By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
U.S. ground-based missile interceptors could take down a long-range North Korean missile before it reaches the U.S. mainland, an official of the U.S. Department of Defense said Friday, as American satellite imagery spotted suspected activity at a ballistic missile site in the North.
``I believe we have a reasonable chance'' of an intercept, Charles McQueary, director of operational test and evaluation at the Pentagon, said in an interview with Bloomberg.
``I'd put it `likely' ― than `highly likely' ― as opposed to putting it `unlikely,''' he said
If North Korea launches missiles at the United States the Pentagon will not sit back, he stressed. In that scenario, Washington would likely launch multiple rockets at the incoming missile to raise the chance of interception, he added.
U.S. satellite imagery spotted ``vehicle activity'' at a North Korean site over the weekend, according to South Korean and U.S. authorities.
The imagery shows that vehicles used to transport Taepodong 2 missiles were spotted, but no missile part was seen. The three-stage Taepodong-2 is believed to have a range of up to 6,700 kilometers putting Hawaii and Alaska in its target range.
The move comes amid growing concern over North Korea's provocations in recent days. After conducting a second nuclear test, the Stalinist North test-fired several short-range missiles.
On April 5, Pyongyang launched a space satellite on what some analysts said was a three-stage rocket capable of carrying a warhead that could reach part of the United States.
South Korea and the United States accused the communist state of violating a U.N. resolution that bans the country from engaging in any missile-related activities. The resolution was adopted after the North test-launched a Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile in July 2006.
The outcome of the satellite launch was later believed to be a failure, but missile experts at home and abroad agreed that the North had proved its improvement in missile technology, citing the distance at which the second and third spent stage of the three-stage rocket carrying a communications satellite were jettisoned.
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. Whether or not the second and third stages separated remains unclear.
When the rocket is converted to a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile platform, the missile could have a range of more than 5,000 kilometers, according to experts.
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 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.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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