Former Defense Sec. Perry Wants N. Korean Missile Destroyed

Former defense secretary William J. Perry says the U.S. should launch a preemptive strike against the long-range ballistic missile that North Korea is reportedly preparing to launch.

In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Perry and former assistant defense secretary Ashton B. Carter argue that if North Korea continues launch preparations, President Bush should immediately declare that the U.S. will destroy the Taepodong missile before it can be launched.

Perry and Carter suggest using a cruise missile launched from a submarine and carrying a high-explosive warhead.

"The effect on the Taepodong would be devastating," they write. "The multi-story, thin-skinned missile filled with high-energy fuel is itself explosive - the U.S. air strike would puncture the missile and probably cause it to explode."


As President Bill Clinton's defense secretary, Perry oversaw preparation for air strikes on North Korean nuclear facilities in 1994 - strikes that were never carried out.

He has been a critic of the Bush administration's approach to North Korea, according to the Post.

"We believe diplomacy might have precluded the current situation," Perry and Carter said. "But diplomacy has failed, and we cannot sit by and let this deadly threat mature."

On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Japan stated that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea.