Washington, DC – Congressman Todd Akin (R-Mo), Ranking Member of the House Armed Service’s Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding North Korea’s launch of a long range ballistic missile Saturday.

"The launch of a long range ballistic missile by North Korea Saturday was an irresponsible act by a reckless dictator who is opting to invest his nation’s meager resources in developing nuclear weapons and long range missiles.

"This event underscores that our nation must continue to invest in missile defense. Under President Bush, our nation has made great strides in developing an effective missile defense system. Unfortunately, it seems that Democrats in Congress, and perhaps the Administration, are intent on cutting funds for missile defense. We cannot afford to allow partisan opposition to prevent us from meeting our responsibility to provide for our national defense. We must not allow rogue nations to threaten us with ballistic missiles when the technology exists to protect us and our allies from them."

You may view Congressman Akin’s Editorial on missile defense in the Washington Times at ( http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/01/democrats-propose-cuts/ ).