U.S. set to down Korean missile

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BUDAPEST -- Senior Bush administration officials said publicly for the first time yesterday that the United States is set to shoot down any North Korean missile launch that threatens the United States.

National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, briefing reporters during President Bush's brief visit here, said the United States has a missile defense system with "limited operational capability" that could be used to try to shoot down an incoming North Korean missile, but he added that U.S. officials were vigorously pursuing a diplomatic push to head off a test launch by Pyongyang.

"The purpose, of course, of that missile defense system is to defend the territory of the United States from attack," Mr. Hadley said when asked if the United States would deploy the system should North Korea attack.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington that Mr. Bush has the power to order a shootdown, using one of 11 ground-based interceptors now located in Alaska and California.

"And the president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch, whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not, and the likely threat that it would pose," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.

Mr. Rumsfeld said intelligence reports suggest the North Koreans are "making preparations" for the launch of a new version of its Taepodong missile, efforts that have been under way for several days. "There's a lot we know, and a lot we don't know. So, we'll just have to see."

The new missile is thought to have the range to hit U.S. territory, prompting an outcry from the United States and key Asian nations who say such a test would violate a moratorium North Korea has observed since 1998.

In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry summoned the North Korean ambassador to warn against "undesirable steps" that could increase tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Reuters news agency that Tokyo was prepared to take "harsh measures" if the missile test went forward.

North Korea indicated Wednesday it was ready to put the launch on hold while offering dialogue with the United States. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean envoy at the United Nations, Han Song-ryol, as saying: "The United States says it is concerned about our missile test launch. Our position is, 'OK then, let's talk about it.'"

China, the North's principal economic and military ally, appealed to both Pyongyang and Washington for restraint.