-Caveat Lector- U.S., SKorea Warn of NKorea Missile By PAUL SHIN .c The Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The United States and South Korea warned Thursday they will mobilize ``all available means'' against North Korea if the Stalinist state goes ahead with another ballistic missile launch. The warning was issued after U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Sung-tae, reviewed the security situation in Northeast Asia, including the North Korean missile threat. South Korean officials said North Korea appears to be preparing for a new rocket test despite U.S.-led pressure to halt the project. ``In case North Korea proceeds with another missile launch, Secretary Cohen and I have agreed to mobilize all available means through consultations among the U.S., Japan and South Korea,'' the South Korean defense chief said at a joint news conference with Cohen. Cohen said North Korea will face economic and diplomatic penalties if it proceeds with a new rocket test that could pose a threat to stability in the region. ``No one can predict the consequences of what might happen in the event of a missile launch,'' Cohen said. Last August, North Korea test-fired a less powerful missile over Japan and into the Pacific, alarming U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials who had been unaware of plans for the test. Earlier, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung told Cohen he backed the U.S. threat of economic sanctions against North Korea if it launches the missile. But he said North Korea should be offered incentives to drop the test. Kim did not elaborate. But under South Korea's engagement policy toward North Korea, he is encouraging the United States and Japan to provide economic aid and try to open diplomatic relations with the reclusive communist nation. In a meeting with Cohen at a lakeside retreat outside Seoul, Kim called for efforts to enlist support from China, North Korea's closest ally, and Russia, saying there should be international pressure on Pyongyang not to go ahead with a missile test. Kim also briefed Cohen on South Korea's desire to expand its own missile industry to counter its northern neighbor. It cannot do so without approval from the United States, which fears a regional arms race. A 1979 agreement forbids South Korea from developing a missile with a range longer than 112 miles. Seoul wants to develop a missile with a range of up to 190 miles. Relations between the Koreas have been tense since the two sides fought a war a half-century ago. Some 37,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea and U.S. officials have often described the peninsula as one of the most dangerous places in the world. North Korea has shrugged off criticism, saying that it has the right to test a long-range missile, believed by some Western military experts to have a range of up to 3,700 miles. Parts of the United States would be within reach. Taiwan Experiences Power Outage .c The Associated Press TAIPEI (AP) - A widespread blackout in Taiwan left millions of residents without electricity early Friday and caused chaos on roads after traffic lights went out. The outage, which began late Thursday, cut power to areas throughout Taiwan and Kinmen, an island near the China's coast, media reported. The sudden blackout sparked fear among Taiwanese that Beijing was planning an attack on the island, which China considers a renegade province. By early morning power had been restored to about 66 percent of the capital, the state-run Taiwan Power Company said. The outage may have been triggered by accidents at a power stations near Chiaming and Lungchi, in south-central Chiayi county, 125 miles south of Taipei, Premier Vincent Siew told a news conference. The outage knocked out electricity around the island, Siew said. A Taipower spokesman said initial investigations ruled out the possibility that Chinese sabotage or crashed computers had caused the outage. Two of Taiwan's three nuclear power plants, which altogether generate about 30 percent of the island's electricity, were knocked out by the mass outage and were gradually being brought back on line, Taipower said. In Taipei, 15 people were rescued after being trapped in elevators in downtown buildings. At least five trains were halted temporarily by the power cut, Taiwan's Broadcasting Corporation of China reported, but were running again by early Friday morning. Some southern regions of Taiwan were reportedly unaffected. The blackout heightened tensions between Taiwan and China, who have been on edge since Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui's said earlier this month that the two powers should deal with each other on a ``state-to-state'' basis. Beijing responded to the statement with by threatening force to reunify Taiwan with the Chinese mainland. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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