China has provided some assistance to North Korea's missile program, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, a week after the hermit state's failed missile launch triggered broad international condemnation. "I'm sure there's been some help coming from China. I don't know, you know, the exact extent of that," Panetta told members of the House Armed Services Committee when asked whether China had been supporting North Korea's missile program through "trade and technology exchanges."
North Korea's powerful Asian neighbour is Pyongyang's only major ally, with military and economic ties that date back to the communist origins of the two nations. On Wednesday, Pyongyang said it was ready to retaliate in the face of widespread condemnation of the failed launch, increasing the likelihood the isolated state will go ahead with a third nuclear test.
After last week's launch, which the United States said was a disguised long-range missile test but which Pyongyang insists was meant to put a satellite into orbit, the Obama administration said it had suspended a food aid deal. China, Pyongyang's main economic and diplomatic backer, has called for "dialogue and communication" as tensions with North Korea mount. On Thursday, South Korea said it had added a cruise missile to its arsenal that could hit anywhere in the North.
In Thursday's hearing, Republican Rep. Michael Turner pressed Panetta about a transporter launcher system - essentially a large truck on top of which a missile is mounted - that North Korea showcased during a military parade on Sunday, which he said appeared to be made in China. Panetta declined to give additional details about any Chinese support for North Korea's missile capabilities in a public setting due to "the sensitivity of that information."
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