북한이 3차 핵실험 이후, 국제사회 제재 움직임에 반발하면서 4차 핵실험에 나 설 것이라는 관측이 대두되고 있는 가운데, 함경북도 화대군 무수단리의 로켓 발사장 인근에서 활발한 움직임이 관측되고 있는 것으로 나타났다.

미국 존스홉킨스대 한미연구소가 운영하는 북한전문 매체 ‘38 노스(38 North)’는 14일(현지시간) “무수단리 동해 위성발사장의 새로운 시설물 건설작업에 10월 이후 중요한 진전이 있는 것으로 보인다”고 전하면서 북한의 추가 미사일 발사 가능성을 시사했다.

이 웹사이트는 북한의 무수단 로켓의 변형된 형태의 미사일이나, KN-08 신형 장거리 미사일을 발사하는 준비일 수도 있다고 예측했다.

KN-08 미사일은 2012년 4월 15일 김일성 생일 100주년 군사퍼레이드에서 최초로 공개되었고, 전문가들은 신형 대륙간 탄도 미사일일수도 있다고 보고 있다. 하지만 일각에서는 전시용 막업(mock-up) 로켓이라 보고 있다.

무수단 미사일은 북한이 2007년부터 실전배치하고 있고, 사거리는 3-4,000 km로 추정된다. 이 미사일은 오키나와와 괌의 미군기지를 사정권에 둘 수 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

북한의 군사적 위협이 증가하고 있는 가운데, 한미일은 독자, 또는 양자 대북 제재 방안 논의에 속도를 내고 있다. 한국은 차기 정부가 취임하는 2월 25일 이전에 독자적 제재 방안을 마련할 수도 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

미국도 강경한 대북제재를 가할 방침이다. 미국의 존케리 국무부 장관은 북한 문제를 이란의 핵문제와 연계시켜 해결해 나갈 것임을 시사하면서 국제사회가 힘을 모아 북한의 핵실험과 관련해 신속하고 분명한 조치를 취해야 한다고 강조했다.



(코리아 헤럴드 송상호 기자)



<관련 영문기사>



N. Korea seen preparing for another rocket launch

Seoul, Washington, Tokyo speed up talk on anti-Pyongyang sanctions



By Song Sang-ho



North Korea appeared to be preparing for another long-range rocket launch at its northeastern Musudan-ri test site Friday, adding to the security jitters fanned by its third nuclear test on Tuesday.

Presenting its analysis of recent commercial satellite imagery, the U.S.-based “38 North” website said a flurry of activities in the test site indicated Pyongyang might be preparing to lift off a modified Musudan intermediate-range missile or a new KN-08 long-range rocket.

Dedicated to the analysis of the communist state, the website is run by the U.S.-Korea Institute under the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

The analysis came amid the speculation that the North could conduct additional underground nuclear tests in its northeast Punggye-ri site despite international condemnation for violating a series of U.N. Security Council’s resolutions.

The North unveiled the KN-08 missile on April 15 last year during a ceremony to mark the centennial of the birth of its late former leader and national founder Kim Il-sung. Experts speculated that it might be a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Musudan ballistic missile with a range of 3,000-4,000 km is North Korea’s longest-range one. Deployed since 2007, this missile, in theory, brings Guam, a key U.S. strategic base in the Asia-Pacific region, within striking range.

Should it launch another long-range rocket, the North, which argues it has miniaturized and lightened its nuclear warheads, would pose a grave security challenge to South Korea, Japan and the U.S., experts noted. In December, the North successfully launched a rocket, which experts presume had a range of 10,000 km.

Amid increased tension on the peninsula, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are striving to craft their own or bilateral sanctions to punish the North for the nuclear test. They apparently believe that the U.N. Security Council might not be able to come up with tougher sanctions with Beijing calling for “calm and restraint.”

Seoul is accelerating its work to devise its own sanctions against the North. Some officials said that it could finalize the work before the new administration takes office on Feb. 25.

The Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, warned on Friday that Seoul’s toughened sanctions against it would spark “retaliatory strikes.” Saying that there would be nothing to achieve from harsher sanctions, its editorial threatened to make Seoul pay the “high price.”

After its nuclear test on Tuesday, the North’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that sanctions by “hostile forces” would be regarded as an act of war and be met with retaliatory strikes.

The U.S. has expressed its resolve to sternly handle the North’s provocations, indicating that its measures against the North would be linked to its efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Just as it’s impermissible for North Korea to pursue this kind of reckless effort, so we have said it’s impermissible with respect to Iran. What our response is with respect to this will have an impact on all other nonproliferation efforts,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said after his meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh at the State Department on Wednesday.

“The international community needs to come together for a swift, clear response, and this is about proliferation, and it’s also about Iran because they’re linked.”

Observers said that the allies might seek to introduce fresh financial sanctions, the inspection of the North’s maritime cargo or sanctions on foreign vessels that have called at North Korea’s ports.

It is unlikely that Seoul and Washington would seek to include Article 42 of U.N. Chapter 7, which offers grounds for military action, in a fresh sanction against the North as China and Russia could oppose it quoting Article 42, experts said.

(sshluck@heraldcorp.com)