Panetta: China Helping North Korea With Missiles

Declines to Offer Details of Allegation

Speaking today at the House Armed Services Committee hearing, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta accused China of having provided considerable aid to North Korea’s missile program, including the recent failed attempt to put a satellite in orbit.

Panetta went on to say that there was “no question” that North Korea’s missiles were a threat to the United States, and said that the Chinese government ought to be urging them to engage in “diplomatic negotiations.”

When pressed for details of his allegations by Rep. Michael Turner (R – OH), Panetta refused, insisting that the “sensitivity of that information” made it inappropriate to discuss though not, apparently, to make reference to.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the endless escalations that Panetta yesterday said brings the US “within an inch of war” near every day, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced that it has deployed new cruise missiles capable of hitting “any place” inside North Korea.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.