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Friday May 25, 9:35 PMNothing unusual in Pyongyang's missile launches, Hill says(Kyodo) _ The chief U.S. delegate to the six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea said Friday there is nothing unusual in North Korea's test launch of short-range missiles on Friday and it will not affect the nuclear dialogue process."It's something that they have done on several occasions," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in Manila where he attended a meeting of senior officials of the ASEAN Regional Forum. "I know that it will not affect the six-party talks." Hill said the missiles, which were fired from North Korea's eastern coast into the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, were probably fired as part of Pyongyang's military exercises. "It's obviously not going to contribute to their own security. We would prefer that they spend their time on how to denuclearize and figure out how to join the rest of international community," Hill said. He added the launches will not affect the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, which also involve the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan. "We have said in many occasions what North Korea needs to do. Their future is going to be assured by getting out of the nuclear weapons business. Obviously, these acts today have nothing to do with that," Hill said. North Korea unveiled last month a ballistic missile capable of reaching the westernmost U.S. territory of Guam in a grand military parade, which also displayed new models of medium-range missiles capable of traveling up to 4,000 kilometers. Pyongyang's missile program and nuclear armaments have been a constant security issue in the Asia-Pacific region. It tested in July last year a long-range missile called the Taepodong-2, which experts believe could reach the U.S. mainland, and a nuclear device a few months later. |
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