U.S. destroyers on move as N. Korea prepares rocket launch

WASHINGTON -- As North Korea prepares for an expected rocket launch next month, the U.S. Navy says it is moving to the Sea of Japan ships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

Later Thursday, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that debris from the North Korean rocket would be fired on and destroyed if the launch fails and fragments fall into Japanese territory, ministry spokesman Yuichi Akiyoshi said.

The USS Chaffee is one of two destroyers headed to South Korea for an upcoming ceremony, the Navy said.
The U.S. ships, with powerful Aegis radar that can track ballistic missile launches, are on regularly planned deployments but are "prepared to track a launch or more, if afforded," according to a U.S. Navy official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
The United States generally has a number of Aegis-capable ships in the Sea of Japan because of the threat by North Korea to launch missiles. The ships monitor the region and are designed to track and if need be shoot down ballistic missiles.
North Korea says it will launch a commercial satellite on top of a rocket sometime between April 4 and April 8. But Western governments fear the North Koreans will put a long-range missile on top of the rocket.
If North Korea launches, the Obama administration may have has little as five minutes to decide whether it is a threat and, if necessary, try to shoot it down.

The USS Hopper, a destroyer with the Aegis radar system aboard was scheduled for a port call in Japan in coming days. But the port call was canceled and the ship will remain in the Sea of Japan ahead of the launch, the official said.
Two other U.S. Navy Aegis-capable destroyers, the USS Chaffee and USS McCain, are leaving the port in Sasebo, Japan, and are heading to South Korea for a ceremony in the coming days, according to the U.S. Navy official with direct knowledge of the operations.
The U.S. Navy just wrapped up military exercises with the South Korean military that brought a number of U.S. ships into the region. (CNN)

U.S. analyst warns of N. Korea missile

WASHINGTON -- North Korea has positioned what is thought to be a long-range missile on its launch pad, a U.S. counter-proliferation official said on Wednesday.The official confirmed a Japanese media report.
North Korea recently informed a pair of U.N. agencies that it plans to launch a satellite. The launch is slated for sometime between April 4-8, according to Yonhap, South Korea's state-sponsored news agency.
North Korea is technically capable of launching a rocket in as little as two to four days, according to Kim Taewoo, an expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, but who doubts a launch will come that soon.
It would not make sense for Pyongyang to make such a move after going through official channels with its plans, Kim said.

A North Korean soldier stands guard in the border village of Panmunjom on December 1, 2004 in South Korea.
"The North could delay the launch if they experience problems with the weather, or within the leadership, but I don't see any reason why they would fire it ahead of time," Kim said.

North Korea's announcement has triggered international consternation. U.S. and South Korean officials have long said the North is actually preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch. Watch what might motivate Pyongyang to pursue missile tests »
Japan said this month that it could shoot down the satellite that North Korean officials said they plan to launch. What the North Koreans would be testing may not be known until an actual launch.
A U.N. Security Council resolution in 2006 banned North Korea from conducting ballistic missile activity. Japanese officials said they could shoot down the object whether it is a missile or a satellite.
"As the U.N. resolutions prohibit (North Korea) from engaging in ballistic missile activities, we still consider it to be a violation of a technical aspect, even if (the North) claims it is a satellite. We will discuss the matter with related countries based on this view," Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said this month.
The United States has no plans to shoot down the North Korean rocket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, but will raise the issue with the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang carries out a launch.
"We are doing our best to dissuade the North Koreans from going forward, because it is provocative action," Clinton said. "It raises questions about their compliance with the Security Council Resolution 1718. And if they persist and go forward, we will take it up in appropriate channels."
South Korea echoed Clinton's statements.
"The South Korean government believes that if the North conducts its launch despite continuous warnings of the South Korean government and the international community, it is a provocative action that constitutes a serious threat to the security of northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-Young.

"The launching of the long-range rocket is a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1718, and we strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop such measures."
The North Korean Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles (6,700 kilometers) that -- if true -- could strike Alaska or Hawaii. (CNN)