real6
02-07-2007, 09:09 PM
https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/07/03/200707030028.asp
North Korea's recent launches of short-range missiles were part of its continued tests and efforts to technologically upgrade its missile capability and are a "very real threat" to South Korea and the world, the top U.S. military officer in Korea said yesterday.
"What I find very disturbing is that the North continues to test these advanced short-range missiles. These are modern, solid-fuel, which means that they are easy to handle and rapidly capable of being fired," Gen. Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said at a media conference at the National Press Center downtown in Seoul. "These were not failure missile tests. These were successful tests."
Bell said the missiles are believed to be replacing the North's old short-range Frog missiles, and they could reach not only Seoul but also other cities south of the capital due to their extended ranges.
USFK keeps eyes on the missiles in concerns that they could proliferate to other countries or terrorist groups, the U.S. Army general said. But he didn't elaborate on details on the missiles.
Over last two months, North Korea fired short-range missiles into the East Sea in a series of launches. The South Korean military sees that the North's missiles were a new KN-O2 type, a mobile short-range ground-to-ground ballistic missile improved from Russia's SS-21.
"One of the biggest threats to peace and stability is the potential capability of North Korea to couple its missile technology with its demonstrated nuclear ability," he said. "This is a very real threat which cannot be ignored."
It is a clearly different assessment from the South Korean military on the North's missile tests. The South Korean Defense Ministry has played down the missile firings conducted by Pyongyang only as conventional military exercises.
Meanwhile, the U.S. general expressed optimism about North Korea's nuclear disarmament process in accordance with the February 13 agreement among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
"The recent announcement that the Banco Delta Asia issue has been resolved, and that the North Koreans have agreed to return the six party talk process of denuclearization, is welcome news. We are all hopeful North Korea will finally do what they agreed to do," Bell said.
North Korea last week said it would move to follow its promise in the February accord to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facilities.
"We are all very hopeful that the north Koreans will now live up to the agreements they have made," he said.
By Jin Dae-woong
(davidpooh@heraldm.com)
North Korea's recent launches of short-range missiles were part of its continued tests and efforts to technologically upgrade its missile capability and are a "very real threat" to South Korea and the world, the top U.S. military officer in Korea said yesterday.
"What I find very disturbing is that the North continues to test these advanced short-range missiles. These are modern, solid-fuel, which means that they are easy to handle and rapidly capable of being fired," Gen. Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said at a media conference at the National Press Center downtown in Seoul. "These were not failure missile tests. These were successful tests."
Bell said the missiles are believed to be replacing the North's old short-range Frog missiles, and they could reach not only Seoul but also other cities south of the capital due to their extended ranges.
USFK keeps eyes on the missiles in concerns that they could proliferate to other countries or terrorist groups, the U.S. Army general said. But he didn't elaborate on details on the missiles.
Over last two months, North Korea fired short-range missiles into the East Sea in a series of launches. The South Korean military sees that the North's missiles were a new KN-O2 type, a mobile short-range ground-to-ground ballistic missile improved from Russia's SS-21.
"One of the biggest threats to peace and stability is the potential capability of North Korea to couple its missile technology with its demonstrated nuclear ability," he said. "This is a very real threat which cannot be ignored."
It is a clearly different assessment from the South Korean military on the North's missile tests. The South Korean Defense Ministry has played down the missile firings conducted by Pyongyang only as conventional military exercises.
Meanwhile, the U.S. general expressed optimism about North Korea's nuclear disarmament process in accordance with the February 13 agreement among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
"The recent announcement that the Banco Delta Asia issue has been resolved, and that the North Koreans have agreed to return the six party talk process of denuclearization, is welcome news. We are all hopeful North Korea will finally do what they agreed to do," Bell said.
North Korea last week said it would move to follow its promise in the February accord to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facilities.
"We are all very hopeful that the north Koreans will now live up to the agreements they have made," he said.
By Jin Dae-woong
(davidpooh@heraldm.com)