South Korea says has no proof yet of 2nd North missile ( 2003-10-21 16:41) (Agencies)
South Korea's military said it had no evidence so
far the North had test-fired a missile on Tuesday in what would be the second
such attention-grabbing launch while Pacific Rim leaders met to discuss its
nuclear ambitions.
Earlier, Japan's NHK television said North Korea had apparently
launched a short-range surface-to-ship missile, following a test-firing on
Monday that U.S. officials said they regarded as an attempt to steal the summit
show.
DPRK leader Kim Jong-il (2nd L), seen in
this undated photo released by Korea Central News Agency Oct. 21, 2003,
speaks to generals during an inspection tour of a farm controlled by a
Korean People's Army unit somewhere in DPRK.
[Reuters]
But South Korea, which seeks to keep
ties with North Korea on an even keel, said it had no immediate proof of a
second test launch, although there were conflicting signals about the
likelihood.
"Our system did not spot any missile launch today by North Korea," Kim
Hyung-kyu, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs, told Reuters. "So, according to our
analysis, the report is not true."
A spokesman for the South Korean Defense Ministry said it had not been able
to confirm the report.
"This is what we can say for now," he said. "But we cannot say the NHK report
is not true for sure."
In Tokyo, Japan's Defense Agency said it had received a report "that North
Korea may have fired a surface-to-ship missile from its east coast this
morning."
"We don't know the details but, as far as we know, missiles of this type have
a range of 100 km," a spokesman said. This is a distance of 60 miles. No further
details were available.
U.S. President Bush and other Asia-Pacific leaders were wrapping up a summit
on Tuesday that included talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program as well as
world trade.
On Monday, the North fired a similar missile between the Korean
peninsula and Japan in what Seoul said appeared to be part of military exercises
by North Korea. That was the third such launch this year.
Japan is particularly sensitive about the North's missiles.
In similar vein, North Korea's media reported leader Kim Jong-il visited a
military farm on Monday. It was his first reported public appearance in 40 days.
Kim, 61, was last seen in public on September 9, the 55th anniversary of the
founding of North Korea.