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NKorean base could handle longer-range missile: SKorean minister
Seoul (AFP) Nov 4, 2008 A new launch site being built on North Korea's west coast could handle a missile larger than the communist state has previously fired, South Korea's defence chief said Tuesday. Defence Minister Lee Sang-Hee told parliament the site at Dongchang-ri, 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of Pyongyang, was 80 percent completed. He estimated that it would be capable of launching a bigger missile than the current Taepodong series, or one carrying a satellite, but gave no further details. Lee in September had confirmed the existence of the new site. The North has a separate site at Musudan-ri on the east coast which was used to launch a Taepodong-1 missile in 1998 over Japan. It said at the time the aim was to put a satellite into orbit but the move alarmed Japan and other nations. A Taepodong-2 missile was launched from Musudan-ri in 2006 but US officials said it failed. South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported last month that the North is developing a solid fuel-propelled ballistic missile, a modified model of the Taepodong-2, with a range of 10,000 kilometres. The current Taepodong-2 is said to have a range of 6,700 kilometres. The North conducted a nuclear weapons test in October 2006. It is not known whether it has the technical capacity to fit an atomic warhead to a missile. In September an independent analyst who has seen imagery of the new Dongchang site said in the United States that it is designed to support a significant flight test programme. "It is significant because it indicates an intention to develop a capability of developing a reliable ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.Org, a research group which specialises in security issues.
SKorea shielding 70 NKorean refugees in China: minister Yu Myung-Hwan told parliament that the refugees included South Koreans kidnapped by North Korea. "We are trying to bring them here as soon as possible," he said, declining to give details. By official count 494 South Koreans, mostly fishermen, were seized in the Cold War decades following the 1950-53 Korean conflict, while more than 500 prisoners of war were never sent home in 1953. North Korea denies holding any South Koreans against their will, although some have managed to escape and come South. Tens of thousands of North Koreans fleeing hunger or repression are believed to be hiding out in China, which repatriates those whom it catches under an agreement with Pyongyang. Some refugees try to travel on from China to Southeast Asian countries in hopes of eventual resettlement in South Korea. More than 14,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, the vast majority in recent years. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
US Navy, Raytheon Achieve Program Milestone On JSOW C-1
Tucson AZ (SPX) Nov 04, 2008The U.S. Navy and Raytheon have completed a critical design review of the Joint Standoff Weapon C-1, achieving a major program milestone. |
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