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North Korea raises stakes with new missile launch



By Jon Herskovitz
04 July 2009 @ 03:59 am BST


Anti-North Korea protesters march as they carry a mock North Korean missile during a rally
Anti-North Korea protesters march as they carry a mock North Korean missile during a rally, in Seoul July 3, 2009. The North has test-fired two short-range missiles, Japan`s Kyodo and Jiji news agencies said on Saturday, quoting South Korea`s Yonhap, stoking regional tensions after its nuclear tests and threats to boost its nuclear arsenal in response to U.N. sanctions.
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The North has raised tension in recent months by saying it has started a programme to enrich uranium, which could give it a second path to a nuclear bomb, threatening to attack the South, and extracting plutonium at its ageing Yongbyon nuclear plant.

Analysts said the moves may be aimed at securing internal support for leader Kim Jong-il, 67 and thought to have suffered a stroke a year ago, as he prepares the ground for his youngest son to succeed him at the head of Asia's only communist dynasty.

(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in Tokyo and Seo Eun-kyung in Seoul; Editing by Alex Richardson)

© 2010 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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