VIDEO CNN's Mike Chinoy reports from Pyongyang on the latest diplomatic moves Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: N. Korea tries mass spectacles to catch visitors' attention

August 13, 1999
Web posted at: 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT)

PYONGYANG, North Korea (CNN) -- North Korea on Friday hosted another soccer match and a rally aimed at encouraging ties between the two Koreas, as its neighbors remained on alert for a possible missile test by the Stalinist state.

Both North and South Korea opened ceremonies marking Sunday's 54th anniversary of their independence from Japan with rallies in Pyongyang and Seoul. Meanwhile, workers' teams from the North and South played a second soccer match in Pyongyang, which ended in a 4-4 draw.

But hanging over the celebrations was the possibility of North Korea testing a new version of the long-range rocket it fired over Japan in 1998.

U.S. and Japanese officials say a launch is not imminent. But Japan has put warships equipped with advanced radar systems on alert, and South Korea mounted live-fire military exercises across the Korean border Thursday night.

The United States, South Korea and Japan have all warned North Korea against a test of the new missile, believed capable of hitting parts of the United States. North Korea, while insisting it does not consider Washington "the sworn enemy," says it has a right to develop missiles.

"If the appropriate time comes for a launch, we will launch at any moment," said Vice Foreign Minister Park Tong Chun.

Pyongyang, however, has been hobbled by economic crisis and famine, and it has hinted it could strike a deal with Washington in return for economic and political concessions.

North Korea's official media has said as much, declaring "the discontinuation of our missile development can be discussed."

That would be consistent with past North Korean actions. The government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has long used brinkmanship as its preferred diplomatic tool.

In recent years, Pyongyang has flaunted a potential nuclear weapons program and won a good deal from Washington in return for freezing it. It traded inspections of an underground tunnel complex for more economic aid and threatened missile tests while demanding an end to U.S. economic sanctions.

While North Korea appears confident this tool will work again to secure a new diplomatic victory, it may not be as easy as its 5-4 triumph over South Korea on the soccer field Thursday.

If it doesn't work, Pyongyang may feel compelled to launch its new missile -- setting off a dangerous new security crisis in Asia.

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