U.S. warns N. Korea against ballistic missile launch

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday called on North Korea
to halt its provocations, warning of possible further sanctions.

Speaking to reporters at a daily news briefing, Philip Crowley, assistant
secretary of state for public affairs, said he was not sure if Pyongyang will
launch another long-range missile soon, but added, "I think all we would know at
this point is if the North Koreans fire off another missile, it will be a
mistake."
Crowley was responding to the reports that North Korea is preparing for a
ballistic missile launch in defiance of U.N. resolutions banning the reclusive
communist state from testing any further nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
The spokesman did not rule out another launch.
"At some point they might in fact do something intentionally or unintentionally
that sparks a larger crisis," he said, noting that's "why we have repeatedly
condemned, you know, the actions that they've taken as being irresponsible,
provocative, but also dangerous."
Crowley said the State Department has been reviewing the viability of relisting
North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"It is something that is available to us," he said. "Obviously, there are
specific criteria that would be required for us to do that."
Pyongyang was put on the list in 1988, soon after North Korean agents blasted a
Korean Air plane over Myanmar, killing all 115 passengers.
The Bush administration delisted the North in October to facilitate the North's
denuclearization, as Pyongyang agreed verbally to a protocol for verification of
its past and current nuclear activity as part of the disabling process of its
nuclear facilities under a six-nation nuclear deal.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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