S. Korea considers N. Korean rocket launch step forward in missile capability

By Sam Kim

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea believes North Korea has improved its ballistic missile technology, an official said Monday, because the rocket used for its apparently botched satellite launch could still be converted into a potential weapon.

"It is our assessment that North Korea's missile capabilities have advanced
because its abilities to launch the rocket can be converted into long-range
missile technology," the source said, declining to be identified because he was
not allowed to speak to the media.
North Korea on Sunday launched a three-stage rocket that it said would carry a
communications satellite into space. South Korea and the U.S. say the payload
that appeared to be a satellite plunged into the Pacific Ocean.
The international community had urged the reclusive communist country to abandon
its launch plan, fearing it may be a cover for a test of a Taepodong-2 missile
capable of reaching Alaska.
The source said Japan and the U.S. are retrieving debris from the rocket that is
believed to have finally landed in the Pacific Ocean at least 2,700 kilometers
away from the Musudan-ri launch pad.