. Military Space News .
MISSILE NEWS
NKorea fires five short-range missiles: official

US policy 'unaffected' by NKorean missile tests: Clinton
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the US goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula remains "unaffected" by the test-firing of five short-range missiles by North Korea. Reacting to the reported tests off North Korea's east coast, she said: "Our goals remain the same -- we intend to work toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula that can demonstrate in a verifiable way that it is" nuclear free. "We have made a lot of progress with the other members of the six-party talks who joined us in the very strong sanctions against North Korea and who have been working with us to restart a process there," she added. Speaking in Northern Ireland, her latest stop on a European tour, Clinton said she had no more information about the tests. But she said: "Our consultation with our partners and allies continues unabated. It is unaffected by the behaviour of North Korea." "We pursue this goal like we pursue all of our national security goals through obstacles, overcoming challenges; a persistent patience that doesn't have any guarantee of outcome," she added. Such a policy "is a very important way of us building a coalition and creating the space to try to demonstrate clearly to the North Koreans that the international community will not accept their continuing nuclear programme". The North Korean missile launches were the first reported since early July, and come amid international efforts to bring the North back to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
by Staff Writers
 Seoul (AFP) Oct 12, 2009
 North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles off its east coast Monday and banned ships from the area from October 10-20, a South Korean official said.

The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Yonhap news agency report of the launches and of the "no sail" zones covering parts of the east and west coasts.

The agency quoted military experts as saying the launches appear to be part of regular military exercises. But they did not exclude the possibility that Pyongyang is demonstrating its firepower for political purposes.

The launches were the first reported since early July, and come amid international efforts to bring the hardline communist state back to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

The US aircraft carrier USS George Washington is currently on exercises off the west coast of South Korea, the defence ministry said.

Yonhap said the North fired five KN-02 missiles with a range of 120 km (75 miles) from mobile launchers -- two in the morning and three in the afternoon.

The KN-02 is a modified version of the Soviet-designed SS-21 missile.

South Korean military officials refused comment.

The North has frequently launched short-range missiles off its east and west coasts in recent years. South Korean defence officials normally describe these as part of military exercises but they are sometimes timed to make a political point.

Pyongyang quit the six-party forum in April and staged its second nuclear test in May.

Last week the North told visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao it was willing to return to the six-party talks which it quit in April, but only after direct negotiations with the United States to improve "hostile relations".

Washington has said it is ready for bilateral talks, but merely to persuade the North to return to the multilateral forum. It has not set a date for any meeting.

On July 2 the North fired four short-range missiles believed to be surface-to-ship types.

It followed these with a salvo of seven longer-range ballistic missiles on July 4, US Independence Day, attracting sharp criticism from the United Nations.

In Belfast, visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula remained "unaffected" by Monday's test-firing.

"We have made a lot of progress with the other members of the six-party talks... who have been working with us to restart a process there," said Clinton, who is on a tour of Europe.

"Our consultation with our partners and allies continues unabated. It is unaffected by the behaviour of North Korea," she added.

In Moscow, Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed Russian foreign ministry source as saying: "This decision by the North Korean authorities evokes regret and bewilderment."

State news agency ITAR-TASS reported similar comments, also quoting unnamed sources at the ministry.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


MISSILE NEWS
SKorea researching longer-range missiles: official
 Seoul (AFP) Oct 8, 2009
 South Korea's top arms procurement official said Thursday his agency has begun research into developing longer-range ballistic missiles capable of putting all of North Korea in striking range. Byun Moo-Keun, head of the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration, said his group was conducting research into a missile with a range of more than 500 kilometres (305 miles). He confirmed the ... read more






The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement