NKorea to test long range missile

NKOREA: North Korea yesterday fuelled speculation that it was preparing to test a long-range missile by suggesting it would go ahead with a rocket launch as part of what it called a space programme.

Pyongyang has previously tested missiles under the guise of launching a satellite and analysts said the latest comments from the North indicated the communist state was on the verge of another attention-grabbing test.

“One will come to know later what will be launched in the DPRK (North Korea),” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported as the hardline communist state celebrated the 67th birthday of leader Kim Jong-Il.

The North is under growing pressure to scrap apparent preparations to launch its longest-range Taepodong-2 missile, which could theoretically target Alaska.

Media reports citing intelligence from satellite photos say preparations at the Musudan-ri launch site on the northeast coast are well advanced.

Hillary Clinton, who this week makes her first Asian tour as US Secretary of State, last week urged the communist state to avoid provocation and stop “unhelpful rhetoric” towards South Korea.

The North depicted its launch of a Taepodong-1 missile back in August 1998 as an attempt to put a satellite into orbit.

SeouL, Monday, AFP