October 11, 2006 :: Yomiuri Shimbun :: News
The Japanese daily
Yomiuri Shimbun suggests that North Korea’s nuclear test will lead to calls for a new Japanese defense initiative, including increased missile defense and perhaps a preemptive strike capability. It notes that North Korea has deployed about 200 No-dong missiles capable of striking most of the Japanese archipelago, and has tested them as recently as July 2006. Although most experts believe that North Korea remains unable to develop nuclear warheads small enough to be carried by these missiles, the
Yomiuri Shimbun points out that the relatively small seismic waves observed after the recent nuclear test may indicate that North Korea is trying to decrease the size its nuclear bombs. The paper suggests that calls for the “early development of missile defense” and “ability to attack missile bases in North Korea preemptively” are likely to gain strength in coming months.
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