North Korean missile launch would be seen as "provocative."
While military officials also note the United States has a limited missile defense system, they have so far declined to comment on any details about the capabilities or potential use of the system to intercept a North Korean missile.
(Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts)
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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By Will Dunham
Tue Jun 20, 10:15 AM ET
The United States has moved its ground-based interceptor missile defense system from test mode to operational amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon has activated the system, which has been in the developmental stage for years.
"It's good to be ready," the official said.
U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggests Pyongyang may have finished fueling a Taepodong-2 missile, which some experts said could reach as far as Alaska.
"There's real caution in how to characterize it so as to not be provocative in our own approach," the defense official said of the move to activate the system.
The Pentagon and State Department have said a North Korean missile launch would be seen as "provocative."
While military officials also note the United States has a limited missile defense system, they have so far declined to comment on any details about the capabilities or potential use of the system to intercept a North Korean missile.
(Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts)
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Reporter...hield_0620.html
Reporter elaborates on US missile shield story
Reporter elaborates on US missile shield story
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1882693&C=airwar
Posted 06/20/06 12:42Print this story North Korean Missile Could Bring U.S. Into Range: Experts
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SEOUL, South Korea
The long-range Taepodong-2 missile at the center of the North Korean testing dispute could bring the fringes of the United States into range for the first time, military experts say.
The South Korean defense ministry says the Taepodong-2 can carry a 1,000 kilogram warhead up to 6,700 kilometers (4,200 miles), far enough to hit targets in Alaska and possibly Hawaii.
However U.S. and South Korean intelligence sources say the North Koreans are also working on a multi-stage Taepodong-2 which could carry a smaller payload over 10,000 kilometers to hit targets on the west coast of the United States.
Since no flight tests of the missile have yet been attempted, and its technical specifications remain mostly secret, predictions of its range remain largely the guesswork of military experts.
The Taepodong-2 is a next-generation missile after the two-stage Taepodong-1 missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers that North Korea fired over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, causing an international furor.
U.S. intelligence reported in 2004 that North Korea may be ready to flight-test the Taepodong-2 — or TD-2 — missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon-sized payload.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, which gives the missile a maximum range of 4,300 kilometers, the TD-2 uses a liquid propellant-driven engine, while the second stage is based on the Nodong short-range missile.
The potential missile launch which North Korea is believed to be preparing has triggered jitters in Asia and drawn sharp warnings from Washington and Tokyo.
Posted 06/20/06 12:42Print this story North Korean Missile Could Bring U.S. Into Range: Experts
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SEOUL, South Korea
The long-range Taepodong-2 missile at the center of the North Korean testing dispute could bring the fringes of the United States into range for the first time, military experts say.
The South Korean defense ministry says the Taepodong-2 can carry a 1,000 kilogram warhead up to 6,700 kilometers (4,200 miles), far enough to hit targets in Alaska and possibly Hawaii.
However U.S. and South Korean intelligence sources say the North Koreans are also working on a multi-stage Taepodong-2 which could carry a smaller payload over 10,000 kilometers to hit targets on the west coast of the United States.
Since no flight tests of the missile have yet been attempted, and its technical specifications remain mostly secret, predictions of its range remain largely the guesswork of military experts.
The Taepodong-2 is a next-generation missile after the two-stage Taepodong-1 missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers that North Korea fired over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, causing an international furor.
U.S. intelligence reported in 2004 that North Korea may be ready to flight-test the Taepodong-2 — or TD-2 — missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon-sized payload.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, which gives the missile a maximum range of 4,300 kilometers, the TD-2 uses a liquid propellant-driven engine, while the second stage is based on the Nodong short-range missile.
The potential missile launch which North Korea is believed to be preparing has triggered jitters in Asia and drawn sharp warnings from Washington and Tokyo.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/northam..._defence_Report
Washington - The US military has activated its missile defence system as concerns grow over North Korea's apparent plans to test a long range missile, according to a report on Tuesday.
The system based in the US state of Alaska was switched from test to operational mode in the last two weeks, the Washington Times reported, but US officials have been non-committal about whether the US military would try to intercept a launch.
North Korea has reportedly began fuelling a Taepodong missile, which could be launched with days.
The possible test of missile has sparked strong diplomatic protests in East Asia and the United States. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday called it a 'provocative act' that would 'be taken with utmost seriousness.'
The limited US missile defence system is mainly based in Fort Greeley, Alaska, where there are nine interceptor missiles. There are two others at Vandenberg Air Force Base California.
Japan and the United States say a test launch would violate a 1999 and a 2002 agreement.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Washington - The US military has activated its missile defence system as concerns grow over North Korea's apparent plans to test a long range missile, according to a report on Tuesday.
The system based in the US state of Alaska was switched from test to operational mode in the last two weeks, the Washington Times reported, but US officials have been non-committal about whether the US military would try to intercept a launch.
North Korea has reportedly began fuelling a Taepodong missile, which could be launched with days.
The possible test of missile has sparked strong diplomatic protests in East Asia and the United States. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday called it a 'provocative act' that would 'be taken with utmost seriousness.'
The limited US missile defence system is mainly based in Fort Greeley, Alaska, where there are nine interceptor missiles. There are two others at Vandenberg Air Force Base California.
Japan and the United States say a test launch would violate a 1999 and a 2002 agreement.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa70.cfm
Concern Over Possible North Korean Missile Launch Spreads
By Lisa Bryant
Paris
20 June 2006
Officials in France and elsewhere called Tuesday for a strong response by the international community to any possible missile test by North Korea. A senior U.S. official says the possible North Korean missile test is raising alarm in Asia as well.
Speaking on background to reporters in Paris, a senior U.S. State Department official said that Washington believes North Korea could make a test launch of a long-range ballistic mission on very short notice. But if it does, he said, the United States and the international community would consider such an action very provocative, and a threat to peace and security.
The U.S. official said Japan is also concerned by a possible missile test launch, and would factor North Korea's moves into its security calculations. The best way to ensure a regional arms race does not happen, he said, would be for a strong international response to such a threat. Japan previously said it would take stern actions if North Korea launched a test missile.
Kofi Annan (left) and French PM Dominique de Villepin
That message was echoed Tuesday by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who called for a firm and just international response to any missile test. And during a visit to the French capital, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he hoped North Korea listened to the message coming from the international community, that everyone is worried by its actions.
Experts believe North Korea is preparing to test launch a new missile which could reach the United States. In 1998, it test launched an earlier model which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea reportedly rejected Tuesday any outside criticism of its actions.
Valerie Niquet, head of the central Asia department at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris, says the international community can put economic and other pressure on impoverished North Korea to give up its program. "The possibility of putting pressure on North Korea is not very high in military terms - nobody would want to envision the risk of war for whatever motive. But economic pressure can be inflicted on North Korea, and it's very effective," he said.
Niquet says it is also essential that Japan be included in any negotiations with North Korea.
Concerns about North Korea may be raised Wednesday, when U.S. and European leaders meet in Vienna.
Officials are also likely to talk about another security threat, Iran, and fears that Tehran may be trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Western Nations have offered Tehran incentives for it to abandon its nuclear enrichment program, which the Iranian government insists is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. official in Paris said Washington was prepared to wait only weeks - not months - for an answer from Tehran.
Concern Over Possible North Korean Missile Launch Spreads
By Lisa Bryant
Paris
20 June 2006
Officials in France and elsewhere called Tuesday for a strong response by the international community to any possible missile test by North Korea. A senior U.S. official says the possible North Korean missile test is raising alarm in Asia as well.
Speaking on background to reporters in Paris, a senior U.S. State Department official said that Washington believes North Korea could make a test launch of a long-range ballistic mission on very short notice. But if it does, he said, the United States and the international community would consider such an action very provocative, and a threat to peace and security.
The U.S. official said Japan is also concerned by a possible missile test launch, and would factor North Korea's moves into its security calculations. The best way to ensure a regional arms race does not happen, he said, would be for a strong international response to such a threat. Japan previously said it would take stern actions if North Korea launched a test missile.
Kofi Annan (left) and French PM Dominique de Villepin
That message was echoed Tuesday by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who called for a firm and just international response to any missile test. And during a visit to the French capital, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he hoped North Korea listened to the message coming from the international community, that everyone is worried by its actions.
Experts believe North Korea is preparing to test launch a new missile which could reach the United States. In 1998, it test launched an earlier model which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea reportedly rejected Tuesday any outside criticism of its actions.
Valerie Niquet, head of the central Asia department at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris, says the international community can put economic and other pressure on impoverished North Korea to give up its program. "The possibility of putting pressure on North Korea is not very high in military terms - nobody would want to envision the risk of war for whatever motive. But economic pressure can be inflicted on North Korea, and it's very effective," he said.
Niquet says it is also essential that Japan be included in any negotiations with North Korea.
Concerns about North Korea may be raised Wednesday, when U.S. and European leaders meet in Vienna.
Officials are also likely to talk about another security threat, Iran, and fears that Tehran may be trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Western Nations have offered Tehran incentives for it to abandon its nuclear enrichment program, which the Iranian government insists is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. official in Paris said Washington was prepared to wait only weeks - not months - for an answer from Tehran.
U.S. Keeps Mum on Warships in East Sea :
The U.S. has declined to tell the South Korean military if one of its Aegis destroyers is plowing the East Sea with a view to intercepting a long-range ballistic missile North Korea is allegedly planning to launch
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0606190031.html
===
US 3-Carrier Drill Aimed at N.Korea?
Between June 19 and 23, the U.S. will conduct a massive military drill that includes three aircraft carriers, 28 naval vessels, and 22,000 troops on the ocean nearby Guam. - The Japanese prime minister, announced in a press meeting yesterday that “if North Korea launches the missile, we can’t help taking strong measures to respond in cooperation with the U.S.”
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?...d=2006062046408
The U.S. has declined to tell the South Korean military if one of its Aegis destroyers is plowing the East Sea with a view to intercepting a long-range ballistic missile North Korea is allegedly planning to launch
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0606190031.html
===
US 3-Carrier Drill Aimed at N.Korea?
Between June 19 and 23, the U.S. will conduct a massive military drill that includes three aircraft carriers, 28 naval vessels, and 22,000 troops on the ocean nearby Guam. - The Japanese prime minister, announced in a press meeting yesterday that “if North Korea launches the missile, we can’t help taking strong measures to respond in cooperation with the U.S.”
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?...d=2006062046408
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF21Dg02.html
The long reach of North Korea's missiles
By Bertil Lintner
BANGKOK - North Korea may be a poor country, but it has some of the most developed missile systems in the world. Not even years of near-economic collapse, famine and hunger have hampered the country's missile-development programs, which are meant both as a preemptive defense - to scare off potential attackers - and for export.
Over the years, North Korea has earned substantial revenue from the sale of missiles, and missile components and technology. It is widely believed that the sale of missiles is the financial source for the country's nuclear program, which is the reason United States and other Western countries are eager to stop North Korean missile exports.
According to US-based North Korea expert Joseph Bermudez, countries that have bought missile parts and technology from North Korea include Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In recent years, however, North Korea has lost two important customers: Pakistan, which has become a US ally, and Libya, whose Muammar Gaddafi has pledged to give up his country's weapons-of-mass-destruction program.
Assisted by Soviet experts and technicians, North Korea began producing surface-to-air missiles more than 40 years ago. But the first ones were quite rudimentary, and it was not until North Korea signed a military agreement with China in 1971 that the industry took off. Gradually, however, the North Koreans themselves became capable of developing and fine-tuning their growing arsenal of missiles - together with some rather unexpected, non-communist partners.
The first was Egypt. North Korea helped that country in the war with Israel in October 1973 by providing some pilots. In return for that assistance, Egypt transferred a small number of its Soviet-supplied FROG-7B and rockets and launchers to North Korea, which had already started a ballistic-missile program. As early as 1965 - and with the Korean War still in fresh memory - the Great Leader Kim Il-sung established the Hamhung Military Academy to conduct research into missile technology. In an inaugural speech before the academy, he stated:
If war breaks out, the US and Japan will also be involved. In order to prevent their involvement, we have to be able to produce rockets which fly as far as Japan. Therefore it is the mandate of the Military Academy to develop mid- and long-range missiles.
In the early 1980s, Egypt provided North Korea with Soviet-made Scud B missiles, which can carry a 200-kilogram warhead 290 kilometers or more. None of these missiles was test-fired, but they were used as models for reverse-engineering in a string of new factories that were built near the Chinese border in the north, far away from the Demilitarized Zone and prying South Korean and US eyes. The first North Korean-made replica was finished in 1984 and called the Hwasong 5.
Throughout the Hwasong program, North Korea cooperated closely with Egypt, and part of the deal was that the North Koreans would set up a production capability for Scud-type missiles in Egypt. North Korea also realized that there was money to be made from its new invention.
At an early stage, Iran expressed an interest in buying missiles, which it needed for its long and bloody war with Iraq, from North Korea. In June 1987, the two countries concluded a US$500 million arms agreement, which included about 100 Hwasong 5s. In Iran, the missile was given a new name: the Shehab 1.
There is nothing to indicate that the Soviet Union and other communist states at this stage were involved to any significant extent in North Korea's missile development, although China provided technical training to North Korean engineers as well as high-quality machine tools.
As skills and techniques improved, North Korea began to develop more advanced missiles. The Hwasong 5 was followed by the Hwasong 6, which could be armed with chemical and cluster warheads. It was also sold to Iran as the Shehab 2.
In March 1993, North Korea test-fired a new missile called Rodong, which could carry either a 1,200kg warhead 1,300km, or a 1,000kg warhead as far as 1,500km - or enough to be able to reach major cities and US bases in Japan. A 21-member delegation headed by Brigadier-General Hossein Mantequei, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander in charge of Tehran's missile force, had arrived in Pyongyang to observe the test. The Iranians were satisfied, and as many as 150 Rodongs were sold to Iran, where the missile was renamed the Shehab 3.
New customers were also found in the Middle East. Not only were Syria and Libya among them, but even the conservative United Arab Emirates bought 25 Hwasong 5 missiles as well as artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers in 1989. The UAE, however, was not pleased with the quality of the Hwasongs, and they were left to rust in a warehouse.
Outside the Middle East, Pakistan emerged as North Korea's foremost trading partner for military hardware. Pakistan initially approached North Korea to buy conventional weaponry in the early 1970s, when tension was escalating with India over East Pakistan's attempts to break away.
On September 18, 1971, the first shipment of North Korean weapons arrived in Karachi, but East Pakistan managed to break away anyway - with help from India - and form independent Bangladesh that December. The following year, North Korea and Pakistan established diplomatic relations, and North Korea sold artillery, multiple rocket launchers, ammunition, and a variety of spare parts to Pakistan. The modified Pakistani version of the North Korea's Nodong, or Rodong, missile was called the Ghauri and was first tested on April 6, 1998.
Pakistan's cooperation with North Korea came to a halt when, in late 2001, the former became an ally of the United States in the "war on terror". Now Iran has become North Korea's main partner in missile, and most likely also nuclear, development.
Apart from being a major source of hard currency, North Korea's missile-development program serves another, equally important purpose. Pyongyang has repeatedly asked Japan to pay compensation for its brutal colonial rule of Korea, from 1910 to 1945 - and Japan is extremely sensitive to North Korea's missile and nuclear capabilities. In 1999, Hwang Won-tak, adviser to then South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, indicated that the North might demand food and hard currency from Japan in return for not test-firing missiles.
In 1998, a new generation of North Korean missiles was born with the three-stage Taepodong 1, which it test-fired over Japan on August 31 from the Musudan-ni launch facility on the coast of North Hamgyong province. The Japanese were outraged and saw it as a grave provocation, but the North Koreans stated that the purpose was only to place their first satellite - the Kwangmyongsong 1 - into orbit to beam down hymns in praise of Kim Il-sung.
Whatever the case, the missile flew 1,090km from the launch site in North Korea into the Pacific Ocean east of the main Japanese island of Honshu. Since then, a Taepodong 2 with a range of 6,700km has been developed, which has brought US bases in Okinawa, Guam, Alaska and Hawaii within the potential range of North Korean missiles. The North Koreans are working on a third Taepodong, which will be capable of delivering a 500-1,000kg warhead at a distance of 10,000-12,000km - anywhere in the United States.
