WASHINGTON — U.S. ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said on Wednesday that if North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile it would be a "clear violation" of agreements it has made in the past.
Asked if the United States would try to shoot down a North Korean missile, Schieffer said: "I think what we have said is that we have greater technical measures of tracking than in the past and we have options that we have not had in the past, and all these options are on the table."
The United States has activated its ground-based interceptor missile-defense system amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday.
Pentagon officials earlier declined to say whether they would try to shoot down any missile launched by the reclusive Communist state, but other U.S. officials have said that is unlikely, assuming the launch is aimed at open water.
The United States has said it would be a provocation if North Korea launched the missile, which some experts said could reach Alaska.
Many U.S. experts say Pyongyang has a legal right to test, and there are questions about the reliability of U.S. missile defenses.
Pyongyang claims it hopes for a diplomatic solution, however, a North Korean official said earlier the country does not feel bound by pledges to halt test firings of long-range missiles.
A U.S. defense official confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon had switched its multibillion-dollar missile-defense system from test mode to operational.
"It's good to be ready," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff, asked whether the United States would try to shoot down a North Korean missile, said: "We have a limited missile-defense system. ... We don't discuss the alert status or the specific capabilities."
The United States has built a complex of interceptor missiles, advanced radar stations and data relays designed to detect and shoot down an enemy missile. Test results have been mixed, but officials had previously said the system could be activated on short notice.
North Korea has placed a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on a launch pad, but may not have finished fueling it, U.S. and South Korean officials said.
"They seem to be moving forward toward a launch, but the intelligence is not conclusive at this point," White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters traveling with President Bush to Vienna aboard Air Force One.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon urged Pyongyang to scrap test plans.
Regional Asian powers have warned a launch would be a grave mistake.
'Kabuki Dance'
Philip Coyle, chief Pentagon weapons tester from 1994 to 2001, said the missile defense system has no demonstrated capability to defend against a missile launch under realistic conditions.
"If they actually tried to shoot down this thing that North Korea may launch and missed, it would be terribly embarrassing," Coyle said.
John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, added, "This is a perfect international Kabuki dance. The North Koreans may test a missile that they will have no idea will work in the real world and the United States has a missile defense which we have no notion whether it will defend against the North Koreans. It is perfect symmetry."
U.S. officials said they have seen no significant changes in the test site in the past 24 hours, and poor visibility over North Korea could persist for most of the week, possibly delaying any launch.
"We certainly are pleased there hasn't been a test to date. Whether it's a result of our diplomacy or other reasons is hard to say, but what you've seen is a pretty uniform response from the international community (opposing a test) and that in and of itself is telling," a senior U.S. official said.
In Paris, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin warned, "If this missile test were to take place, the international community would have to respond firmly and fairly," he told a news conference. "The U.N. Security Council would certain have to take the necessary measures."
The senior U.S. official said even as participants in six-country talks on ending the North's nuclear program contemplate punitive steps, they are also looking to revive negotiations.
This could involve a meeting of the parties, whether or not North Korea participates, but there is no expectation that chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill would visit Pyongyang in a bid to salvage the stalled talks.
The senior official said the issue also gives new urgency to implement a September 2005 agreement in which Pyongyang would abandon its nuclear programs in return for economic and political benefits. North Korea reneged on the terms soon after the agreement was announced.
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