N Korea rapped for test firing missiles

SEOUL – North Korea test-fired seven missiles on Tuesday including a long-range Taepodong-2 capable of reaching US soil, triggering international outrage and crisis talks at the United Nations Security council.

US and regional officials said that the first set of missiles, including five short- and medium-range models as well as the Taepodong-2 which failed shortly after launch, splashed down in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Japan’s Defence Agency said a seventh missile was fired some 10 hours later at 5:22 pm, and that it was likely a short-range Nodong or Scud.The test launches by the Stalinist state triggered a flurry of diplomatic initiatives, headlined by a meeting of the powerful 15-member UN Security Council to discuss the crisis.Washington described the tests as “provocative behaviour” and said it was dispatching a senior official to the region shortly after the firings, which coincided with the US Independence Day holiday and a space shuttle launch.South Korea, which has a policy of engagement with its reclusive neighbour, condemned the move which it said had threatened regional stability, and urged Pyongyang to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.”North Korea should be held responsible for all the consequences,” said Suh Choo-Suk, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun’s security policy advisor.Japan denounced the launches as a “grave problem”, put its troops on a higher state of alert and unleashed a package of sanctions including a ban on North Korean diplomats entering the country.Britain said the tests were “provocative” and only served to raise tensions in the Asia Pacific region, while France accused the Stalinist regime of being a “major contributor” to global weapons proliferation.Russia also slammed the tests, saying they undermined international efforts to ease nuclear tension on the Korean peninsula.In the first comment from North Korea, foreign ministry official Ri Pyong Dok reportedly said the launches were an issue of national sovereignty.”We will not be restricted by any agreement regarding this issue,” he told a group of Japanese journalists visiting North Korea, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.Japanese vessels were dispatched to the Sea of Japan to try to retrieve the fallen missiles for analysis, Defence Agency head Fukushiro Nukaga said.Japan is particularly sensitive to missile tests by North Korea, which in 1998 fired a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan into the Pacific, prompting Tokyo and Washington to step up cooperation to build missile defences.Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Pyongyang had defied the international community by pushing ahead with the tests despite repeated calls for restraint as it prepared the launch in recent weeks.”This is a grave problem in terms of peace and stability not only of Japan but also of international society.We strongly protest against North Korea,” said Abe, the government’s top spokesman.In Washington, senior officials urgently consulted with their counterparts in China, Japan, Russia and South Korea – partners in six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions – to weigh an array of diplomatic options.US national security advisor Stephen Hadley condemned the tests, saying: “We do consider it provocative behaviour.”But he said the Taepodong-2 did not pose a danger to the United States because “a missile that fails after 40 seconds is not a threat.”The US missile defence system based in California, Alaska and onboard US Navy ships had been on high alert in anticipation of the Taepodong-2 test and was ready to shoot down any missile if it threatened US territory.But because the long-range missile failed at an early stage, “no action was taken,” said a US defence official.A senior US official said the United States was sending its envoy to the six-nation North Korean nuclear talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, to Asia on Wednesday to discuss the situation.- Nampa-AFPJapan’s Defence Agency said a seventh missile was fired some 10 hours later at 5:22 pm, and that it was likely a short-range Nodong or Scud.The test launches by the Stalinist state triggered a flurry of diplomatic initiatives, headlined by a meeting of the powerful 15-member UN Security Council to discuss the crisis.Washington described the tests as “provocative behaviour” and said it was dispatching a senior official to the region shortly after the firings, which coincided with the US Independence Day holiday and a space shuttle launch.South Korea, which has a policy of engagement with its reclusive neighbour, condemned the move which it said had threatened regional stability, and urged Pyongyang to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.”North Korea should be held responsible for all the consequences,” said Suh Choo-Suk, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun’s security policy advisor.Japan denounced the launches as a “grave problem”, put its troops on a higher state of alert and unleashed a package of sanctions including a ban on North Korean diplomats entering the country.Britain said the tests were “provocative” and only served to raise tensions in the Asia Pacific region, while France accused the Stalinist regime of being a “major contributor” to global weapons proliferation.Russia also slammed the tests, saying they undermined international efforts to ease nuclear tension on the Korean peninsula.In the first comment from North Korea, foreign ministry official Ri Pyong Dok reportedly said the launches were an issue of national sovereignty.”We will not be restricted by any agreement regarding this issue,” he told a group of Japanese journalists visiting North Korea, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.Japanese vessels were dispatched to the Sea of Japan to try to retrieve the fallen missiles for analysis, Defence Agency head Fukushiro Nukaga said.Japan is particularly sensitive to missile tests by North Korea, which in 1998 fired a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan into the Pacific, prompting Tokyo and Washington to step up cooperation to build missile defences.Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Pyongyang had defied the international community by pushing ahead with the tests despite repeated calls for restraint as it prepared the launch in recent weeks.”This is a grave problem in terms of peace and stability not only of Japan but also of international society.We strongly protest against North Korea,” said Abe, the government’s top spokesman.In Washington, senior officials urgently consulted with their counterparts in China, Japan, Russia and South Korea – partners in six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions – to weigh an array of diplomatic options.US national security advisor Stephen Hadley condemned the tests, saying: “We do consider it provocative behaviour.”But he said the Taepodong-2 did not pose a danger to the United States because “a missile that fails after 40 seconds is not a threat.”The US missile defence system based in California, Alaska and onboard US Navy ships had been on high alert in anticipation of the Taepodong-2 test and was ready to shoot down any missile if it threatened US territory.But because the long-range missile failed at an early stage, “no action was taken,” said a US defence official.A senior US official said the United States was sending its envoy to the six-nation North Korean nuclear talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, to Asia on Wednesday to discuss the situation.- Nampa-AFP