It is believed that it is the Taepodong 2 that North Korea now is planning to test-fire. Whether is will scare Japan, and perhaps also South Korea, into offering more aid remains to be seen. But the United States appears to be in no mood to offer North Korea anything, focusing as it is on finding ways to choke off North Korea's lethal exports - and to eliminate any threat that those missiles pose to US interests and security.
NORTH KOREA'S MISSILE SYSTEMS
Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM)
SA-2/HQ-2 SSM
Range: 60-160km
Warhead: 190kg
Year developed: 1976
DF-61
Range: 600km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: na
Scud B (R-17E)
Range: 300km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1981
Hwasong 5 (Prototype Scud Model A)
Range: 300km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1984
Hwasong 5 (Scud Model
Range: 320-340km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1985
(Note: In Iran, the Hwasong 5 is known as the Shehab 1)
Hwasong 6 (Scud Model C; Scud PIP)
Range: 500km
Warhead: 770kg
Year developed: 1989
Medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM)
Nodong (Nodong 1, Rodong 1, Scud Model D)
Range: 1,350-1,500km
Warhead: 1,200kg
Year developed: 1993
(Note: the Pakistani copy of the Nodong is called the Ghauri. The Nodong has a range of 1,350km with a 1,200kg warhead; the Ghauri has a range of 1,500km with a 700kg warhead. The Nodong 1 is known as the Shehab 3 in Iran)
Taepodong 1 (Daepodong 1, Nodong 2, Scud X, Scud Model E, Rodong 2)
Range: 2,500km
Warhead: 700-1,000kg
Year developed: 1998
(Note: This is the kind of missile that the North Koreans test-fired over Japan in August 1998. Range according to the latest estimate by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. Earlier estimates were 1,500-2,000km)
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM)
Taepodong 1 SLV
Range: 4,000km
Warhead: 50-100kg
Year developed: 1998
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)
Taepodong 2 (Daepodong 2, Nodong 3)
Range: 6,700km
Warhead: 700-1,000kg
Year developed: 2000
(Latest estimate by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. Earlier estimates were 4,000-6,000km)
Three-stage Taepodong 2 (Taepodong 3)
Range: 10,000-12,000km
Warhead: 500-1,000kg
Year developed: Being developed
Range requirements
The entire South Korea - 500km
US bases in Japan and major Japanese cities: 1,000-1,500km
US bases in Alaska and Hawaii: 4,000-6,000km
Continental US: 6,000+km
(Source: Joseph S Bermudez Jr, Shield of the Great Leader: The Armed Forces of North Korea, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2001.
Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and the author of Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
The long reach of North Korea's missiles
By Bertil Lintner
BANGKOK - North Korea may be a poor country, but it has some of the most developed missile systems in the world. Not even years of near-economic collapse, famine and hunger have hampered the country's missile-development programs, which are meant both as a preemptive defense - to scare off potential attackers - and for export.
Over the years, North Korea has earned substantial revenue from the sale of missiles, and missile components and technology. It is widely believed that the sale of missiles is the financial source for the country's nuclear program, which is the reason United States and other Western countries are eager to stop North Korean missile exports.
According to US-based North Korea expert Joseph Bermudez, countries that have bought missile parts and technology from North Korea include Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In recent years, however, North Korea has lost two important customers: Pakistan, which has become a US ally, and Libya, whose Muammar Gaddafi has pledged to give up his country's weapons-of-mass-destruction program.
Assisted by Soviet experts and technicians, North Korea began producing surface-to-air missiles more than 40 years ago. But the first ones were quite rudimentary, and it was not until North Korea signed a military agreement with China in 1971 that the industry took off. Gradually, however, the North Koreans themselves became capable of developing and fine-tuning their growing arsenal of missiles - together with some rather unexpected, non-communist partners.
The first was Egypt. North Korea helped that country in the war with Israel in October 1973 by providing some pilots. In return for that assistance, Egypt transferred a small number of its Soviet-supplied FROG-7B and rockets and launchers to North Korea, which had already started a ballistic-missile program. As early as 1965 - and with the Korean War still in fresh memory - the Great Leader Kim Il-sung established the Hamhung Military Academy to conduct research into missile technology. In an inaugural speech before the academy, he stated:
If war breaks out, the US and Japan will also be involved. In order to prevent their involvement, we have to be able to produce rockets which fly as far as Japan. Therefore it is the mandate of the Military Academy to develop mid- and long-range missiles.
In the early 1980s, Egypt provided North Korea with Soviet-made Scud B missiles, which can carry a 200-kilogram warhead 290 kilometers or more. None of these missiles was test-fired, but they were used as models for reverse-engineering in a string of new factories that were built near the Chinese border in the north, far away from the Demilitarized Zone and prying South Korean and US eyes. The first North Korean-made replica was finished in 1984 and called the Hwasong 5.
Throughout the Hwasong program, North Korea cooperated closely with Egypt, and part of the deal was that the North Koreans would set up a production capability for Scud-type missiles in Egypt. North Korea also realized that there was money to be made from its new invention.
At an early stage, Iran expressed an interest in buying missiles, which it needed for its long and bloody war with Iraq, from North Korea. In June 1987, the two countries concluded a US$500 million arms agreement, which included about 100 Hwasong 5s. In Iran, the missile was given a new name: the Shehab 1.
There is nothing to indicate that the Soviet Union and other communist states at this stage were involved to any significant extent in North Korea's missile development, although China provided technical training to North Korean engineers as well as high-quality machine tools.
As skills and techniques improved, North Korea began to develop more advanced missiles. The Hwasong 5 was followed by the Hwasong 6, which could be armed with chemical and cluster warheads. It was also sold to Iran as the Shehab 2.
In March 1993, North Korea test-fired a new missile called Rodong, which could carry either a 1,200kg warhead 1,300km, or a 1,000kg warhead as far as 1,500km - or enough to be able to reach major cities and US bases in Japan. A 21-member delegation headed by Brigadier-General Hossein Mantequei, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander in charge of Tehran's missile force, had arrived in Pyongyang to observe the test. The Iranians were satisfied, and as many as 150 Rodongs were sold to Iran, where the missile was renamed the Shehab 3.
New customers were also found in the Middle East. Not only were Syria and Libya among them, but even the conservative United Arab Emirates bought 25 Hwasong 5 missiles as well as artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers in 1989. The UAE, however, was not pleased with the quality of the Hwasongs, and they were left to rust in a warehouse.
Outside the Middle East, Pakistan emerged as North Korea's foremost trading partner for military hardware. Pakistan initially approached North Korea to buy conventional weaponry in the early 1970s, when tension was escalating with India over East Pakistan's attempts to break away.
On September 18, 1971, the first shipment of North Korean weapons arrived in Karachi, but East Pakistan managed to break away anyway - with help from India - and form independent Bangladesh that December. The following year, North Korea and Pakistan established diplomatic relations, and North Korea sold artillery, multiple rocket launchers, ammunition, and a variety of spare parts to Pakistan. The modified Pakistani version of the North Korea's Nodong, or Rodong, missile was called the Ghauri and was first tested on April 6, 1998.
Pakistan's cooperation with North Korea came to a halt when, in late 2001, the former became an ally of the United States in the "war on terror". Now Iran has become North Korea's main partner in missile, and most likely also nuclear, development.
Apart from being a major source of hard currency, North Korea's missile-development program serves another, equally important purpose. Pyongyang has repeatedly asked Japan to pay compensation for its brutal colonial rule of Korea, from 1910 to 1945 - and Japan is extremely sensitive to North Korea's missile and nuclear capabilities. In 1999, Hwang Won-tak, adviser to then South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, indicated that the North might demand food and hard currency from Japan in return for not test-firing missiles.
In 1998, a new generation of North Korean missiles was born with the three-stage Taepodong 1, which it test-fired over Japan on August 31 from the Musudan-ni launch facility on the coast of North Hamgyong province. The Japanese were outraged and saw it as a grave provocation, but the North Koreans stated that the purpose was only to place their first satellite - the Kwangmyongsong 1 - into orbit to beam down hymns in praise of Kim Il-sung.
Whatever the case, the missile flew 1,090km from the launch site in North Korea into the Pacific Ocean east of the main Japanese island of Honshu. Since then, a Taepodong 2 with a range of 6,700km has been developed, which has brought US bases in Okinawa, Guam, Alaska and Hawaii within the potential range of North Korean missiles. The North Koreans are working on a third Taepodong, which will be capable of delivering a 500-1,000kg warhead at a distance of 10,000-12,000km - anywhere in the United States.
It is believed that it is the Taepodong 2 that North Korea now is planning to test-fire. Whether is will scare Japan, and perhaps also South Korea, into offering more aid remains to be seen. But the United States appears to be in no mood to offer North Korea anything, focusing as it is on finding ways to choke off North Korea's lethal exports - and to eliminate any threat that those missiles pose to US interests and security.
NORTH KOREA'S MISSILE SYSTEMS
Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM)
SA-2/HQ-2 SSM
Range: 60-160km
Warhead: 190kg
Year developed: 1976
DF-61
Range: 600km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: na
Scud B (R-17E)
Range: 300km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1981
Hwasong 5 (Prototype Scud Model A)
Range: 300km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1984
Hwasong 5 (Scud Model
Range: 320-340km
Warhead: 1,000kg
Year developed: 1985
(Note: In Iran, the Hwasong 5 is known as the Shehab 1)
Hwasong 6 (Scud Model C; Scud PIP)
Range: 500km
Warhead: 770kg
Year developed: 1989
Medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM)
Nodong (Nodong 1, Rodong 1, Scud Model D)
Range: 1,350-1,500km
Warhead: 1,200kg
Year developed: 1993
(Note: the Pakistani copy of the Nodong is called the Ghauri. The Nodong has a range of 1,350km with a 1,200kg warhead; the Ghauri has a range of 1,500km with a 700kg warhead. The Nodong 1 is known as the Shehab 3 in Iran)
Taepodong 1 (Daepodong 1, Nodong 2, Scud X, Scud Model E, Rodong 2)
Range: 2,500km
Warhead: 700-1,000kg
Year developed: 1998
(Note: This is the kind of missile that the North Koreans test-fired over Japan in August 1998. Range according to the latest estimate by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. Earlier estimates were 1,500-2,000km)
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM)
Taepodong 1 SLV
Range: 4,000km
Warhead: 50-100kg
Year developed: 1998
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)
Taepodong 2 (Daepodong 2, Nodong 3)
Range: 6,700km
Warhead: 700-1,000kg
Year developed: 2000
(Latest estimate by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. Earlier estimates were 4,000-6,000km)
Three-stage Taepodong 2 (Taepodong 3)
Range: 10,000-12,000km
Warhead: 500-1,000kg
Year developed: Being developed
Range requirements
The entire South Korea - 500km
US bases in Japan and major Japanese cities: 1,000-1,500km
US bases in Alaska and Hawaii: 4,000-6,000km
Continental US: 6,000+km
(Source: Joseph S Bermudez Jr, Shield of the Great Leader: The Armed Forces of North Korea, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2001.
Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and the author of Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
GOP's Call for Hearings Puts Immigration Overhaul in Limbo
WASHINGTON - President Bush's push for a sweeping overhaul of
immigration laws was dealt a major blow when House Republican
leaders announced they would hold public hearings on the Senate
bill that they strongly oppose. By Nicole Gaouette.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4O...Io30G2B0HdoY0EW
WASHINGTON - President Bush's push for a sweeping overhaul of
immigration laws was dealt a major blow when House Republican
leaders announced they would hold public hearings on the Senate
bill that they strongly oppose. By Nicole Gaouette.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4O...Io30G2B0HdoY0EW
U.S. weighs shootdown of N. Korea missile
By ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer
The Bush administration is weighing responses to a possible North Korean missile test that include attempting to shoot it down in flight over the Pacific, defense officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Because North Korea is secretive about its missile operations, U.S. officials say they must consider the possibility that an anticipated test would turn out to be something else, such as a space launch or even an attack. Thus, the Pentagon is considering the possibility of attempting an interception, two defense officials said, even though it would be unprecedented and is not considered the likeliest scenario.
The officials agreed to discuss the matter only on condition of anonymity because of its political sensitivity.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he could not say whether the unproven multibillion-dollar U.S. anti-missile defense system might be used in the event of a North Korean missile launch. That system, which includes a handful of missiles that could be fired from Alaska and California, has had a spotty record in tests.
Although shooting down a North Korean missile is a possibility, the Pentagon also must consider factors that would argue against such a response, including the risk of shooting and missing and of escalating tensions further with the communist nation.
Even if there were no attempt to shoot down a North Korean missile, it would be tracked by early warning satellites and radars, including radars based on ships near Japan and ground-based radars in Alaska and California.
Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a U.S. shootdown of a North Korean missile on a test flight or a space launch would draw "very strong international reaction" against the United States. He saw only a small chance that the U.S. would attempt a shootdown.
Signs of North Korean preparations to launch a long-range ballistic missile, possibly with sufficient range to reach U.S. territory, have grown in recent weeks, although it is unclear whether the missile has been fully fueled. U.S. officials said Monday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, but others have since expressed some uncertainty.
Bush administration officials have urged the North Koreans publicly and privately not to conduct the missile test, which would end a moratorium in place since 1999. That ban was adopted after Japan and other nations expressed outrage over an August 1998 launch in which a North Korean missile flew over northern Japan.
At the time of the 1998 launch, the United States had no means of shooting down a long-range missile in flight. Since then, the Pentagon has developed a rudimentary system that it says is capable of defending against a limited number of missiles in an emergency — with a North Korean attack particularly in mind.
The Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, says the Pentagon has spent $91 billion on missile defense over the past two decades.
The 1998 event turned out to be a space launch rather than a missile test; U.S. officials said the satellite failed to reach orbit.
U.S. and international concern about North Korea's missile capability is heightened by its claims to have developed nuclear weapons. It is not known whether they have mastered the complex art of building a nuclear warhead small enough to fit a long-range missile, although in April 2005 the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, told Congress that North Korea was capable of arming a missile with a nuclear warhead. U.S. officials have since called it a "theoretical capability."
No administration official has publicly raised the possibility of bombing the North Korean missile before it can be launched. Jan Lodel, a senior Pentagon policy official during the Clinton administration, said in an interview Tuesday that he would not rule out a pre-emptive strike. He said it would be the surest away of eliminating the threat of being surprised by the launch of a Taepodong-2, an intercontinental ballistic missile that some believe has enough range to reach U.S. territory.
David Wright, a senior scientist at the private Union of Concerned Scientists, said he strongly doubts that the Bush administration could back up its claims of having the capability to shoot down a North Korean missile.
"I consider it to be rhetorical posturing," Wright said. "It currently has no demonstrated capability."
The last time the Pentagon registered a successful test in intercepting a mock warhead in flight was in October 2002. Since then, there have been three unsuccessful attempted intercepts, most recently in February 2005.
Rick Lehner, chief spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said the next intercept test is scheduled for the August-September period, to be followed by another before the end of the year. Lehner said that beginning about a year ago, the system has periodically been placed in "operational status."
Baker Spring, a Heritage Foundation analyst and strong advocate of U.S. missile defenses, said he believes that "in theoretical terms" the U.S. system is a capable of defeating a North Korean missile. And he thinks that if the North Koreans launched on a flight pattern that appeared threatening to the United States, the administration "would be well within its rights" under international law to shoot down the missile.
The Washington Times reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has placed its missile defense system in an active status for potential use.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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By ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer
The Bush administration is weighing responses to a possible North Korean missile test that include attempting to shoot it down in flight over the Pacific, defense officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Because North Korea is secretive about its missile operations, U.S. officials say they must consider the possibility that an anticipated test would turn out to be something else, such as a space launch or even an attack. Thus, the Pentagon is considering the possibility of attempting an interception, two defense officials said, even though it would be unprecedented and is not considered the likeliest scenario.
