North Korea tests missile, US reports

WASHINGTON -- North Korea test-launched what appeared to be a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan yesterday, according to US officials, in a move that stoked fears that Pyongyang may be headed next toward a nuclear test.

The White House called the launch a bullying tactic and cast North Korea's Kim Jong Il as a cruel, untrustworthy leader.

The State Department said it was consulting closely with governments in the region about the launch, which occurred on the eve of a UN-hosted conference expected to focus on nuclear proliferation concerns including the North Korea situation.

Andrew H. Card Jr., White House chief of staff, acknowledged ''increasing evidence" that Pyongyang may be developing the capability to arm missiles with a nuclear bomb. But he said the United States believed North Korea was having little success in testing multistage rockets.

''It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan," Card told CNN's ''Late Edition."

''We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before."

The Kyodo news agency, citing unnamed Japanese government sources, said the missile was launched about 8 a.m. Japanese time. It said the Japanese government thinks the missile may have been a land-to-ship or small ballistic missile.

The missile, which had a likely range of about 60 miles, may have been launched from North Korea's east coast, Japanese state broadcaster NHK reported, quoting unnamed defense sources.

Officials said the US military picked up indications that there was a test and contacted the Japanese government. US intelligence agencies were assessing the information to determine exactly what took place. ''It does seem this is real in terms of the firing," an official briefed on the incident said.

A senior Bush administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest test followed an apparent missile test attempt on Friday that failed.

Card said: ''They've had some failures. . . . We don't think they have had much success in their testing of all of these rockets, multistage rockets."

Kurtis Cooper, a State Department spokesman, said that North Korea had conducted similar launches and that ''such tests did not contradict North Korea's voluntary moratorium on ballistic missile tests."

But Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the launch is troubling. ''It's additional, very discouraging evidence that this administration's policy towards North Korea is failing."

Cooper said, ''We have long been concerned about North Korea's missile program and activities and urge North Korea to continue its moratorium on ballistic missile tests."

The launch occurred amid what officials said were growing US concerns that North Korea might be trying to harvest nuclear material from a shut-down reactor and may be preparing for an underground nuclear test. Last week, the US Defense Intelligence Agency warned that North Korea has the ability to mount a nuclear device on a long-range missile and could hit US territory.