North Korea may have relocated a long-range missile from a launch site from which it test-fired a similar missile last month, but the reason for its removal and its new location were not immediately known, a government official said Friday.
The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in the eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the first missile was launched on July 5 along with six other short- and mid-range missiles from other launch sites.
"The (second) Taepodong-2 seems to have disappeared from Musudan-ri in mid-July," an official at the Unification Ministry told reporters.
The official said it was still "uncertain" whether the North has in fact removed the missile, but refused to elaborate where the uncertainties came from.
But the Defense Ministry said there is no clear evidence to back up the claim of the North's missile relocation.
"It sounds unconvincing. What is certain now is that the Taepodong missile relocation has yet to be detected or traced," a ministry official said, asking to remain anonymous.
The removal, if found to be true, is expected to help soothe the tension between the North and South Korea sparked by the North's missile launches, as the presence of the second missile at the launch site was believed to be a sign of additional missile launches.
Such concerns for a second launch, at least in part, have led to an unusually strong reaction from the U.N. Security Council, which unanimously passed a resolution condemning the North's missile launches and prohibiting any missile-related dealings with the North, only 10 days after the communist state test-fired the seven missiles.
Seoul's Intelligence officials, however, warned the removal, if true, may only be temporary.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there are two other possible reasons for the alleged removal, which include adjusting or improving the missile before an eventual launch.
After a close analysis of satellite images of the July 5 launch, Tokyo concluded that the launch of the first Taepodong-2 was a "complete failure."
Another possible explanation, according to the officials, is that the North has temporarily, or permanently, relocated the missile due to damage from recent floods there.
Seoul, Aug. 4 (Yonhap News)
Seoul, Aug. 4 (Yonhap News)
Seoul officials differ on claims of N. Korea's missile relocation |
