US Military Closely Watching NK Missile Test

The U.S. military is closely watching a possible long-range missile test by North Korea, the commander of American forces in Asia and the Pacific said yesterday.

In an interview with Reuters at the Defense Department in Washington, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating said, “North Korea’s unpredictable behavior is a cause for concern. It is not clear if they have launched the missile or not, but we are watching it with a number of countries around the world.”

Keating, who commands forces that include 28,000 troops in South Korea and 50,000 in Japan, said, “We`re going to be prepared in a number of different ways if and when the president tells us to respond.”

On reports that North Korea is preparing to launch a Taepodong-2 missile, he said open-source reporting is probably pretty close to the same sort of information he was getting.

zsh75@donga.com