World

North Korea Test Fires Two Short-range Missiles

by Rob Walker | May 26, 2009 at 04:10 am

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Less than a day after conducting a nuclear test that brought heavy criticism from most of the world's major nations, North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles from its east coast. On Monday the paranoid country tested a nuclear weapon and fired a short range missile.

North Korea has also restarted a reprocessing plant, that aids in the construction of nuclear weapons.

Northy Korea has apparently restarted a fuel reprocessing facility at Yongbyon. Steam has recently seen coming from the facility. Experts had earlier speculated that it would take two to four months for the North to resume operations at the plant.

Fuel reprocessing extracts plutonium, the raw material for nuclear weapons, from spent fuel rods. North Korea has some 8,000 spent fuel rods at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. If it reprocesses them, it could obtain an additional 6 to 8 kg of plutonium, enough to make one nuclear weapon.

International markets fell with news of the second set of launches and opposition was quick to come from South Korea and China, with more to follow. There was unanimous condemnation at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday following the nuclear test and said the test was a clear violation of previous resolutions.

"We should be clear that these are short-range missiles. They are in the realm of anti-ship or anti-aircraft missiles, not missiles designed to target cities or other country population centers," said analyst Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group, which describes itself as an independent non-profit group committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.
The U.N. Security Council condemned Monday's nuclear test as a "clear violation" of international law.

NowPublic staffer Jon Azpiri posted about the possibility of a second launch yesterday:

A South Korean official has stated that North Korea is read fire another short-range missile in the next couple of days.

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Uwe Paschen

at 04:13 on May 26th, 2009

And another Nuclear test has been announced according to South Korean News TV.

Albanypaul

at 02:19 on May 27th, 2009

I was stationed in Korea in 1998 and the tension level is high. A county always waiting and watching its threatening neighbor. The Korean people are kind, considerate and thoughtful people and I find both governments (North and South) difficult to deal with.

The North seems to constantly antagonize and let the South and the world know there ready for the fight. Perhaps we should give them what they want. Perhaps the world should send them a great big invasion package and tell them they are going to behave, while we fly in and take over. Maybe the right plan is to surgically take out the offensive North government leaders by surgical strike or special forces. This is a bully that needs a fight, to prove to him there are bigger forces in the world that will beat him down.

The stress level is to high for the world and it's nuts like N. Korean leadership that keep it that way. The bully needs a punch in the nose and be told to shut up and play nice or next time it will be far worse. Really N. Korea and S. Korea need to be reunited under a government that should be selected by the people of Korea.