North Korea said yesterday it was readying to launch a satellite, a move that the US and its allies believe could actually be a long-range missile test.
Just days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pyongyang to avoid any provocations, the country said preparations were under way for a rocket launch to put a communications satellite into orbit.
South Korea indicated a new round of sanctions would follow if the country goes ahead with a launch.
Pyongyang has previously tested missiles under the guise of launching a satellite, and analysts have said recent comments from the North indicated it was on the verge of another attention-grabbing test.
“When this satellite launch proves successful, the nation’s space science and technology will make another giant stride forward in building an economic power,” the country’s national space committee said.
North Korea first tested its longest-range Taepodong-2 missile in 2006, the same year it shocked the world by testing an atom bomb, but the missile — said to be capable of reaching Alaska — blew up after just 40 seconds.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee challenged the North to present evidence it was launching a satellite, not a missile.
“Regardless whether the North launches a satellite or tests a long-range missile, it would pose a security threat to the South as the technology involved is about the same,” he told parliament.
South Korea will “trace its trajectory, assuming it is a long-range missile,” Lee said.
Some analysts said the North would indeed launch a satellite but that the technology could easily be applied to a long-range missile. Experts do not know whether Pyongyang has the technology to fit a nuclear warhead to its missiles.
“If you put a warhead [on it] instead of a satellite, it’s a long-range missile. The North is now seeking to show off its delivery capability,” said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
The North did not say when the launch would be made, but Baek said it may take place around the time of the North’s parliamentary elections on March 8.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS