North Korea fires missile into sea

SEOUL - North Korea test-fired a cruise missile yesterday in an apparent move by the communist state to press for nuclear negotiations with the United States, which has indicated it is in no hurry to talk to Pyongyang.

The US wants to keep the nuclear standoff with North Korea from complicating its buildup for a potential war with Iraq.

But the missile test and Pyongyang's belligerent daily rhetoric show that it will keep clamouring for US attention.

Seoul and Washington had anticipated the isolated North's second missile test in two weeks since Pyongyang declared a maritime exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan from March 8 to 11.

The firing still caused South Korea's stock markets to dip, adding to fears voiced yesterday by a Seoul private-sector think-tank that a prolonged nuclear crisis and any protracted Iraq war would slash growth prospects this year for Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The anti-ship missile North Korea fired into the same waters two weeks earlier was thought to be a version of a Chinese Silkworm missile. Last week, a Pentagon official said Washington was "not overly concerned" about the expected repeat launch.

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said: "We understand this was not a ballistic missile and therefore is not considered a direct threat to Japan."

Seoul's Korea Economic Research Institute said 2003 growth could tumble to 1.4 per cent from 6.2 per cent in 2002 in the worst case if an Iraq war and a North Korean nuclear crisis persist.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the US would eventually talk to North Korea about its nuclear ambitions, but reiterated the US view that others in Asia should help bring about an end to the standoff. China and Russia have resisted US pleas to pressure North Korea to agree to multilateral talks.

- REUTERS