Posted on 08/05/2006 7:56:31 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N. Korea removes second Taepodong-2 missile from launch site:officials
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may have relocated a long-range missile from a launch site from which it test-fired missiles last month, but the reason for its removal and its new location were not immediately known, a government official said Friday.
The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in the eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the first missile was launched on July 5 along with six other short- and mid-range missiles from other launch sites.
Inquiring mind of Iranians want to know it, too. It will determine the level of rhetoric spewed from mad Iranian President.:)
Ping!
More detailed report:
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20060805/630000000020060805101539E0.html
N. Korea's alleged missile relocation aims to fix glitches: U.S. expert
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may have relocated a long-range missile from a launch site after it test-fired a similar missile last month to fix technical glitches, an East Asia security observer has claimed.
"North Koreans were not happy about the performance of their Taepodong-2 when they launched last month, perhaps they are taking this missile to try to fix it," Michael O'Hanlon, a security issue expert at the U.S. Brookings Institution, said Friday in a radio interview with the Washington-based Radio Free Asia.
"That suggests that it could have been a very basic structural problem, design of the rocket or some of the very basic mechanics and machinery involved in the rocket could have been flawed," he said.
The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in North Korea's eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province where the first missile was test-fired on July 5.
Pyongyang launched seven ballistic missiles in early July, including a Taepodong 2 believed capable of reaching as far as the western United States, in defiance of international warnings.
On claims of North Korea's missile relocation, the South Korean Unification Ministry said Friday that although the second Taepodong-2 missile seems to have disappeared from Musudan-ri in mid-July, it is still "uncertain" whether the North has in fact removed the missile.
The South Korean Defense Ministry also said on the same day there is no clear evidence to support the claim of the North's missile relocation.
However, Seoul's intelligence officials warned the removal, if true, may only be temporary. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there are two possible reasons for the alleged removal including adjusting or improving the missile before an eventual launch.
As you can see, in a matter of three weeks, the North Korean crisis and challenge has been all but SWEEPED AWAY from public attention, and yet the little bastards are as busy as beavers behind the scenese, with SOMETHING up their sleeve that Uncle Sam and Japan are not going to like!!!
Actually it was a lot longer than earlier reported. It was almost 7 minutes in burn duration.
That was one of the initial stories. I posted a similar story, but further careful analyses showed it to be incorrect.
Bump
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