Congress mulls missile defense base on US East Coast

The U.S. Congress has ordered the Obama administration to submit a report on a plan to build a missile defense base on the East Coast to guard against a North Korean attack on the country with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Both houses of Congress recently passed the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which included a number of clauses related to the North.

According to a diplomatic source Monday, the Senate and the House of Representatives added to the Defense Authorization Act the need to build a missile defense base at three eastern coastal areas after Pyongyang launched long-range missile, and also an order to the administration to submit a defense report on North Korea`s nuclear development.

The House, which the Republican Party dominated in May this year, has passed a revised act that demanded a tighter response to North Korea, but most of the proposed revisions were canceled by the Democratic Party-led Senate. Following the latest rocket launch, however, both houses went through an adjustment negotiation process and revived most of the demands. The final plan was passed by the House Wednesday and by the Senate Thursday, and awaits approval by President Barack Obama before the year ends.

The new defense act demands that the administration consider building a missile defense base at three eastern coast areas in response to the development of moving intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea and Iran. The Senate had initially opposed the plan, saying North Korea lacks the capability to fire missiles that could reach the U.S. East Coast.

Pyongyang`s latest rocket launch, however, led to a shift in stance and made Washington include a clause to examine the construction of a missile defense base over the longer term and assess candidate areas.

mickey@donga.com