A North Korea Missile Test: Background and Fast Facts

July 5, 2006 — -- What is happening at the United Nations Security Council?

The 15 members of the Security Council met in closed consultations today to discuss North Korea's launch of at least seven short, medium and long-range missiles and how to respond. Based on statements to the media before and after the consultations, there was unanimous condemnation of North Korea's actions, but somewhat less than full consensus on what to do about it.

Japan, the United States and United Kingdom have tabled a draft resolution prohibiting the transfer of "financial resources, items, materials, goods and technologies" to any end users who could "contribute to the DPRK's missile and other weapons programs."

Russia and China called for Presidential Statements as a first step before adopting a resolution mandating punitive measures. These issues will be discussed in New York today and in capitals tomorrow.

What do North Korea's tests mean?

It will be interesting to read what, if anything, North Korea reports to its own citizens about the missile launches, in particular the failed launch of the Taepodong 2, which broke up over the Sea of Japan shortly after launch.

On the basis of these launches, North Korea's missile program is still a work in progress, though missile experts point out that there is still a great deal for North Korean scientists to learn from failed launches. Anthony Cordesman, ABC News consultant, states: "It is easy to dismiss such actions on the grounds they are 'irrational' or will 'backfire.' It is far from clear that this is the case. Testing a large number of missiles at once makes good sense from a North Korean perspective. It gets everything done at one, rather than staggers out the political cost over weeks or months. It prevents preemption of future tests. It tends to bury the fact a major series of short/medium range tests took place under the impact of the longer-range test, and the success of the shorter range missile tests guarded against the possible failure of the test of the larger, long-range missile."