25 February 2003
North Korea fires missile into sea
BBC

In what correspondents called a provocative move, the missile hit international waters in the Sea of Japan on the eve of President Roh Moo-hyun's inauguration.

Guests including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are in Seoul to attend the ceremony.

The incident prompted sharp stock market falls in both South Korea and Japan.

President Roh used his inauguration speech to urge North Korea to renounce its nuclear ambitions, the source of much recent regional tension.

Foreign affairs novice

"It is up to Pyongyang whether to go ahead and obtain nuclear weapons or to get guarantees for the security of its regime and international economic support," he said.

The missile test is an immediate headache for the former human rights lawyer, who is a novice in global affairs.

North Korea has tested missiles before

It remains unclear what kind of missile was fired, although some reports said it was a Silkworm land-to-sea device, a short-range missile of Chinese design.

North Korea has had a moratorium on testing long-range missiles since 1998.

That was introduced following widespread international alarm when Pyongyang's military fired a multi-stage rocket over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea has been embroiled in a tense stand-off with the US since American officials said last October that Pyongyang had admitted to a secret nuclear programme, a charge North Korea denied.

Pyongyang's number two leader Kim Yong Nam, in Malaysia for the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, said in a speech on Tuesday that "at this stage" North Korea's nuclear activities would be confined to peaceful purposes.

In recent months the US has voiced increasing frustration at what it sees as the unpredictable behaviour of the country and its ruler, Kim Jong-Il.

Low-key event

President Roh, who wants to engage his country's northern neighbour in dialogue, has expressed concern at tough US rhetoric against Pyongyang.

Kim Jong-Il is an unpredictable leader

His inauguration ceremony outside the National Assembly was a low-key event, following last week's horrific fire on a subway in the South Korean city of Daegu, which killed at least 133 people.

Soon after his inauguration, he is due to hold talks with the US Secretary of State on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Mr Roh does not agree with Washington's policy of isolating the North and has publicly said he opposes the use of force to resolve the nuclear crisis.

"If we give them what they desperately want - regime security, normal treatment and economic assistance - they will be willing to give up their nuclear ambitions," Mr Roh told Newsweek magazine.

Mr Roh was swept to election victory on a wave of anti-US protests, and has called for a review of the status of the 37,000 American troops in the country, although he has stressed that he is not anti-American.