North Koreans Launch Something, And May Be Ready To Launch Some More

Fox News reports that the North Koreans have test launched two missiles. The missiles were fired from a site other than the site which has been at issue in the past few weeks. This news follows earlier news today, reported here by CNN, that satellite photos showed fuel trucks and other auxiliary equipment had been removed from that launch site.

The missiles do not appear to be intercontinental type missiles: "One U.S. government official told FOX News that if the first were the Taepodong missile, it was 'a real big dud.'"

Also today, from the Washington Post, China and North Korea announced they would "exchange visits by high-ranking officials, providing a window of opportunity for Beijing to dissuade Pyongyang from going ahead with a possible missile test and return to international nuclear disarmament talks."

The Chinese are apparently a little late.

UPDATE: The Daily Telegraph (Australia) now reports that the Taepodong-2 missile from the site at Musudan-ri. They report the missile "failed in flight."

Forbes reports more details about the earlier missiles. They were apparently Rodong missiles, the North Korean version of the Scud. They both crashed into the Sea of Japan.

UPDATE 2: The Washington Post has a good summary of the last few days of news. They quote a Pentagon official's e-mail after the incident: "'None posed a threat [and] no action [was] required.'" The missile failed after about 35 seconds, he confirmed."

They refer to the Scud-type missiles as Nodong, not Rodong.

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Technorati tags: North Korea | United States