North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a series of six missiles, including one long-range Taepodong-2 missile, prompting the United States and Japan to seek punitive measures at the United Nations Security Council.
South Korea backed the idea of discussing the issue at the New York-based international organization, and hinted at the possibility of cutting off its food and fertilizer aid to the North and boycotting inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks slated for next week in Busan.
"North Korea was found to have fired one Taepodong missile and five mid-range Scud and Rodong missiles early today morning (Korean time)," Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters in a press briefing after an emergency meeting of security-related ministers presided over by President Roh Moo-hyun.
Rodong, which means "labor" in Korean, is the North's modified version of a ballistic missile based on the old Soviet Scud missile. All the missiles fired reportedly fell harmlessly into the East Sea, and the Taepodong-2 crashed within a minute after liftoff from the North's eastern coastal village of Musudan-ri.
"The government has serious concerns. It is regrettable that North Korea pressed forward with the missile launches despite a lot of diplomatic efforts by related nations," he added.
Ban said that the North's missiles pose a serious threat to the international community, especially since they can carry nuclear weapons, and there would be no problem in discussing the matter at the U.N. Security Council. Ban is one of candidates seeking to replace U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who will retire at the end of this year.
"The North's missile launches are a serious threat in that they are part of the development of a tool to transport weapons of mass destruction, not just from the perspective of international law," Ban said.
His remarks came as the North's move drew not only keen international attention, but also condemnation.
The U.S. and Japan moved swiftly to bring the North Korean missile launches to the U.N. Security Council, calling them a "provocative act."
Russia, a key ally of North Korea, also criticized Pyongyang for damaging the region's stability.
North Korean media has given no direct word on its missile tests yet, but a North Korean Foreign Ministry official was quoted as telling a group of visiting Japanese journalists that the missile launches are a matter of its national sovereignty.
"The missile launch is an issue that is entirely within our sovereignty. No one has the right to dispute it," said Ri Pyong-dok, a researcher on Japanese affairs at the North's Foreign Ministry, according to Japanese media.
Earlier in the day, the North Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary that leader Kim Jong-il's military-first policy is a powerful formula of socialistic politics.
Wednesday's missile test was reminiscent of North Korea's firing of a Taepodong-1 missile in 1998 that flew over Japan into the Pacific Ocean. A year later, North Korea declared a moratorium on missile testing.
"The government is closely reviewing North Korea's intentions," the South Korean foreign minister said. "It appears to be aimed at putting political pressure to change the mood surrounding the North Korean nuclear crisis."
North Korea's repeated appeals for bilateral talks with the U.S. have been refused, while the U.S. has been intensifying its sanctions against the North's alleged counterfeiting and other financial crimes. U.S. officials have been paying more attention to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program in recent months.
But North Korea grabbed the international spotlight with the missile activity.
Analysts said the unpredictable state reminded the world that it does not easily succumb to U.S. pressure, a tactic apparently aimed at raising its bargaining position in its showdown with the world's sole superpower.
But it is likely to harden the U.S. position for the time being, as well as put Seoul in a more serious dilemma over the efficacy of its years-long campaign to reconcile with the communist neighbor, they added.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang, said that the government will "take into account various situations" to decide whether to have the upcoming inter-Korean ministerial talks as scheduled.
South Korea has said it would link the North's missile activity to its provision of food and fertilizer aid to its impoverished neighbor. Seoul has already been under fire for continuing to provide aid to the North even though Pyongyang remains recalcitrant on the nuclear crisis.
The North's move is also likely to further complicate efforts to break the logjam in the six-party talks that have been suspended for more than half a year.
Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy to six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, will travel to the region as early as Thursday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The nuclear talks also involve China, Russia, Japan, and the two Koreas.
China's recent initiative to organize an informal gathering of nuclear envoys from the related nations this month was also hard hit, heralding a protracted deadlock in the nuclear negotiations
Seoul, July 5 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea expresses deep concern over N. Korean missile test |
