Seoul, Japan Play Down North Korean Missile Test

Officials in Seoul were quoted saying that North Korean missile test at the weekend does not appear to pose a threat to regional security but would strain efforts to restart talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programs. They further added that they have not yet detected any signs to suggest that Pyongyang is preparing for a nuclear test.

Matching the tone most of Asian governments have played down the significance of North Korea’s latest missile test, saying it involved a short-range weapon unable to reach as far as Japan and with no link to the communist North’s nuclear program.

The United States has said it was watching developments in Korea after North Korea reportedly tested a short-range missile over the sea-of-Japan.

White House chief of staff Andrew Card said he was not “surprised by this”; noting Pyongyang had conducted similar tests in the past.

The US informed both Japan and South Korea about the suspected missile launch, which was believed to have traveled nearly 100 kilometers off the east coast of North Korea, according to media reports in South Korea and Japan.

Card said he heard about the test yesterday morning. “I don’t know an awful lot about it. It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the sea of Japan. We’re not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They’ve had some failures,” card told a television channel.

Jiji Press, Japan, said the test came at about 8:00 am (0230 IST Saturday) and only consisted of one missile. According to Kyodo News, Japan was informed of the test by the US military and cabinet members were told to prepare for an emergency.

Card criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong II by name and called the missile launch a bullying tactic while the state department said it was consulting closely with governments in the region about the incident.

“He is not a good person. He is not a good leader,” Card said of Kim.

Sunday’s test occurred at an especially worrisome time, with concerns that the North is moving forward with its nuclear weapons program. South Korean officials said last month that Pyongyang had shut down a nuclear reactor, possibly to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium.