| North Korean missile test worries everybody |
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| World Affairs Talk | |
| Friday, 15 June 2007 | |
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The US as usual criticized the firing of up to two short-range missiles and urged Pyongyang to focus on its nuclear disarmament, something it agreed in last February but has yet to begin implemented. Japan on the other hand said that the latest tests were unlikely to pose an immediate threat and it had no plans to heighten its alert against North Korea. The communist state fired two missiles into the Yellow Sea on 7 June, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They are believed to be ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missiles with a range of some 100 kilometers. All landed in North Korean waters. This missile launch was the second in as many weeks, a concern for South Korea. North Korea however said that all this is designed to protect the nation itself. Jong Dok-ki, vice chairman of the North's Council of National Reconciliation stated that the test was part of normal military exercises and nothing more. He feels, there was no reason for it to raise any alarm. A communist land where time stands still, North Korea is one of the world's most bizarre countries. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly termed as North Korea, is an East Asian country situated on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital is Pyongyang. Its northern border is shared mostly with China, although 18.3 km is shared with Russia along the Tumen River, in the far northeast corner of the country. To the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with which it formed one nation until the division following World War II. Since the cease fire of the Korean War in 1953, the North Korean government has been at odds with the United States, Japan and South Korea with whom it remains technically at war. The fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in a devastating drop in aid to North Korea from Russia, although China continues to provide substantial assistance. North Korea continues to have strong ties with its socialist Asian allies in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. North Korea is believed to have produced enough plutonium to make as many as a dozen or more nuclear bombs. In July 2006, North Korea also test-fired a barrage of missiles, including a long-range one believed to be capable of reaching even parts of the US. North Korea's relations with the United States have become particularly tense in recent years. Share & Bookmark             |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 June 2007 ) |
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