North Korea eyes disputed sea border for missiles: reports

Jon Herskovitz
Reuters
Friday, Feb 6, 2009

North Korea could be looking to stir up tension by firing short-range missiles at a disputed maritime border with the South, while it may also launch its longest-range missile to check design improvements, reports said on Friday.

North Korea has been preparing to launch its longest-range Taepodong-2 missile in the direction of Japan, reports said this week in a move analysts said is aimed at pressuring the South to drop its hard-line stand toward its neighbor and at grabbing the attention of new U.S. President Barack Obama.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes her first trip abroad since taking office with a tour starting in mid-February to Asia, where regional security will be high on the agenda, the State Department said on Thursday.

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South Korean security officials believe the most likely scenario for North Korean saber-rattling would be for the prickly state to fire short-range missiles into or over a Yellow Sea maritime border called the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the daily Chosun Ilbo said, citing government sources.

The NLL was unilaterally set by U.N.-led forces at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War and the North calls the border illegal. The area off the west coast has been the scene of deadly naval clashes between the two Koreas in 1999 and 2002.

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