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N.Korea boasts of military strength
2009-07-06
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea on Sunday hailed the prowess of its military after it test-fired a salvo of seven ballistic missiles in a show of strength that earned international criticism and talk of further isolation. In a commentary, the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun praised Pyongyang's "army-first policy" which gave North Korea the capacity to hit enemies with what it called a "merciless" strike. "Our defence industry... laid a firm foundation to produce any kind of (weapons) needed for modern warfare freely," the newspaper said. The missiles, which the North are banned from firing under United Nations resolutions, were launched into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) Saturday in an act of defiance apparently timed for the US Independence Day holiday. They further fuelled tension after a nuclear test in May and led US Vice President Joseph Biden to say on Sunday that Pyongyang's communist regime was engaged in "attention seeking" as it faced increasing isolation. "Look, this has almost become predictable behaviour," Biden told ABC television. "Some of it seems like almost attention-seeking behaviour." The missile launches also came as Washington seeks support for tough enforcement of United Nations sanctions aimed at shutting down Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. It was the biggest salvo of ballistic weaponry since the North fired a long-range Taepodong-2 and six smaller missiles on US Independence Day in 2006. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles had a range of between 400 and 500 km (250-310 miles) but declined to say what type they were. Yonhap news agency said they were either Scuds or Rodong-1 missiles whose maximum range of 1,300 km had been shortened. The North on Thursday test-fired four short-range missiles with a range of 120 km into the Sea of Japan. But Saturday's action was seen as more provocative since the missiles could potentially reach most of South Korea, and possibly parts of Japan. The North has also apparently improved the accuracy of its missiles, an unidentified official told Yonhap, with five out of the seven hitting the target area after travelling about 450 km. "Three of the seven missiles fired had an unusually high velocity that makes us believe they could have been Rodong missiles that had their flight distance shortened," the official was quoted as saying. The North has about 600 Scuds, plus 200 Rodong-1 missiles -- which could reach Tokyo. Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul's Dongguk University said the test-firing was designed to demonstrate the country's improved missile capacity. "The weekend sabre-rattling, apparently designed to demonstrate the country's improved missile capacity and military firepower, produced its intended effect," he said. The US State Department urged Pyongyang not to "aggravate tensions" and called the launches "not helpful". Seoul's foreign ministry said the "provocative act... clearly violates" three UN Security Council resolutions, including the latest one on June 12 which toughened weapons-related sanctions on the North in response to its May 25 nuclear test. Britain, France and Japan also condemned the North's latest move. US and South Korean officials believe ailing leader Kim Jong-Il, 67, is staging a show of strength to bolster his authority as he tries to put in place a succession plan involving his youngest son Jong-Un. UN sanctions imposed after the atomic test call on UN member states to inspect ships believed to be carrying banned weapons shipments to or from the North. The North Korean Kang Nam 1, which was being tracked by the US Navy under the new measures, was seen on Sunday in international waters off South Korea's west coast, according to Yonhap. It was heading back to its home port in the Yellow Sea, Yonhap said, and was expected to reach North Korean waters Monday morning.
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