N Korea delay missile launch 'due to international pressure'
28/06/2006 - 10:25:57North Korea appears to be holding off on launching a long-range missile due to a united front of international pressure against the communist nation taking such a provocative step, a senior US diplomat said today.
“We hope they’re taking very seriously the warnings we’ve made – the Chinese, the (South) Koreans, the Japanese, the Russians and the Europeans – and they’re thinking twice about taking this provocative step,” the diplomat said.
“They may be calculating what the political effects have been of the threat to launch.”
Still, technical reasons such as bad weather could also partially explain why the North hasn’t yet fired its missile.
“We still think that they could press the button without further warning,” the diplomat said. “Nobody can read their minds.”
