Missile

Japan readied its missile defense systems Tuesday against a possible North Korean weapons test, saying it would shoot down any missiles or debris if Japanese territory was threatened. Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed on the grounds of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo and at military installations in and around the capital, according to Japanese news reports. The PAC-3 batteries will also be based on the island of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. troops in Japan, sooner than planned in response to North Korea's threats, the Asahi Shimbun reported . Deploying the anti-missile system in Tokyo is “part of our moves to establish a system to protect the lives of our citizens and ensure their safety,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference, according to Jiji Press . Suga earlier said that the missiles will be used solely to protect Japan, according to the Japan Times . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for Japan to reinterpret its constitution, which bans waging war, to allow Japan to intercept missiles fired at United States targets.

BEIJING - North Korea fired three short-range missiles off its east coast Saturday, following through on months of threats to conduct a missile launch. The South Korean Defense Ministry reported that it detected two launches in the morning and another in the afternoon. Its initial assessment was that the missiles were short-range surface-to-ship or surface-to-surface missiles capable of traveling up to 72 miles, rather than the new medium-range Musudan missile that analysts fear could threaten U.S. troops in Guam or Okinawa, Japan.

NEW DELHI - India on Thursday successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile that landed 20 minutes later in the Indian Ocean. The 50-ton, 55-foot three-stage Agni V rocket, named after the Hindu god for fire and dubbed the "China killer" by some in India's hyperactive news media, reportedly reached its target at the outer end of its 3,100-mile range, confirming that the weapon system can reach Shanghai and Beijing. It lifted off from an island in the eastern state of Odisha.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Friday condemned Russia's delivery of advanced antiship missiles to Syria and its buildup of warships in the eastern Mediterranean, arguing that the Kremlin's escalating support for its longtime ally in Damascus could prolong the civil war. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Russia's military moves would "embolden" Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and extend the suffering in...

Saddam cannot undermine democracy. BOB RONA Culver City

HR Textron Inc. in Valencia won a $1.4-million contract from the Army to supply guided missiles.

A Trident 2 submarine missile carrying a load of dummy warheads malfunctioned shortly after blastoff today, prompting Air Force safety officers to blow up the errant rocket on radio command. It was the third failure in 15 test flights to date of the Navy's most powerful weapon and the Navy offered no explanation of today's mishap.

Re "Clinton Shelves Missile Defense," Sept. 2: Instead of spending $60 billion on a flawed missile defense system to protect the U.S. from the apocalyptic whims of the so-called "rogue" states, why not spend the money to ease the mass starvation in North Korea and cancel the inhumane economic sanctions on Iraq, thus eliminating any belligerent motives these troubled nations would have? At the same time we would avoid violating any arms treaties and triggering another Cold War. Wouldn't that be better for everyone?

The last paragraph of "Missile Test Off by 6 Seconds, Data Show" (Jan. 20), about the failed missile defense test, says the Department of Defense will consider the system a success if it works two times out of three. So, if we let them, our representatives and the Pentagon will spend hundreds of billions of our dollars and violate numerous arms treaties for a defense system that can be overcome by an enemy simply shooting three missiles at each of our cities, or really, any of our cities.

Police dismantled an anti-tank rocket guerrillas set up on a downtown hill and timed to automatically fire at the high-rise building that houses the ruling military junta, authorities said. The rocket was found by a cleaning worker and dismantled shortly before it was to fire at noon Tuesday, a police communique said.

BEIJING -- North Korea celebrated the 101th anniversary of its founder's birth Monday with flowers and dancing instead of missiles, raising hopes that the regime may be climbing down from the furious rhetoric of recent weeks. Even the fire-breathing North Korean news service was unusually subdued, the day passing with nary a threat of thermonuclear war. Kim Jong Un, the 30-year-old leader, was reported to have paid a midnight visit to the mausoleum in Pyongyang where his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, the nation's founder, and father, Kim Jong Il, lie in state, embalmed in the Communist tradition.

