Washington wants anti-missile systems in Asia, Middle East

Washington is seeking to build regional shields against ballistic missiles in both Asia and the Middle East to protect against states like Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday in Washington.

Akin to a controversial defense system in Europe, such shields could help counter perceived threats from Iran and the DPRK and help defend the US from any future long-range missiles, Madelyn Creedon, an assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs, told a conference co-hosted by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

In response to the announcement, China called for caution on anti-missile issues.

"We always believe that every country should address anti-missile issues in a cautious way, with a view of maintaining global strategic stability and enhancing strategic mutual trust, and achieve universal security through political and diplomatic means," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang said it would continue with its planned satellite launch and called on US President Barack Obama to drop his "confrontational mindset".

"The DPRK will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes, which is a legitimate right of a sovereign state and requirement essential for economic development," Korean Central News Agency quoted a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying on Tuesday.

"The US chief executive said that he has no hostility toward the DPRK. If he was sincere, he should drop the confrontational concept of standing in the way of the DPRK and make a bold decision to acknowledge that the DPRK also has a right to launch satellites."

The spokesman was responding to remarks Obama made on Sunday and Monday during a visit to the Republic of Korea.

Obama on Sunday called on the DPRK to scrap its plans to launch a satellite next month and warned Pyongyang that its threats and provocations would only deepen its international isolation and jeopardize the resumption of US food aid, the New York Times reported.

"It took much effort for the DPRK and the US to sign an agreement, creating a favorable situation. There will be no reason whatsoever for the DPRK to launch a long-range missile at this time," the spokesman said.

"It is a routine (launch) that was planned and has been pushed forward long ago."

The DPRK announced on March 16 that its Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite carried by a Unha-3 rocket will blast off between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of DPRK's founder Kim Il-sung.

The US warned the DPRK that the launch might lead to the cancelation of the nutrition assistance project, which was finalized in Beijing on March 8.

Pyongyang's announcement aroused concerns from the US and its allies, because they are worried that the DPRK would use the same technology for a missile launch.

"The satellite launch might worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula and lead to a new round of UN sanctions over Pyongyang," said Chen Qi, an expert on East Asian studies at Tsinghua University.

Wang Fan, an expert on international security at China Foreign Affairs University, said "Washington and its allies might use Pyongyang's satellite launch plan as a reason to increase their military presence in Northeast Asia, which could make the military power more unbalanced in the region", Wang said.

Pyongyang should be restrained regarding the satellite launch, and other countries should not misunderstand the country's real intentions, Wang said.

zhouwa@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/28/2012 page12)