美國防部長：美不會攔截“朝鮮導(dǎo)彈”

Defense chief: U.S. not to shoot down missile launched by DPRK

The United States would not shoot down a missile that Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was expected to launch soon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an interview to be aired on Sunday.

Gates told "Fox News Sunday" that the launch was likely to happen soon but the U.S. military was not prepared to "do anything about it."

His remarks were made after Timothy Keating, who leads the U.S. Pacific Command, said in an interview with ABC News that the U.S. military was ready to shoot down the missile if given the order.

"I think if we had a missile that was heading for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it," said Gates. "I don't think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point."

The DPRK has announced that it would launch a communications satellite between April 4-8. But the United States, Japan and South Korea suspected that it might be a long-range ballistic Taepodong-2 missile.

Gates said that although the launch was "intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile," this type of missile could not reach Alaska.

The U.S. government believed that DPRK carried a long-term intent to put a nuclear warhead atop a missile but he personally doubted about the country's ability to do it right now, the Pentagon chief added.

On Iran, Gates said in the interview that he believed economic penalties on Iran were more likely to bring success to the United States than diplomacy.

However, he also doubted that Iran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon since it still lacked capabilities to enrich enough uranium to the levels needed for a weapon at the moment.

In the same interview, Gates also commented on President Barack Obama's newly-announced strategy for Afghanistan, saying that it has narrowed the short-term objectives for U.S. troops in the country, including reversing the Taliban's momentum, strengthening the Afghan army and police, and going after al-Qaeda.

A flourishing democracy in Afghanistan remained a long-term goal for the United States, he noted.

美國國防部長蓋茨29日說，他認(rèn)為朝鮮“似乎即將”發(fā)射一枚導(dǎo)彈，但美國不打算采取攔截行動。

蓋茨當(dāng)天在接受?？怂闺娨暸_采訪時說，美國只有在本國領(lǐng)土遭到導(dǎo)彈威脅的情況下，才會采取行動予以攔截和擊落。根據(jù)目前情況，美國不會采取這樣的行動。

在被問及日本是否會采取攔截行動時，蓋茨說，如果導(dǎo)彈發(fā)射失敗碎片散落到日本，日方將采取相關(guān)行動。

蓋茨的這一表態(tài)與美軍太平洋司令部司令基廷此前的說法不同。基廷曾說，美軍方“很有可能”對朝向美國領(lǐng)土的任何朝鮮導(dǎo)彈進(jìn)行攔截。軍方已準(zhǔn)備好，一旦接到命令，便將其擊落。

朝鮮宇宙空間技術(shù)委員會發(fā)言人２月２４日宣布，朝鮮將發(fā)射“光明星２號”試驗(yàn)通信衛(wèi)星。此后，朝鮮通知有關(guān)國際機(jī)構(gòu)，表示將在４月４日至８日期間發(fā)射這顆衛(wèi)星。但美日韓官員認(rèn)為，朝鮮發(fā)射的可能是“大浦洞”２型洲際彈道導(dǎo)彈。

日本政府本月２７日召開安全保障會議，決定啟動針對朝鮮發(fā)射物的“摧毀”命令，期限至４月１０日。日本政府稱，攔截計(jì)劃是針對發(fā)射萬一失敗、發(fā)射物落入日本的情況。根據(jù)“摧毀”命令，日本海上自衛(wèi)隊(duì)的３艘“宙斯盾”驅(qū)逐艦當(dāng)天駛出母港趕赴預(yù)定海域，準(zhǔn)備對朝鮮即將發(fā)射的衛(wèi)星或?qū)椷M(jìn)行攔截。