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N.Korea confirms missile tests, vows more launches
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-06 13:31 Yonhap news agency reported the defense minister told lawmakers that
intelligence showed further activity at North Korean launch pads.
"There
is a possibility that North Korea will fire additional missiles," Defense
Minister Yoon Kwang-ung was quoted as telling lawmakers, citing images of
equipment going in and out of the launch sites.
The missiles are either
short- or medium-range, reported Chosun Ilbo, one of South Korea's largest
newspapers. It cited an unidentified senior South Korean official. Another major
newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report.
The North has also
barred people from sailing into some areas off the coast until July 11 in a
possible sign of preparations for additional launches, Chosun Ilbo said.
Japan, however, said there were no immediate signs of another attempt to
launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile. "We will keep watching the situation
very closely," Shinzo Abe, the chief Cabinet secretary, said in Tokyo.
Despite the rise in tensions, South Korean officials said they had no
plans to abandon their strategy of attempting to forge stronger ties with
Pyongyang. While Seoul condemned the missile tests, it has also called for
"patient dialogue" rather than sanctions in response.
"There is no
change in Sunshine policy," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told the National
Assembly on Thursday morning, referring to former South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung's policy of rapprochement toward the North. Lee also said there was no
need for the South Korean government to block personal exchanges between the two
sides.
Bush has urged world leaders to stand united in demanding that
North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program, saying the nation remains
a threat even though its long-range missile faltered and plunged into the sea
seconds after liftoff.
"One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't
stay up very long and tumbled into the sea, which doesn't, frankly, diminish my
desire to solve this problem," Bush said.
Japan, within range of North
Korean missiles, circulated a U.N. Security Council resolution that would ban
any country from transferring funds, material and technology that could be used
in North Korea's missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.
China
and Russia countered that they favor a weaker council statement without any
threat of sanctions. Because both countries hold veto power on the council,
their positions will make it very difficult to win approval for tough measures
against Pyongyang.
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