N. Korea missile aimed at area off Hawaii –

July 6, 2006 in North Korea

Regardless of weather the following report is right or wrong, it is plainly clear that North Korea is trying to become a direct threat to the United States. Addressing them now, before they actually become a threat would be far easier than after they are capable of hitting Honolulu, Seattle, or San Francisco with real warheads mounted on real missiles. Entering any kind of Bi-Lateral talks should be out of the question. If Kim Jong Il wants to talk to us he can say what he wants at the same table with his neighbors, those countries that his missiles actually do threaten.

From Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) – A North Korean missile launched on Wednesday was aimed at an area of the ocean close to Hawaii, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday.

Experts estimated the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile to have a range of up to 6,000 km, putting Alaska within its reach. Wednesday’s launch apparently failed shortly after take-off and the missile landed in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, a few hundred kilometres from the launch pad.

But data from U.S. and Japanese Aegis radar-equipped destroyers and surveillance aircraft on the missile’s angle of take-off and altitude indicated that it was heading for waters near Hawaii, the Sankei Shimbun reported, citing multiple sources in the United States and Japan.

North Korea may have targeted Hawaii to show the United States that it was capable of landing a missile there, or because it is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific fleet, the paper said.

An alternative explanation might be that a missile could accidentally hit land if fired towards Alaska, the report said.

A separate report in the Mainichi Shimbun daily cited U.S. and Japanese government officials as saying a piece of the Taepodong-2 missile fell off immediately after take-off, strengthening the view that the launch was a failure.

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