By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today expressed concern over a possible North Korean satellite launch that could violate United Nations sanctions against nuclear testing by the government in Pyongyang.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said North Korea has threatened a launch as soon
as next week, and added that U.S. ships today moved from Japanese ports
toward the Korean peninsula.
North
Korea reportedly has placed a Taepodong 2 missile at a launch facility
in preparation for a launch. Pyongyang has stated the long-range
missile is equipped with a commercial satellite and poses no danger,
according to reports.
But Mullen said the launch would
contravene U.N. Resolution 1718, a unanimous decision the U.N. Security
Council reached in 2006 to block attempts by North Korea to employ such
technology.
He added that it’s unlikely the missile in
question could reach U.S. territory, but it “works towards technology
to do that,” the admiral said.
Appearing on CNN today, Mullen
showed imagery that he said depicts a North Korean missile with stacked
boosters on a launch pad. He added that North Korean leader Kim Jong II
has stated he is readying for a launch between April 4 and 8.
“There’s
an expectation that even though the North Koreans say this is a
satellite launch, what is of most concern to us is we believe it
violates [Resolution 1718],” Mullen said. “[It] says very clearly that
the technology supporting the development of ballistic missiles is
against that resolution no matter what they’re packaging.”
Mullen
said the engineering, guidance and engines involved in the primed
missile are identical to the kind of capabilities required in
manufacturing a ballistic missile.
“Potentially, with where
this could go long-term, [Jong] can develop a system that could
actually target us,” Mullen said, adding that any upcoming launch could
be “very disturbing to the region.”
Biographies:
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
I saw this link, next to the above story we published. I thought it only pertained to North Korea. Interestingly enough, the CNN transcript with Adm. Mike Mullen has quite a bit of talk about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
You might be interested in reading what they talked about, in case you missed the show on CNN earlier. Here is the link. -MsMarti
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