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May 26, 2009

Report: North Korea Test-Fires More Missiles
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2471889:A6F02AD83191E160461A622CAE394305F47489ACC27D21EE&
 
Report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency cites unnamed government
sources who say the missiles were fired from an east coast launch pad 
A tourist walks past a diagram of North Korean missiles at the
exhibition hall of an observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, 26 May 2009A South Korean news
agency is reporting that North Korea has test-fired two more short-range
missiles, even as international condemnation of its Monday test of a
nuclear bomb grows. The Tuesday report by South Korea's Yonhap news
agency cites unnamed government sources who say the missiles were fired
from an east coast launch pad. The report says the missiles have a range
of 130 kilometers. North Korea test-fired three missiles Monday shortly
after setting off an underground nuclear device. Late Monday, an
emergency session of the 15-member United Nations Security Council -
including the United States, Russia and China - unanimously condemned
the nuclear test. The Security Council says it is preparing a strong
response to Pyongyang. Interfax news agency in Moscow quoted a Russian
Foreign Ministry source as saying the adoption of tough resolutions is
probably unavoidable because the authority of the Security Council is at
stake. Russia is a permanent veto-holding member of the Security Council
and has previously blocked stronger sanctions against Pyongyang. North
Korea has repeatedly said it needs a deterrent to protect itself from a
possible attack from the United States, and accuses America of being
hostile. The nuclear test was the biggest explosion North Korea has ever
carried out. The test and heightened tensions prompted Seoul Tuesday to
announce plans to join a U.S. led-initiative to intercept ships
suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has
previously said it would consider such a move an act of war, and the
South had avoided joining the U.S. off-shore action in order not to
provoke the North. Monday's nuclear test and missile launch has
triggered condemnation across the globe. Even China, a neighbor and
traditional ally of the communist !
 North Korean state, says it is resolutely opposed to the test. The Unit
ed States has assured Japan and South Korea that it would give them its
support. In a phone conversation Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama,
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro
Aso agreed to work closely and to support U.N. action to curtail North
Korea's nuclear and missile activities. Mr. Obama says Pyongyang's
nuclear program and missile launches are a grave threat to peace and
security around the world, and a blatant violation of international law.
Diplomats in New York say work is under way on a new Security Council
resolution addressing the North Korean nuclear crisis. The Council was
criticized in the past for acting too slowly against North Korea's
military gestures. Foreign ministers from Asia and Europe have also
condemned North Korea for its nuclear test. In a draft statement
Tuesday, ministers from more than 40 countries urged the North not to
conduct further tests and return to six-nation talks aimed at ending its
nuclear weapons programs. Analysts have been divided in their assessment
of the reason for North Korea's military moves. Some say North Korea may
be trying to gain leverage for negotiations with the international
community; others say the test could be part of an internal political
struggle in Pyongyang. Some information for this report was provided by
AFP and Reuters.


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