Warning of US 'reaction' if North korea launches missile

A top Pentagon official said today that a North Korean missile launch would be “a provocation and a dangerous action” that would lead to the United States imposing “some cost” on North Korea.

Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defence for international security policy, told a House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee hearing that he did not know if such a launch would happen.

He said: “If it did, I think there would be a reaction. I think frankly it would be a mistake for the North Koreans to do it.”

Worries over a possible North Korean launch have grown in recent weeks after reports of activity at the country’s launch site on its northeastern coast. US officials say a Taepodong-2 missile – believed capable of reaching parts of the United States – is possibly being fuelled.

“If such a launch takes place we would seek to impose some cost on North Korea. That is the minimum response that you would expect of us,” Rodman told politicians.

“A launch of a missile would be a provocation and a dangerous action which would have to have some consequences,” he said.

Today, South Korea’s defence minister, Yoon Kwang-ung, said that Seoul believes North Korea’s missile launch is not imminent.

Rodman said: “It’s hard to tell what they plan to do. I think they are in a position to do something quickly.”