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May 7th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
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US officials say North Korea has moved two missiles from a launch site on the east coast, signalling a lowering of tensions on the troubled peninsula.
Fearing Pyongyang would carry out its threat to launch the missiles, Japan and South Korea had bolstered their missile defences, while the US had deployed two destroyers equipped with anti-missile systems to the region.
US officials say the two Musudan missiles – which have a range of up to 5,630 kilometres – have been taken off the launch pad and moved to what they call a non-operational site.
A US defence official told AFP on condition of anonymity: “They moved them.”
The official added that there was no longer an imminent threat of a launch.
State media in Pyongyang has also toned down its fiery rhetoric in recent days.
Musudan factbox:
Alternative names: Mirim, No Dong B, BM-25
First revealed: October 10, 2010
First tested: April 5, 2009
Launch weight: 19,000-26,000 kg
Length: 12-19 metres
Diameter: 1.5-2 metres
Operational range: 3,000-4,000km
Launch platform: truck, cargo ship, modified submarine
As always, North Korea’s motivations under its young and unpredictable leader Kim Jong Un, are not immediately clear.
The move was revealed in Washington on the eve of a first summit between president Barack Obama and new South Korean president Park Geun-Hye at the White House, intended as a strong signal of unity to Pyongyang.
Earlier, a senior White House official warned that it was too early to say whether North Korea’s spate of bellicose behaviour, which prompted Washington to send nuclear-capable stealth B-2 bombers over South Korea, was ending.
“It’s premature to make a judgment about whether the North Korean provocation cycle is going up, down or zigzagging,” senior director for East Asia on Obama’s National Security Council, Danny Russel, said.
“Many analysts have anticipated that the North Korean provocation cycle would culminate in some sort of a grand fireworks display, and no one can rule that out.”
But Pentagon spokesman George Little noted the change in North Korea’s words, telling reporters the “provocation pause” was a positive development.
The US and its allies Japan and South Korea had braced for a possible test-launch of the Musudan intermediate missiles in the run-up to North Korean national celebrations on April 15, but it never occurred.
Park’s visit
Washington is making strenuous efforts to cement Mr Obama’s relationship with Ms Park, who arrived in Washington from New York, less than three months after being sworn into office.
Mr Obama will host his visitor, the first woman to lead South Korea, in the Oval Office, hold an expanded luncheon meeting for both delegations, then appear with Ms Park at a joint White House press conference.
Ms Park will address a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday.
She has taken a firm stand against any concessions to North Korea but has also been careful not to close the door to future talks – which US officials say is ultimately the sole, albeit not ideal, way to deal with Pyongyang.
In an interview with US broadcaster CBS aired late Monday, Ms Park said North Korea’s rationale was “extremely weak” adding “they feel very cornered”.
ABC/AFP
Topics:
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security-intelligence,
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Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-07/n-korea-moves-missiles-from-launch-site/4674736
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