North Korea offers US talks to defuse missile crisis

PARK CHAN-KYONG SEOUL – North Korea offered the United States talks on its missile launch plans yesterday, indicating it might put off a flight test that has raised tension and drawn sharp international warnings.

The number two diplomat at North Korea’s UN mission was quoted saying the secretive state was open to talks with Washington, where there were reports that the US missile defence shield had been activated in case of a launch. “The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch,” Han Song-Ryol told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.”Our position is, ‘Okay then, let’s talk about it.’” But he underlined the North’s position that it had every right to develop, deploy and test-fire missiles.”It is not right for others to tell us what to do about our sovereign rights,” said Han, whose country last year announced it had developed an atomic bomb.North Korea test-fired a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, and reports that it was preparing another test have drawn warnings of a tough response from Japan and the United States.Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, who made engagement with the estranged North a cornerstone of his policy while in office, cancelled a trip to Pyongyang next week.”The trip is technically impossible right now because of the situation over the missile,” said Jeong Se-Hyun, a former unification minister who was to accompany Kim.A series of reports have said North Korea is preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile with a range of up to 6 700 kilometres, far enough to hit targets in Alaska and possibly Hawaii.Indications that the North had been fuelling a missile – a process that experts say is dangerous and difficult to reverse – have caused concern.Japan and South Korea agreed their nations would have to cooperate to prevent a missile launch, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.”If the missile were to be launched, it would threaten the regional security.It is important that countries concerned would cooperate in urging North Korea to use its restraint,” the ministry said.Separately, South Korea warned it could scrap crucial food aid to its impoverished neighbour if the launch went ahead.”South Korea could cut down or reject entirely the rice aid to North Korea, but we have not yet had detailed deliberations about this,” unification ministry spokesman Yang Chang-Seok said.Citing US officials, the Washington Times newspaper meanwhile reported that a US missile defence system had been activated in the past two weeks.Pentagon spokesmen refused to confirm or deny the report.But analysts said it was a virtual certainty that the defence system was working as a precaution – and as an opportunity to test it against a real missile launch.”This is the missile that the system is designed to shoot down,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.Org, a group that tracks military developments.”If he did launch an attack on America and the missile defence system was on vacation that day, it wouldn’t look good,” he said.The United States was keeping “all options on the table” to stop any launch, said the US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer.- Nampa-AFP”The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch,” Han Song-Ryol told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.”Our position is, ‘Okay then, let’s talk about it.’” But he underlined the North’s position that it had every right to develop, deploy and test-fire missiles.”It is not right for others to tell us what to do about our sovereign rights,” said Han, whose country last year announced it had developed an atomic bomb.North Korea test-fired a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, and reports that it was preparing another test have drawn warnings of a tough response from Japan and the United States.Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, who made engagement with the estranged North a cornerstone of his policy while in office, cancelled a trip to Pyongyang next week.”The trip is technically impossible right now because of the situation over the missile,” said Jeong Se-Hyun, a former unification minister who was to accompany Kim.A series of reports have said North Korea is preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile with a range of up to 6 700 kilometres, far enough to hit targets in Alaska and possibly Hawaii.Indications that the North had been fuelling a missile – a process that experts say is dangerous and difficult to reverse – have caused concern.Japan and South Korea agreed their nations would have to cooperate to prevent a missile launch, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.”If the missile were to be launched, it would threaten the regional security.It is important that countries concerned would cooperate in urging North Korea to use its restraint,” the ministry said.Separately, South Korea warned it could scrap crucial food aid to its impoverished neighbour if the launch went ahead.”South Korea could cut down or reject entirely the rice aid to North Korea, but we have not yet had detailed deliberations about this,” unification ministry spokesman Yang Chang-Seok said.Citing US officials, the Washington Times newspaper meanwhile reported that a US missile defence system had been activated in the past two weeks.Pentagon spokesmen refused to confirm or deny the report.But analysts said it was a virtual certainty that the defence system was working as a precaution – and as an opportunity to test it against a real missile launch.”This is the missile that the system is designed to shoot down,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.Org, a group that tracks military developments.”If he did launch an attack on America and the missile defence system was on vacation that day, it wouldn’t look good,” he said.The United States was keeping “all options on the table” to stop any launch, said the US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer.- Nampa-AFP