WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- On Friday Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso confirmed that Japan has intelligence indicating that North Korea has moved a long-range Taepo-dong 2 ballistic missile closer to a military base launch pad in Hwadae county, North Hamkyong province in northeastern North Korea.
The Japan Times reported Saturday that according the Japanese Defense Agency's annual defense policy report, the possible range of the Taepodong-2 is anywhere from 2,200-3,700 miles, bringing Alaska within range.
Analysts surmise the missile, a possible improved Taepo-dong, is being moved in preparation for launch.
Aso told a House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, "If [the fuel] is liquid, the start of [fueling] would mean an imminent launch. But we cannot say anything about [a possible launch] at this stage, as fueling has not yet begun. We have known of this series of moves regarding the Taepo-dong missile."
The Japanese media reported that the Japanese government discovered the launch preparations from reconnaissance satellite imagery and other techniques. The surveillance showed large trailers moving the 115 ft-long missile closer to the launch pad.
Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga downplayed down the reports, telling journalists, "It is our understanding that there is no imminent situation at this point."
However, the Japanese government is concerned because if a launch occurs, it would breach the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration signed between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in which the North pledged to maintain a moratorium ballistic missile launches.
Relations between Pyongyang and Tokyo have been tense ever since North Korea launched a test the Taepo-dong 1 missile on Aug. 31, 1998, which landed in the Sea of Japan. Both Japanese and South Korean defense ministries were concerned because both South Korea and parts of Japan were within the missile's range of at least 600 miles.
Venezuela is searching for alternative sources of advanced weaponry after Washington banned the sale of spare F-16 Falcon aircraft parts to the regime of President Hugo Chavez Frias.
Venezuela's Ambassador to Russia Alexis Navarro Rojas gave an extensive interview to Interfax news agency published Friday in which he discussed Venezuelan defense policies.
Rojas said, "Venezuela needs to renew its arms systems. Several years ago we decided that we won't buy weapons from the United States and that the bulk of new orders will be placed with Russia. Our military experts have studied the parameters of the arms that Russia is offering and concluded that they are the best in the world. The weapons we are getting from Russia come with guarantees of further maintenance services and personnel training."
Following the U.S. arms embargo the Venezuelan government has stepped up discussions for buying Sukhoi-35 fighters from Russia. Rojas told Interfax, "Our pilots have flown on Sukhoi-27 and Sukhoi-30 fighters already. They have simply fallen in love with the aircraft. They have also tried piloting the Sukhoi-35. Now we are waiting for talks to begin."
Venezuela is also taking delivery of 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles but Rojas downplayed Washington's concerns. "Some people are trying to underestimate the importance of the weapons, but they are very important for us as we will use them to replace outdated guns that had been used for over 55 years," he said.
Rojas said that Chavez hopes to visit Russia during the summer, telling Interfax, "President Chavez has approached the Russian leadership asking to visit Moscow at the end of August [or] the beginning of September. We are awaiting a reply from the Russian side. President Chavez likes visiting Russia."
The foreign minister also spoke at length on the current state of U.S.-Venezuelan relations.
"We don't want a war, but even less do we want to give in to the imperialist policy of the United States," he said. "In the past few years Washington has been pursuing an aggressive policy and is in a state of war with other countries, as part of its search for cheap sources of energy. In these conditions it would be irresponsible of the Venezuelan government to sit doing nothing in the face of aggression. Presently the threat is quite real."
Rojas also discussed Venezuelan oil deliveries to the United States. "We have never spoken about stopping shipments of oil to the United States under previously signed commercial contracts," he said.
Japan is considering withdrawing its 500-man Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces contingent from Iraq.
The Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday that Japan has begun discussions with the governments of Australia, Britain and the United States about a possible withdrawal of its Fround self defense Forces, or GSDF troops, from Iraq beginning as early as next month.
The deployment is controversial because of Japan's pacifist constitution and it is politically sensitive because of the potential risk of casualties. The Japanese GSDF soldiers in Samawah in al-Muthanna province are on a humanitarian mission to repair schools and public facilities and help purify water supplies. Around 450 Australian troops were sent to al-Muthanna province in early 2005 to help protect the GSDF troops.
Should the withdrawal be formally approved next month, the withdrawal from Samawah is expected to take between four to six weeks, with the GSDF troops moving first to Kuwait in late July before returning to Japan.
The government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi declared that the timing for withdrawal was based on development of the political process in Iraq, the local security situation, condition and composition of the multinational forces, and progress in reconstruction efforts. The installation of Iraqi Prime Minister's Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad on Saturday following its approval by Parliament has convinced Koizumi that the situation is sufficiently stable to consider the GSDF withdrawal.
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