Can someone who has been around tell me the last time we saw such a financial/political mess around the world?
+Double D (25755 )
From: +flickerful
Monday, Aug 31 1998 5:44AM ET
Reply # of 25769
North Korea Test-Fired Missile Into Sea of Japan South of Vladivostok
North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Into Sea of Japan (Update1) (Adds comments from
Japanese officials, details about missiles)
Tokyo, Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of
Japan, the Japanese Defense Agency said.
The information was received from U.S. forces based in Japan, the agency said. South
Korea's defense ministry also confirmed the report, saying the missile was a
''Daepodong I'' which has a maximum range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
The missile was launched shortly after noon Japan time from the east coast of North
Korea and landed in the sea south of the Russian port of Vladivostok, to the northwest
of Japan, at 12:12 p.m., Japan's Defense Agency said. Japan's coast guard dispatched
two patrol boats and one plane to check whether any ships in the area were damaged,
NHK television reported. ''It's a matter of regret that North Korea launched a missile,''
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Teijiro Furukawa said on NHK television.
The launch could have been a training exercise, said Masahiro Akiyama, vice minister of
the Defense Agency.
The firing of the missile resembles a test in 1993, when communist North Korea fired a
''Rodong'' missile into the Sea of Japan.
The country will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on Sept. 9, when Kim Jong-Il, son
of Kim Il-Sung, the late founder of the communist state, is expected to be elected
president. Earlier news reports said the country was preparing to test-fire a
medium-range missile in a show of strength to mark the election.
The younger Kim has already succeeded his father as communist party head and
supreme military commander.
North Korea signed a 1994 agreement to abandon its pursuit of nuclear arms in return
for $6 billion in international aid, although the country has complained in recent months
that the U.S. hasn't honored its side of the accord.
Recent Western intelligence reports say North Korea is building what could be a large,
underground facility for developing and testing missiles and nuclear devices. |
