N. Korea watching U.S. military in weighing missile test: report

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- A pro-North Korean newspaper suggested Thursday that
Pyongyang's decision on whether to test-launch a long-range missile could depend
on a South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise scheduled for next month.
The North Korean military will likely adopt a "tougher measure" should the U.S.
military stationed in South Korea go ahead with its annual joint war drill, said
Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper that usually conveys North Korea's
position, apparently in reference to reports that Pyongyang is preparing a
missile test.
Regional tension rose sharply following intelligence assessments this week that
North Korea may be preparing to test-launch a Taepodong-2 missile that
technically is capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast.
Intelligence officials said they spotted an object that appeared to be a missile
on North Korea's east coast, just days after North Korea declared it was
scrapping a non-aggression accord with the South.
"It is certain North Korea's military will deal with provocative activity by its
enemy state," Choson Sinbo said in an article titled "Diplomatic Offensive in
Face of U.S. Military Threats."
"The North would now be drawing up military measures, closely watching movements
of the U.S. military," it said.
The article noted an annual South Korea-U.S. joint war exercise set to be held in
South Korea in March. Seoul and Washington say the drill, called Key Resolve, and
other joint war trainings are defensive, but Pyongyang charges they are a prelude
to war against it.
"It hasn't been long since the Obama administration was inaugurated, but there
doesn't seem to be a grace period of diplomacy with North Korea," it said.
"Every March, large-scale military exercises by the U.S. and South Korean troops
are held, and considering the recent situation, should the provocative movements
against North Korea continue, it is highly possible a tougher measure could be
drawn up by North Korea," it said.
The article claimed U.S. military equipment is currently streaming into the
Korean Peninsula by air and sea.
Choson Sinbo accused the U.S. of trying to sway public opinion, referring to a
comment by U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood who said any ballistic
missile launches by North Korea would be "provocative."
Turning to the North Korean Foreign Ministry's statement on Jan. 13 that
Pyongyang would retain its nuclear program until Washington removes nuclear
threats against the North, the report said that Pyongyang is not demanding the
U.S. to give up its nuclear arms.
"North Korea's demand is that the state of war on the peninsula, in which North
Korea and the U.S. are pointing their guns at each other, should be resolved," it
said.
Pyongyang has called for a peace regime on the peninsula to officially end the
Korean War, saying it is under constant threat of U.S. invasion. The 1950-53 war
ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
The Choson Sinbo report said the North Korean military's recent bellicose
campaign was driven by its doubt that the U.S. would genuinely want to mend
relations with the communist state.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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