The officials agreed to discuss the matter only on condition of anonymity because of its political sensitivity.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he could not say whether the unproven multibillion-dollar U.S. anti-missile defense system might be used in the event of a North Korean missile launch. That system, which includes a handful of missiles that could be fired from Alaska and California, has had a spotty record in tests.
Although shooting down a North Korean missile is a possibility, the Pentagon also must consider factors that would argue against such a response, including the risk of shooting and missing and of escalating tensions further with the communist nation.
Even if there were no attempt to shoot down a North Korean missile, it would be tracked by early warning satellites and radars, including radars based on ships near Japan and ground-based radars in Alaska and California.
Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a U.S. shootdown of a North Korean missile on a test flight or a space launch would draw "very strong international reaction" against the United States. He saw only a small chance that the U.S. would attempt a shootdown.
Signs of North Korean preparations to launch a long-range ballistic missile, possibly with sufficient range to reach U.S. territory, have grown in recent weeks, although it is unclear whether the missile has been fully fueled. U.S. officials said Monday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, but others have since expressed some uncertainty.
Bush administration officials have urged the North Koreans publicly and privately not to conduct the missile test, which would end a moratorium in place since 1999. That ban was adopted after Japan and other nations expressed outrage over an August 1998 launch in which a North Korean missile flew over northern Japan.
At the time of the 1998 launch, the United States had no means of shooting down a long-range missile in flight. Since then, the Pentagon has developed a rudimentary system that it says is capable of defending against a limited number of missiles in an emergency — with a North Korean attack particularly in mind.
The Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, says the Pentagon has spent $91 billion on missile defense over the past two decades.
The 1998 event turned out to be a space launch rather than a missile test; U.S. officials said the satellite failed to reach orbit.
U.S. and international concern about North Korea's missile capability is heightened by its claims to have developed nuclear weapons. It is not known whether they have mastered the complex art of building a nuclear warhead small enough to fit a long-range missile, although in April 2005 the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, told Congress that North Korea was capable of arming a missile with a nuclear warhead. U.S. officials have since called it a "theoretical capability."
No administration official has publicly raised the possibility of bombing the North Korean missile before it can be launched. Jan Lodel, a senior Pentagon policy official during the Clinton administration, said in an interview Tuesday that he would not rule out a pre-emptive strike. He said it would be the surest away of eliminating the threat of being surprised by the launch of a Taepodong-2, an intercontinental ballistic missile that some believe has enough range to reach U.S. territory.
David Wright, a senior scientist at the private Union of Concerned Scientists, said he strongly doubts that the Bush administration could back up its claims of having the capability to shoot down a North Korean missile.
"I consider it to be rhetorical posturing," Wright said. "It currently has no demonstrated capability."
The last time the Pentagon registered a successful test in intercepting a mock warhead in flight was in October 2002. Since then, there have been three unsuccessful attempted intercepts, most recently in February 2005.
Rick Lehner, chief spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said the next intercept test is scheduled for the August-September period, to be followed by another before the end of the year. Lehner said that beginning about a year ago, the system has periodically been placed in "operational status."
Baker Spring, a Heritage Foundation analyst and strong advocate of U.S. missile defenses, said he believes that "in theoretical terms" the U.S. system is a capable of defeating a North Korean missile. And he thinks that if the North Koreans launched on a flight pattern that appeared threatening to the United States, the administration "would be well within its rights" under international law to shoot down the missile.
The Washington Times reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has placed its missile defense system in an active status for potential use.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF22Dg01.html
COMMENT
Pyongyang will shoot itself in the foot
By Ralph A Cossa
(Used by permission of Pacific Forum CSIS)
TOKYO - Will they or won't they? That seems to be the big question dominating the news. Will the North Koreans launch a Taepodong 2 missile, either as an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) test or in an attempt to launch a satellite (as they claimed during their last launch in 1998)?
No one knows. And trying to predict Pyongyang's behavior is a fool's task. But I, for one, hope they do conduct a test, for a number of reasons.
Before explaining, it is worth pointing out an unpleasant fact that most critics seem to be ignoring: North Korea, like the US or China, or even Kazakhstan (which launched its first communications satellite this month with little or no fanfare) has a right to conduct missile tests or satellite launches. There are certain international protocols that should be followed - notice to mariners, airspace closures, prior notifications, etc - but a missile launch per se is not an illegal or necessarily a hostile act.
Keep in mind also that North Korea's current moratorium is self-imposed; it was initiated in 1999 and was to run as long as missile talks between Washington and Pyongyang continued - which they have not.
True, in the 2002 "Pyongyang Declaration" signed by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, both men pledged they "would not commit conducts threatening the security of the other side" and "confirmed the necessity of resolving security problems including nuclear and missile issues by promoting dialogues among countries concerned".
This hardly sounds like a binding agreement and, again, little dialogue is currently taking place (although both Washington and Tokyo have expressed willingness to enter into bilateral talks with Pyongyang, within the context of the six-party talks - it is only North Korea that refuses to come back to the talks).
For what it is worth, while it does reaffirm the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration, there is really absolutely nothing in the September 2005 six-party-talks joint statement regarding missile tests. Nonetheless, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has claimed that a missile test puts that agreement in jeopardy since the moratorium "is clearly a part of the framework agreement that was signed in September of this past year between the six parties".
Having said all that, there is no question that a missile launch, even if designed to put a satellite in orbit, would be seen as saber-rattling at a particularly sensitive time, and at least three members of the six-way talks - the US, Japan and South Korea - have firmly stated that a test would be a threat to regional stability and undermine the spirit of cooperation embodied in the September 2005 joint statement, and would thus have "severe consequences".
On Tuesday, China also told North Korea to refrain from testing the missile, telling it there were "a lot of concerns", said China's ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya.
So if a test, while legal, would be so provocative, why am I for it? Primarily because it would, perhaps for the first time in several years, bring Washington, Tokyo and Seoul back into agreement on dealing more firmly with North Korea.
It has already compelled Seoul to cancel the planned trip of former president Kim Dae-jung to North Korea, a trip that would only have added to the illusion of (false) progress in North-South relations, where little is being accomplished beyond increased handouts and non-reciprocated gestures.
One presumes that even Beijing may also finally see the wisdom in taking a harder line against Pyongyang in the wake of a missile launch, something Washington has been requesting for months (if not years), to no avail.
Until and unless Beijing and Seoul are prepared to join Washington and Tokyo in taking a firm stance against Pyongyang's foot-dragging and saber-rattling, there is little incentive for North Korea to change its behavior. (Apologies to Moscow; Russian support is also useful, but not nearly as critical.)
Finally, there is the question (at least in this author's mind) as to whether or not Pyongyang is even capable of successfully firing a multi-stage missile. Recall that the 1998 test failed. A missile launch would be a windfall to the US intelligence community, which continues only to guess at the Taepodong's capabilities.
Even if no missile is fired, a "test" is already being conducted. The presence (if reports are true) of an ICBM on a launch pad in a country with a declared nuclear (and presumed chemical and biological) weapons capability and a declared hostile policy toward the US and Japan constitutes a test of the US doctrine of preemption, which calls for US military forces to respond if an attack by a weapon of mass destruction appears imminent.
I am neither predicting nor advocating a preemptive attack - such an action would be counterproductive - but merely noting that, unlike in Iraq, Washington's criterion is being met in this instance, something Pyongyang likely factored into its actions.
While the Bush administration has not directly threatened a preemptive strike, it has indicated that its missile defense system has been activated and is on alert for what could be its first real-life test; if one questions North Korea's ability to launch a missile, questions equally abound about America's ability to shoot one down.
So to Pyongyang I say, "Fire away." Who knows, it may actually give the other members of the six-party talks the backbone required (and currently conspicuously absent) finally to get tough with Pyongyang and move the stalled denuclearization process forward.
Ralph A Cossa (pacforum@hawaii.rr.com) is president of the Pacific Forum CSIS.
(Used by permission of Pacific Forum CSIS )
COMMENT
Pyongyang will shoot itself in the foot
By Ralph A Cossa
(Used by permission of Pacific Forum CSIS)
TOKYO - Will they or won't they? That seems to be the big question dominating the news. Will the North Koreans launch a Taepodong 2 missile, either as an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) test or in an attempt to launch a satellite (as they claimed during their last launch in 1998)?
No one knows. And trying to predict Pyongyang's behavior is a fool's task. But I, for one, hope they do conduct a test, for a number of reasons.
Before explaining, it is worth pointing out an unpleasant fact that most critics seem to be ignoring: North Korea, like the US or China, or even Kazakhstan (which launched its first communications satellite this month with little or no fanfare) has a right to conduct missile tests or satellite launches. There are certain international protocols that should be followed - notice to mariners, airspace closures, prior notifications, etc - but a missile launch per se is not an illegal or necessarily a hostile act.
Keep in mind also that North Korea's current moratorium is self-imposed; it was initiated in 1999 and was to run as long as missile talks between Washington and Pyongyang continued - which they have not.
True, in the 2002 "Pyongyang Declaration" signed by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, both men pledged they "would not commit conducts threatening the security of the other side" and "confirmed the necessity of resolving security problems including nuclear and missile issues by promoting dialogues among countries concerned".
This hardly sounds like a binding agreement and, again, little dialogue is currently taking place (although both Washington and Tokyo have expressed willingness to enter into bilateral talks with Pyongyang, within the context of the six-party talks - it is only North Korea that refuses to come back to the talks).
For what it is worth, while it does reaffirm the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration, there is really absolutely nothing in the September 2005 six-party-talks joint statement regarding missile tests. Nonetheless, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has claimed that a missile test puts that agreement in jeopardy since the moratorium "is clearly a part of the framework agreement that was signed in September of this past year between the six parties".
Having said all that, there is no question that a missile launch, even if designed to put a satellite in orbit, would be seen as saber-rattling at a particularly sensitive time, and at least three members of the six-way talks - the US, Japan and South Korea - have firmly stated that a test would be a threat to regional stability and undermine the spirit of cooperation embodied in the September 2005 joint statement, and would thus have "severe consequences".
On Tuesday, China also told North Korea to refrain from testing the missile, telling it there were "a lot of concerns", said China's ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya.
So if a test, while legal, would be so provocative, why am I for it? Primarily because it would, perhaps for the first time in several years, bring Washington, Tokyo and Seoul back into agreement on dealing more firmly with North Korea.
It has already compelled Seoul to cancel the planned trip of former president Kim Dae-jung to North Korea, a trip that would only have added to the illusion of (false) progress in North-South relations, where little is being accomplished beyond increased handouts and non-reciprocated gestures.
One presumes that even Beijing may also finally see the wisdom in taking a harder line against Pyongyang in the wake of a missile launch, something Washington has been requesting for months (if not years), to no avail.
Until and unless Beijing and Seoul are prepared to join Washington and Tokyo in taking a firm stance against Pyongyang's foot-dragging and saber-rattling, there is little incentive for North Korea to change its behavior. (Apologies to Moscow; Russian support is also useful, but not nearly as critical.)
Finally, there is the question (at least in this author's mind) as to whether or not Pyongyang is even capable of successfully firing a multi-stage missile. Recall that the 1998 test failed. A missile launch would be a windfall to the US intelligence community, which continues only to guess at the Taepodong's capabilities.
Even if no missile is fired, a "test" is already being conducted. The presence (if reports are true) of an ICBM on a launch pad in a country with a declared nuclear (and presumed chemical and biological) weapons capability and a declared hostile policy toward the US and Japan constitutes a test of the US doctrine of preemption, which calls for US military forces to respond if an attack by a weapon of mass destruction appears imminent.
I am neither predicting nor advocating a preemptive attack - such an action would be counterproductive - but merely noting that, unlike in Iraq, Washington's criterion is being met in this instance, something Pyongyang likely factored into its actions.
While the Bush administration has not directly threatened a preemptive strike, it has indicated that its missile defense system has been activated and is on alert for what could be its first real-life test; if one questions North Korea's ability to launch a missile, questions equally abound about America's ability to shoot one down.
So to Pyongyang I say, "Fire away." Who knows, it may actually give the other members of the six-party talks the backbone required (and currently conspicuously absent) finally to get tough with Pyongyang and move the stalled denuclearization process forward.
Ralph A Cossa (pacforum@hawaii.rr.com) is president of the Pacific Forum CSIS.
(Used by permission of Pacific Forum CSIS )
MISSILE DEFENSE TEST REVIEW & OUTLOOK (WALL STREET JOURNAL, JUNE 2): The emerging U.S. missile defense system and a North Korean test launch is an ideal time to demonstrate that we are willing and able to defend ourselves.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1150851163...ew_and_outlooks
PAID SUBSCRIPTION
NORTH KOREA'S INCREDIBLY BAD IDEA EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, JUNE 20): Washington has reacted sensibly, not wasting a lot of time on diplomatic rigmarole and delivering instead a clear and direct message to North Korea not to proceed with a missile test.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/opinion/20Tues2.html
THERE'S METHOD IN THE MISSILE MADNESS - BRUCE KLINGNER (ASIA TIMES, JUNE 21): North Korea's preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, despite warnings from the US, South Korea and Japan, is part of a propaganda offensive to regain international attention and increase its bargaining leverage to wrest concessions from Washington and Seoul.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF21Dg01.html
TEXT ENTRY FROM
http://atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html
NORTH KOREA'S LOGIC EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, JUNE 21): Recently, when the regime invited chief US negotiator Chris Hill to Pyongyang for talks, US hardliners refused the invitation. If the North does launch a missile in coming days, it will not be the only irrational party responsible for the ensuing crisis in Asia.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...h_koreas_logic/
TESTED BY NORTH KOREA EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, JUNE 21): By stubbornly insisting on its right to test a long-range ballistic missile, North Korea is reinforcing the importance of a unified approach to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editor...ment-editorials
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1150851163...ew_and_outlooks
PAID SUBSCRIPTION
NORTH KOREA'S INCREDIBLY BAD IDEA EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, JUNE 20): Washington has reacted sensibly, not wasting a lot of time on diplomatic rigmarole and delivering instead a clear and direct message to North Korea not to proceed with a missile test.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/opinion/20Tues2.html
THERE'S METHOD IN THE MISSILE MADNESS - BRUCE KLINGNER (ASIA TIMES, JUNE 21): North Korea's preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, despite warnings from the US, South Korea and Japan, is part of a propaganda offensive to regain international attention and increase its bargaining leverage to wrest concessions from Washington and Seoul.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF21Dg01.html
TEXT ENTRY FROM
http://atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html
NORTH KOREA'S LOGIC EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, JUNE 21): Recently, when the regime invited chief US negotiator Chris Hill to Pyongyang for talks, US hardliners refused the invitation. If the North does launch a missile in coming days, it will not be the only irrational party responsible for the ensuing crisis in Asia.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...h_koreas_logic/
TESTED BY NORTH KOREA EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, JUNE 21): By stubbornly insisting on its right to test a long-range ballistic missile, North Korea is reinforcing the importance of a unified approach to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editor...ment-editorials
Former Defense Officials Urge U.S. Strike on North Korean Missile Site
By Glenn Kessler and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; A23
Former defense secretary William J. Perry has called on President Bush to launch a preemptive strike against the long-range ballistic missile that U.S. intelligence analysts say North Korea is preparing to launch.
In an opinion article that appears in today's Washington Post, Perry and former assistant defense secretary Ashton B. Carter argue that if North Korea continues launch preparations, Bush should immediately declare that the United States will destroy the missile before it can be fired.
Perry and Carter suggest using a cruise missile launched from a submarine and carrying a high-explosive warhead. "The effect on the Taepodong would be devastating," they write, using the name of the Korean missile. "The multi-story, thin-skinned missile filled with high-energy fuel is itself explosive -- the U.S. airstrike would puncture the missile and probably cause it to explode. The carefully engineered test bed for North Korea's nascent nuclear missile force would be destroyed."
As President Bill Clinton's defense secretary, Perry oversaw preparation for airstrikes on North Korean nuclear facilities in 1994, an attack that was never carried out. He has remained deeply involved in Korean policy issues and is widely respected in national-security circles, especially among senior military officers. He has been a critic of the Bush administration's approach to North Korea.
