nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Electromagnetic Pulse Attack from North Korea is not likely

A North Korean Nuclear EMP Attack? … Unlikely, http://38north.org/2017/05/jliu050517/ By Jack Liu

05 May 2017, Recent press articles warn about the possibility of the North Koreans launching an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States, and there are even suggestions that the recent missile test failures may represent a thinly veiled EMP threat. However, such an attack from North Korea is unlikely, as it would require the North to have much larger nuclear weapons and the missile capability to deliver them.

EMP Concerns

The Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the US from EMP Attack[1] states:

When a nuclear explosion occurs at high altitude, the EMP signal it produces will cover the wide geographic region within the line of sight of the detonation. This broad band, high amplitude EMP, when coupled into sensitive electronics, has the capability to produce widespread and long lasting disruption and damage to the critical infrastructures that underpin the fabric of U.S. society.

The effects of the pulse can be transferred directly to sensitive devices or as an electrical surge over power lines.

The generic diagram below [on original] shows an EMP to consist of three phases (E1, E2 and E3) occurring over vastly different time scales.[2] Of these, E1 is the most damaging. The others are 100 times (at minimum) less damaging than the first.

The E1 component of an EMP is a very brief but powerful electromagnetic field that can induce very high voltages in electrical conductors. Damage occurs by causing voltage limits in equipment to be exceeded and happens so fast that ordinary surge protectors cannot effectively protect computers and communications equipment. However, special transient protectors fast enough to suppress this part of an EMP exist and there has been significant progress in hardening critical systems against EMP.

The E1 component is produced when gamma radiation during the first 10 nanoseconds (1 nanosecond = 1 billionth of a second) from the nuclear detonation rips electrons out of the atoms in the atmosphere. The electrons travel at relativistic speeds (more than 90 percent of the speed of light) to illuminate the area beneath the blast. The Earth’s magnetic field acts on these electrons to change the direction of electron flow to a right angle to the geomagnetic field that may cause downward electron flow to produce a very large, but quick, electromagnetic pulse over the affected area.

The E2 component is generated by scattered gamma rays and gamma emissions produced by neutron collisions from the explosion. This component lasts from about one microsecond to one second after the beginning of the electromagnetic pulse and  is similar to the electromagnetic pulse produced by lightning. Because of the similarities to lightning-caused pulses and the widespread use of lightning protection technology, the E2 pulse is generally considered to be the easiest to protect against.[3]

The E3 component of the pulse is a slow pulse, lasting tens to hundreds of seconds. It results from the nuclear detonation distorting the Earth’s magnetic field, followed by its restoration. This component is quite similar to a geomagnetic storm caused by a very severe solar flare. Like a geomagnetic storm, it can induce currents in long electrical conductors, with the potential to damage power line components.

Size Matters

This is an instance where size does matter: the larger the nuclear explosion, the larger the affected area. While technical reports and papers on EMP from nuclear detonations are mostly classified, there is a paper by D. Hafemeister of California Polytechnic Institute that provides sufficient detail to derive a simple rule of thumb on the relationship between affected distance and nuclear device yield. The paper makes some simplifying assumptions:

  • The detonation is spherically symmetric (which may not always be the case);
  • The Earth’s magnetic field is not accounted for;
  • Prompt gamma rays account for 0.3 percent of the total energy of the explosion and are emitted within the first 10 nanoseconds of detonation;
  • About 0.6 percent of the prompt gamma rays produce relativistic electrons that constitute the E1 component of the EMP; and
  • The electric field damage threshold is 15,000 volts/meter or higher in the E1 component.

Plugging in the numbers and presuming these assumptions are appropriate, the rule of thumb is surprisingly simple: D = Y, where D is the maximum damage distance expressed in kilometers and Y is the yield of the blast in kilotons. So, a 20 KT bomb detonated at optimum height would have a maximum EMP damage distance of 20 km; a 1 MT (1,000 KT) bomb would damage out to 1,000 km. The largest North Korean test to date has been estimated to be about 20 KT.

