| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"The Court Fool" |
| Date: |
03 May 2005 11:07:19 AM |
| Object: |
'Nothing special' about possible North Korea missile test: Hosoda (Japan) |
'Nothing special' about possible North Korea missile test: Hosoda
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda played down on Monday the
seriousness of North Korea's reported launch of a short-range missile,
telling reporters there was "nothing special" to say about the
incident.
"It is apparently a fact that tests have been conducted from time to
time. There is nothing special to speak of," he said.
The launch of such a short-range missile would not infringe on the 2002
Japan-North Korean Pyongyang Declaration, under which North Korea
promised to maintain a moratorium on missile launches beyond 2003.
"It is not a missile with a range of hundreds of kilometers to fly over
the open sea," he said.
The timing of the reported launch "would not have anything to do with
Japan," Hosoda said. "We believe it would have been something like an
ordinary domestic military drill."
He said the missile launch has not been confirmed.
Japanese government sources said Sunday that North Korea may have
launched a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan in the morning,
citing information given to the Defense Agency by the U.S. military.
The intelligence, believed to be based on a U.S. early warning
satellite and other data, said a missile was launched from North
Korea's east coast shortly after 8 a.m. and plunged into the Sea of
Japan.
Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono told reporters Sunday
night in Manila that it would not pose a danger to Japan. "We have
received information that a short-range missile was test-fired," Ono
told reporters. "As long as it is short-range, it would not cause
problems to Japan's security."
Ono, however, criticized North Korea, saying, "Why would they have to
conduct such a test when suspicions over nuclear and missile
development have been cast over them."
Ono was in the Philippines for meetings with President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo and defense officials.
UAVs mulled
MANILA (Kyodo) Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono said Sunday that
Japan is studying the introduction of U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles for
coastal defense and collecting information during disasters.
Speaking to reporters accompanying him in Manila, Ono said the Defense
Agency is already studying the development of a domestically produced
unmanned vehicle but wants to compare the costs between the two.
He emphasized that such vehicles would not be flown overseas. "We're
not considering their use as attack weapons," he said.
Ono also said he is considering the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces
ships and aircraft to the joint maritime exercise to intercept weapons
of mass destruction in Singapore in August.
The Japan Times: May 3, 2005
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