Posted on 08/02/2006 10:38:51 PM PDT by HAL9000
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been constructing new underground missile bases and silos along its east coast in recent years to deploy intermediate-range rockets targeting Japan and U.S. military facilities on the archipelago, a report said Thursday."The new bases clustered along the east coastal line, in particular, are short- and medium-range missile bases aiming at Japan and U.S. military installations in Japan," said a report written by Yun Deok-min, a security expert at the state-funded Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
About 200 Rodong missiles with ranges of up to 2,200 kilometers and 50 SSN-6 missiles with ranges of 2,500-4,000 km are already deployed in the newly-built bases, the report said.
Two new missiles bases are under construction in Deoksung and Heocheon, counties both in the northeastern province of Hamgyong, with the latter's base believed to deploy North's most advanced rocket, Taepodong-2, the report said.
"Combined with its nuclear weapons, North Korea's ballistic missiles provides it with a powerful deterent," it said. "The North has made all-out efforts to bolster asymmetrical strengths at a time when millions of its people have died of hunger."
The report also said North Korea built two underground missile bases in the mountainside in the central part of its land border with China.
The bases "are located in positions that make them impossible to be attacked unless strikes come across the Chinese border, as they are positioned near the Sino-North Korea border and are in the mountainside," it said.
The North's missile capability has captured renewed global attention since it test-launched seven missiles into the East Sea on July 5, despite repeated international warnings. The missiles include a long-range rocket, Taepodong-2, which analysts say are capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. In 1998, North Korea stunned the region by test-firing a Taepodong-1 which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific.
According to various government documents and press reports, North Korea is believed to have 600 short-range Scud-type missiles and 2,000 Rodong missiles. Few documents and news reports have estimated the North's Taepodong missile stockpile.
The North's Scud missile units are headquartered about 50km north of the demilitarized zone, and are capable of hitting all strategic targets and industrial complexes in South Korea, the report said.
The sales of missiles and missile technologies are also believed to be a major source of revenues for the impoverished North.
The research paper said North Korea has annually earned US$150 million by exporting missiles, missile parts and missile technology. In particular, between 1987 and 1992 the North exported $580 million worth of missiles and related parts and technologies.
The main customers of North Korean missiles are Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen, which have bought a combined total of 500 Scud-type missiles, the report said. Vietnam and Sudan also bought Scud missiles from the North, it added.
Iran, Pakistan and Libya have purchased 50-100 North Korean Rodong missiles in total, it said.
The paper also said North Korea sells its latest version of the Scud missile for $2 million and a Rodong missile for $4 million, and the price of the Taepodong-2, the North's most advanced rocket, is expected to be around $20 million.
Heh - I meant remove the whole thread, not just the reply.
First posting of article by TigerLikesRooster - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1676852/posts
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