North Korea sent up another warning flag in its confrontation with Washington yesterday, issuing a notice to mariners that indicates they are preparing to conduct another test of an anti-ship cruise missile in the Sea of Japan as early as this weekend.
"We are aware that North Korean officials have announced a sea closure area in the Sea of Japan," said Lieut Cdr Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, adding that the closure was from March 8th to 11th.
"This area is similar in size and location as the area in effect during the February 25th launch," he said. "Such closures are typically a precursor to a launch." North Korea tested a short-range anti-ship cruise missile on February 25th from a north-eastern coastal area.
It would be the latest in a pattern of actions by the North Koreans that have increased tensions on the peninsula and put the US under increasing pressure to engage Pyongyang in direct talks.
A new missile test could set the stage for another aerial confrontation over US surveillance flights monitoring North Korea.
On March 2nd, North Korean fighters armed with heat-seeking missiles surprised an unarmed US RC-135S "Cobra Ball" surveillance plane, flying within 50 feet of it during a 22-minute chase over the Sea of Japan.
It was the first time a US surveillance flight had been intercepted by North Korean fighters since 1969, when North Korean warplanes shot down a US surveillance plane, killing all 31 people on board.
The Pentagon ordered two dozen long-range bombers to Guam last week as a deterrent to North Korea at a time when US forces are massing around Iraq for a possible invasion that could tie down a substantial number of forces for a long time.
US intelligence anticipates escalating challenges in the air, along maritime boundaries and in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas as Pyongyang manoeuvres to revive its nuclear weapons program.
US officials say that North Korea also could test-launch long-range missiles with virtually no warning.
On Thursday, President Bush reaffirmed his support for a strategy that seeks to persuade China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to pressure Pyongyang to halt its drive for nuclear weapons.
"This is a regional issue. I say regional issue because there's a lot of countries that have got a direct stake into whether or not North Korea has nuclear weapons," Mr Bush said.
The US has so far failed to enlist the backing of surrounding countries, which have urged Washington to enter into bilateral talks with Pyongyang to try to defuse the crisis.
Prominent Democrats and former Clinton administration officials have warned that US policy is in disarray, and suggested that Washington's focus on Iraq has caused it to neglect the growing danger on the Korean peninsula. - (AFP)