"We believe diplomacy might have precluded the current situation," Perry and Carter said. "But diplomacy has failed, and we cannot sit by and let this deadly threat mature."
Perry and Carter say that such a strike "undoubtedly carries risk" but that there would be no damage to North Korea beyond the missile galley. They argue that the unproven U.S. missile-defense system might not be able to shoot down a missile.
Meanwhile, there were some signs that South Korea, where officials have expressed skepticism over U.S. intelligence regarding an imminent missile launch, might be willing to step up pressure on the North. Yesterday, Kim Dae Jung, the former South Korean president, postponed a much-lauded visit next week to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, because of the rising tensions.
"Because of the unforeseen situation, it has become difficult" for Kim to visit North Korea, Jeong Se Hyun, a former top aide to Kim, told reporters.
In addition, South Korea's unification minister, Lee Jong-Seok, was widely quoted in the country's press as suggesting that continued investment and humanitarian aid to North Korea might be curbed if Pyongyang conducts a missile test. In a meeting with opposition leaders from South Korea's Grand National Party, which has criticized the administration of President Roh Moo Hyun for being soft on North Korea, Lee was quoted by the Korea Times as saying Seoul "will not pretend as if nothing has happened in the event of North Korea test-firing a missile."
Also yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to Japan reiterated that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea.
Asked whether the United States would attempt to shoot down the North Korean missile if launched, J. Thomas Schieffer warned in an interview that "we have greater technical means of tracking it than we had in the past, and we have options that we have not had in the past."
Faiola reported from Tokyo.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
By Glenn Kessler and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; A23
Former defense secretary William J. Perry has called on President Bush to launch a preemptive strike against the long-range ballistic missile that U.S. intelligence analysts say North Korea is preparing to launch.
In an opinion article that appears in today's Washington Post, Perry and former assistant defense secretary Ashton B. Carter argue that if North Korea continues launch preparations, Bush should immediately declare that the United States will destroy the missile before it can be fired.
Perry and Carter suggest using a cruise missile launched from a submarine and carrying a high-explosive warhead. "The effect on the Taepodong would be devastating," they write, using the name of the Korean missile. "The multi-story, thin-skinned missile filled with high-energy fuel is itself explosive -- the U.S. airstrike would puncture the missile and probably cause it to explode. The carefully engineered test bed for North Korea's nascent nuclear missile force would be destroyed."
As President Bill Clinton's defense secretary, Perry oversaw preparation for airstrikes on North Korean nuclear facilities in 1994, an attack that was never carried out. He has remained deeply involved in Korean policy issues and is widely respected in national-security circles, especially among senior military officers. He has been a critic of the Bush administration's approach to North Korea.
"We believe diplomacy might have precluded the current situation," Perry and Carter said. "But diplomacy has failed, and we cannot sit by and let this deadly threat mature."
Perry and Carter say that such a strike "undoubtedly carries risk" but that there would be no damage to North Korea beyond the missile galley. They argue that the unproven U.S. missile-defense system might not be able to shoot down a missile.
Meanwhile, there were some signs that South Korea, where officials have expressed skepticism over U.S. intelligence regarding an imminent missile launch, might be willing to step up pressure on the North. Yesterday, Kim Dae Jung, the former South Korean president, postponed a much-lauded visit next week to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, because of the rising tensions.
"Because of the unforeseen situation, it has become difficult" for Kim to visit North Korea, Jeong Se Hyun, a former top aide to Kim, told reporters.
In addition, South Korea's unification minister, Lee Jong-Seok, was widely quoted in the country's press as suggesting that continued investment and humanitarian aid to North Korea might be curbed if Pyongyang conducts a missile test. In a meeting with opposition leaders from South Korea's Grand National Party, which has criticized the administration of President Roh Moo Hyun for being soft on North Korea, Lee was quoted by the Korea Times as saying Seoul "will not pretend as if nothing has happened in the event of North Korea test-firing a missile."
Also yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to Japan reiterated that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea.
Asked whether the United States would attempt to shoot down the North Korean missile if launched, J. Thomas Schieffer warned in an interview that "we have greater technical means of tracking it than we had in the past, and we have options that we have not had in the past."
Faiola reported from Tokyo.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
For N. Korean Missile, U.S. Defense Is Hit or Miss
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration has spent nearly $43 billion
over the last five years on missile defense systems, but with
North Korea poised to launch its most advanced missile yet, U.S.
government assessments and investigative reports indicate little
confidence in the centerpiece portion of the program. By Peter
Spiegel.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4S...Io30G2B0Hd1x0Eb
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration has spent nearly $43 billion
over the last five years on missile defense systems, but with
North Korea poised to launch its most advanced missile yet, U.S.
government assessments and investigative reports indicate little
confidence in the centerpiece portion of the program. By Peter
Spiegel.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4S...Io30G2B0Hd1x0Eb
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/fe...ml?id=110008544
Missile Defense Test
Time to shoot back at Kim Jong Il's latest provocation.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 12:01 a.m.
As we went to press in the U.S. last night, morning was breaking at the Musudan-ri launch facility in the remote northeast of North Korea. It's possible we'll wake up to the news that Pyongyang has tested the long-range ballistic missile that is fully fueled and which U.S. satellites have monitored for more than a month.
If so, we hope we'll also learn that the U.S. responded by testing its newly operational missile defense system and blowing the Korean provocation out of the sky. What better way to discourage would-be nuclear proliferators than to demonstrate that the U.S. is able to destroy their missiles before they hit our allies, or the U.S. homeland. Even a miss would be a useful learning experience all around.
Consider what's at stake. We've known for years that North Korea has several nuclear weapons at the very least and is developing the missile technology to threaten America. Pyongyang's test missile is believed to be a Taepodong-2. A two-stage version could reach Alaska, Hawaii or the West Coast, according to a study in March by the Center for Nonproliferation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, while a three-stage model could reach all of the continental U.S.
North Korea may not yet have the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead--but then again it may. In any event, it's small comfort that the Taepodong-2 is probably inaccurate. If it misses Seattle, that's not necessarily good news for Tacoma or Portland.
The last time North Korea launched a missile that caught the world's attention was in August 1998, when it shot a Taepodong-1 over Japan and into the Pacific. Pyongyang has since tested shorter-range missiles many times, including as recently as March. Its inventory of ballistic missiles totals about 800, including 100-200 Nodongs and Taepodong-1s capable of reaching Japan. North Korea is also developing a land-based mobile missile known as the Taepodong-X, with a range of 4,000 kilometers that could land anywhere in Japan.
Missile exports have also long been a major source of foreign exchange for Pyongyang, with customers in Pakistan (whose "Ghauri" missile is a renamed Nodong) and throughout the Middle East. Its longtime best customer is Iran, which last year was reported to have purchased technology that allowed it to extend the range of its Shahab-3 missile to 3,500 kilometers from 1,500. In the blunt words of the German daily Bild last December, "this means that the 'madmen of Iran' could reach targets in the whole of Germany."
All of which demonstrates once again the need for the missile defenses that the Bush Administration has steadily been developing. The objective of the integrated system--which U.S. officials stress is "limited" and still under development--is to provide a "layered" defense, with multiple opportunities to take shots at an incoming missile. The highly complex system depends on swift coordination among elements based on land, at sea, and in the air or space.
On the ground, a key element are the interceptor missiles newly deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There are also interceptors aboard the Navy's Aegis cruisers, two of which are currently patrolling near North Korea. Sensors are located aboard ships, in space, and at several sophisticated radar stations world-wide.
North Korea clearly intends any launch as an act of intimidation, part of its long-held belief that nuclear threats give it political leverage. Knocking the missile out of the sky, or even trying to, would tell the North that it can't succeed with such tactics. It would also reassure Japan and other U.S. allies that we have the will to protect them from rogue madmen. The demonstration effect would be useful around the world, not least in Iran.
As North Korea weighs a launch, it's a useful moment to recall how we got to this pass: Amid the arms-control era of the Cold War, the U.S. chose to defend itself against attack by plane or ship or ground but not by missile. One reason North Korea--and Iran--decided to invest scarce resources into developing nuclear weapons and ballistic-missiles is simply this: The U.S. was vulnerable.
The emerging missile defense system is making that less true, and a North Korean test launch is an ideal time to demonstrate that we are willing and able to defend ourselves.
Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Missile Defense Test
Time to shoot back at Kim Jong Il's latest provocation.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 12:01 a.m.
As we went to press in the U.S. last night, morning was breaking at the Musudan-ri launch facility in the remote northeast of North Korea. It's possible we'll wake up to the news that Pyongyang has tested the long-range ballistic missile that is fully fueled and which U.S. satellites have monitored for more than a month.
If so, we hope we'll also learn that the U.S. responded by testing its newly operational missile defense system and blowing the Korean provocation out of the sky. What better way to discourage would-be nuclear proliferators than to demonstrate that the U.S. is able to destroy their missiles before they hit our allies, or the U.S. homeland. Even a miss would be a useful learning experience all around.
Consider what's at stake. We've known for years that North Korea has several nuclear weapons at the very least and is developing the missile technology to threaten America. Pyongyang's test missile is believed to be a Taepodong-2. A two-stage version could reach Alaska, Hawaii or the West Coast, according to a study in March by the Center for Nonproliferation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, while a three-stage model could reach all of the continental U.S.
North Korea may not yet have the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead--but then again it may. In any event, it's small comfort that the Taepodong-2 is probably inaccurate. If it misses Seattle, that's not necessarily good news for Tacoma or Portland.
The last time North Korea launched a missile that caught the world's attention was in August 1998, when it shot a Taepodong-1 over Japan and into the Pacific. Pyongyang has since tested shorter-range missiles many times, including as recently as March. Its inventory of ballistic missiles totals about 800, including 100-200 Nodongs and Taepodong-1s capable of reaching Japan. North Korea is also developing a land-based mobile missile known as the Taepodong-X, with a range of 4,000 kilometers that could land anywhere in Japan.
Missile exports have also long been a major source of foreign exchange for Pyongyang, with customers in Pakistan (whose "Ghauri" missile is a renamed Nodong) and throughout the Middle East. Its longtime best customer is Iran, which last year was reported to have purchased technology that allowed it to extend the range of its Shahab-3 missile to 3,500 kilometers from 1,500. In the blunt words of the German daily Bild last December, "this means that the 'madmen of Iran' could reach targets in the whole of Germany."
All of which demonstrates once again the need for the missile defenses that the Bush Administration has steadily been developing. The objective of the integrated system--which U.S. officials stress is "limited" and still under development--is to provide a "layered" defense, with multiple opportunities to take shots at an incoming missile. The highly complex system depends on swift coordination among elements based on land, at sea, and in the air or space.
On the ground, a key element are the interceptor missiles newly deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There are also interceptors aboard the Navy's Aegis cruisers, two of which are currently patrolling near North Korea. Sensors are located aboard ships, in space, and at several sophisticated radar stations world-wide.
North Korea clearly intends any launch as an act of intimidation, part of its long-held belief that nuclear threats give it political leverage. Knocking the missile out of the sky, or even trying to, would tell the North that it can't succeed with such tactics. It would also reassure Japan and other U.S. allies that we have the will to protect them from rogue madmen. The demonstration effect would be useful around the world, not least in Iran.
As North Korea weighs a launch, it's a useful moment to recall how we got to this pass: Amid the arms-control era of the Cold War, the U.S. chose to defend itself against attack by plane or ship or ground but not by missile. One reason North Korea--and Iran--decided to invest scarce resources into developing nuclear weapons and ballistic-missiles is simply this: The U.S. was vulnerable.
The emerging missile defense system is making that less true, and a North Korean test launch is an ideal time to demonstrate that we are willing and able to defend ourselves.
Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If Necessary, Strike and Destroy
By Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry
OPINION: Former Defense Officials William J. Perry and Ashton B. Carter argue that the United States cannot allow North Korea to test its new missile.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
By Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry
OPINION: Former Defense Officials William J. Perry and Ashton B. Carter argue that the United States cannot allow North Korea to test its new missile.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
U.S. Rejects Suggestion to Strike N. Korea Before It Fires Missile
By Glenn Kessler
Senior Bush administration officials tried to ease tensions yesterday over a possible North Korean missile launch, playing down the idea of using the nascent missile defense system and brushing aside a provocative proposal to launch a preemptive strike against the missile site.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
By Glenn Kessler
Senior Bush administration officials tried to ease tensions yesterday over a possible North Korean missile launch, playing down the idea of using the nascent missile defense system and brushing aside a provocative proposal to launch a preemptive strike against the missile site.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/22/0...5.r0o3j49z.html
Successful missile intercept reported in US sea-based defense test
Jun 22 9:24 PM US/Eastern
A US warship successfully shot down a target missile warhead over the Pacific in a test of a sea-based missile defense system, the US military said.
A Japanese destroyer performed surveillance and tracking exercises during the test, marking the first time any US ally has taken part in a US missile defense intercept test, the US Missile Defense Agency said.
The test came amid a confrontation with North Korea over its preparations to launch a long-range missile.
The sea-based system tested off Hawaii is designed to counter only short or medium range missiles, but the cruisers and destroyers that took part are capable of tracking long-range missiles as well.
The mock warhead was launched over the Pacific atop a medium range missile and destroyed in a direct hit six minutes later with an SM-3 missile fired by the Aegis cruiser USS Shiloh, the agency said.
"The missile successfully intercepted the target warhead outside the earths atmosphere more than 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 250 miles northwest of Kauai," the agency said in a statement.
"We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill, a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles," Lieutenant General Trey Obering, the agency chief, said in the statement.
He said it was the seventh successful intercept using the sea-based missile defense system out of eight tries.
The test came as the United States said Thursday that North Korea would have to pay a "cost" if it launched a long range missile.
The US has said that North Korea is preparing to launch a multi-stage Taepodong-2 ballistic missile with a range of up to 6,700 kilometers (4,200 miles). US reports have said a launch was imminent.
US defense officials said the United States was ready to use its missile defense system if necessary against any threatening launch.
A North Korean missile test "would be a provocation and a dangerous action which would have to have some consequences." He told lawmakers "there would be a reaction, and it would be a mistake for North Korea to do it."
South Korea's Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said in Seoul that he did not believe a missile operation was imminent, but North Korea has received new warnings against making a launch.
Missile Defense Agency officials have said the missile interceptor test was long-planned and had nothing to do with North Korea's long-range missile launch plans.
But the agency's statement highlighted the role of the Japanese Aegis destroyer.
"This event marked the first time that an allied military unit participated in a US Aegis missile defense intercept test," it said.
It said the Japanese destroyer and a US Navy Aegis destroyer performed surveillance and tracking exercises during the test.
"This data can also be used to provide targeting information for other missile defense systems, including the ground-based long-range interceptor missiles now deployed in Alaska and California to protect all 50 states from a limited ballistic missile attack," the agency said.
A third Aegis destroyer used in the test linked up with a land-based missile defense radar to evaluate the ship's ability to receive and use target cueing data from missile defense command centers.
The mock warhead separated from the three-stage target missile. The direct hit marked only the second time a separating warhead has been successfully intercepted by a missile fired from an Aegis cruiser.
The cruisers use their modified Spy-1 radars and a shipboard battle management system to detect, track and target the warheads in space.
The SM-3 Block IA interceptor missile fired in Thursday's test is slated for deployment in the US Navy and had never been used before in an intercept test.
Copyright AFP 2005, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium
Successful missile intercept reported in US sea-based defense test
Jun 22 9:24 PM US/Eastern
A US warship successfully shot down a target missile warhead over the Pacific in a test of a sea-based missile defense system, the US military said.
A Japanese destroyer performed surveillance and tracking exercises during the test, marking the first time any US ally has taken part in a US missile defense intercept test, the US Missile Defense Agency said.
The test came amid a confrontation with North Korea over its preparations to launch a long-range missile.
The sea-based system tested off Hawaii is designed to counter only short or medium range missiles, but the cruisers and destroyers that took part are capable of tracking long-range missiles as well.
The mock warhead was launched over the Pacific atop a medium range missile and destroyed in a direct hit six minutes later with an SM-3 missile fired by the Aegis cruiser USS Shiloh, the agency said.
