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Defiant North Korea Fires Off 7 Missiles

By KWANGE-TAE KIM

posted: 1 HOUR 44 MINUTES AGO

comments: 2354

filed under: World News

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SEOUL, South Korea (July 4) - North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles Saturday into waters off its east coast in a show of military firepower that defied U.N. resolutions and drew global expressions of condemnation and concern.

The salvo, confirmed by the South Korean government, also appeared to be a slap at the United States as Washington moves to enforce U.N. as well as its own sanctions against the isolated regime for its May 25 nuclear test.

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The launches came on July 4, which is U.S. Independence Day. The display was similar to one that took place three years ago, also while Americans celebrated the Fourth of July during another period of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

The number of missiles was the same, though in 2006 North Korea also launched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the ocean less than a minute after liftoff.

South Korea said Saturday's missiles likely flew more than 250 miles (400 kilometers), apparently landing in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

South Korea and Japan both condemned the launches, with Tokyo calling them a "serious act of provocation." Britain and France issued similar statements.

Russia and China, both close to North Korea, expressed concern over an "escalation of tension in the region," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement after a meeting in Moscow.

In Washington, the White House had no immediate comment. But two senior officials in President Barack Obama's administration, speaking in advance of the launches, said any reaction was likely to be muted to avoid giving attention to Pyongyang or antagonize it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

North Korea has engaged in a series of acts this year widely seen as provocative. It fired a long-range rocket it said was a satellite in early April, and in late May it carried out its second underground nuclear test following the first in late 2006.

The country has also stoked tensions with rival South Korea and last month threatened "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the U.S. and its allies if provoked.

In addition, North Korea convicted two American journalists last month and sentenced them to 12 years hard labor for illegally entering the country. It is also holding a South Korean worker for allegedly denouncing its political system.

The secretive communist country is believed undergoing a political transition in which 67-year-old leader Kim Jong Il appears to be laying the groundwork to transfer power to one of his sons. Kim himself took over from his late father, the country's founder.

South Korean officials said Saturday's launches came throughout the day and were part of military exercises. The North, which had warned ships to stay away from waters off the east coast through July 10, also fired what are believed to have been four short-range cruise missiles Thursday.

Speculation had been building for weeks that the launches were coming. The key question has been whether the North might fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, as it vowed to do in late April.

Despite a Japanese newspaper report last month that one might be launched toward Hawaii in early July, U.S. officials have noted no such preparations, which are complex, usually take days and are often observable by spy satellites. Still, that hasn't stopped Washington from boosting missile defenses as a precaution.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency suggested launch activity may be winding down, at least for now. It reported late Saturday, citing an unidentified military official, that the North was pulling personnel from its missile launch site and allowing ships to sail again off the coast. The Defense Ministry said it could not confirm the report.

North Korea's state news agency did not mention the launches, so it was hard to grasp Pyongyang's true intentions. Officials and analysts, however, said they showed the country remains happy to stand up to the international community and appears unwilling to give in to efforts to punish it.

"I think it's a demonstration of their defiance and rejection of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, for one thing, and to demonstrate their military power capabilities to any potential adversaries" as well as potential customers for its weapons, said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.

Pinkston also said that there was "certainly a political aspect connected" to the launches and that July 4 was perhaps a "symbolic date," suggesting the timing was not a coincidence.

Resolution 1874, which was approved last month and which condemned the North's nuclear test, was the third to be passed by the U.N. Security Council against the country since 2006. All three ban North Korea from launching ballistic missiles.

A senior official in South Korea's presidential office said that while the launches were part of military exercises, "North Korea also appeared to have sent a message to the U.S.," though he did not elaborate.

Analysts have said North Korea's saber rattling is partially aimed at pressuring Washington to engage in direct negotiations. North Korea is believed to desire diplomatic relations and a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

Obama's administration has offered dialogue, but it says North Korea must return to stalled international talks on its denuclearization and stop engaging in what Washington sees as provocative behavior threatening allies South Korea and Japan.