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that North Korea has the capability to develop nuclear warheads small enough to fit on a ballistic missile, a congressman disclosed Thursday. Although U.S. experts believe that North Korea cannot hit the U.S. mainland with its missiles, a significant improvement in Pyongyang's weapons technology would be deeply disconcerting for U.S. policymakers. It would also help explain American measures -- including an emphasis on the U.S. ability to respond with nuclear weapons -- after weeks of warlike rhetoric from Pyongyang.

WASHINGTON - An impromptu release of a Pentagon intelligence assessment suggesting North Korea could fit a nuclear warhead atop a ballistic missile - only to see the nation's top intelligence official say other U.S. agencies did not necessarily agree - has exposed a stark divide in America's intelligence apparatus on the threat from Pyongyang. The Defense Intelligence Agency, the largest of the 16 U.S. intelligence services in terms of personnel, came under fire Friday, a day after Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.)

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that North Korea has developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on a ballistic missile, a congressman disclosed Thursday.  At a House armed services committee hearing focused on the budget, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) read from what he said was an unclassified portion of a classified Defense Intelligence Agency study that states, "DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that North Korea has the capability to develop nuclear warheads small enough to fit on a ballistic missile, a congressman disclosed Thursday. Although U.S. experts believe North Korea cannot hit the U.S. mainland with its missiles, a significant improvement in Pyongyang's weapons technology would be deeply disconcerting for U.S. policymakers. It would also help explain American measures - including an emphasis on the U.S. ability to respond with nuclear weapons - after weeks of warlike rhetoric from Pyongyang.

BEIJING -- North Korea is poised to launch as many as five missiles from its east coast, South Korean intelligence officials said Thursday. But security analysts said they believed the launches would be part of a military exercise and would not pose an immediate threat to the United States, Japan or South Korea. The military exercise apparently would be part of the festivities planned for a national holiday Monday marking the birthday of the country's late founder, Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the current leader.

Your editorial "Missiles: the Right Choice" (May 4) misses the mark entirely. The Midgetman missile, which you endorse, will not be built for the overriding reason that it's unaffordable. The Senate last year recognized the shortcomings of the all-too-expensive Midgetman missile, chopping the Pentagon request for $1.5 billion to $700 million. The reduced budget subsequently caused enough contracts to be cancelled and schedules to slip that no matter how much Congress provides this year, the deployment of the first Midgetman missile won't occur until 1996 at the earliest--four years after originally scheduled.

Re "Missiles: Get It Right," editorial March 18: Even a limited missile defense system will not be right. It both violates the ABM treaty and is unlikely to work in practice. Worse, the real threat is not a rogue state's missiles but its warheads. If Saddam Hussein et al. want to "nuke" us, why build costly missiles when they can float bombs over on ships and set them off in harbors or from trucks? Our borders are sieves for drugs and illegal aliens; what makes anyone think we can keep out bombs?

Japan readied its missile defense systems Tuesday against a possible North Korean weapons test, saying it would shoot down any missiles or debris if Japanese territory was threatened. Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed on the grounds of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo and at military installations in and around the capital, according to Japanese news reports. The PAC-3 batteries will also be based on the island of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. troops in Japan, sooner than planned in response to North Korea's threats, the Asahi Shimbun reported . Deploying the anti-missile system in Tokyo is “part of our moves to establish a system to protect the lives of our citizens and ensure their safety,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference, according to Jiji Press . Suga earlier said that the missiles will be used solely to protect Japan, according to the Japan Times . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for Japan to reinterpret its constitution, which bans waging war, to allow Japan to intercept missiles fired at United States targets.

WASHINGTON - The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific reassured Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. military could intercept any missile launched by North Korea and aimed at America's territory or its East Asian allies. Adm. Samuel Locklear's briefing to senators came amid growing concern that North Korea is about to test a missile - some observers suggest as early as Wednesday - after weeks of bellicose threats. "We have a credible ability to defend the homeland, to defend Hawaii, to defend Guam, to defend our forward deployed forces and to defend our allies," Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee.