North Korea is believed to have fired a short-range missile yesterday into the Sea of Japan, Japanese news reports said, amid a standoff between the communist state and the outside world over its nuclear ambitions.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the missile was fired from the east coast of North Korea and flew about 100km until it fell into the sea.
Jiji Press said the test came at about 8am on 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.
PHOTO: AP
A Japanese foreign ministry official said only that Tokyo had "unconfirmed reports" about a missile.
A South Korean defense ministry official said Seoul had no information and a US military spokeswoman in Japan said the US forces do not discuss intelligence matters.
North Korea shocked the world in August 1998 by firing a long-range Taepodong-1 missile with a range of up to 2,000km over Japan into the Pacific Ocean, claiming it was a satellite launch.
Short-range missile launches have been more routine, but have often been timed to send signals. North Korea's last high-profile launches were in March 2003, when it lobbed two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, coinciding with the inauguration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
Japanese and US media have reported that North Korea is preparing an underground nuclear test, with Kyodo News saying it could come as early as June.
North Korea has in recent months sent out a series of defiant statements to the world including one in March saying it would no longer be bound by a moratorium on testing long-range missiles.
North Korea's official media on Saturday said no resolution on its nuclear ambitions would be possible under the US presidency of George W. Bush, calling him a "hooligan bereft of any personality as a human being, to say nothing of stature as president of a country."
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it plans to revise the export control list for strategic high-tech products by adding 18 items under three categories — advanced 3D printing equipment, advanced semiconductor equipment and quantum computers — which would require local manufacturers to obtain licenses for their export. The ministry’s announcement yesterday came as the International Trade Administration issued a 60-day preview period for planned revisions to the Export Control List for Dual Use Items and Technology (軍商兩用貨品及技術出口管制清單) and the Common Military List (一般軍用貨品清單), which fall under regulations governing export destinations for strategic high-tech commodities and specific strategic high-tech commodities. The
RSS