Imperialist U.S. threatens to destroy North Korea satellite!

BEIJING, China - March 26, 2009 - The United States has deployed two warships with anti-missile capabilities in the waters off Japan, while tensions mount over North Korea's plans to conduct a “satellite test”.

The deployment comes as Amerika, Japan and South Korea have threatened North Korea with “serious consequences” if it proceeds with plans to conduct the missile test in defiance of a 2006 UN resolution.

North Korea, which has informed international agencies of its plan to fire the missile between April 4 and 8, says the launch is a “satellite test”, which it is entitled to make under international law.

Recent satellite imagery has shown that North Korea has now assembled two stages of the three-stage Taepodong-2 missile on a launch pad in the country's northeast. Experts estimate that missile could be ready to fire within four days.

Japan has threatened to shoot down the missile if it crosses over Japanese territory, a move that Pyongyang has already said it would consider an "act of war".

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that any launch would threaten to end the six-party talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The talks have been stalled since December in a dispute over how to verify its disarmament.

"This provocative action, in violation of the United Nations mandate, will not go unnoticed and there will be consequences," she said while on a visit to Mexico, warning that the U.S. would put the issue before the UN Security Council for additional sanctions.

It is unclear if China, Pyongyang's only major ally, which has held talks with senior figures from both North and South Korea in the last week, would support a U.S. move to deepen sanctions.

The U.S. Navy spokesman said the two destroyers - the USS McCain and USS Chafee - are equipped with Aegis technology, capable of tracking and destroying missiles, and that they had left Sasebo port in southwestern Japan. "I would say we are ready for any contingencies," he added.

Ed. Note: North Korea is not testing a ballistic missile. They are launching a satellite into orbit. Yes, they are using a military missile to do so, but then the United States has used modified ICBMs as space launchers, including the Mercury and Gemini programs.