Kim Jong Il needed some action and attention.. He was getting bored.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapc....missile.reut/
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- North Korea is believed to have completed fueling a long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, raising the likelihood that it will soon conduct a test launch, U.S. officials said on Sunday.
The United States plans to join Japan in a sharp response if the test goes forward. Washington warned Pyongyang against the test in a message passed on Friday through North Korean diplomats at the United Nations, but there was no response, U.S. officials said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said Pyongyang could decide to scrap the launch. But they said that was increasingly unlikely given the complexity of siphoning fuel out of a missile once it has been fueled.
The launch is expected to involve a Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile with an estimated range of 2,175 to 2670 miles (3,500 to 4,300 kilometers) that could hit the United States.
Pyongyang stunned the world in August 1998 by firing a Taepodong-1 over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
White House spokesman Tony Snow, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that in 1999 North Korea declared a moratorium on missile testing and had signed a memorandum in September 2005, which committed it to pursuing peace and security within the region.
"We certainly hope they're going to continue to abide by their agreement," Snow said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in a television interview his country would seek an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang went ahead with a test.
He voiced concern about the possibility of a missile landing on Japan, but toned down a remark made in an earlier interview that Japan would automatically regard this as an attack.
"We will not right away view it as a military act," he said.
Aso stopped short of saying what Japan and the United States would do in the event of a launch.
But he said: "The responses will be rather harsh".
Reports of test preparations come as six-country talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programs are locked in a stalemate and attention has shifted to concerns about Iran's atomic ambitions.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapc....missile.reut/
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- North Korea is believed to have completed fueling a long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, raising the likelihood that it will soon conduct a test launch, U.S. officials said on Sunday.
The United States plans to join Japan in a sharp response if the test goes forward. Washington warned Pyongyang against the test in a message passed on Friday through North Korean diplomats at the United Nations, but there was no response, U.S. officials said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said Pyongyang could decide to scrap the launch. But they said that was increasingly unlikely given the complexity of siphoning fuel out of a missile once it has been fueled.
The launch is expected to involve a Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile with an estimated range of 2,175 to 2670 miles (3,500 to 4,300 kilometers) that could hit the United States.
Pyongyang stunned the world in August 1998 by firing a Taepodong-1 over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
White House spokesman Tony Snow, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that in 1999 North Korea declared a moratorium on missile testing and had signed a memorandum in September 2005, which committed it to pursuing peace and security within the region.
"We certainly hope they're going to continue to abide by their agreement," Snow said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in a television interview his country would seek an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang went ahead with a test.
He voiced concern about the possibility of a missile landing on Japan, but toned down a remark made in an earlier interview that Japan would automatically regard this as an attack.
"We will not right away view it as a military act," he said.
Aso stopped short of saying what Japan and the United States would do in the event of a launch.
But he said: "The responses will be rather harsh".
Reports of test preparations come as six-country talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programs are locked in a stalemate and attention has shifted to concerns about Iran's atomic ambitions.
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