"The missile successfully intercepted the target warhead outside the earths atmosphere more than 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 250 miles northwest of Kauai," the agency said in a statement.
"We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill, a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles," Lieutenant General Trey Obering, the agency chief, said in the statement.
He said it was the seventh successful intercept using the sea-based missile defense system out of eight tries.
The test came as the United States said Thursday that North Korea would have to pay a "cost" if it launched a long range missile.
The US has said that North Korea is preparing to launch a multi-stage Taepodong-2 ballistic missile with a range of up to 6,700 kilometers (4,200 miles). US reports have said a launch was imminent.
US defense officials said the United States was ready to use its missile defense system if necessary against any threatening launch.
A North Korean missile test "would be a provocation and a dangerous action which would have to have some consequences." He told lawmakers "there would be a reaction, and it would be a mistake for North Korea to do it."
South Korea's Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said in Seoul that he did not believe a missile operation was imminent, but North Korea has received new warnings against making a launch.
Missile Defense Agency officials have said the missile interceptor test was long-planned and had nothing to do with North Korea's long-range missile launch plans.
But the agency's statement highlighted the role of the Japanese Aegis destroyer.
"This event marked the first time that an allied military unit participated in a US Aegis missile defense intercept test," it said.
It said the Japanese destroyer and a US Navy Aegis destroyer performed surveillance and tracking exercises during the test.
"This data can also be used to provide targeting information for other missile defense systems, including the ground-based long-range interceptor missiles now deployed in Alaska and California to protect all 50 states from a limited ballistic missile attack," the agency said.
A third Aegis destroyer used in the test linked up with a land-based missile defense radar to evaluate the ship's ability to receive and use target cueing data from missile defense command centers.
The mock warhead separated from the three-stage target missile. The direct hit marked only the second time a separating warhead has been successfully intercepted by a missile fired from an Aegis cruiser.
The cruisers use their modified Spy-1 radars and a shipboard battle management system to detect, track and target the warheads in space.
The SM-3 Block IA interceptor missile fired in Thursday's test is slated for deployment in the US Navy and had never been used before in an intercept test.
Copyright AFP 2005, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/20...e-defense_x.htm
U.S. still working kinks out of defense shield
Updated 6/21/2006 3:20 AM ET
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said Tuesday that Washington wants to have normal relations with North Korea, and urged the country not to test a missile, but instead to return to international nuclear talks.
By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration warns North Korea not to test a long-range missile, the U.S. missile-defense system remains a patchy and unproven shield, government studies and outside experts say.
President Bush ordered the Pentagon to start fielding prototype anti-missile rockets in 2004 to have at least some chance of destroying an intercontinental missile heading for the USA. Although there are 10 of those interceptors on bases in Alaska and California, their hurried deployment prevented complete testing and contributed to technical glitches and manufacturing problems, congressional investigators reported this year.
"Our system is still developing," Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff said Tuesday. "It's a limited missile-defense system right now."
Ruff and other Defense Department officials would not confirm reports by The Washington Times and Reuters that the missile-defense system had been switched to operational mode. "It's not like we can press a button and go on alert," spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka said.
The Pentagon now spends about $8 billion a year toward development of a network of systems designed to destroy enemy missiles, particularly those from Iran and North Korea. One of the most developed parts of that system is the handful of ground-based missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The interceptor rockets are meant to boost a "kill vehicle" into space, where its own sensors and ground-based radars would guide it to smash into an oncoming missile at 15,000 mph. The last successful test of the idea was in 2002.
Those interceptors have never been fully tested under real-world conditions, and the past two tests fizzled when the interceptors failed to launch.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, the Missile Defense Agency's commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April that he was confident the interceptors still provided "an initial defensive capability" despite the manufacturing problems blamed for the aborted tests. He said he had suspended testing and reviewed the program because of the failures.
"I believe we are back on track, but we will pause again if necessary," Obering said.
Philip Coyle, a longtime critic of the missile-defense program, said there's no firm evidence the interceptors would work against a North Korean missile. If North Korea test-fires a missile to the south, it would be out of range of the system anyway, said Coyle, a former director of weapons testing for the Pentagon.
"Suppose North Korea launches a missile and the MDA tried to shoot it down, and like in some of the recent tests, it failed," Coyle said. "It would be totally embarrassing. It would cause a huge uproar in Congress."
The ground-based missile-defense component was over budget by more than $365 million last year and delivered fewer interceptors than planned without proof they would work, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office this year. Inadequate oversight could have allowed some shoddy parts to be installed in the interceptors, the report said.
Rep. Duncan Huner, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says a limited anti-missile capability is better than none at all. The California Republican said the system is worth the billions spent.
"We're going to have to be able to stop an incoming ballistic missile," Hunter said. "That's a truth that liberals are going to have to accept."
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat on the Armed Services panel, dismissed Hunter's statement. "We want something that works," she said.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
U.S. still working kinks out of defense shield
Updated 6/21/2006 3:20 AM ET
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said Tuesday that Washington wants to have normal relations with North Korea, and urged the country not to test a missile, but instead to return to international nuclear talks.
By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration warns North Korea not to test a long-range missile, the U.S. missile-defense system remains a patchy and unproven shield, government studies and outside experts say.
President Bush ordered the Pentagon to start fielding prototype anti-missile rockets in 2004 to have at least some chance of destroying an intercontinental missile heading for the USA. Although there are 10 of those interceptors on bases in Alaska and California, their hurried deployment prevented complete testing and contributed to technical glitches and manufacturing problems, congressional investigators reported this year.
"Our system is still developing," Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff said Tuesday. "It's a limited missile-defense system right now."
Ruff and other Defense Department officials would not confirm reports by The Washington Times and Reuters that the missile-defense system had been switched to operational mode. "It's not like we can press a button and go on alert," spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka said.
The Pentagon now spends about $8 billion a year toward development of a network of systems designed to destroy enemy missiles, particularly those from Iran and North Korea. One of the most developed parts of that system is the handful of ground-based missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The interceptor rockets are meant to boost a "kill vehicle" into space, where its own sensors and ground-based radars would guide it to smash into an oncoming missile at 15,000 mph. The last successful test of the idea was in 2002.
Those interceptors have never been fully tested under real-world conditions, and the past two tests fizzled when the interceptors failed to launch.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, the Missile Defense Agency's commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April that he was confident the interceptors still provided "an initial defensive capability" despite the manufacturing problems blamed for the aborted tests. He said he had suspended testing and reviewed the program because of the failures.
"I believe we are back on track, but we will pause again if necessary," Obering said.
Philip Coyle, a longtime critic of the missile-defense program, said there's no firm evidence the interceptors would work against a North Korean missile. If North Korea test-fires a missile to the south, it would be out of range of the system anyway, said Coyle, a former director of weapons testing for the Pentagon.
"Suppose North Korea launches a missile and the MDA tried to shoot it down, and like in some of the recent tests, it failed," Coyle said. "It would be totally embarrassing. It would cause a huge uproar in Congress."
The ground-based missile-defense component was over budget by more than $365 million last year and delivered fewer interceptors than planned without proof they would work, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office this year. Inadequate oversight could have allowed some shoddy parts to be installed in the interceptors, the report said.
Rep. Duncan Huner, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says a limited anti-missile capability is better than none at all. The California Republican said the system is worth the billions spent.
"We're going to have to be able to stop an incoming ballistic missile," Hunter said. "That's a truth that liberals are going to have to accept."
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat on the Armed Services panel, dismissed Hunter's statement. "We want something that works," she said.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
Mondale backs pre-emptive missile strike Fri Jun 23, 1:01 PM ET
Former Vice President Walter Mondale said Friday he supports a pre-emptive U.S. strike against a North Korean missile, saying the U.S. should tell North Korea to dismantle the missile or "we are going to take it out."
"I think it would end the nuclear long-range dreams of this dangerous country," said Mondale, who was the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee and a former U.S. ambassador to Japan.
The tensions are over North Korea's apparent preparations to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile, which is believed to have a range of up to 9,300 miles. That would make it capable of hitting much of the U.S. mainland.
Mondale, 78, said North Korea already has nuclear weapons and its ambition to develop a long-range missile is "one of the most dangerous developments in recent history." It's so dangerous, he said, because of the nation's isolation from the international community and its unpredictable leader, Kim Jong Il.
"Here's this bizarre, hermit kingdom over there with a paranoid leader getting ready to test a missile system that can hit us," Mondale said.
Former President Clinton's defense secretary, William Perry, also advocated a pre-emptive strike in The Washington Post, but National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley brushed aside Perry's suggestion. Mondale spoke about a pre-emptive strike during an appearance on WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.
Mondale and President Jimmy Carter took office in 1976 and were defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. Mondale lost as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984. He was appointed ambassador to Japan in 1993 and is now practicing law in Minneapolis.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
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Former Vice President Walter Mondale said Friday he supports a pre-emptive U.S. strike against a North Korean missile, saying the U.S. should tell North Korea to dismantle the missile or "we are going to take it out."
"I think it would end the nuclear long-range dreams of this dangerous country," said Mondale, who was the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee and a former U.S. ambassador to Japan.
The tensions are over North Korea's apparent preparations to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile, which is believed to have a range of up to 9,300 miles. That would make it capable of hitting much of the U.S. mainland.
Mondale, 78, said North Korea already has nuclear weapons and its ambition to develop a long-range missile is "one of the most dangerous developments in recent history." It's so dangerous, he said, because of the nation's isolation from the international community and its unpredictable leader, Kim Jong Il.
"Here's this bizarre, hermit kingdom over there with a paranoid leader getting ready to test a missile system that can hit us," Mondale said.
Former President Clinton's defense secretary, William Perry, also advocated a pre-emptive strike in The Washington Post, but National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley brushed aside Perry's suggestion. Mondale spoke about a pre-emptive strike during an appearance on WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.
Mondale and President Jimmy Carter took office in 1976 and were defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. Mondale lost as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984. He was appointed ambassador to Japan in 1993 and is now practicing law in Minneapolis.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20...20347-7331r.htm
U.S. set to down Korean missile
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 23, 2006
BUDAPEST -- Senior Bush administration officials said publicly for the first time yesterday that the United States is set to shoot down any North Korean missile launch that threatens the United States.
National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, briefing reporters during President Bush's brief visit here, said the United States has a missile defense system with "limited operational capability" that could be used to try to shoot down an incoming North Korean missile, but he added that U.S. officials were vigorously pursuing a diplomatic push to head off a test launch by Pyongyang.
"The purpose, of course, of that missile defense system is to defend the territory of the United States from attack," Mr. Hadley said when asked if the United States would deploy the system should North Korea attack.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington that Mr. Bush has the power to order a shootdown, using one of 11 ground-based interceptors now located in Alaska and California.
"And the president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch, whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not, and the likely threat that it would pose," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.
Mr. Rumsfeld said intelligence reports suggest the North Koreans are "making preparations" for the launch of a new version of its Taepodong missile, efforts that have been under way for several days. "There's a lot we know, and a lot we don't know. So, we'll just have to see."
The new missile is thought to have the range to hit U.S. territory, prompting an outcry from the United States and key Asian nations who say such a test would violate a moratorium North Korea has observed since 1998.
In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry summoned the North Korean ambassador to warn against "undesirable steps" that could increase tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Reuters news agency that Tokyo was prepared to take "harsh measures" if the missile test went forward.
North Korea indicated Wednesday it was ready to put the launch on hold while offering dialogue with the United States. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean envoy at the United Nations, Han Song-ryol, as saying: "The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch. Our position is, 'OK then, let's talk about it.'?"
China, the North's principal economic and military ally, appealed to both Pyongyang and Washington for restraint.
"We hope that the related parties will resolve this problem through negotiations and dialogue," Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in an interview with South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper.
Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with CNN, rejected a suggestion by William Perry, defense secretary under President Clinton, that the United States destroy the North Korean launch site with a pre-emptive cruise missile attack rather than rely on the unproven missile defense shield.
"Obviously, if you're going to launch strikes at another nation, you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot," Mr. Cheney said, joking that he "appreciated" Mr. Perry's advice. "The fact of the matter is, I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Mr. Perry was entitled to his opinions as a private citizen, "but the government position is what our senior officials have publicly stated."
Mr. Hadley stressed repeatedly the United States wants to resolve both the missile test and the Korean nuclear crisis diplomatically. He told reporters the missile defense system existed for research purposes, but that it could be used to try to shoot down a missile in a threatening situation.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that the Pentagon has put its missile defense system on operational status in response to apparent preparations by the North for a missile test.
The national security adviser said North Korea has the capability to test the missile and said "preparations are very far along" to conduct the test.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told lawmakers, "It is our judgment that a launch is not imminent."
But he added that U.S. and South Korean forces were prepared to "intercept [a missile] immediately if it was fired toward South Korean territory."
• Bill Gertz and David R. Sands in Washington contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
U.S. set to down Korean missile
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 23, 2006
BUDAPEST -- Senior Bush administration officials said publicly for the first time yesterday that the United States is set to shoot down any North Korean missile launch that threatens the United States.
National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, briefing reporters during President Bush's brief visit here, said the United States has a missile defense system with "limited operational capability" that could be used to try to shoot down an incoming North Korean missile, but he added that U.S. officials were vigorously pursuing a diplomatic push to head off a test launch by Pyongyang.
"The purpose, of course, of that missile defense system is to defend the territory of the United States from attack," Mr. Hadley said when asked if the United States would deploy the system should North Korea attack.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington that Mr. Bush has the power to order a shootdown, using one of 11 ground-based interceptors now located in Alaska and California.
"And the president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch, whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not, and the likely threat that it would pose," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.
Mr. Rumsfeld said intelligence reports suggest the North Koreans are "making preparations" for the launch of a new version of its Taepodong missile, efforts that have been under way for several days. "There's a lot we know, and a lot we don't know. So, we'll just have to see."
The new missile is thought to have the range to hit U.S. territory, prompting an outcry from the United States and key Asian nations who say such a test would violate a moratorium North Korea has observed since 1998.
In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry summoned the North Korean ambassador to warn against "undesirable steps" that could increase tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Reuters news agency that Tokyo was prepared to take "harsh measures" if the missile test went forward.
North Korea indicated Wednesday it was ready to put the launch on hold while offering dialogue with the United States. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean envoy at the United Nations, Han Song-ryol, as saying: "The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch. Our position is, 'OK then, let's talk about it.'?"
China, the North's principal economic and military ally, appealed to both Pyongyang and Washington for restraint.
"We hope that the related parties will resolve this problem through negotiations and dialogue," Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in an interview with South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper.
Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with CNN, rejected a suggestion by William Perry, defense secretary under President Clinton, that the United States destroy the North Korean launch site with a pre-emptive cruise missile attack rather than rely on the unproven missile defense shield.
"Obviously, if you're going to launch strikes at another nation, you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot," Mr. Cheney said, joking that he "appreciated" Mr. Perry's advice. "The fact of the matter is, I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Mr. Perry was entitled to his opinions as a private citizen, "but the government position is what our senior officials have publicly stated."
Mr. Hadley stressed repeatedly the United States wants to resolve both the missile test and the Korean nuclear crisis diplomatically. He told reporters the missile defense system existed for research purposes, but that it could be used to try to shoot down a missile in a threatening situation.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that the Pentagon has put its missile defense system on operational status in response to apparent preparations by the North for a missile test.
The national security adviser said North Korea has the capability to test the missile and said "preparations are very far along" to conduct the test.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told lawmakers, "It is our judgment that a launch is not imminent."
But he added that U.S. and South Korean forces were prepared to "intercept [a missile] immediately if it was fired toward South Korean territory."
• Bill Gertz and David R. Sands in Washington contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
U.S. dismisses call to destroy N. Korea missile
The United States said Thursday that a U.S. missile-defense system under development has "limited operational capability" to protect against weapons such as the long-range missile North Korea is said to be near firing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13481845/from/ET/
The United States said Thursday that a U.S. missile-defense system under development has "limited operational capability" to protect against weapons such as the long-range missile North Korea is said to be near firing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13481845/from/ET/
S. Korean official: N. Korea missile test unlikely
A North Korean missile launch is not imminent, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday amid heightened tension in the region over a possible test-fire of a long-range missile by the communist nation.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13476356/from/ET/
A North Korean missile launch is not imminent, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday amid heightened tension in the region over a possible test-fire of a long-range missile by the communist nation.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13476356/from/ET/
U.S., Japan sign missile defense expansion plan
Japan and the United States signed an agreement Friday to expand their cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense shield, the Japanese foreign ministry announced.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13496055/from/ET/
Japan and the United States signed an agreement Friday to expand their cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense shield, the Japanese foreign ministry announced.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13496055/from/ET/
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2006/20060623_5496.html
Missile Defense Test Yields Successful 'Hit to Kill' Intercept
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2006 – The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy conducted a successful "hit to kill" missile defense test yesterday off the island of Kauai, Hawaii.
The test involved the launch of a Standard Missile 3 from the Aegis-class cruiser USS Shiloh to hit a "separating" target, meaning that the target warhead separated from its booster rocket, officials said.
"Hit to kill" technology uses direct collision of the interceptor missile with the target, destroying the target using only kinetic energy from the force of the collision.
It was the seventh successful intercept test involving the sea-based component of the nation's ballistic missile defense system in eight attempts, Missile Defense Agency officials noted.
"We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill, a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground and sea-based interceptor missiles," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering, Missile Defense Agency director.
At about noon Hawaii time -- 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time -- a target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai. USS Shiloh's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 3.6 Weapon System detected and tracked the target and "developed a fire control solution," officials said. About four minutes later, the USS Shiloh's crew fired the SM-3, and two minutes later the missile intercepted the target warhead outside the Earth's atmosphere, more than 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 250 miles northwest of Kauai.
This was the USS Shiloh's first missile defense test since completing modifications and upgrades to its SPY-1 radar and advanced communications system to make it capable of serving as a sea-based missile defense platform. It was also the first time the new weapon system configuration and a new missile configuration were used during the intercept mission.
Three Aegis destroyers also participated in the flight test. One Aegis destroyer, equipped with a modified version of the Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon system, linked with a land-based missile defense radar to evaluate the ability of the ship's missile defense system to receive and use target data via the missile defense system's command, control, battle management and communications architecture.
Two other Aegis destroyers stationed off Kauai, including one from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, performed long-range surveillance and track exercises. This information can also be used to provide targeting information for other missile defense systems, including the ground-based long-range interceptor missiles now deployed in Alaska and California, to protect all 50 states from a limited ballistic missile attack, officials said. This event marked the first time an allied military unit participated in a U.S. Aegis missile defense intercept test.
Another U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser used the flight test to support development of a SPY-1B radar modified by the addition of a new signal processor, collecting performance data on its increased target detection and discrimination capabilities.
(From a Missile Defense Agency news release.)
Missile Defense Test Yields Successful 'Hit to Kill' Intercept
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2006 – The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy conducted a successful "hit to kill" missile defense test yesterday off the island of Kauai, Hawaii.
The test involved the launch of a Standard Missile 3 from the Aegis-class cruiser USS Shiloh to hit a "separating" target, meaning that the target warhead separated from its booster rocket, officials said.
"Hit to kill" technology uses direct collision of the interceptor missile with the target, destroying the target using only kinetic energy from the force of the collision.
It was the seventh successful intercept test involving the sea-based component of the nation's ballistic missile defense system in eight attempts, Missile Defense Agency officials noted.
"We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill, a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground and sea-based interceptor missiles," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering, Missile Defense Agency director.
At about noon Hawaii time -- 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time -- a target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai. USS Shiloh's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 3.6 Weapon System detected and tracked the target and "developed a fire control solution," officials said. About four minutes later, the USS Shiloh's crew fired the SM-3, and two minutes later the missile intercepted the target warhead outside the Earth's atmosphere, more than 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 250 miles northwest of Kauai.
This was the USS Shiloh's first missile defense test since completing modifications and upgrades to its SPY-1 radar and advanced communications system to make it capable of serving as a sea-based missile defense platform. It was also the first time the new weapon system configuration and a new missile configuration were used during the intercept mission.
Three Aegis destroyers also participated in the flight test. One Aegis destroyer, equipped with a modified version of the Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon system, linked with a land-based missile defense radar to evaluate the ability of the ship's missile defense system to receive and use target data via the missile defense system's command, control, battle management and communications architecture.
Two other Aegis destroyers stationed off Kauai, including one from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, performed long-range surveillance and track exercises. This information can also be used to provide targeting information for other missile defense systems, including the ground-based long-range interceptor missiles now deployed in Alaska and California, to protect all 50 states from a limited ballistic missile attack, officials said. This event marked the first time an allied military unit participated in a U.S. Aegis missile defense intercept test.
Another U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser used the flight test to support development of a SPY-1B radar modified by the addition of a new signal processor, collecting performance data on its increased target detection and discrimination capabilities.
(From a Missile Defense Agency news release.)
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-071913-8647r
U.S. set to down North Korean missile
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Published June 23, 2006
BUDAPEST -- Senior Bush administration officials said publicly for the first time yesterday that the United States is set to shoot down any North Korean missile launch that threatens the United States.
National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, briefing reporters during President Bush's brief visit here, said the United States has a missile defense system with "limited operational capability" that could be used to try to shoot down an incoming North Korean missile, but he added that U.S. officials were vigorously pursuing a diplomatic push to head off a test launch by Pyongyang.
"The purpose, of course, of that missile defense system is to defend the territory of the United States from attack," Mr. Hadley said when asked if the United States would deploy the system should North Korea attack.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington that Mr. Bush has the power to order a shootdown, using one of 11 ground-based interceptors now located in Alaska and California.
"And the president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch, whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not, and the likely threat that it would pose," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.
Mr. Rumsfeld said intelligence reports suggest the North Koreans are "making preparations" for the launch of a new version of its Taepodong missile, efforts that have been under way for several days. "There's a lot we know, and a lot we don't know. So, we'll just have to see."
The new missile is thought to have the range to hit U.S. territory, prompting an outcry from the United States and key Asian nations who say such a test would violate a moratorium North Korea has observed since 1998.
In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry summoned the North Korean ambassador to warn against "undesirable steps" that could increase tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Reuters news agency that Tokyo was prepared to take "harsh measures" if the missile test went forward.
North Korea indicated Wednesday it was ready to put the launch on hold while offering dialogue with the United States. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean envoy at the United Nations, Han Song-ryol, as saying: "The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch. Our position is, 'OK then, let's talk about it.' "
China, the North's principal economic and military ally, appealed to both Pyongyang and Washington for restraint.
"We hope that the related parties will resolve this problem through negotiations and dialogue," Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in an interview with South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper.
Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with CNN, rejected a suggestion by William Perry, defense secretary under President Clinton, that the United States destroy the North Korean launch site with a pre-emptive cruise missile attack rather than rely on the unproven missile defense shield.
"Obviously, if you're going to launch strikes at another nation, you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot," Mr. Cheney said, joking that he "appreciated" Mr. Perry's advice. "The fact of the matter is, I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Mr. Perry was entitled to his opinions as a private citizen, "but the government position is what our senior officials have publicly stated."
Mr. Hadley stressed repeatedly the United States wants to resolve both the missile test and the Korean nuclear crisis diplomatically. He told reporters the missile defense system existed for research purposes, but that it could be used to try to shoot down a missile in a threatening situation.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that the Pentagon has put its missile defense system on operational status in response to apparent preparations by the North for a missile test.
The national security adviser said North Korea has the capability to test the missile and said "preparations are very far along" to conduct the test.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told lawmakers, "It is our judgment that a launch is not imminent."
But he added that U.S. and South Korean forces were prepared to "intercept [a missile] immediately if it was fired toward South Korean territory."
• Bill Gertz and David R. Sands in Washington contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
U.S. set to down North Korean missile
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Published June 23, 2006
BUDAPEST -- Senior Bush administration officials said publicly for the first time yesterday that the United States is set to shoot down any North Korean missile launch that threatens the United States.
National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, briefing reporters during President Bush's brief visit here, said the United States has a missile defense system with "limited operational capability" that could be used to try to shoot down an incoming North Korean missile, but he added that U.S. officials were vigorously pursuing a diplomatic push to head off a test launch by Pyongyang.
"The purpose, of course, of that missile defense system is to defend the territory of the United States from attack," Mr. Hadley said when asked if the United States would deploy the system should North Korea attack.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington that Mr. Bush has the power to order a shootdown, using one of 11 ground-based interceptors now located in Alaska and California.
"And the president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch, whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not, and the likely threat that it would pose," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.
Mr. Rumsfeld said intelligence reports suggest the North Koreans are "making preparations" for the launch of a new version of its Taepodong missile, efforts that have been under way for several days. "There's a lot we know, and a lot we don't know. So, we'll just have to see."
The new missile is thought to have the range to hit U.S. territory, prompting an outcry from the United States and key Asian nations who say such a test would violate a moratorium North Korea has observed since 1998.
In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry summoned the North Korean ambassador to warn against "undesirable steps" that could increase tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Reuters news agency that Tokyo was prepared to take "harsh measures" if the missile test went forward.
North Korea indicated Wednesday it was ready to put the launch on hold while offering dialogue with the United States. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean envoy at the United Nations, Han Song-ryol, as saying: "The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch. Our position is, 'OK then, let's talk about it.' "
China, the North's principal economic and military ally, appealed to both Pyongyang and Washington for restraint.
"We hope that the related parties will resolve this problem through negotiations and dialogue," Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in an interview with South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper.
Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with CNN, rejected a suggestion by William Perry, defense secretary under President Clinton, that the United States destroy the North Korean launch site with a pre-emptive cruise missile attack rather than rely on the unproven missile defense shield.
"Obviously, if you're going to launch strikes at another nation, you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot," Mr. Cheney said, joking that he "appreciated" Mr. Perry's advice. "The fact of the matter is, I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Mr. Perry was entitled to his opinions as a private citizen, "but the government position is what our senior officials have publicly stated."
Mr. Hadley stressed repeatedly the United States wants to resolve both the missile test and the Korean nuclear crisis diplomatically. He told reporters the missile defense system existed for research purposes, but that it could be used to try to shoot down a missile in a threatening situation.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that the Pentagon has put its missile defense system on operational status in response to apparent preparations by the North for a missile test.
The national security adviser said North Korea has the capability to test the missile and said "preparations are very far along" to conduct the test.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told lawmakers, "It is our judgment that a launch is not imminent."
But he added that U.S. and South Korean forces were prepared to "intercept [a missile] immediately if it was fired toward South Korean territory."
• Bill Gertz and David R. Sands in Washington contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...24-072609-7732r
U.S. confident in missile defense
By Rowan Scarborough
The Washington Times
Published June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The general in charge of developing a U.S. missile defense expressed confidence yesterday that the system would be able to shoot down an intercontinental missile should North Korea fire a three-stage rocket and the flight path threaten the United States.
"From what I've seen from our testing from the last several years ... and what I know about the system and its capabilities, I'm very confident," Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III told Reuters news service.
The prediction keeps the pressure on the Stalinist regime, which U.S. intelligence specialists think is preparing to launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile at a test facility in northeastern North Korea.
Gen. Obering's remark came the day after his Missile Defense Agency executed the seventh successful test of a sea-launched interceptor off the coast of Hawaii. While not necessarily timed for the current crisis, the Pacific Ocean test showed North Korea in dramatic fashion that the U.S. is ready to fire sea- or land-based interceptors to knock down a warhead during what is called the "mid-term stage" outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Earlier, on Thursday, White House National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley said President Bush is prepared to order an intercept if necessary. Former Defense Secretary William J. Perry urged the administration to respond to any launch with an air strike to destroy the new version of the multistage Taepodong-2.
The U.S., along with allies, is now engaged in extensive talks with North Korea to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its development of nuclear weapons. It is thought to already have two to four warheads. Analysts say the regime may be moving to launch a missile capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction as a way to somehow improve its current bargaining position. The new type of Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have a range of more than 5,000 miles, meaning it could reach Alaska or even the West Coast.
The U.S. acknowledges there is much it does not know about North Korea's intentions. Satellite photos have detected fuel trucks at the missile site, but it is not clear how much actual preparation has been made and any actual payload is also unknown. It conceivably could be a satellite North Korea wants to put into orbit, or a dummy warhead typically used in testing.
"It's very, very difficult to understand what they may have, how it may perform," the Associated Press quoted Gen. Obering as saying.
It is that uncertainty that has the Bush administration actively debating under what circumstances to try to shoot the missile down. One possible risk would be that the interceptor misses the North Korean missile, exposing the defense system as severely flawed.
Asked by CNN about the option of destroying the Taepodong-2 on the launch pad, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "I think at this stage we are addressing the issue in the proper fashion. And I think, obviously, if you're going to launch a strike at another nation you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot. ... I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
The limited U.S. missile defense system today includes 11 ground-base interceptors in Alaska and Standard Missile-3s aboard Aegis-class cruisers at sea.
Japan, which cringed as North Korea test-fired a Taepodong above its territory in 1998, has joined the defense system by agreeing to host a huge high-resolution tracking radar, now in use.
Yesterday, Japan and the U.S. moved to strengthen the cooperation by signing new agreements on joint research.
On Thursday's successful sea-launched interceptor, Gen. Obering said, "We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill -- a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles."
U.S. confident in missile defense
By Rowan Scarborough
The Washington Times
Published June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The general in charge of developing a U.S. missile defense expressed confidence yesterday that the system would be able to shoot down an intercontinental missile should North Korea fire a three-stage rocket and the flight path threaten the United States.
"From what I've seen from our testing from the last several years ... and what I know about the system and its capabilities, I'm very confident," Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III told Reuters news service.
The prediction keeps the pressure on the Stalinist regime, which U.S. intelligence specialists think is preparing to launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile at a test facility in northeastern North Korea.
Gen. Obering's remark came the day after his Missile Defense Agency executed the seventh successful test of a sea-launched interceptor off the coast of Hawaii. While not necessarily timed for the current crisis, the Pacific Ocean test showed North Korea in dramatic fashion that the U.S. is ready to fire sea- or land-based interceptors to knock down a warhead during what is called the "mid-term stage" outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Earlier, on Thursday, White House National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley said President Bush is prepared to order an intercept if necessary. Former Defense Secretary William J. Perry urged the administration to respond to any launch with an air strike to destroy the new version of the multistage Taepodong-2.
The U.S., along with allies, is now engaged in extensive talks with North Korea to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its development of nuclear weapons. It is thought to already have two to four warheads. Analysts say the regime may be moving to launch a missile capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction as a way to somehow improve its current bargaining position. The new type of Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have a range of more than 5,000 miles, meaning it could reach Alaska or even the West Coast.
The U.S. acknowledges there is much it does not know about North Korea's intentions. Satellite photos have detected fuel trucks at the missile site, but it is not clear how much actual preparation has been made and any actual payload is also unknown. It conceivably could be a satellite North Korea wants to put into orbit, or a dummy warhead typically used in testing.
"It's very, very difficult to understand what they may have, how it may perform," the Associated Press quoted Gen. Obering as saying.
It is that uncertainty that has the Bush administration actively debating under what circumstances to try to shoot the missile down. One possible risk would be that the interceptor misses the North Korean missile, exposing the defense system as severely flawed.
Asked by CNN about the option of destroying the Taepodong-2 on the launch pad, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "I think at this stage we are addressing the issue in the proper fashion. And I think, obviously, if you're going to launch a strike at another nation you'd better be prepared to not just fire one shot. ... I think the issue is being addressed appropriately."
The limited U.S. missile defense system today includes 11 ground-base interceptors in Alaska and Standard Missile-3s aboard Aegis-class cruisers at sea.
Japan, which cringed as North Korea test-fired a Taepodong above its territory in 1998, has joined the defense system by agreeing to host a huge high-resolution tracking radar, now in use.
