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Seoul puzzled as North Korean missile disappears

File image of the original Taepodong-1 launch in August 31 1998.
by Staff Writers
Seoul, Aug 4, 2006
North Korea has apparently removed a long-range missile from a remote launch site a month after it triggered widespread alarm with a series of missile tests there, a newspaper reported Friday.

Officials here were quoted as saying they were puzzled as to why the missile had been moved and where it was now located.

On July 5 North Korea test-fired seven missiles including a longe-range Taepodong-2 reportedly capable of hitting US soil from its launch pad at Musudanri.

US, Japanese, and South Korean officials say the long-range missile disintegrated soon after take-off and deemed the launch a failure.

Officials here said there were two long-range missiles being prepared for testing at the Musudanri site but the second one was never fired and has apparently now disappeared.

Satellite photos showed it had been removed from an assembly plant at the missile base to an undisclosed destination, the Joongang daily said.

"Satellite photos show the second Taepodong-2 has been transported from Musudanri to an unknown place," an unidentified intelligence official was quoted as saying.

The official said North Korean technicians could be working on the second missile to improve it after analyzing why the flawed first launch failed.

Or the leadership, which according to some analysts was surprised by the level of international condemnation following the July 5 launch, may have decided to delay further provocation.

The UN Security Council condemned the missile tests and adopted a resolution imposing weapons-related sanctions on Pyongyang.

The cash-strapped regime, which sees missiles as key to its defense and a lucrative export, rejected the resolution and vowed to push ahead with its missile program.

South Korean media reports said officials were uncertain where the missile had been removed to and intelligence sources cautioned that its removal could be only temporary.

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Iran to supply Hezbollah with surface-to-air missiles: report
London, Aug 4, 2006
Iran will supply Hezbollah with surface-to-air missile systems in the coming months, boosting the guerrillas' defences against Israeli aircraft, according to a report by specialist magazine Jane's Defence Weekly on Friday, citing unnamed Western diplomatic sources.







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