Conclusions

Considering the physics behind EMP and the status of North Korea’s nuclear program to date, doomsday headlines in the press regarding the North’s potential EMP threat are grossly overstated.[4] North Korea’s nuclear tests have not yet demonstrated sufficient yield to cause damage to large areas through EMP. Moreover, with only a limited arsenal, it would not make sense for the North Koreans to conduct nuclear tests simply to develop EMP weapons.

[1] John Foster, et al., Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack—Critical National Infrastructures, April 2008.

[2] Edward Savage, James Gilbert, William Radasky. The Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and Its Impact on the U.S. Power Grid, Meta-R-320, Prepared for Oak Ridge National Lab., Jan 2010.

[3] According to the US EMP Commission, “In general, it would not be an issue for critical infrastructure systems since they have existing protective measures for defense against occasional lightning strikes. The most significant risk is synergistic, because the E2 component follows a small fraction of a second after the first component’s insult, which has the ability to impair or destroy many protective and control features. The energy associated with the second component thus may be allowed to pass into and damage systems.”

[4] In the early 1950s, above ground nuclear tests of a size similar to what the North Koreans have demonstrated were conducted at the Nevada Test Site just 65 miles from Las Vegas. There were no reports of power outages. The casinos continued to operate. Nuclear fallout was the bigger issue.

May 6, 2017 Posted by | Reference, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea readying for another nuclear weapons test: China is worried.

Meanwhile satellite images indicate activity has resumed at North Korea’s nuclear test site, US-based analysts said Tuesday, as tensions remain high over fears of an sixth atomic test by the reclusive state.

Monitor group 38 North warns North Korea is ready to conduct another nuclear weapons test, news.com.au 4 May 17  Beijing regularly calls for parties to avoid raising tensions — remarks that can apply to both Washington and Pyongyang — and in February it announced the suspension of coal imports from the North for the rest of the year, a crucial foreign currency earner for the authorities.

Chinese state-run media have called for harsher sanctions against the North in the event of a fresh atomic test, urged Pyongyang to “avoid making mistakes”, and spoken of the need for it to abandon its nuclear programmes.

The KCNA commentary denounced the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist party, and the Global Times, which sometimes reflects the thinking of the leadership, as having “raised lame excuses for the base acts of dancing to the tune of the US”.

Chinese suggestions that the North give up its weapons crossed a “red line” and were “ego-driven theory based on big-power chauvinism” said the article, bylined “Kim Chol” — believed to be a pseudonym.
MAY 4, 2017 NORTH Korean and Chinese media were at loggerheads after Pyongyang’s official news agency issued a rare and stinging denunciation of its chief ally and diplomatic backer.Beijing should be grateful to Pyongyang for its protection, said a bylined commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), warning of “grave consequences” if China tests its patience further.

China’s Global Times newspaper retorted that the nuclear-armed North was in the grip of “some form of irrational logic” over its weapons programs.

Beijing and Pyongyang have a relationship forged in the blood of the Korean War, and the Asian giant remains its wayward neighbour’s main provider of aid and trade.

But ties have begun to fray in recent years, with China increasingly exasperated by the North’s nuclear antics and fearful of a regional crisis. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has yet to visit Beijing, more than five years after taking power.

The rival texts are a sign of the level to which ties between the two have deteriorated. KCNA regularly carries vivid denunciations of the US, Japan, and the South Korean authorities, but it is rare for it to turn its ire on China.

“The DPRK will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear programme which is as precious as its own life,” it said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang had acted as a buffer between Beijing and Washington since the Korean War in the 1950s and “contributed to protecting peace and security of China”, it said, adding that its ally should “thank the DPRK for it”.

Beijing should not try to test the limits of the North’s patience, it said, warning: “China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations.”

’NATIONALISTIC’ PASSION

In its response Thursday, the Global Times — which can sometimes stridently espouse what it sees as China’s interests — dismissed the KCNA article as “nothing more than a hyper-aggressive piece completely filled with nationalistic passion”.

“Pyongyang obviously is grappling with some form of irrational logic over its nuclear programme,” it added.

Beijing “should also make Pyongyang aware that it will react in unprecedented fashion if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test”, it said.

