Hillary warns North Korea against missile launch

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday a possible missile launch hinted at by North Korea should not be carried out.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday a possible missile launch hinted at by North Korea should not be carried out.

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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday

Clinton, in Japan on her first trip abroad as President Barack Obama's chief diplomat, told a news conference: "The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward".

On the 67th birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il yesterday, Pyongyang claimed it has the right to 'space development' - a term it has used previously to disguise a missile test as a satellite launch.

When North Korea test-fired a long-range missile in 1998, it claimed to have put a satellite into orbit. Intelligence indicates the North may be planning another launch soon.

"We must advance our efforts to secure the complete and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea," Clinton said. To show solidarity with Japan, Clinton said she would meet families of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, a subject of much angst in Japan.

To start the day, Clinton participated in a purification rite and welcoming ceremony at a Shinto shrine to the father of modern Japan, Emperor Meiji.

She said its message of 'balance and harmony' would set the tone for the Obama administration's foreign policy, especially in tough economic times.