By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The latest rocket launch by North Korea, though believed to be a failure, has proved its ever-improving missile capability, which could pose a serious threat to regional security, a government official here said Monday.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said there seemed to have been substantial ``progress'' in the North's missile technology, citing the distance that the second and third spent stage of the three-stage rocket carrying a communications satellite were jettisoned at.
The second and third boosters fell into the Pacific Ocean about 2,100 kilometers from Japan's east coast, which means the rocket flew about 3,100 kilometers from the North's eastern missile site, he said. Whether or not the second and third stages separated or not remains unclear at the moment, he added.
When the rocket is converted to a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile platform, the missile could have a range of more than 5,000 kilometers, missile experts here say.
In 1998, North Korea fired off a two-stage Taepodong-1 missile, and the first stage fell into waters about 500 kilometers from the launch-site and the second one into the Pacific Ocean about 1,500 kilometers from Japan. In 2006, the North test-fired the Taepodong-2 missile, which failed 40 seconds after launch.
The United States Northern Command, based in Colorado Springs, issued a statement Sunday that portrayed the North's latest rocket firing as a major failure. It based its information on a network of radars, spy ships and satellites that monitor global missile tests.
The command said that North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 missile at 11:30 a.m. Sunday local time, and that its first stage fell into the East Sea, which analysts had expected as the point of splashdown in a successful launch.
However, the remaining stages, along with the payload itself, landed in the Pacific Ocean, the statement said. Analysts had expected the rocket's second stage to land in the Pacific but its third stage and its ostensible satellite payload to fly into space.
Meanwhile, Won Tae-jae, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that the introduction of the state-of-the-art Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptors was underway.
The move comes amid growing calls here to strengthen the country's missile defense system against North Korea's improving missile technology, proven by the latest rocket launch, which could be easily converted into a long-range missile program.
``The introduction of the system will be made after considering various elements, including affordability,'' Won told reporters.
A day earlier, a senior official of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military would push plans to boost its missile shield against North Korean missiles, saying a long-range missile threat by the North could impede the deployment of U.S. troops to the Korean Peninsula in the case of an emergency.
In a National Assembly session, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee also unveiled plans to introduce the PAC-3 system, built by the U.S.'s Lockheed Martin.
He said the introduction of the scheme was in consideration of making it interoperable with advanced radar systems to be set up by 2012.
The PAC-3 missile is a smaller interceptor designed to ram incoming targets, while the PAC-2 uses an explosive warhead.
Under a 2007 deal valued at $1 billion, South Korea has been receiving 48 secondhand PAC-2 systems from Germany.
Seoul had initially pushed for purchasing the more advanced PAC-3 interceptor in the early 2000s but changed its decision due to financial constraints and anti-U.S. sentiment propelled by progressive civic groups claiming the introduction of the PAC-3 was a step toward joining the U.S.-led global ballistic missile defense system.
Apart from the purchase of the PAC-3 system, experts say, South Korea is expected to speed up efforts to deploy advanced weapons systems aimed at coping with North Korea's asymmetric weapons systems.