The South Korean government is paying keen attention Sunday to indications that its communist neighbor is about to test-fire a ballistic missile, officials said.
Song Min-soon, chief security advisor to President Roh Moo-hyun, and all other security-related officials at Cheong Wa Dae remained in their offices on Sunday to keep up to date on Pyongyang's moves. There were no reported comments by Roh.
Officials at the presidential office previously said that North Korea may conduct a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile very soon.
"We are closely watching the situation," a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. "We can't say anything for sure at this moment."
His remarks followed a series of media reports based on U.S.
military intelligence that the reclusive state had almost completed preparations for the launch at facilities in its northeastern region, including the fueling process. Some media said the missile test would take place on Sunday or Monday.
Raising fears of the launch, the Sankei Shimbun in Japan reported that the North Korean government had ordered its people to hoist the country's national flag and await a state message on television.
The newspaper said the instructions appeared to be related to the missile activities, but officials in Seoul were more cautious.
"The order, if it was delivered actually, might be associated with the North's internal affairs, not a missile," said an official at the Unification Ministry that handles Seoul's policy on Pyongyang.
He pointed out that North Korea is to mark the 42nd anniversary on Monday of the start of work by its leader Kim Jong-il at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party.
Japan's Jiji Press news agency reported that North Korea was unlikely to test-fire a missile on Sunday.
"There won't be a launch today," Jiji quoted senior officials of Japan's Defense Agency as saying.
Japanese Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said separately that the agency had not observed "any particular changes" that would indicate an impending launch, Jiji reported.
Diplomatic sources agree, citing bad weather conditions for a test-fire Sunday.
"The sky over the missile launch pad in Musudanri (in North Hamgyong Province) is cloudy," a source said on condition of anonymity. "This is not the best weather condition for a missile test-fire." Others say a national event such as a rocket test would normally draw North Korean VIPs, but no arrival of such visitors at the launch site had been observed.
The chances are low that Pyongyang would test-fire a missile later at night because North Korea's leaders are usually reluctant to move at night for security reasons, the sources said.
North Korea's official media have yet to comment on the missile issue, while the South Korean military is maintaining its usual posture despite an escalation of tension gripping the peninsula.
The United States and Japan have increasingly warned Pyongyang of strong punitive measures if it carries out the test.
Washington and Tokyo agreed to deal with such a provocative move through the U.N. Security Council, Japan's Kyodo News said.
The two sides are considering seeking a legally-binding penalty, but the news wire service questioned its feasibility, citing apparent opposition from China and Russia.
When North Korea fired a Taepodong-1 missile in 1998, a launch Pyongyang says was aimed at putting a satellite into orbit, the Security Council only issued a chairman's statement denouncing the move.
Appearing on a Fuji TV program, meanwhile, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso said, "If it is dropped on Japan, it will complicate the story. It will be regarded as an attack."
He added that his country would seek an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council in the event of a missile launch.
The U.S. is also seriously concerned by North Korea's missile activities, especially after Pyongyang declared itself a nuclear power last year. Washington officials say they are ready to take defensive measures.
Still, some analysts say North Korea is not likely to fire a missile as it is well aware that it has more to lose than gain from such a provocative action at a time when the international community is struggling to end its nuclear weapons program. Seoul, June 18 (Yonhap News)
Seoul keeps close watch for possible missile test by N. Korea |
