Japan to buy satellite photos of N. Korea from U.S. firm
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, January 14, 2000
TOKYO -- A senior government official said Thursday that Japan is
considering purchasing satellite imagery of North Korea's missile test site
from a private U.S. firm.
Senior Japenese government spokesman Mikio Aoki said Thursday that
Japan's Defense Agency is seriously considering buying from the
Colorado-based Space Imaging satellite photographs of North Korea's
Taepodong missile test site taken in November.
"I understand the Defense Agency is considering buying the photos,''
Aoki told a news conference.
Japan is increasingly worried over the North Korean missile threat,
especially after North Korean test-fired a medium-range Taepodong-1 missile
in August 1998 that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific.
Government officials say the recent satellite photos will help
understand the North Korean missile program.
Space Imaging has started to commercialize top-secret spy satellite
imagery, previously available only to U.S. government officials with
security clearances.
Earlier, the Federation of American Scientists [FAS], a public policy
group focused on national security issues, bought the photos of the North
Korean missile test site and posted them on its Web site http://www.fas.org.
But FAS officials said the North Korean threat has been exaggerated and
that Pyongyang's facilities are primitive. The group said the Nodong test
site is "barely worthy of note, consisting of the most minimal imaginable
test infrastructure. It is quite evident that this facility was not intended
to support, and in many respects is incapable of supporting, the extensive
test program that would be needed to fully develop a reliable missile
system."
So far, two tests were conducted at the facility near the town of
Nodong, about 10 kilometers from the town of Taepodong.
Western defense analysts believe North Korea is developing a Taepodong-2
missile, placing Alaska or Hawaii within striking distance. Last summer,
North Korea appeared to be making preparations for a test launch but agreed
to suspend it in September after the U.S. eased economic sanctions and began
talks in an effort to improve relations with North Korea.
In an unrelated development, Boeing Co. is reportedly negotiating to buy
Hughes Electronics Corp.'s satellite manufacturing operations, a deal that
would make the aircraft builder a major player in space-based
communications. Boeing already has several satellite launch programs
including SeaLaunch, which uses a Russian-built rocket that blasts off from
a floating launch pad, and the Delta family of land-based rockets.
Both spokesman for Boeing and Hughes declined to comment on the Dow
Jones Newswires report on Wednesday that cited unidentified sources familiar
with the deal.
According to the report, Boeing's board will meet Thursday to discuss
the $4 billion deal.