U.S. Spurns Idea To Hit N. Korea First
Doesn't Want Preemptive Strike; Suggests Retaliation For Missile Launch
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Play CBS Video Video Missile Defense On Alert The United States is urging North Korea to call off its preparations to test-fire a long-range missile that might be capable of reaching the West coast. David Martin has more.
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Video Concerns About North Korea Ashton Carter, aide to former Defense Secretary William Perry, explains to David Martin that one of the U.S.'s best options may be to destroy North Korea's test missile before it launches.
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Video North Korea's Nuclear Threat North Korea's plans to test launch a missile will likely overshadow President Bush's visit with European leaders in Austria. Thalia Assuras report.
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(AP)
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South Korean military soldiers walk by displays of models of mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, left, and other South Korean missiles at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, Wednesday, June 21, 2006. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
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Displays of models of North Korea's Scud-B missile, right, and other South Korean missiles at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, Monday, June 19, 2006. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspects Unit 417 of the (North) Korean People's Army earlier this month. (AP)
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A tourist walks by models of North Korea's Scud-B missile, center, and South Korean missiles at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, June 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
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Interactive N. Korea: Tests And Threats Follow recent events and learn about this secretive nation's nuclear capabilities.
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Interactive Nuclear Armed World The world's nuclear weapons powers, missile defense and a history of the nuclear weapons age.
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Fast Facts North Korea Learn about the people, economy and history.
In other developments:
Loren Thompson, a defense consultant at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said there are "two basic problems" with trying to shoot down a Korean missile in the air. "Our system is barely operational. And the impact on Korean perceptions if we miss could be counterproductive."
Said Ivo Daalder, a former Clinton national security aide now at the Brookings Institution: "Either it won't work, in which case you've just undermined the rationale for the system. Or if it does work, you have created an even bigger international crisis."
Hadley, the president's national security adviser, brushed aside Perry's suggestion for a strike against the missile on the launch pad. Instead, he said, "We hope it (North Korea) would come back to the table, and we hope it would be a little sobered by the unanimous message that the international community has sent."
International talks to persuade North Korea to restrict its nuclear program have not been held since last November. The five other nations in the talks — the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea — have all strongly urged the North not to launch the missile.
Hadley, who briefed reporters in Budapest, Hungary, during a Bush visit, expressed some reservations about the ability of the United States to intercept and destroy such a missile, noting that the U.S. system was still in an early stage.
"It is a research development and testing capability that has some limited operational capability," Hadley said.
"If the North Koreans fire the missile and the president chooses to launch an interceptor, the administration has an odd set of options," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the private Arms Control Association.
"If it hits the missile, will the North Koreans consider that an act of war? And if the interceptor misses the North Korean test missile, it would simply illustrate the fact that we spent tens of billions of dollars for a system that's not effective — even against one missile from one known launch point."
©MMVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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