“The more editorials KCNA publishes, the better Chinese society will be able to understand how Pyongyang thinks, and how hard it is to solve this nuclear issue,” the Global Times said.

Washington is meanwhile pushing Beijing — which says its influence is less than believed — to put more pressure on Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week warned the UN Security Council of “catastrophic consequences” if the international community — most notably China — failed to pressure the North into abandoning its weapons programme.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi brushed aside Tillerson’s comments, saying that “the key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side”.

CHINA: GET OUT OF N KOREA

CHINA has called for all of its citizens to return from North Korea immediately as a US citizen is detained for allegedly trying to overthrow the country’s regime.

The Korea Times reports that the Chinese embassy in North Korea began advising Korean-Chinese residents to return to China.

A Korean-Chinese citizen told Radio Free Asia he was advised to ‘stay a while’ in China, and stated: ‘The embassy has never given such a warning. I was worried and left the country in a hurry.’

But he said most Chinese citizens in North Korea had opted not to heed the warning.

It comes as North Korea confirmed the detention of another American citizen for alleged acts of hostility aimed at overthrowing the country………

IMAGES SHOW RESUMPTION AT NUCLEAR SITE

Meanwhile satellite images indicate activity has resumed at North Korea’s nuclear test site, US-based analysts said Tuesday, as tensions remain high over fears of an sixth atomic test by the reclusive state……..

38 North said the latest images were “unusual and almost assuredly a component of an overall North Korean deception and propaganda effort” and the result of media reporting on the earlier volleyball sightings……

Washington is now exploring options at the UN Security Council to ramp up pressure on the North, with diplomats saying it was in discussion with China on possible sanctions.

Over the past 11 years, the Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions on Pyongyang, including imposing a cap on coal exports among other measures in November. http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/monitor-group-38-north-warns-north-korea-is-ready-to-conduct-another-nuclear-weapons-test/news-story/d3504fd695e52c53f1dcc8aaaeb02e88

 

May 5, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | 1 Comment

America tests nuclear capable missile that could reach North Korea

Projectile blasts off just after midnight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles – the second in a week, The Independent, Tom Batchelor  @_tombatchelor , 5 May 17 The US has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from a site in California, the second such launch in a week, amid rising tensions with North Korea.

The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile has a range of around 8,000 miles, putting it within striking distance of Pyongyang.

It blasted off just after midnight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and delivered a single projectile to a target approximately 4,200 miles away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, US Air Force Global Strike Command said……..

Meanwhile, China has called on all parties in the standoff to stay calm and “stop irritating each other”.”We again urge all relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint, stop irritating each other, work hard to create an atmosphere for contact and dialogue between all sides, and seek a return to the correct path of dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang,

Rising tensions are also pushing Japan to consider dropping its pacifist charter.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-nuclear-missile-tests-north-korea-range-reach-pyongyang-california-site-a7715331.html

May 5, 2017 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Author Stephen King sees Trump as a having dangerous personality disorder

Stephen King: Trump’s nuclear ability ‘worse than any horror story I ever wrote’, The Hill, BY BRANDON CARTER – 05/03/17 Author Stephen King slammed President Trump on Wednesday, saying Trump’s tweets show that “he’s an almost textbook case of personality disorder.” King also signaled fear over Trump’s ability to launch a nuclear attack.

“That this guy has his finger on the nuclear trigger is worse than any horror story I ever wrote,” King said…..King’s comments come as lawmakers are pushing a bill that would deny Trump the authority to launch a first strike with a nuclear weapon without congressional approval. http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/331865-stephen-king-trumps-nuclear-ability-worse-than-any-horror-story

May 5, 2017 Posted by | politics, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

World’s nuclear experts forming a Nuclear Crisis Group to Advise World Leaders on Avoiding Nuclear War

Nuclear Experts Team Up to Advise World Leaders on Avoiding Nuclear War Veritable who’s-who of “nuclear priesthood” say they have grown concerned over Trump and Putin’s rhetoric, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/05/04/nuclear-experts-team-advise-world-leaders-avoiding-nuclear-war May 04, 2017, byCommon Dreams, by Nadia Prupis, staff writer 

Nuclear experts are creating a global coalition to advise President Donald Trump and other world leaders on preventing nuclear war, Politico reported Thursday.