Yesterday, Japan and the U.S. moved to strengthen the cooperation by signing new agreements on joint research.
On Thursday's successful sea-launched interceptor, Gen. Obering said, "We are continuing to see great success with the very challenging technology of hit-to-kill -- a technology that is used for all of our missile defense ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles."
His name is Ted Postal. He is the Administration's arch critic at MIT on this program, pointing out flaws in the physics. One can argue that we won't know if it works unless we try it. But the message that gets sent if it fails is not a good one. Sort of like being between a rock and a hard place.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF24Dg01.html
Hollow US defense for an empty threat
By David Isenberg
WASHINGTON - The news that North Korean is preparing to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 1998 is the latest "threat" to roil the international scene.
Predictably, duly certified experts have gone public to wring their hands, intone what a grave menace such a launch represents, and prescribe solutions. Thus far, the most ludicrous is the June 22 Washington Post op-ed by Ashton B Carter and William J Perry, who were respectively assistant secretary of defense and secretary of defense under US president Bill Clinton and are now professors at Harvard and Stanford universities, who wrote that the United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong 2 missile before it can be launched.
This is premature, to say the least, considering North Korea may
not even have an ICBM. According to DefenseTech, a leading website on military technology, the North Koreans have previously launched exactly one intermediate-range ballistic missile. That missile, a combination of smaller Nodong and Scud missiles - went about 2,000 kilometers or so.
Now, US intelligence assumes the North Koreans have been working on strapping together more Nodong and Scud engines for an ICBM - something that can reach three to five times as far, and hit the United States. But no one has actually seen the missile. Even how many stages the mystery missile has is unknown; some folks say two, others say three.
But, by far, the most laughable news is the US government announcement that it is activating its missile defense system. This, no doubt, is causing the North Korean leaders to shake - in fits of laughter. One can only imagine some flunky saying, "Good news, Dear Leader: the American imperialists have activated their missile defense system. Now we can launch."
The activation of the system is what one can only call a Pyrrhic readiness gesture, considering the system has a particularly distinguished record of failures in its operational tests to date and is still considered to be in the laughing-stock stage by most impartial experts.
As most people have learned in the 20-plus years since the late president Ronald Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983, shooting down an incoming ICBM even under the best of conditions is a daunting challenge.
And the US missile defense system is far from perfect. Phillip Coyle III, a senior adviser at the Center for Defense Information and former assistant secretary of defense and director, operational test and evaluation, said this in January:
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has not had a successful flight intercept test with its Ground-based Missile Defense (GMD) system for three and a half years. In the most recent two flight-intercept tests, the interceptor never got off the ground. Nevertheless the GMD system is being deployed in Alaska and California. The MDA plans 20 or 30 more developmental flight-intercept tests before they will be ready for realistic operational testing. At the current rate of success it could take over 50 years before the system was ready to be tested under realistic operational conditions.
If spending rises as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, US taxpayers could spend more than a trillion dollars on missile defense in that period. This does not include the roughly US$100 billion already spent on missile defense since Reagan's "Star Wars" speech in 1983.
Currently, the Pentagon spends about $8 billion a year on national missile defense. The ground-based missile-defense component was over budget by more than $365 million last year and delivered fewer interceptors than planned without proof they would work, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office this year.
Even the few so-called successful tests of the GMD system are dubious. According to Coyle, flight-intercept tests have been conducted under artificial and unrealistic conditions.
Examples include prior knowledge by the defender as to the time of attack, the type of attacking missile, its trajectory and intended target location, and the makeup of its payload. No real enemy would ever knowingly provide such information to the US military in advance of an attack.
As a result, while there have been 10 flight-intercept tests of the GMD system since 1999, five of which were successful, the GMD system has no demonstrated capability to defend the US under realistic operational conditions. In fact, the system has not successfully intercepted a single missile in its current configuration.
The Washington, DC-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation put out a news release noting that the past tests of the system prove an intercept is feasible only:
When operators know in advance the location of a single target missile, the date and time of its launch and its flight trajectory.
When a surrogate booster rocket launches the missile, which flies at slower than normal speed in daylight and good weather.
When the target re-entry vehicle is equipped with global-positioning technology and a radar beacon to send its position to a surrogate ground-control radar.
Actually, things are even worse. According to Victoria Samson, also of the Center for Defense Information, the GMD program has nine interceptors on the ground in Fort Greely, Alaska, and two more in Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. And the last test intercept was made in October 2002. The past two times - December 2004 and February 2005 - the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) tried to attempt an intercept, the US rocket didn't even leave the launch pad. (For the latter, it turned out that the arms holding the missiles up in their silos weren't properly built for the salty environment in which they were fielded, so the MDA is replacing those components in all the silos.)
Furthermore, Samson notes, the radar system that is needed to help detect missile launches, the sea-based X-Band Radar (SBX), is still undergoing tests outside Hawaii - nowhere near its home port of Adak, Alaska. The satellite network being built to track missiles once they're launched - the Space-Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) - isn't planning its initial launch of two test satellites until next year, with the goal of getting the system up and running somewhere around 2012.
And the command and control system necessary to link everything together was cited in a recent report by the Pentagon's Inspector General's Office as having such poor network security that it very well could be hacked. That report proved so embarrassing that the Pentagon subsequently removed it from the inspector general's website.
However, there is one bit of good news. Samson said the program did have significant success in that last December the MDA held a flight test where the major goal was to get the rocket off the ground. That they were able to do.
David Isenberg, a senior analyst with the Washington-based British American Security Information Council (BASIC), has a wide background in arms-control and national-security issues. The views expressed are his own.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Hollow US defense for an empty threat
By David Isenberg
WASHINGTON - The news that North Korean is preparing to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 1998 is the latest "threat" to roil the international scene.
Predictably, duly certified experts have gone public to wring their hands, intone what a grave menace such a launch represents, and prescribe solutions. Thus far, the most ludicrous is the June 22 Washington Post op-ed by Ashton B Carter and William J Perry, who were respectively assistant secretary of defense and secretary of defense under US president Bill Clinton and are now professors at Harvard and Stanford universities, who wrote that the United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong 2 missile before it can be launched.
This is premature, to say the least, considering North Korea may
not even have an ICBM. According to DefenseTech, a leading website on military technology, the North Koreans have previously launched exactly one intermediate-range ballistic missile. That missile, a combination of smaller Nodong and Scud missiles - went about 2,000 kilometers or so.
Now, US intelligence assumes the North Koreans have been working on strapping together more Nodong and Scud engines for an ICBM - something that can reach three to five times as far, and hit the United States. But no one has actually seen the missile. Even how many stages the mystery missile has is unknown; some folks say two, others say three.
But, by far, the most laughable news is the US government announcement that it is activating its missile defense system. This, no doubt, is causing the North Korean leaders to shake - in fits of laughter. One can only imagine some flunky saying, "Good news, Dear Leader: the American imperialists have activated their missile defense system. Now we can launch."
The activation of the system is what one can only call a Pyrrhic readiness gesture, considering the system has a particularly distinguished record of failures in its operational tests to date and is still considered to be in the laughing-stock stage by most impartial experts.
As most people have learned in the 20-plus years since the late president Ronald Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983, shooting down an incoming ICBM even under the best of conditions is a daunting challenge.
And the US missile defense system is far from perfect. Phillip Coyle III, a senior adviser at the Center for Defense Information and former assistant secretary of defense and director, operational test and evaluation, said this in January:
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has not had a successful flight intercept test with its Ground-based Missile Defense (GMD) system for three and a half years. In the most recent two flight-intercept tests, the interceptor never got off the ground. Nevertheless the GMD system is being deployed in Alaska and California. The MDA plans 20 or 30 more developmental flight-intercept tests before they will be ready for realistic operational testing. At the current rate of success it could take over 50 years before the system was ready to be tested under realistic operational conditions.
If spending rises as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, US taxpayers could spend more than a trillion dollars on missile defense in that period. This does not include the roughly US$100 billion already spent on missile defense since Reagan's "Star Wars" speech in 1983.
Currently, the Pentagon spends about $8 billion a year on national missile defense. The ground-based missile-defense component was over budget by more than $365 million last year and delivered fewer interceptors than planned without proof they would work, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office this year.
Even the few so-called successful tests of the GMD system are dubious. According to Coyle, flight-intercept tests have been conducted under artificial and unrealistic conditions.
Examples include prior knowledge by the defender as to the time of attack, the type of attacking missile, its trajectory and intended target location, and the makeup of its payload. No real enemy would ever knowingly provide such information to the US military in advance of an attack.
As a result, while there have been 10 flight-intercept tests of the GMD system since 1999, five of which were successful, the GMD system has no demonstrated capability to defend the US under realistic operational conditions. In fact, the system has not successfully intercepted a single missile in its current configuration.
The Washington, DC-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation put out a news release noting that the past tests of the system prove an intercept is feasible only:
When operators know in advance the location of a single target missile, the date and time of its launch and its flight trajectory.
When a surrogate booster rocket launches the missile, which flies at slower than normal speed in daylight and good weather.
When the target re-entry vehicle is equipped with global-positioning technology and a radar beacon to send its position to a surrogate ground-control radar.
Actually, things are even worse. According to Victoria Samson, also of the Center for Defense Information, the GMD program has nine interceptors on the ground in Fort Greely, Alaska, and two more in Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. And the last test intercept was made in October 2002. The past two times - December 2004 and February 2005 - the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) tried to attempt an intercept, the US rocket didn't even leave the launch pad. (For the latter, it turned out that the arms holding the missiles up in their silos weren't properly built for the salty environment in which they were fielded, so the MDA is replacing those components in all the silos.)
Furthermore, Samson notes, the radar system that is needed to help detect missile launches, the sea-based X-Band Radar (SBX), is still undergoing tests outside Hawaii - nowhere near its home port of Adak, Alaska. The satellite network being built to track missiles once they're launched - the Space-Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) - isn't planning its initial launch of two test satellites until next year, with the goal of getting the system up and running somewhere around 2012.
And the command and control system necessary to link everything together was cited in a recent report by the Pentagon's Inspector General's Office as having such poor network security that it very well could be hacked. That report proved so embarrassing that the Pentagon subsequently removed it from the inspector general's website.
However, there is one bit of good news. Samson said the program did have significant success in that last December the MDA held a flight test where the major goal was to get the rocket off the ground. That they were able to do.
David Isenberg, a senior analyst with the Washington-based British American Security Information Council (BASIC), has a wide background in arms-control and national-security issues. The views expressed are his own.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/26/D8IFNVOG1.html
Japan Agrees to US Deployment of Missiles
Jun 26 2:33 AM US/Eastern
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO
Japan and the United States have agreed to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday.
The agreement earlier this month came amid concerns that North Korea may be about to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.
The U.S. plans to deploy the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles _ designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or aircraft _ as soon as possible, a Japanese Defense Agency spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy, said the sites and timing for the deployment have not yet been decided.
The plan was first reported Monday in Japan's largest newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. It said the U.S. military would deploy three or four batteries of the surface-to-air missiles on the southern island of Okinawa by the end of the year and send 500-600 additional U.S. troops there.
Up to 16 missiles can fit in a single PAC-3 battery, according to the system's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Corp.
The plan was proposed by U.S. officials during a June 17 meeting in Hawaii, the newspaper said.
Japan and the U.S. signed an agreement in 2005 allowing Japan to produce PAC-3 missiles for deployment during fiscal 2006 at Japanese bases. But the deployment plans for Okinawa are apparently separate from that deal.
Recent intelligence reports indicate North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile within days and is fueling the missile at a launch site on the country's northeastern coast.
The concerns have prompted the U.S. to move up its planned test of a missile-detecting radar system in northern Japan, Kyodo News agency reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official in Washington.
A test run of the high-resolution radar, capable of detecting incoming missiles, was initially scheduled to begin weeks later. However, Kyodo said testing could start as early as Monday.
Japanese Defense Facilities Administration Agency, in charge of U.S. military bases in Japan, said the report could not be immediately confirmed.
The so-called X-Band radar had been transferred from a U.S. base in Japan to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's Shariki base at Tsugaru, in the country's north. Tsugaru is 360 miles northeast of Tokyo.
The radar deployment is part of the joint missile defense project, which began after North Korea fired a missile, part of which flew over Japan, in 1998.
Tokyo and Washington on Friday also signed an agreement to expand their cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense shield, committing themselves to joint production of interceptor missiles.
The agreement had been previously negotiated and was not triggered by emerging fears of a possible North Korean missile test, officials said.
There has been speculation that the U.S. could try to intercept the missile if it is fired.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Japan Agrees to US Deployment of Missiles
Jun 26 2:33 AM US/Eastern
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO
Japan and the United States have agreed to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday.
The agreement earlier this month came amid concerns that North Korea may be about to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.
The U.S. plans to deploy the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles _ designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or aircraft _ as soon as possible, a Japanese Defense Agency spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy, said the sites and timing for the deployment have not yet been decided.
The plan was first reported Monday in Japan's largest newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. It said the U.S. military would deploy three or four batteries of the surface-to-air missiles on the southern island of Okinawa by the end of the year and send 500-600 additional U.S. troops there.
Up to 16 missiles can fit in a single PAC-3 battery, according to the system's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Corp.
The plan was proposed by U.S. officials during a June 17 meeting in Hawaii, the newspaper said.
Japan and the U.S. signed an agreement in 2005 allowing Japan to produce PAC-3 missiles for deployment during fiscal 2006 at Japanese bases. But the deployment plans for Okinawa are apparently separate from that deal.
Recent intelligence reports indicate North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile within days and is fueling the missile at a launch site on the country's northeastern coast.
The concerns have prompted the U.S. to move up its planned test of a missile-detecting radar system in northern Japan, Kyodo News agency reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official in Washington.
A test run of the high-resolution radar, capable of detecting incoming missiles, was initially scheduled to begin weeks later. However, Kyodo said testing could start as early as Monday.
Japanese Defense Facilities Administration Agency, in charge of U.S. military bases in Japan, said the report could not be immediately confirmed.
The so-called X-Band radar had been transferred from a U.S. base in Japan to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's Shariki base at Tsugaru, in the country's north. Tsugaru is 360 miles northeast of Tokyo.
The radar deployment is part of the joint missile defense project, which began after North Korea fired a missile, part of which flew over Japan, in 1998.
Tokyo and Washington on Friday also signed an agreement to expand their cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense shield, committing themselves to joint production of interceptor missiles.
The agreement had been previously negotiated and was not triggered by emerging fears of a possible North Korean missile test, officials said.
There has been speculation that the U.S. could try to intercept the missile if it is fired.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...24-023106-2454r
Ballistic Missile Defense: Can US shoot down Taepodong 2?
By Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
Published June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- North Korea is preparing to test launch its Taepodong 2 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 2,100 miles to 2,700 miles. The Washington Times has reported that America's high-tech, controversial and cutting edge ballistic missile defense system was activated in response.
In the past five and a half years, the Bush administration has spent at least $35 billion to deploy that system. What has it got for all that money?.
A lot has certainly been done. Some, 11 ground-based midcourse interceptors, or GBIs are now deployed against exactly the kind of potential threat that North Korea's Taepodong 2 represents. Some nine of them are deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska and another two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
A thoughtful study by Harold C. Hutchison published Friday on StrategyPage.com weighed the pros and cons of whether U.S. forces should seek to shoot down the Taepodong 2 when it is test-launched, possibly as early as this weekend.
On the "plus" side, Hutchison notes, trying to shoot down Taepodong 2 would be a "real world" test the GBIs at Fort Greeley and Vandenberg that would be as close as they could get to a "real world" situation without an actual attack.
"A successful takedown of a missile would make the American ballistic missile defense system a very real consideration for China and North Korea, rendering their arsenal of ballistic missiles obsolete," Hutchison wrote. "It would go a long way towards blunting threats to American allies in the region."
However, there is also the not insignificant fact that shooting down another nation's test-fired ICBM could be interpreted as an act of war. And it would be unprecedented international behavior. No nation has ever sought to prevent another nation testing its own ICBMs by either shooting them down or taking preemptive military action against their launch pads.
