North Koreans will "harpoon" whale-eating Japs with rockets from the Dear 
Leader, His Excellency Kim Jong Il.

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The Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com

North Korea launches missile show

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 5, 2006


North Korea launched a volley of missiles yesterday, including a
long-range Taepodong-2, which can strike U.S. territory, and five
others, including one that landed near Russian territory.
    A Pentagon official said there were "multiple launches from
multiple locations" and added that more launches may come from North
Korea in the coming days.
    "They are out to prove a point," the official said of Pyongyang's
reclusive communist regime.
    The White House and U.S. air-defense officials last night said that
there were six launches over a four-hour period.
    "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea launched six ballistic
missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 missile," the U.S.
Northern Command said last night.
    The 9,300-mile-range Taepodong-2, which can reach parts of the
United States, appeared to have failed after 42 seconds of flight, said
U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
    Officials had no other details on the failed Taepodong test or the
missile that landed close to Russia. The other launches were of
shorter-range missiles -- the 620-mile-range Nodong missile and a
Scud-type missile with a range of 300 to 500 miles.
    The U.S. government was prepared to shoot down the Taepodong-2 if
it appeared to be heading to U.S. or allied territory, using the new
limited missile-defense system with interceptors deployed in Alaska and
California.
    The White House said North Korea's decision to escalate its nuclear
standoff with the international community by test-firing missiles will
further alienate it from the international community.
    "The North Koreans have again clearly isolated themselves," White
House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters.
    "We do consider it provocative behavior," National Security Adviser
Stephen J. Hadley said.
    President Bush had met with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mr. Hadley, Mr. Snow said.
    Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, is to head to the
region today, and Mr. Hadley is to meet with his South Korean
counterpart, a meeting in Washington that already had been scheduled,
Mr. Snow said.
    One administration official told The Washington Times that the
missile launches were expected, as preparations for them had been
detected over the past two weeks, adding that the North Koreans appear
to have timed the launches for a major U.S. holiday.
    Still, the missiles were launched without any formal warning, U.S.
officials said, and there were no recent official statements from the
North Koreans about testing plans.
    "North Korea has gone ahead with the launch, despite international
protest," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. "That is
regrettable from the standpoint of Japan's security, the stability of
international society and nonproliferation of weapons of mass
destruction."
    The missiles all landed in the East Sea/Japan Sea, between Japan
and Korea, with no reports of damage, Mr. Abe said.
    He said the first missile was launched at about 3:30 a.m. today
local time (2:30 p.m. EDT yesterday). If the timing is correct, the
North Korean missiles were launched within minutes of yesterday's
liftoff of Discovery, which blasted into orbit from Cape Canaveral,
Fla., in the first U.S. space shuttle launch in a year.
    Normally, when missile or space launches are carried out, the
governments conducting the tests will issue international notices to
airmen and mariners to avoid ocean and airspace where the tests are to
be conducted. But North Korea does not follow the same missile-testing
protocols as the United States or other nations.
    Both Japan and South Korea protested the missile tests, with Tokyo
persuading the U.N. Security Council to schedule an emergency meeting
for this morning.
    "We will take stern measures," Mr. Abe said today, adding that
economic sanctions were a possibility.
    At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton told
reporters that he was "urgently consulting other Security Council
members."
    In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry refused to comment on the
tests. "At this point, we have nothing to say on this," a spokesman
told Agence France-Presse this morning.
    In the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, people went about their
business as usual today, Kyodo News reported. There was no celebration
of the missile launches, or even any official comment. There was no TV
broadcast in the morning, and radio news mentioned North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il visiting a factory as its top item.
    On Monday, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R.
Nicholas Burns warned North Korea against firing any missiles and urged
the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear
program. The six-party talks, suspended by North Korea, involved
negotiations by the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia
with Pyongyang over the country's nuclear program.
    It will be several days before analysis of the missile launch is
completed and the reasons for the Taepodong failure can be identified.
The 1998 Taepodong flight was successful for the first two stages. The
last stage failed.