Missile With A Message

Say this much for North Korea's quirky leader, Kim Jong Il: he knows how to get the world's attention. Early last week, a powerful new missile lifted off from a secret base on North Korea's eastern coast and streaked toward Japan. Dumping its first stage off the western coast of Japan, the rocket sped high over the country and plunked down into the Pacific Ocean. But it packed a political wallop that resounded in capitals from Tokyo to Washington. The message: North Korea may be broke and short of food, but the Stalinist state has a dangerous new toy.

With a range of up to 1,240 miles, far greater than anything else in the North's arsenal, the Taepo Dong-1 can reach all of Japan--and the 41,000 U.S. troops stationed there. The missile also raised the prospect of new threats to the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East, where Pyongyang sells its missiles to clients like Libya and Iran. More worrisome still is what the launch says about Pyongyang's aggressive missile program. Some experts believe North Korea is well on the way to building even more muscular missiles, capable of reaching Alaska, Hawaii and even the western part of the continental U.S. Says Republican Congressman Curt Weldon, a member of the National Security Committee: "It's the first time a rogue state has launched a multistage missile. It's extremely disturbing."

Why fire the missile now? The launch undoubtedly impressed potential weapon buyers. Missile sales are Pyongyang's biggest source of foreign exchange, peaking at about $700 million a year in the late 1980s, according to South Korean analysts. But revenue has declined to about $50 million as Pyongyang's clients have found other suppliers. With its economy imploding, the country desperately needs hard currency. "What they are doing is demonstrating a new product," says a senior Administration official.

North Korea's leaders probably calculated the launch would also thrill audiences at home, to set the stage for this week's celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of North Korea by Kim's father, Kim Il Sung. Last week the North Korean parliament, meeting for the first time since Kim Il Sung died in 1994, honored him with the title of permanent President (enhancing the truth of the slogan THE GREAT LEADER IS ALWAYS WITH US). Kim Jong Il doesn't need the title of President. He has used his authority as commander in chief and head of the ruling Workers' Party to run the country. Last week, he was awarded the power to declare war, sign peace treaties and control the defense industry, underscoring both his control and the growing role of the armed forces. Meanwhile, the meet-and-greet functions he so dislikes have been palmed off to the chairman of the Presidium. Marking the milestone with a nifty new missile could be a way to distract a country on its knees: famine has killed an estimated 2 million people in North Korea since 1995.