10TH LD: N. Korea fires missiles into Sea of Japan, Tokyo imposes sanctions

News Home Top Stories World Asia Pacific Business Technology Entertainment Sports Photos

Yahoo! Asia News

Search Yahoo! News

advertisement

Wednesday July 5, 10:14 PM

10TH LD: N. Korea fires missiles into Sea of Japan, Tokyo imposes sanctions
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH START OF U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING IN 2ND GRAF)
North Korea has fired seven missiles, including a long-range one, into the Sea of Japan since early Wednesday, prompting Tokyo to impose sanctions on the country and drawing criticism not only from the United States but even from Pyongyang sympathizers China, Russia and South Korea.
Japan, which has no diplomatic ties with North Korea, has lodged a protest against Pyongyang through diplomatic contacts in Beijing while the U.N. Security Council began emergency talks Wednesday morning in New York to discuss the incident.
As evening fell, Japan remained on full alert for further launches, with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi saying, "The possibility cannot be ruled out." A senior government official, citing intelligence information, also said later the government does not think North Korea's moves have finished.
Tension had been building in the region over the past weeks since suspected preparations by North Korea for a missile launch came to light, and Japan, South Korea and the United States had been calling on Pyongyang to keep its promises of a missile-launch moratorium.
Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga said the first six missiles are believed to have been fired between 3:30 a.m. and 8:20 a.m., landing in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Russia's Far East about 10 minutes after the respective launches.

The agency said the seventh missile was fired around 5:20 p.m., after Japan condemned the earlier launches and announced the sanctions.
One of the missiles -- the third one launched at approximately 5 a.m. -- was likely a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile that may have failed and the others were Scud-type short-range missiles and Rodong medium-range missiles, Nukaga said.
Nothing has been confirmed as having landed in Japanese territory and Self-Defense Forces vessels and aircraft are combing areas where the missiles are thought to have fallen, Nukaga and agency officials said.
"No matter what their intentions are, this certainly is not to North Korea's benefit," Koizumi said.
He stressed that Japan will continue to deal with Pyongyang through both dialogue and pressure, saying, "The issue cannot be resolved without dialogue."
"North Korea must respond sincerely to concerns in the world over the missile, nuclear and abduction issues," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said separately. "Internationally, more measures may be discussed at the U.N. Security Council and be implemented."
Abe said the missile launches are a violation of North Korea's September 2002 agreement with Japan on a moratorium and they could also breach similar accords involving other nations.
The government's top spokesman, who described the launches as a "grave issue" for Japanese and international security, announced a set of sanctions against North Korea, including banning the entry of the Mangyongbong-92 ferry into Japanese ports for six months and barring North Korean officials, ship crews and chartered flights from Japan.
He said Japan may opt to regulate fund remittances to North Korea and further measures will be considered depending on Pyongyang's moves from this point on.
In Washington, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the Taepodong-2 missile failed after about 40 seconds in flight and confirmed the other ones were Scud-type short-range missiles and Rodong medium-range missiles.
Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso called separately for international condemnation of the missile launches.
Japan is coordinating closely with the United States and plans to do so with China, South Korea and Russia -- all members of the stalled six-party nuclear talks with North Korea.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer met with Abe, Aso and Nukaga in the early morning, while South Korean Ambassador to Japan Ra Jong Yil was summoned by the Japanese Foreign Ministry to meet Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi. Both Washington and Seoul agreed to closely coordinate with Tokyo on the issue, the envoys said.
There has been no official announcement from North Korea concerning the matter.
Japan urged Pyongyang to halt its missile launches and swiftly return without preconditions to the six-party nuclear talks, which have been stalled since November.
Since early Wednesday, shortly after the first news of a missile launch broke, top Japanese officials including Koizumi, Abe, Aso and Nukaga gathered at the prime minister's official residence for meetings of the Security Council of Japan and other opportunities to examine intelligence and discuss Japan's policies.
North Korea last fired a ballistic missile in August 1998, when it tested the Taepodong-1 with a range of 2,500 kilometers, part of which flew over Japan and into the Pacific. Pyongyang said it was a rocket for sending a satellite into orbit.
The Taepodong-2 is thought to have a range of around 6,000 km or more. The Rodong has a range of about 1,300 km and the Scud several hundred kilometers.
The ferry Mangyongbong-92, the only direct passenger link between Japan and North Korea, was to visit Niigata port on the Sea of Japan coast Wednesday morning but permission for the port call was recalled as a result of the sanctions.
It was allowed to make a brief stop in the afternoon to allow only passengers, mostly students of a pro-Pyongyang high school in Osaka returning from an excursion to North Korea, to disembark. All cargo was to remain on board.
In another development, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ordered Japan's nuclear, electric and gas power suppliers to strengthen their warning system in the face of the missile launches.