Satellite images indicate that North Korea could be preparing to follow up its recent missile tests with additional launches, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Oct. 8).
A South Korean government source told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper that a U.S. spy satellite had identified roughly 10 missiles on an island off the west coast of North Korea.
The Stalinist state in the next few days could launch five or more KN-01 land-to-ship and Styx ship-to-ship missiles, according to South Korean intelligence officials. Pyongyang has prohibited ships from entering the sector through next Wednesday, according to the South Korean newspaper.
There was no confirmation of the report from the South Korean Defense Ministry or National Intelligence Service or U.S. military officials in Seoul, AP reported.
Test launches of short-range missiles are a standard component of North Korean military exercises. This week’s reported tests of two short-range missiles, though, come amid another seeming breakdown in the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula and continuing questions about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (see related GSN story, today).
“The reported missile launches appear to have a multiple purpose: to increase pressure on the U.S. in nuclear negotiations and to show the outside world that their military is still in good shape, despite concerns about Kim’s health,” said North Korea expert Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University in Seoul (Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press (/ABC News, Oct. 9).
North Korea is believed to possess hundreds of missiles, with ranges between 310 miles and more than 9,000 miles, AP reported (Associated Press II/Yahoo!News, Oct. 9).
The U.S. State Department said yesterday it could not confirm reports of Tuesday’s missile launches, but warned against such activities, Agence France-Presse reported.
“Just as a general comment with respect to the firing of these kinds of missiles — these short-range missiles — we would advise against it," said spokesman Sean McCormack. “It's not helpful in any way managing tensions within the region.”
McCormack also could not say whether Pyongyang was trying to send a message to Washington.
“That gets into the psychology and the thinking of the North Korean government, and I can't offer any insight to that,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Oct. 8).