The Nuclear Crisis Group is expected to launch in Vienna on Friday. The coalition assembled in response to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric, which the experts say is increasing the risk of a nuclear conflict.

One of the group’s leaders is Richard Burt, former U.S. ambassador to Germany and chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. He said Thursday, “Not only is the U.S.-Russia relationship on much more shaky ground but the whole political environment has deteriorated.”

“The issue of nuclear weapons has strangely kind of receded from people’s consciousness,” Burt said. “We must remind people in these different crisis situations that there is a nuclear danger and it needs to be addressed.”

According to Politico, the coalition includes “nearly two-dozen members of the nuclear priesthood of at least eight major nations—including a former commander of the U.S. atomic arsenal; the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Pakistan; a retired admiral who was in charge of India’s nukes; the ex-heads of the Chinese military’s strategic studies and science institutes; and Russia’s former foreign minister and chief atomic weapons designer.”

The group came out of Global Zero, a disarmament campaign organization.

Global Zero’s executive director Derek Johnson said the chill in U.S.-Russia relations required the anti-nuclear movement to change its focus to “what we can do to stop one of these things from going off.”

Trump has advocated for expanding America’s nuclear stockpile and hinted that a conflict with North Korea could happen. His rhetoric, and volatile temperament, prompted lawmakers to introduce legislation that would prohibit the president from launching a nuclear strike without approval by Congress. A petition in support of the bill acquired nearly half a million signatures.

May 5, 2017 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Vatican says nuclear weapons “provide a false sense of security”

Vatican: Nuclear weapons give “false sense of security”, Crux, Charles Collins, May 3, 2017  Monsignor Janusz Stanisław Urbańczyk, says the efforts of the international community to utilize the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons to make the world safer “have not been sufficient.” The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is preparing for the review conference on the treaty, which happens every five years.

The Vatican representative to the world’s nuclear body on Tuesday said nuclear weapons “provide a false sense of security” and added he is “concerned” about the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Monsignor Janusz S. Urbańczyk, the Vatican representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was speaking at the first meeting preparing for the 2020 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) taking place in Vienna.

The treaty, considered the main international nonproliferation tool, went into effect in 1970, and a review process is conducted every 5 years.

Urbańczyk said the Vatican, which signed the NPT in 1971, was taking part in the preparatory meeting “to lend its moral authority” to the process.

“The Holy See cannot but lament the fact that the potential devastation caused by the use of nuclear weapons so clearly identified over 40 years ago has not been relegated to history,” the diplomat said. “In other words, the efforts of the international community to utilize the NPT to make the world safer have not been sufficient.”

He said the preparatory meetings and the 2020 review conference itself should “make concrete and consensus-based progress” to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and work towards “the ultimate goal of abolishing all nuclear weapons……

  • In March, the United Nations General Assembly hosted a conference in New York to work towards a treaty banning nuclear weapons, which was boycotted by all the nuclear powers.Francis wrote a personal letter to that conference, offering his support, and calling for a “collective and concerted multilateral effort to eliminate nuclear weapons,” adding that international peace and stability “cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power.”

    Urbańczyk on Tuesday acknowledged nations have “a right and an obligation” to protect their own security, but said this is “strongly linked” to the promotion of collective security, the common good, and peace…….https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/05/03/vatican-nuclear-weapons-give-false-sense-security/

May 5, 2017 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Religion and ethics, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Qatar calls for nuclear-free zone in Middle East

 http://www.gulf-times.com/story/546881/Qatar-calls-for-nuclear-free-zone-in-Middle-East
May 04 2017  Qatar has expressed concern over the worsening international situation, and has called for establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East.

