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Plenty of political calculation seems to have gone into North Korea's launch of seven missiles on Wednesday. Specifically, the country shot off one Taepodong-2, two Rodong-1 and three Scud missiles, with an additional Scud or Rodong launched later in the day.
From the point of view of their range, the Taepodong-2 is for the U.S., the Rodong-1 for Japan and the Scud for South Korea. It seems the North wanted to show off its ability to threaten all three nations.
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Children look at Scud missiles at the War Memorial of Korea on Wednesday, when North Korea fired missiles including Scud-B missiles similar to those at the memorial into the East Sea.
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The Taepodong-2 with a 6,700 km range is just capable of hitting Alaska. The Rodong-1 has a range of 1,300 km, which covers almost all of Japan, while the Scud B and C missiles reach 300-500 km, plenty to attack South Korea.
The Taepodong-2 exploded just 42 seconds after launch. But the government says it is highly likely that the Scud and Rodong launches were successful. "In the case of the Scud, it seems they were just clearing out their old models," one government official here said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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