Australia summons North Korea envoy on missile test

Canberra, June 19 : Australia, one of the few Western counties with diplomatic links to North Korea, has summoned Pyongyang's ambassador in Canberra over concerns it is planning to test a long-range ballistic missile, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

US officials believe North Korea has completed fueling a long-range missile, raising the likelihood that it will soon conduct a test launch.

''Such action would be highly provocative and would further isolate the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea),'' Downer said in a statement.

''We are working closely with our allies and friends to try and persuade North Korea not to proceed with a test. We are also discussing contingencies should a test firing occur.'' Australia restored ties with North Korea in May 2000 as Pyongyang began to emerge from its Cold War isolation, and the North opened a mission in Australia's capital, Canberra, in 2002.

Reports of test preparations come as six-country talks to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions are locked in a stalemate.

Pyongyang stunned the world in August 1998 by firing a Taepodong 1 missile over Japan that landed in the Pacific Ocean.

Reuters

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