Speaking at the First Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in Vienna on Tuesday, Qatar’s ambassador and its permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani, called for placing all nuclear facilities in the region under comprehensive safeguards of the agency in compliance with the resolution of the 1995 NPT Review Conference and in accordance with the mechanisms agreed upon at the 2010 Review Conference.
Sheikh Ali bin Jassim said the situation was very grave with international and regional crises posing many challenges. He said the increased emphasis on nuclear weapons in the military and security doctrines of many countries, and the escalation of cyber wars are a major concern for the international community.
He noted Qatar’s support for the initiative to prepare a binding international instrument for a nuclear weapons-free world, which the United Nations General Assembly is considering at its current session, as well as its support for the international conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, the last of which was a conference held in Vienna in 2015, which aimed at developing a greater awareness of the catastrophic consequences of use of nuclear weapons.
The ambassador also supported the position taken by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member-states at the meeting.
Sheikh Ali bin Jassim highlighted the need to avoid a repeat of the failed 2015 Review Conference.
At every relevant international forum Qatar has warned of the long-term humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and stressed that the consolidation of peace, security and stability in the world requires nuclear disarmament and investing instead in social and economic development.
Despite that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts have remain stalled.
Qatar has argued that the threats posed by nuclear weapons require more efforts to create favourable conditions towards a nuclear-free world in accordance with the objectives of the NPT.
It has pointed out that the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East represents one of the key factors that haunt the people of the region in the absence of real international efforts for the elimination of nuclear weapons and in light of the ongoing turmoil in the region and the potential risks that terrorist groups could acquire these weapons.

May 5, 2017 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japan wants stronger Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Japan calls for stronger Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty amid North Korea threat, KYODO, JAPAN TIMES, 4 May 17  VIENNA – Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called on the international community Tuesday to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime, citing the growing threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Taking part in the preparatory committee for the 2020 review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in Vienna, the first Japanese foreign minister to do so, Kishida also urged cooperation between nuclear states and non-nuclear states to prevent the spread of nuclear arms……..

The first session of the committee to prepare for the review conference in 2020 was held as countries remain at odds over a separate treaty on banning nuclear weapons.

Japan has said it aspires to a world free of nuclear weapons but will abstain from the U.N. negotiations in March for a treaty on a ban, alongside the five recognized nuclear weapons states — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Regarding the U.N. talks for a treaty on a ban, Kishida told the committee it would further deepen the gap between nuclear states and non-nuclear states, calling for a gradual approach to reducing nuclear weapons, which would be “realistic.”

The government’s decision, seen as reflecting its reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, triggered criticism from the survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who saw the first-ever U.N. talks on the treaty as a step toward achieving a world free of nuclear weapons…….http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/02/national/japan-calls-stronger-nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty-amid-north-korea-threat/#.WQuYqEWGPGg

May 5, 2017 Posted by | Japan, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Russia: “It is evident that Pyongyang will not abandon its nuclear weapons as long as it sees itself directly threatene

Moscow doubts North Korea will ditch nuclear weapons as long as ‘threat looms’ http://tass.com/politics/944297 May 03 17, The Russian diplomat stressed the necessity of consolidated diplomatic efforts to settle the situation on the Korean Peninsula. MOSCOW . North Korea will never abandon the idea of having nuclear weapons as long as it feels threat to its security, a Russian foreign ministry official said on Tuesday.

“It is evident that Pyongyang will not abandon its nuclear weapons as long as it sees itself directly threatened,” Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the ministry’s non-proliferation and weapons control department, said at the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

“We are nonetheless convinced that existing tensions on the Korean Peninsula are caused not only by Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes, but also by an increased military activity in the North-East Asia of some regional and especially non-regional States,” he said.

The Russian diplomat stressed the necessity of consolidated diplomatic efforts to settle the situation on the Korean Peninsula. “No minute should be lost. Otherwise the confrontation logic may become overwhelmingly dominant,” he said. “Russia rejects the nuclear status of the DPRK. We do not accept nuclear tests conducted by Pyongyang and its defiance of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”.

May 5, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Chinese diplomat warns that talk between USA and North Korea is essential – tipping point is near

Talk or risk reaching nuclear tipping point, Chinese diplomat warns US and North Korea
Kim Jong-un has stabilised his regime and it is unrealistic to expect it to collapse under the weight of sanctions, former deputy foreign minister says, 03 May, 2017, South China Morning Post, Laura Zhou, North Korea’s missile and nuclear technology might reach a tipping point if Washington and Pyongyang refuse to negotiate, a senior Chinese diplomat has warned.

