2006 North Korean missile test

[2] North Korea made its first public acknowledgement of the tests on July 6, through its foreign ministry, describing them as "successful" and part of "regular military drills to strengthen self-defense", insisting that it had the legal right to do so.

[3] On July 8, CNN reported that the U.S. had deployed the USS Mustin, a guided missile destroyer, to the Japanese port of Yokosuka, home of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet.

However, analysts in South Korea often put the range at no more than 2,400 miles (or less than 4000 km), which, as far as U.S. interests are concerned, means the missile could reach Guam or possibly the sparsely inhabited western tip of the Aleutian Islands.

[14] However, DoD officials indicated that the stable missile boost phase of 42 seconds and the subsequent tumbling out of control to impact into the Sea of Japan was only airborne for close to two minutes.

Recently during "Six-party talks" North Korea agreed in principle to end its nuclear weapons program as part of a comprehensive package of measures to normalize relationships.

According to the Navy, Valiant Shield focused on cooperation between military branches and on the detection, tracking, and engagement of units at sea, in the air, and on land in response to a wide range of missions.

Observers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy were invited to attend, as were naval officers from Singapore, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

[31] The exercise had implications for other world events as well, including acting as a show of force to possibly deter North Korea from test-firing its new Taepodong-2 missile.

North Korea responded to such words by threatening an "annihilating" nuclear strike if the United States attacks or any other nation preemptively tried to destroy the missile before or after it launched.

[35] The United States Northern Command, NORAD and the Federal Aviation Administration had, in previous days, placed restrictions on commercial and civil flight operations in the areas surrounding Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and Fort Greely, Alaska, homes of U.S. Interceptor missiles.

[40] Meanwhile, Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso held a phone conversation with his American counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, in which they agreed to take up the matter with the UN Security Council.

[45] Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso subsequently talked about Japan's option on attacking bases in foreign soil in public, which were reported as plans for 'pre-emptive' strike and quickly denounced by South Korea and China as being belligerent.

[46][47] According to Russia's Foreign Ministry official representative Mikhail Kaminin, the test-launch is "an act of provocation" which will impede the Six-party talks and further "complicate situation around North Korean nuclear program".

[49] Unification Minister Lee Jong-Seok convened an emergency meeting to determine the objective of the missile launch, which is expected to prompt the U.S. and its allies to take punitive actions such as harsher economic sanctions against North Korea, ministry officials said.

[58] In an informal media conference, Russian UN ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin stated that, rather than sanctions, it may be more appropriate for the President of the United Nations Security Council to issue a condemning statement similar to what was done after the North Korean missile firing in 1998.

[59] Argentina's foreign ministry issued a communique expressing its "serious concern over the missile test launches" and urging the North Korean state to "renew diplomatic dialogue and return to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty".

According to it the test places additional strains on the regional stability 'at a time when the unresolved nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula requires mutual confidence building'.

[64] Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay added Canada's voice to the world condemnation on Wednesday, calling the launches a "major threat" to stability in the region that undermine efforts to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

[67]Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed his country's "deep concern" over the tests and urged all parties to show restraint and resume negotiations.

[68] New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark urged the United Nations to bring its full weight to bear on North Korea after it announced it had conducted the underground nuclear test.

Winston Peters, the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, condemned North Korea's missile tests on behalf of his government, describing them as showing "wanton disregard" for the warnings issued beforehand by the international community.

[69] Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre condemned the tests as "highly regrettable" and stated his belief that they further escalate regional tension.

[70] President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo condemned the tests, saying that the "world has had enough of weapons of mass destruction", urging the reclusive state to resume six-party talks at once.

[72] Singaporean representatives, through the foreign ministry, sharply rebuked North Korean officials for launching the missiles, calling it a "provocative move".

It warned that any future moves similar to what happened a few days ago will only lead to trouble in the Asian region instead of stability and called on Kim Jong-il to return to six-party talks at once.

[74] Thailand's Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon expressed concern Wednesday over North Korea's long-range missile test, warning the move will lead to regional distrust and threaten world peace, and he plans to raise the issue with his US counterpart early next week.