Also, Hutchison notes, "It might take more than one shot to hit the missile -- and the United States has a very small number of GBIs."
Further, he pointed out, "Potential opponents would learn a great deal about the American missile-defense system -- and such information could make the system's task harder in a real war.
The biggest question mark surrounding the GBIs, however, is how reliably they will work. Five out of the last eight tests of them proved successful. But the most recent three tests did not. In two of those tests, in December 2004 and on Feb. 14, 2005, the GBIs never launched at all.
The reasons for at least two of these failures were not failures of the most ambitious high tech systems involved in the program, but simple little engineering glitches. And they occurred because the civil echelon at the Pentagon in the first Bush administration, headed by current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his then-top deputies, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith drove the main program contractors and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to deploy the first wave of GBIs at Fort Greeley so fast that even the separate parts of them were not adequately component tested. Over the past two years, the MBA, headed by Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering III, has been working round the clock to upgrade its checks and maintenance programs on the interceptors.
However, if the U.S. armed forces needed to shoot down a Tapeodong 2, their best bet might not be the controversial GBIs in Alaska, but using their RIM 161A anti-ballistic missiles, better-known as Standard Missile-3s, deployed on Aegis class cruisers and destroyers in the Sea of Japan and the Western Pacific Ocean.
The first of those warships and ABM systems have been operational since September 2004.
Hutchison in his analysis noted that the SM-3 has a range of over 300 miles and is able to hit targets up to 100 miles above sea level "with a kinetic kill vehicle that uses infra-red guidance, which destroys incoming warheads with a direct impact," traveling at almost 6,000 miles per hour.
"The SM-3 is still undergoing some flight tests, but has already been deployed," Hutchison wrote. "In November, 2005, one flight test using an operational missile achieved a kill via a direct impact on a target. At least fifteen Aegis vessels in the United States Navy have been equipped to track intercontinental ballistic missiles, and at least three cruisers have been equipped to engage ballistic missiles."
Writing in "The World Crisis," his personalized history of World War I, Winston Churchill who was the civilian head of Britain's Royal Navy in the opening months o that conflict, noted how at the 1915 Battle of the Dogger Bank decades of theory and millions of pounds and marks of investment by Britain and Germany in their battlecruiser fleets were put to the test in only 20 minutes of high speed action.
What Churchill did not dwell upon was that the following year at the 1916 Battle of Jutland his own beloved battlecruisers proved fatally flawed. Three of them blew up within minutes of each other instantly killing 6,000 British sailors.
It is likely that the arrayed ABM defenses the U.S. armed forces have already rushed into deployment would prove sufficient to handle the threat of a Taepodong 2, or even two or three of them. But no such conflict has yet been fought and uncertainties abound among prospective attackers and defenders alike. It would be better for all if the issue was never brought to the test.
Ballistic Missile Defense: Can US shoot down Taepodong 2?
By Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
Published June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- North Korea is preparing to test launch its Taepodong 2 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 2,100 miles to 2,700 miles. The Washington Times has reported that America's high-tech, controversial and cutting edge ballistic missile defense system was activated in response.
In the past five and a half years, the Bush administration has spent at least $35 billion to deploy that system. What has it got for all that money?.
A lot has certainly been done. Some, 11 ground-based midcourse interceptors, or GBIs are now deployed against exactly the kind of potential threat that North Korea's Taepodong 2 represents. Some nine of them are deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska and another two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
A thoughtful study by Harold C. Hutchison published Friday on StrategyPage.com weighed the pros and cons of whether U.S. forces should seek to shoot down the Taepodong 2 when it is test-launched, possibly as early as this weekend.
On the "plus" side, Hutchison notes, trying to shoot down Taepodong 2 would be a "real world" test the GBIs at Fort Greeley and Vandenberg that would be as close as they could get to a "real world" situation without an actual attack.
"A successful takedown of a missile would make the American ballistic missile defense system a very real consideration for China and North Korea, rendering their arsenal of ballistic missiles obsolete," Hutchison wrote. "It would go a long way towards blunting threats to American allies in the region."
However, there is also the not insignificant fact that shooting down another nation's test-fired ICBM could be interpreted as an act of war. And it would be unprecedented international behavior. No nation has ever sought to prevent another nation testing its own ICBMs by either shooting them down or taking preemptive military action against their launch pads.
Also, Hutchison notes, "It might take more than one shot to hit the missile -- and the United States has a very small number of GBIs."
Further, he pointed out, "Potential opponents would learn a great deal about the American missile-defense system -- and such information could make the system's task harder in a real war.
The biggest question mark surrounding the GBIs, however, is how reliably they will work. Five out of the last eight tests of them proved successful. But the most recent three tests did not. In two of those tests, in December 2004 and on Feb. 14, 2005, the GBIs never launched at all.
The reasons for at least two of these failures were not failures of the most ambitious high tech systems involved in the program, but simple little engineering glitches. And they occurred because the civil echelon at the Pentagon in the first Bush administration, headed by current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his then-top deputies, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith drove the main program contractors and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to deploy the first wave of GBIs at Fort Greeley so fast that even the separate parts of them were not adequately component tested. Over the past two years, the MBA, headed by Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering III, has been working round the clock to upgrade its checks and maintenance programs on the interceptors.
However, if the U.S. armed forces needed to shoot down a Tapeodong 2, their best bet might not be the controversial GBIs in Alaska, but using their RIM 161A anti-ballistic missiles, better-known as Standard Missile-3s, deployed on Aegis class cruisers and destroyers in the Sea of Japan and the Western Pacific Ocean.
The first of those warships and ABM systems have been operational since September 2004.
Hutchison in his analysis noted that the SM-3 has a range of over 300 miles and is able to hit targets up to 100 miles above sea level "with a kinetic kill vehicle that uses infra-red guidance, which destroys incoming warheads with a direct impact," traveling at almost 6,000 miles per hour.
"The SM-3 is still undergoing some flight tests, but has already been deployed," Hutchison wrote. "In November, 2005, one flight test using an operational missile achieved a kill via a direct impact on a target. At least fifteen Aegis vessels in the United States Navy have been equipped to track intercontinental ballistic missiles, and at least three cruisers have been equipped to engage ballistic missiles."
Writing in "The World Crisis," his personalized history of World War I, Winston Churchill who was the civilian head of Britain's Royal Navy in the opening months o that conflict, noted how at the 1915 Battle of the Dogger Bank decades of theory and millions of pounds and marks of investment by Britain and Germany in their battlecruiser fleets were put to the test in only 20 minutes of high speed action.
What Churchill did not dwell upon was that the following year at the 1916 Battle of Jutland his own beloved battlecruisers proved fatally flawed. Three of them blew up within minutes of each other instantly killing 6,000 British sailors.
It is likely that the arrayed ABM defenses the U.S. armed forces have already rushed into deployment would prove sufficient to handle the threat of a Taepodong 2, or even two or three of them. But no such conflict has yet been fought and uncertainties abound among prospective attackers and defenders alike. It would be better for all if the issue was never brought to the test.
U.S. to Deploy Patriot Missiles In Japan to Counter North Korea
By Anthony Faiola
TOKYO, June 27 -- The Pentagon is reportedly speeding up plans to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time, a countermeasure seen as a response to the increasing threat of North Korean missiles.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
By Anthony Faiola
TOKYO, June 27 -- The Pentagon is reportedly speeding up plans to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on U.S. bases in Japan for the first time, a countermeasure seen as a response to the increasing threat of North Korean missiles.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062806M.shtml
Missile Dysfunction
By Dennis Jett
The Anniston Star
Wednesday 28 June 2006
For two countries that are edging toward confrontation, the United States and North Korea have a lot in common. For instance, both have missile systems that don't work. But that's OK, since both have deployed them for political reasons and not military ones.
A confrontation is looming because the North Koreans are preparing to test a long range missile, the Taepodong-2, that some say could hit the United States. They have not tested it in eight years, however. And the last time they did, it flew only about 800 miles and failed to go into orbit.
Washington is responding to this threat by saying it might shoot the North Korean missile down. The only problem is the U.S. missile defense system is no more potent than the North Korean one.
The system's shortcomings are not due to a lack of funds. Since the Reagan administration, the United States has spent $92 billion on the missile defense program. Nearly half that amount was in the last five years, and the Pentagon plans to spend another $58 billion in the next six years.
What has all that money bought us? A ground-based system that has not undergone a successful test in four years. A major part of the problem is the Bush ad?inistration has pushed for deployment and development at the same time. The result is a system judged to be unreliable by the Government Accountability Office and Pentagon's own inspectors. So much so that the GAO has recommended that the first nine interceptors that have been deployed should be removed from their silos and rebuilt because they are not "appropriate for use in space."
The North Koreans are brandishing an unreliable missile because they want attention and leverage when they negotiate economic concessions in exchange for freezing some of their weapons programs. The dictator in charge, Kim Jong Il, may think he is not being taken seriously and wants the folks at home to know foreigners consider him a major league menace. Less geeky glasses and a new hairdo would be more effective.
As for American intentions, it is worth pointing out that the $10 billion a year that goes for missile defense is four times what is spent on energy research and development and five times the entire North Korean defense budget. One might ask which represents a bigger problem for the U.S. - a North Korean missile attack or our dependence on foreign oil?
Here's a hint - there is no real threat of a North Korean attack. Intercontinental missiles can be tracked on radar and therefore their origin is unambiguous. Kim knows he would be toast shortly after he launched. Dictators are ruthless, but they are not crazy and they are not suicidal. They get up every day and the only thing on their agenda is survival and maintaining their power. They leave the jihads to others.
So what is the purpose of spending so much money on a system that doesn't work when our addiction to imported oil and a couple dozen other problems are far more pressing? Because the purpose of the missile defense system is to defend against Democrats. Anyone not willing to waste $10 billion a year on a worthless missile system is clearly weak on defense.
Besides, Republican stalwarts can have a good second career selling themselves to the military industrial complex. Having never worn a uniform does not mean a lack of military experience for those who have been relentless in their support for defense spending. And as the recently convicted, former Congressman Duke Cunningham demonstrated, you don't even have to leave office to do it.
So sleep easy tonight, America. Your government is on guard and ready to protect you against a threat that does not exist with a defense system that does not work. Except in elections.
--------
Missile Dysfunction
By Dennis Jett
The Anniston Star
Wednesday 28 June 2006
For two countries that are edging toward confrontation, the United States and North Korea have a lot in common. For instance, both have missile systems that don't work. But that's OK, since both have deployed them for political reasons and not military ones.
A confrontation is looming because the North Koreans are preparing to test a long range missile, the Taepodong-2, that some say could hit the United States. They have not tested it in eight years, however. And the last time they did, it flew only about 800 miles and failed to go into orbit.
Washington is responding to this threat by saying it might shoot the North Korean missile down. The only problem is the U.S. missile defense system is no more potent than the North Korean one.
The system's shortcomings are not due to a lack of funds. Since the Reagan administration, the United States has spent $92 billion on the missile defense program. Nearly half that amount was in the last five years, and the Pentagon plans to spend another $58 billion in the next six years.
What has all that money bought us? A ground-based system that has not undergone a successful test in four years. A major part of the problem is the Bush ad?inistration has pushed for deployment and development at the same time. The result is a system judged to be unreliable by the Government Accountability Office and Pentagon's own inspectors. So much so that the GAO has recommended that the first nine interceptors that have been deployed should be removed from their silos and rebuilt because they are not "appropriate for use in space."
The North Koreans are brandishing an unreliable missile because they want attention and leverage when they negotiate economic concessions in exchange for freezing some of their weapons programs. The dictator in charge, Kim Jong Il, may think he is not being taken seriously and wants the folks at home to know foreigners consider him a major league menace. Less geeky glasses and a new hairdo would be more effective.
As for American intentions, it is worth pointing out that the $10 billion a year that goes for missile defense is four times what is spent on energy research and development and five times the entire North Korean defense budget. One might ask which represents a bigger problem for the U.S. - a North Korean missile attack or our dependence on foreign oil?
Here's a hint - there is no real threat of a North Korean attack. Intercontinental missiles can be tracked on radar and therefore their origin is unambiguous. Kim knows he would be toast shortly after he launched. Dictators are ruthless, but they are not crazy and they are not suicidal. They get up every day and the only thing on their agenda is survival and maintaining their power. They leave the jihads to others.
So what is the purpose of spending so much money on a system that doesn't work when our addiction to imported oil and a couple dozen other problems are far more pressing? Because the purpose of the missile defense system is to defend against Democrats. Anyone not willing to waste $10 billion a year on a worthless missile system is clearly weak on defense.
Besides, Republican stalwarts can have a good second career selling themselves to the military industrial complex. Having never worn a uniform does not mean a lack of military experience for those who have been relentless in their support for defense spending. And as the recently convicted, former Congressman Duke Cunningham demonstrated, you don't even have to leave office to do it.
So sleep easy tonight, America. Your government is on guard and ready to protect you against a threat that does not exist with a defense system that does not work. Except in elections.
--------
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/0...1174269552.html
US has right to missile defence, says Howard
Date: June 29 2006
Phillip Coorey Political Correspondent in Shenzhen
AUSTRALIA would not oppose a US plan to shoot down a North Korean missile should Pyongyang go ahead with what it says is a test launch, the Prime Minister, John Howard, indicated yesterday.
"All countries are entitled to look after their own position," he said when questioned on the US threat.
North Korea's threat to test a ballistic missile it says could reach the US was provocative, Mr Howard said.
During a meeting in China, Mr Howard urged its Premier, Wen Jiabao, "to encourage the North Koreans to pull back and not to behave in a provocative fashion".
"No country in the world has the influence on North Korea that China has," he said.
The men also discussed the Iranian nuclear threat.
"Neither issue is easy to resolve and all participants must refrain from any provocative behaviour that will only deepen levels of mistrust that exist at the moment," Mr Howard said.
After the meeting, Mr Wen said China was watching the North Korean missile threat closely.
He called on North Korea to resume the six-party negotiations to settle the issue peacefully.
"We still believe that the six-party talks are the only way to the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
The US has threatened to deploy a cruiser with interceptor missiles to waters near Japan. In the US yesterday, the Australian Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, agreed that shooting down the missile was an option if diplomacy failed.
In Shenzhen, in the Guangdong Province, Mr Howard also sought to quash disquiet over the $25 billion liquefied natural gas contract with China four years ago.
The Chinese secured a fixed price for the gas over the next 25 years but the price of gas has since tripled because it is tied to oil prices.
It is understood North-West Shelf operators Woodside Petroleum and its partners have shortch
US has right to missile defence, says Howard
Date: June 29 2006
Phillip Coorey Political Correspondent in Shenzhen
AUSTRALIA would not oppose a US plan to shoot down a North Korean missile should Pyongyang go ahead with what it says is a test launch, the Prime Minister, John Howard, indicated yesterday.
"All countries are entitled to look after their own position," he said when questioned on the US threat.
North Korea's threat to test a ballistic missile it says could reach the US was provocative, Mr Howard said.
During a meeting in China, Mr Howard urged its Premier, Wen Jiabao, "to encourage the North Koreans to pull back and not to behave in a provocative fashion".
"No country in the world has the influence on North Korea that China has," he said.
The men also discussed the Iranian nuclear threat.
"Neither issue is easy to resolve and all participants must refrain from any provocative behaviour that will only deepen levels of mistrust that exist at the moment," Mr Howard said.
After the meeting, Mr Wen said China was watching the North Korean missile threat closely.
He called on North Korea to resume the six-party negotiations to settle the issue peacefully.
"We still believe that the six-party talks are the only way to the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
The US has threatened to deploy a cruiser with interceptor missiles to waters near Japan. In the US yesterday, the Australian Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, agreed that shooting down the missile was an option if diplomacy failed.
In Shenzhen, in the Guangdong Province, Mr Howard also sought to quash disquiet over the $25 billion liquefied natural gas contract with China four years ago.
The Chinese secured a fixed price for the gas over the next 25 years but the price of gas has since tripled because it is tied to oil prices.
It is understood North-West Shelf operators Woodside Petroleum and its partners have shortch