Paik Hak-soon, an expert on North Korea at the Sejong Institute, a think tank near Seoul, rejected the idea that the North chose July 4 to confront or annoy the U.S. on its national day.

He said the launches were more likely a warning to the international community against enforcing U.N. sanctions, which call for searches of North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned items, such as nuclear or missile parts.

He said North Korea will continue to carry out more missile and nuclear tests in the future, as long as relations with the U.S. and South Korea remain tense.

"The structure of confrontation is there, intact," he said.

Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim, Jae-soon Chang in Seoul, Tomoko A. Hosaka in Tokyo, Jill Lawless in London, Elaine Ganley in Paris, Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow and Lara Jakes in Washington contributed to this report.

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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-07-03 21:12:55

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EPSON510

08:36 PMJul 05 2009

We now have a half black ***** in office.He's more worried about offending,north korea than about any face or protection of the american people.more inrested in the muslum world,after all he can always turn to his muslum religion!!!!

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Frank Booth PBR

08:35 PMJul 05 2009

North Korea is blowing up fish again. *Yawn*

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Pchatmb

08:32 PMJul 05 2009

I think it's wonderful that North Korea celebrates our independence day, July 4th. I've seen Mexican bottle rockets that fly further.

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PANHERMES

08:32 PMJul 05 2009

Happy July 4th our nation is 233 years young today. Is is great to see so many interested in the well being of our nation-except that several generations posting here have somehow forgotten PATRIOTISM. We are one nation indivisible-somehow some of you have yet to learn what that means. It means no matter your party affiliation-today of all days we come together as a people, diverse though we may be, and celebrate our greatest of nations and thank all who work to keep her safe and free from the likes of those dictatorial rogue nations who would threaten our hard won liberty. REMEMBER ALWAYS, united we stand, strong enough to defeat any threat which confronts U>S>A! Try to remember who you are and why our nation is the greatest-you may disagree with our leaders today, but here you can never lose your right to express your displeasure-ENJOY 07/04/09!

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sgt Brutality

08:28 PMJul 05 2009

China will get a bomb and like it,walmart owns their a$$ and they know itno america no china period.Besides.. hummers are american style vehicleswho else buy's them?

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Craigwied

08:28 PMJul 05 2009

The Whitehouse is reserving comment??????Are you kidding me? I not sure which is more irrelevent, The idiot we elected President or the UN. For the record, both candidates for Presideent sucked.

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Majordunce1

08:27 PMJul 05 2009

CARLHECK5 08:21 PMJul 05 2009 Why are Right Wing Republicans SO Afraid of little NK & Iran? -----------Shows your intellect CARL--but then again you always do. Ever been in the military? Ever been stationed in Korea? Just join with the dove and bury your head in the sand and all will be all right--you just keep on thinking that. I won't!!!!!!!!

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PANDORME

08:26 PMJul 05 2009

bushdiditbushdiditbushdiditbushdiditbushdiditbushdiditbushdiditbushdidit bushdiditbushdid

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Dshutt86

08:25 PMJul 05 2009

Johnria - As for the briliant idea of invading North Korea I have news for you. China will never allow an American military present right next to its border.==========Yup same goes for the morons who say we should nuke them, what would we do if someone nuked Mexico or Canada? DUH! China would not allow it and would easily get Russia as a allie, these morons want world war three!! Do they not know Russia and China arent Iraq? Do they not know they are capable of dropping nukes on American cities just as easily as we can on theirs?

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Ken95403

08:24 PMJul 05 2009

You can blame Obama all you want, but its not his fault for not being more tough against our enemies like North Korea, its your fault.You wanted Obama because you wanted someone who would solve all your problems. Pay my bills. Pay my mortgage. Pay this. Pay that. Now you are worried that this little Dictator may blow us up. I voted for Mccain. Not that I thought he would do that good of a job as President, but at least if he were, A little smartass like Mr. North Korea, would not have fired ANY missles in the first place. Because Mccain would have ment business and dealt with strength than with weakness.You voted for Obama, this is what you get..

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