South Korea and the US said North Korea appeared set to test a missile within days, stepping up pressure for US concessions in a nuclear standoff while Washington is preoccupied with Iraq.
Allies Seoul and Washington played down the communist state's declaration of a maritime exclusion zone -- an apparent preparation for a missile launch -- while Japan urged Pyongyang to avoid further steps to escalate the nuclear crisis.
South Korean and US officials said the North declared the exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan from March 8 to March 11, in what was seen as a strong sign it was planning its second missile test in two weeks.
"We are aware that they are preparing to fire a missile, probably between this weekend and early next week," a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said yesterday.
On Feb. 24, North Korea fired a short-range anti-ship cruise missile into the Sea of Japan, a test that startled its neighbors, carried out a day before South Korea swore in its new president, Roh Moo-hyun.
Another missile test had been widely expected by the North's neighbors as Pyongyang seeks to pressure the US to hold bilateral talks and sign a non-aggression pact to resolve the nuclear crisis.
"It was predictable the North would take a tougher line," said Kim Jung-ro, a Unification Ministry spokesman.
But any new test would follow a step-by-step escalation of provocations by North Korea that parallels the US war timetable in Iraq. Critics say US President George W. Bush is allowing Iraq to distract him from a crisis possibly more serious.
Earlier this week, Japanese media reported the North was close to restarting a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant that could produce weapons-grade plutonium.
US officials said last week that North Korea, believed to be developing missiles capable of reaching parts of the US, had restarted a research reactor at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang. Plutonium could be extracted from the reactor's spent fuel rods.
Four North Korean MiG fighter jets buzzed a US spy plane in international airspace last Sunday and a similar plane violated South Korean airspace last month.
Washington is possibly only a fortnight away from launching a war against Iraq.
US B-52 and B-1 bombers landed on the Pacific island of Guam this week as a deterrent to Pyongyang in the event of a US-led war against Iraq. North Korean media called the deployment part of US preparations for "pre-emptive attack".
The US Defense Department said on Friday that North Korea had declared an exclusion zone off its east coast, a standard measure prior to weapons testing.
"We are certainly aware that they have filed a notice of exclusion. That is typically a precursor to a missile test. But we're not overly concerned," said US Navy Lieutenant-Commander Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The US also played down last month's missile test, saying the North had given prior notification.
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima yesterday urged Pyongyang to avoid steps to raise tensions further.
"We urge North Korean restraint. If such action is carried out, it will only raise tensions and is highly undesirable," he said.
Roh's office declined to comment on the expected test.
Such short-range missile tests do not violate international treaties and laws.
The North has, however tested long-range missiles before, firing a multi-stage Taepodong-1 missile over Japan in 1998.
The stand-off over North Korea's nuclear ambitions has complicated the Bush administration's focus on Iraq.
On Thursday, Bush said he sought a multilateral diplomatic approach to North Korea, which he has bracketed with Iraq and Iran as part of an "axis of evil."
"This is a regional issue ... because there's a lot of countries that have got a direct stake in whether or not North Korea has a nuclear weapon," he told a news conference on Thursday.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source