Eleven Missiles Fired by North Korea Propels Their Capability to Threaten the United...

Eleven Missiles Fired by North Korea Propels Their Capability to Threaten the
United States

WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Riki Ellison, Chairman and
Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA)
www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org explains why the actions of North Korea on
July 4th dictate the need for our nation to have a strong missile defense
program, and that the ballistic missile tests by North Korea send a strong
message to our nation about the need for missile defense. His comments are as
follows:

"Seven North Korean ballistic missiles were fired on July 4th from North Korea
into the East Sea, the body of water that separates Japan from North Korea.
The seven missiles launched were a mixture of Scud - C short-range ballistic
missiles and Rodong/Nodong medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges from
350 miles to 800 miles. These North Korean ballistic missiles were liquid
fueled, mobile land-based systems and as such their launch pads and locations
were not known prior to their launching. Satellite intelligence can only
provide post-launch analysis of backtracking the trajectories to the launch
locations after the missiles have been fired. The North Korean demonstration
of our lack of detection prior to launch provides very difficult challenges
for pre-emptive military action to disable or destroy North Korean ballistic
missiles prior to launch in possible future scenarios."

"It is with appreciation, that the current Administration understands the
future regional threats and has increased $900 million to the 2010 Missile
Defense budget. That $900 million for 2010 is allocated for an increase in
missile interceptors with the THAAD20land-based mobile system as well as the
Aegis ship based missile defense system."

The launching of these seven ballistic missiles on July 4th followed four
short-range ballistic missiles on July 2nd by North Korea thus providing more
confidence, reliability and robustness of ballistic missile technologies for
the North Korean military-industrial complex. These types of multiple tests
collectively provide more assurance and technical confidence for those systems
as well as for the development of the long-range ballistic missile
TaepoDong-2. The first stage of the TaepoDong-2 is made up of three to four
rocket engines with the same commonality of liquid fuel for combustion that
are exactly used in the one rocket engine ballistic missiles that were fired
on July 4th. The second stage of the TaepoDong-2 has the same technologies and
rocket engine similarity to the missiles launched on July 4th."

"Admiral Timothy Keating Commander of the US Pacific Command stated in
Honolulu this weekend that he believes North Korea has the capability to fire
a long-range ballistic missile (ICBM) that will reach the United States or
Hawaii. 'We believe they have the capability to do so but they haven't yet
demonstrated the intent.' It is apparent with these comments by the head of
the Pacific Combat Command and with the still deployed Sea-Based X-band radar
that the long-range ballistic missile threat to Hawaii and the United States
is and remains real."

"With North Korea continuing to flaunt, deploy and actively test ballistic
missiles to provoke our nation and our allies along with its nuclear weapons,
it is with hope, great expectation and nonsensical belief that our United
States Congress can rectify the Administration's budget decision made against
overwhelming public support to decrease our nation's only deployed proven
long-range ballistic missile defense system, the ground-based interceptors
deployed at Fort Greely and Vandenberg Air Force Base."

Riki Ellison is available for on-the-record interviews. Call Mike Terrill at
602 885-1955 to arrange.

SOURCE Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance

Mike Terrill of Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, +1-602-885-1955