DPRK - US rattling sabres or preparing for action ?

A North Korean mouthpiece in Japan said on Wednesday the U.S. fabricated stories of an imminent ballistic missile test-launch by Pyongyang but then paradoxically hinted the North may halt the launch all the same. (Pic the Korean peninsula at night - Don Rumsfields favourite snapshot demonstratin gthe total lack of energy resource in the North)

"North Korea's Taepodong-2 missile is a fabrication to mislead the public,” wrote the Chosun Shinbo, published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan or Chongryon.

In an article titled “Controversy over Taepodong missiles is a concoction of the U.S.' own making”, the daily said a multi-stage rocket launched on Aug. 31, 1998 was also not a Taepodong-1 missile but rather “North Korea's very first satellite.” It said North Korea was merely “exercising its sovereign rights by possessing a satellite.”

The newspaper, which is believed to be cleared with Pyongyang, said the imminent launch was that of a Gwangmyeongseong-2 satellite on a Baekdusan-2 rocket and “can take place anytime. It may come “in a month or in a year.” ... More >>>
The U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow,(appointed Oct 2005) said on KBS Radio on Wednesday that the rumored imminent missile test by North Korea would be a huge setback to Washington-Pyongyang relations. The U.S. “never stood by” when a state carried out “provocative actions.” he said.

Meanwhile at sea, the U.S. started the largest military exercise in the region in 10 years. The operation codenamed "Valiant Shield" takes place in waters surrounding Guam, with three aircraft carriers joining drills from Monday until Thursday. A spokesman of the U.S. Forces in the Pacific said the possibility that the missile situation in North Korea could have an effect on the drills cannot be ruled out.

On Sunday, the Japanese mass media said the North Korean authorities called on its citizens to hoist state flags and switch TV sets on at 14:00 local time to listen to an important official statement.

Flags did appear on each building, but no statement followed.

The Japanese mass media by mistake linked the flags and expectations of an important statement with a possible launch of the Taepodong-2 missile.

In reality, the North Koreans raised the state flags to mark the 42nd year of President Kim Jong Il’s career on the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party. Some diplomats see a heightened state of nervousness, and preparations for a defensive status linked to the massive underground network of tunnels / air raid shelters under Pyongyang.

Time will tell ... "Valiant Shields" don't happen overnight.