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Signs of more N. Korean missile launches detected in east coast

Signs of more N. Korean missile launches detected in east coast

Posted February. 05, 2016 09:10,   

Updated February. 05, 2016 09:15

한국어
Signs have detected suggesting that North Korea could make additional missile provocation before or after its planned launch of a long-range missile between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25. According to South Korean military sources on Friday, the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities detected several transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles carrying ballistic missiles moving in eastern coastal areas.

The ballistic missiles mounted on the TELs are known to be Scud (short-range) and Rodong (mid-range) missiles. The South Korean military is preparing for the possibility that the North will simultaneously launch several missiles before or after the planned launch of the long-range missile. A Seoul military official said, "We are watching relevant movements because the TELs can launch ballistic missiles any time."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that the international community should "make North Korea realize that it cannot survive unless it abandons its nuclear program," according to her spokesperson Kim Sung-woo.

Defining the North's planned long-range missile launch "an act that poses threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world," the president stressed that the launch should never be condoned. She also noted that Pyongyang announcement of yet another provocation at a time when the U.N. is discussing sanctions shows that it is not afraid of U.N. sanctions. North Korea's planned launch is "a desperate measure to maintain" its regime and shows that it is not afraid of U.N. sanctions, she said.

Wu Dawei, the Chinese chief negotiator for the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North, returned to Beijing after visiting Pyongyang for three days. He told reporters that he had said what he had to say to the North, adding that he had no idea about what the results of his visit would be. The remarks are interpreted as a suggestion that he urged the North to exercise self-restraint in the planned long-range missile launch but had no response from Pyongyang.



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