U.S. Readies System For Missile Detection

A South Korean parliamentary panel concluded that North Korea "does not seem" to have completed injecting fuel into the missile, citing information from South Korea's National Intelligence Service.

"The NIS reported that it is hard to believe the missiles have been fully fueled already," Rep. Chung Hyung Keun, secretary of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, told reporters in Seoul. The lawmaker made the remark after emerging from a briefing by the NIS. "The 40 fuel tanks spotted at the site do not contain enough to launch a missile that needs 65 tons of liquid fuel," the lawmaker said.

National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley appeared to confirm the South Korean account when he told reporters on Air Force One as President Bush flew to Vienna yesterday that "it's hard to tell" if North Korea has fueled the missile.

"They seem to be moving forward towards a launch, but the intelligence is not conclusive at this point," Hadley said.

U.S officials have examined intelligence that suggests Pyongyang may be preparing to test a Taepodong-2 missile from a remote village on North Korea's northeast coast. They have said U.S. satellites have observed liquid-fuel canisters placed near the missile, but officials said there was no confirmation that the missile had been fueled.

Meanwhile, the United States and Japan began negotiations on a draft resolution at the United Nations that would condemn Pyongyang if it conducts a test. The resolution would also demand that Pyongyang observe a 1999 moratorium on missile tests and resume international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program.

U.S. and Japanese diplomats have been laying the groundwork for the resolution in private meetings with members of the Security Council. But council diplomats said that China, which is hosting the stalled six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, has called on the resolution's chief sponsors to water it down. The United States last attempted to take up the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons program in 2003, but dropped the effort in the face of Chinese opposition.

An expert on ballistic missile proliferation, Henry D. Sokolski, said U.S. diplomatic efforts are too limited because North Korea is hardly being punished for its actions.

"We must make sure that others see that this is not a model to follow," said Sokolski, a former Pentagon official. "I am sure the Iranians are watching this very, very closely."

Cho reported from Seoul. Correspondent Anthony Faiola in Tokyo and staff writers Glenn Kessler in Washington and Colum Lynch at the United Nations contributed to this report.