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>From World Tribune
> Key N. Korean missile parts "made in Japan," lawmakers charge
>
>
> July 14, 1999
>
> By Edward Neilan
> Special to World Tribune.com
>
> TOKYO--Globalization is already a fact of life in the
> international missile and military armaments "community."
>
> Or, put another way, no country's military weapons arsenal is
> completely homemade; every nation relies on some imports, some
> more than others.
>
> This was the point made indirectly by two young Japanese members
> of the Diet's upper House of Councillors recently at a press
> conference promoting their article in the current issue of a
> leading political magazine on "Japanese components used in North
> Korean Taepodong missile." Ichita Yamamoto,41, and Keichiro Asao,
> 35, are bringing a new level of transparency to discussion of
> security affairs. Previously, such debate on North Korea's
> missiles was virtually taboo for a range of political and social
> reasons, not the least being the complications surrounding
> Japan's 600,000-strong Korean minority.
>
> All that changed last Aug. 31 when Pyongyang launched a
> three-stage rocket, part of which flew over Japan into the
> Pacific Ocean. North Korea said its rocket was fired to send a
> satellite into orbit, but Japan said it was for testing a
> Taepodong missile.
>
> The event lifted the lid on a debate in Japan over what to do
> about the threat from its next-door neighbor. In their article,
> lawmakers Yamamoto and Asao claim key parts of the Taepodong and
> North Korean semi-submersible boat used in a raid on South Korea
> were "Made in Japan."
>
> For that matter, each of the spy boats was powered by three
> U.S.-made Mercury marine engines.
>
> The youthfulness shown by the lawmakers was enhanced by the fact
> that they were speaking fluent English, a rarity among Diet
> members. Both were educated in the United States---Yamamoto at
> Georgetown University and Asao at Stanford University.
>
> "We're still too young to be taken seriously by our political
> colleagues, but we'll get there," said Yamamoto, who has held a
> Councillor seat for four years.
>
> As for a suggestion to directly cut off remittances from Korean
> residents in Japan to the North, both said it was too politically
> sensitive a step at this time.
>
> "If North Korea persists in its missile testing, such steps can
> be weighed," said Asao.
>
> The pair did not allege that Japanese manufacturers knew their
> products were ending up in North Korean missiles and other
> weapons. Many such components are sold on an "off the shelf"
> basis and do not require documentation.
>
> A Japanese military analyst attending the press conference
> claimed that Japanese components were used in the U.S. Patriot
> missiles deployed in the Gulf War.
>
> "Semiconductor chips in sophisticated missiles can come from a
> variety of sources--U.S., Japan, South Korea or Taiwan,"he said.
>
> North Koreans can openly buy parts in the electronics bazaar at
> Tokyo's Akihabara district and ship them to the North on
> Pyongyang's own shipping line which sails regularly from Niigata
> Port on the Sea off Japan.
>
> Because Japan has no security law, a variety of sophisticated
> radar, sonar and other guidance systems can be purchased openly
> and sent to the North and assembled into completed missiles.
>
> There have been reports that a Pyongyang test of a Taepodong-2
> missile, with a range of 4,000 to 6,000 miles, is imminent. Other
> reports have suggested China is asking North Korean leader Kim
> Jong Il to refrain from raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula
> through another missile test.
>
> But analysts point out that raising tensions, then backing off,
> repeatedly, has been the North's policy scenario played for
> nearly 50 years since the Korean War gunfire ended in an uneasy
> truce.
>
> Japan needs to demonstrate deterrence and diplomacy toward North
> Korea but so far neither seems to be a visible reality.
>
> Will it take a direct hit in Hibiya Park by a yet-to-be-tested
> Taepodong-4 to stir the Diet into meaningful action on this
> issue?
>
> Edward Neilan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) is a veteran journalist,
> based in Tokyo, who covers East Asia and writes weekly for World
> Tribune.com.
>
> July 14, 1999
A<>E<>R
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