Posted on 07/09/2004 1:41:35 AM PDT by neverdem
WORLD IN BRIEF
SEOUL -- North Korea is producing and deploying new intermediate ballistic missiles with a range of 1,800 to 2,500 miles, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry, putting within reach dozens of U.S. military installations in Japan and other parts of the Pacific region.
The new type of missile has been widely reported in the South Korean and Japanese media for months, but a briefing Wednesday by South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young Kil to a parliamentary security commission was the first official acknowledgment of the weapon's existence.
Analysts describe the missiles as having a range between North Korea's existing Taepodong-1, which was test-fired over Japan in 1998, and the long-range Taepodong-2, which is believed to be in the final stages of development and which could reach the west coast of the United States.
North Korea's missile technology is considered a key export for the cash-strapped nation. Its continued development of the technology has increasingly disturbed its neighbors, particularly Japan.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
One of these days we're going to have to put our foot down and stop this North Korean nightmare. It may not be easy, but it's going to get a hell of a lot harder in the next decade. If we don't stop it now, our homeland will be involved in the bloody resolution.
I wonder if some of the missiles North Korea has already exported to other countries can reach Europe, yet.
If they want to depose Jung-Il, they better do it fast.
Russia had 12000 missiles pointed at us. North Korea building missiles for their warheads is irrelevant and not scaring anyone except maybe Japan.
Anything that can hit South Korea has already been deployed and anything that can hit the US will get shot down over Alaska somewhere. And anything that can hit Europe we really do not care about. Not our problem.
Only real concern is getting the weapons out of Korea and into Syria, Iran or wherever. I am still interested in knowing what would happen if one of these countries launched on Israel and Israel shot the missile down. Also, if they launch on Israel, the Palis also lose.
I think the fact that they can hit Japan is a serious concern. Japan may soon feel compelled to have its own nuke arsenal. Someone has got to take out Jung-Il, but obviously not the US. Most likely, the Chinese, but they've bungled it once already. With this story, though, I've got to believe that the Chinese are getting more anxious and are likely to make another attempt.
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