|
North Korea tests long-range
missile
Richard Spencer
London
Telegraph
Wednesday May 16, 2007
North Korea has used a launch-pad in Iran to test-fire a new long-range
missile capable of hitting American bases in the Pacific, according
to reports from Japan and South Korea.
The missile, known as a Musudan-type, was shown to the public
at a vast military parade in the North Korean capital Pyongyang,
according to the reports.
South Korean and American intelligence reports suggest it was then
tested not from North Korean soil but from Iran, with which North
Korea is known to have close military co-operation.
The missile, which could target the US military on the Pacific
island of Guam, was previously unrecorded.
North Korea has a known capacity in short and medium-range missiles,
including the Taeopodong-1 which it fired over Japan in 1998 to
the alarm of Tokyo and its allies in Washington.
However, it has had less success developing long-range missiles.
It has been working for several years on a Taepodong-2, which would
be targeted at the western seaboard of the United States.
But a test last July failed, landing in the sea not far from the
North Korean and Russian border.
The new missile is said have been identified by American military
satellite pictures of the April rally to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of the founding of the North Korean army, and to be based on Soviet
technology.
The Japanese defence ministry said yesterday that the new missile
might be able to travel 3,000 miles at middle altitude.
“We acknowledge that such a new type of missile is being
developed by North Korea in addition to the existing missiles,”
an official said.
Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, quoted a source in Washington
as saying: “We did obtain intelligence tips that the missile
was test-fired in Iran. I understand that the intelligence communities
of relevant countries are tracking down the information.”
The Iran connection could well be a favour in return for North
Korea agreeing to share the results of its nuclear test last October
with Teheran.
The countries were both beneficiaries of the nuclear know-how network
created by the Pakistani scientist, A.Q. Khan, and have been known
previously to co-operate on missile technology.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
