Japanese and U.S. reconnaissance information indicates that North Korea may be preparing to test-fire either a Rodong or a Taepodong ballistic missile or conduct a missile engine combustion test, Japanese government sources said Thursday.

The data, mainly from radio and U.S. reconnaissance satellites around the middle of last week, has led the Japanese government to set up an ad hoc office at the Prime Minister's Office and send aircraft, an Aegis-equipped destroyer and other vessels to the Sea of Japan to gather further information.

On Thursday morning, the government tasked Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiken Sugiura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management Takeshi Noda and senior officials of related agencies and ministries with gathering and analyzing the information.

But one government source denied the possibility that North Korea might be moving to test-fire a ballistic missile now that Tokyo and Pyongyang have just agreed to hold bilateral working-level talks starting Saturday in Beijing on the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.

"At this moment, it is of no advantage to North Korea to launch a missile as it could make the country completely isolated from the international community," the source said.

The source also referred to the six-nation dialogue framework for peacefully resolving the North's nuclear ambitions. The six are China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States.

According to the sources, both the Japanese and U.S. governments analyzed the reconnaissance information and photos and detected such activities as vehicles and troops gathering at a missile base in the northeastern part of North Korea.

Activities around the base intensified Tuesday, the sources said.

North Korea conducts engine-combustion tests regularly, including two detected this year in April, they said.

Given the more active nature of movements this time, however, Japan's Defense Agency has taken precautionary action by dispatching the Aegis-equipped destroyer Myoukou and EP-3 electronic reconnaissance aircraft to the Sea of Japan.

Japan and the United States had suspected last week that North Korea could carry out a combustion test for a modified Rodong medium-range ballistic missile or a Taepodong-2 long-range missile this week, the sources said.

But given the larger number of vehicles and troops than in past tests, Japan and the United States later raised the alert and monitoring level to that of a possible test-firing of a missile, they said.

A Rodong missile has a range of between 1,300 and 1,500 kilometers and can strike nearly anywhere in Japan. A Taepodong has a longer range of between 3,500 and 6,000 km.

One Japanese government source said there are two scenarios for what may happen next.

One is that North Korea will actually do nothing but intensify its verbal attacks on Japan, saying Japan is increasing threats to North Korea. (I cannot get enough of their victim mentality. Nothing like it.) The other is that North Korea will only conduct an engine-combustion test.

North Korea has pledged to continue its moratorium on suspending the launch of missiles beyond 2003 in the Pyongyang Declaration signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September 2002 when the latter made his first landmark visit to Pyongyang.

The two leaders reconfirmed the commitment when they met again in May this year in Pyongyang. (Kyodo News)

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=313096

Sensational.

Yeah I read about this today...
I doubt they'll do anything though

they should put down their guns, support their citizens

"At this moment, it is of no advantage to North Korea to launch a missile as it could make the country completely isolated from the international community,"


Not really different from the status quo but N korea isn't exactly isolated as it had many friends in the the third world who sympathise with them as well as other former communist bloc nations and Cuba and China.

The North Koreans MAY be trying to launch their new Soviet SS-N-6 knockoff IRBM that was unveiled to the public earlier this year. The missile has a range of 3500~4000km, it is a totally new and previously unknown design and NOT part of the Taepodong lineage. Analysts say the missile will probably reach operational status in late 2004 as soon as the new silo facilities to house them are complete. The missile has NEVER been test-launched though, and since it's only months, if not weeks away from actual deployment, the activities described in the article MAY be in preparation for the test-launch of this new missile. Expect to see another missile shot over Japan like 1999, but this time they might even try to spook the Americans by landing a missile over Guam.

If I was Kim Jong Il I would try to get my country in line before trying to launch anything or fight anybody. Dumbass.

He ain't dumb, that's for sure. North Korea is practically untouchable, they can get away with pretty much anything short of dropping a nuke on Seoul or Tokyo, especially when our pro-NK administration is down on all fours to appease him and cover for him if necessary. He couldn't care less about the starving masses, as long as he can maintain absolute loyalty of the army to his person, he's guranteed lifetime rule for himself and his heirs, there are anti-Kim forces within the party bureaucracy, but they can't do $hit as long as loyalty of the army lies with Kim Jong Il. This guy is smart, in a brutal and selfish way, but he's proved to be a shrewd and cunning politician.