| After reading the story (re-printed below) I began to wonder what chance (if any) the US and or Japan has in knocking down a North Korean Missle launch. Obviously with Satelites and Aegis-equipped Destroyers or Cruisers in place they can track the launch and path of the missle, but can they knock it down with a Standard SM-2 or SM-3?
Wouldn't this be a good real world test of our Ballistic Missle Defense, and (if successful) would send a clear message to North Korea.
What are your thoughts?
****Article****
TOKYO, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Japanese intelligence has picked up signs that North Korea may be preparing to launch a Rodong ballistic missile capable of striking Japan.
The Defense Agency dispatched two destroyers to the Sea of Japan, one of them Aegis-equipped, and an EP-3 electronic surveillance aircraft to strengthen early warning and surveillance capabilities in the area, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday.
Tokyo and Washington Tuesday detected signs that North Korean military vehicles, soldiers and missile engineers were converging on several Rodong missile bases mainly in the eastern part of the nation, the paper added.
South Korea also confirmed the movements but downplayed their importance.
National Defense Ministry spokesman Nam Dae Yeon told reporters in Seoul Thursday that they were probably related to annual military drills, adding that the possibility of a missile launch could not be ruled out.
A Rodong missile has a range of about 810 miles, effectively covering most of Japan.
If the missile is actually launched, it would violate the Pyongyang Declaration signed at the Japan-North Korea summit in September 2002 stipulating a freeze of missile launches from 2003.
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