2006 North Korean Missile Test - Background

Background

See also U.S.-North Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, Valiant Shield

North Korea conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 2006, and is widely believed to have a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons, deliverable by artillery against South Korea.. North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. 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. Diplomatic efforts at resolving the North Korean situation are complicated by the different goals and interests of the nations of the region. While none of the parties desires a North Korea with nuclear weapons, Japan and South Korea are very concerned about North Korean counterstrikes in case of military action against North Korea. China and South Korea are also very worried about the economic and social consequences should this situation cause the DPRK government to collapse.

• On January 10, 2003, North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

• In late January 2003, Japan Defense Agency Director Shigeru Ishiba told reporters that if North Korea "begins preparations to attack Japan, for instance by fueling its missiles, we will consider the DPRK is initiating a military attack" and pre-emptively strike missile bases in DPRK.

• On April 24, 2003, the United States, China, and North Korea met in Beijing for trilateral discussions. The United States threatened sanctions against North Korea, which North Korea has said would constitute a "declaration of war".

• On May 12, 2003, North Korea declared the 1992 accord with its southern neighbour nullified, which agreed to keep the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, citing U.S. hostility as a threat to its sovereignty. South Korea considers the accord in effect.

• On August 28, 2003, North Korea announced at six-nation talks in Beijing that it was prepared to "declare itself formally as a nuclear weapons state", and claimed to have the means to deliver nuclear weapons. The North Korean delegation also says the country will soon be carrying out a nuclear test to demonstrate its nuclear capability.

• DPRK announced on February 10, 2005 that it had developed nuclear weapons for its self-defense, and suspended participation in the Six-party talks.

• On September 19, 2005, Six-party talks resulted in an agreement where North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program for economic cooperation and assistance, repeating its right to "peaceful uses of nuclear energy", while the U.S. recognized North Korea's sovereignty and stated that it had no intention to attack. The provision of a nuclear light-water reactor would be discussed at "an appropriate time"; the U.S. and North Korea immediately disagreed on when that should be.

• On January 17, 2006, Iran tested a North Korean designed Nodong-B missile.

• In April 2006, North Korea offered to resume talks if the US releases recently frozen North Korean financial assets held in a bank in Macau. The funds were acquired through the sale of drugs and counterfeit U.S. currency.

• In mid-June 2006, North Korea began fueling some of the Taepodong-2 missiles that it possesses.

• On June 14, 2006, the US Air Force conducts a successful unarmed test launch of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base to the Marshall Islands, flying approximately 7,700 kilometers in about 30 minutes.

• June 23, 2006 – the US and Japan signed an agreement to jointly produce anti-ballistic missile (ABM) technology and operate surveillance and tracking operations to gather critical data in the case that the DPRK conducted a ballistic missile test. The US agreed to send several batteries of Patriot PAC-3 missiles to protect Okinawa.

• June 30, 2006 – Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visit Graceland after two days of political talks aimed at cementing relations between Japan and the US.

• July 4, 2006 – Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-121 launches, in what some North Korea watchers say is no coincidence. . The United States also celebrates its 230th birthday.

Valiant Shield was a large war game conducted by the United States military in the Pacific Ocean in June 2006. The exercise began on June 19, 2006 and lasted for five days, concluding on June 24, 2006. 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. The exercise involved 22,000 personnel, 280 aircraft, and thirty ships, including the supercarriers USS Kitty Hawk, USS Abraham Lincoln, and USS Ronald Reagan. It was the largest military exercise to be conducted by the United States in Pacific waters since the Vietnam War. The exercise marked the first of what will become biennial exercises involving different branches of the U.S. military.

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. It was the first time observers from China had ever been sent to observe U.S. war games. The PRC sent a ten-person delegation, including one high-ranking officer each from its navy, army, and air force, as well as officials from its foreign ministry. According to USA Today, Chinese military observers said that observing the exercises gave them a better understanding of U.S. weapons and tactics. Rear Admiral Zhang Leiyu, leader of the delegation, called the visit to the war games near Guam "a positive step in China–U.S. military ties".

Military ties between the United States and China have not been close ever since a communist government came to power in China. Admiral William J. Fallon, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific, said it was "a start" that China accepted his invitation to observe the large-scale exercises. Fallon indicated before the exercises began that he expected China to reciprocate. However, neither Zhang, nor the Xinhua News report, gave any indication that such an invitation was forthcoming.

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.

The North Korean missile test came after weeks of speculation that North Korea was poised to launch a missile, but neither their quantity nor their launch site were definitively anticipated. The U.S., Japan, and others warned North Korea prior to the incident that such a test would be construed by those nations as a provocative act. 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.

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.