N. Korea denies missile plan, defends activity as 'space development'

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS more from KCNA statement)
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea denied on Monday it was preparing to
test-launch a long-range missile, claiming its recent moves are related to "space
development."

A statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) was
reminiscent of the North's comments in 1998, when it claimed a rocket it launched
was really a satellite.
The denial comes following intelligence reports from Seoul that North Korea is
assembling a long-range missile at the country's eastern launch site.
"Recently the U.S. and some other countries claimed that the DPRK is making
'preparations for launching long-distance missile,'" the KCNA said. DPRK stands
for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
"This is a vicious trick to put a brake on the wheel of not only the DPRK's
building of military capability for self-defense but also scientific researches
for peaceful purpose under the pretext of missile," it said.
The report also made clear North Korea will launch whatever it is that it has
been preparing.
"One will come to know later what will be launched in the DPRK," it said, "Space
development is the independent right of the DPRK and the requirement of the
developing reality."
North Korea also denied that it was trying to grab U.S. President Barack Obama's
attention with its alleged missile activity, as analysts here have speculated.
"Dishonest forces are asserting that the DPRK is doing provocative deed in order
to draw attention from anyone. But, such assertion itself is an insult to the
DPRK. The DPRK has no need to draw anyone's attention and wants nobody to
interfere or meddle in the issue of the Korean Peninsula where only the Koreans
live," it said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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