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N.K. loads two medium-range missiles on mobile launchers

North Korea has loaded two intermediate-range missiles onto mobile launchers and hidden them in an unidentified facility near the east coast, Seoul military sources said Friday, triggering speculation that the North is ready for an abrupt missile launch.

Earlier this week, the communist state had moved the “Musudan” medium-range missiles to its east coast, prompting the U.S. to send its advanced missile defense system to its base on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam.

South Korea’s Navy has sent two Aegis destroyers equipped with advanced radar systems to both of its coasts as North Korea is moving closer to a missile launch, military officials said.

The United States also said it is taking “all the necessary precautions” in the face of escalating threats from North Korea.

The two countries‘ intelligence officials have been closely monitoring the North Korean facility believed to contain the Musudan missiles on the TELs (transporter-erector-launcher). The missile can fly 3,000-4,000 kilometers and is capable of hitting the U.S. base in Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

“Early this week, the North has moved two Musudan missiles on the train and placed them on mobile launchers,” a senior military official familiar with the knowledge of the matter said.

The North’s concealing the missiles atop the mobile launcher platform is seen as an attempt to launch missiles in a surprise move, the official said, noting it was not clear whether the move is for a test firing or military drills.

The isolated communist nation has not yet conducted a test firing of the Musudan missile, which was first revealed to the international community in October 2010 during a military parade in Pyongyang.

South Korea’s 7,600-ton Aegis destroyers with SPY-1 radar, which can track hundreds of targets as far as 1,000 kilometers away, have been on standby on the east and west coasts of the Korean Peninsula to track missile launches by Pyongyang, according to a senior Navy official said.

“If the North fires off a missile, we will trace its trajectory,” the official said asking for anonymity citing confidential information.

The South Korean military is also operating the ground-based missile defense radar system Green Pine, and the early warning aircraft Peace Eye under its stepped up military readiness status to prepare for a potential rocket launch, according to the officials.

The latest move comes as the communist country recently moved a medium-range missile to its east coast, while the U.S. strengthened its Pacific missile defenses and radar surveillance amid intensifying threats from Pyongyang.

While Seoul’s defense ministry didn’t officially confirm the type of missile, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin Thursday said it is believed to have a “considerable distance,” which points to a medium-range missile.

According to intelligence analysis, the component seen in the satellite imagery seems like a Musudan missile, which can fly about 3,000-4,000 km and is capable of hitting the U.S. base in Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

The North has not yet conducted a test firing of the Musudan missile, which was first revealed to the international community in October 2010 during a military parade in Pyongyang.

“We are closely monitoring North Korea’s missile preparations, but it is not yet clear when and where it will fire off a missile,” defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing. “We will step up our military posture if the North’s missile affects us.”

In response to media reports that the North may plan to launch a missile in the coming days or weeks, Kim said Pyongyang could pick a launching day it deems “meaningful,” without elaboration.

Outside watchers see a high chance that Pyongyang may launch the missile in mid-April to celebrate the April 15 birthday of Kim Il-sung, the communist nation’s late founder and the young leader Kim Jong-un‘s grandfather, in a move to bolster the regime’s grip on power.

The North’s apparent missile relocation has prompted the Pentagon to move its advanced missile defense system to its base on Guam along with radar systems.

 Asked about the North’s apparent move to place a medium-range missile on its east coast, White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama’s administration was aware of the reports but declined to comment specifically.

“What we’re seeing now is a familiar pattern of behavior out of North Korea -- regrettable but familiar,” Carney said aboard Air Force One as Obama returned to Washington from a fundraising trip to California.

But while the barrage of threats from the communist North was familiar, Carney said it was nevertheless “obviously a concern,” adding: “We’re taking all the necessary precautions.”

“We‘re monitoring both the actions taken by and the statements made by the North Korean leadership. And we’re also taking prudent measures to respond to that activity and to those statements,” the spokesman said.

He said such “action and provocative rhetoric only serve to further isolate North Korea, to harm the North Korean economy, to set back any efforts the North Koreans might want to take towards rejoining the community of nations.”

Carney reiterated, however, that Pyongyang “has a path available to it if it seeks to improve its economy and work towards abiding to its international obligations.”

“Threats and provocative actions will not bring the DPRK the security, international respect and economic development that it seeks,” said Carney.

“We continue to urge the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama’s call to choose the path of peace and come into compliance with its international obligations.”



The Korea Herald

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)