¡°N. Korea will not give up missiles¡±: Le Monde

Although U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who visited Pyongyang recently, is trying to cut a deal with North Korea that would trade a halt of the North¡¯s missile exports for the U.S. launching of a North Korean satellite, North Korea will not give up its missile development program, Le Monde of France said Wednesday.

Secretary Albright reported that Pyongyang will perhaps concede on the missile question, but, the French newspaper claimed, North Korea will not abandon its missile program, which is its best tactic for gaining aid and recognition from the outside world. It reasoned that Pyongyang may suspend missile exports or missile testing in return for the launch of its own satellite aboard a U.S. commercial satellite, but said this would not signify the abandonment of the program itself.

With its 1 million-strong army, North Korea is in need of strengthened intelligence-gathering capabilities to make up for its weak communications and transportation infrastructure, and access to military intelligence through satellite intelligence gathering could boost the North¡¯s technological prowess, the daily said.

It quoted military experts as saying Pyongyang could get another country that purchased North Korean missiles to test its missiles, and that the proposed exchange of a freeze on missile sales in return for the launching of a satellite would not ensure that the North Koreans will wash their hands of missile development.