In an analysis piece published on Sunday by US think tank the Brookings Institution, Fu Ying, chairwoman of the National People’s Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was unrealistic to expect the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to succumb to pressure of sanctions or collapse.

“Sanctions may exert huge pressure, but the country can hold up and will not give up nuclear development because of them,” wrote Fu, who is also a former deputy foreign minister.

“It is not hard to see that this situation could make the issue drag on into a spiral of intensified sanctions and continued nuclear testing until [North] Korean nuclear and missile technologies reach a tipping point.”

She said that once that point was reached, the countries opposing Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons would be “faced with the hard choice of taking extreme action with unknown consequences, or tolerating it”……..

She also repeated Beijing’s call for a “double suspension” – that Pyongyang suspend its nuclear and missile tests in exchange for a halt of large scale US-South Korean military exercises.

Fu said China did not have leverage over North Korea because Pyongyang’s security concerns in the face of US military threats had not been addressed.

Trump said on Monday that he would consider meeting Kim “under the right circumstances”.

Lu Chao, from the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said Trump’s offer could be “positive” to the Korean crisis.

“As Fu Ying said, the key has never been owned by China,” Lu said. “The problem can only be solved by the two sides [the US and North Korea].

“I don’t think Kim would really want to wage a war with the US.” http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2092432/talk-or-risk-reaching-nuclear-tipping-point-chinese

May 3, 2017 Posted by | China, North Korea, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea accuses USA of planning a pre-emptive nuclear strike, with its bomber flights

North Korea says US bomber flights signal pre-emptive nuclear strike, ABC News 3 May 17 North Korea is accusing the United States of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew over the area in a training drill with the South Korean air force.

Key points:

  • Supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers flew over Korean peninsula
  • North Korea says US is practising a nuclear strike
  • Mr Trump has said he would consider meeting Kim Jong-un but also warned of a “major, major conflict”

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea’s dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests……..

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-02/us-bomber-flights-push-peninsular-to-the-brink-of-war/8489952

May 3, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea threatens a pre-emptive nuclear strike on USA

North Korea threatens to reduce USA ‘to ruins’ with preemptive nuclear strike http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/02/north-korea-threatens-to-reduce-usa-to-ruins-with-preemptive-nuclear-strike-6611855/Rob Waugh for Metro.co.uk Tuesday 2 May 2017

North Korea has issued a threat of a preemptive nuclear strike against America – ie that it might launch a nuclear attack first. The dictatorship made the claims in the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, in an opinion piece headed, ‘Nuclear War Will Bring Nothing but Doom to U.S.’

The piece says, ‘Its vast territory is exposed to our preemptive nuclear strike.

‘If the U.S. shows any slight sign of provocation, just the inter-continental ballistic rockets displayed in the April military parade will fly into the U.S.

‘The reckless nuclear war provocation by the Trump administration will bring it nothing but the fall of the American empire.’ The piece says that the North Korean army is ‘waiting for the moment it will reduce the whole of the U.S. mainland to ruins with its absolute weaponry of justice.

Last week North Korea released a video showing nuclear missile attack on Washington DC.

The video, released by official state media, shows the White House in a gun-style crosshair – and a missile descending on the city and exploding in a giant fireball. Another sequence shows American warships being targeted by rockets – interspersed with videos of recent live-fire drills.

The video showed sequences from a live-fire exercise conducted this week, designed to show off the strength of Pyongyang’s million-strong army

May 3, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

‘Political warfare” Russian claim about hidden nuclear bombs along US coastline

Russia has hidden nuclear bombs ready to detonate along US coastline, says former Kremlin spokesman
Expert says outlandish claims are ‘political warfare’, The Independent, Will Worley @willrworley , 3 May 17 A Russian military expert has claimed  Moscow has been “seeding” nuclear bombs off the US coastline.

The Kremlin has dismissed the claim as “strange”, while an independent expert referred to it as an act of “political warfare”.

 He added: “Oh, it seems I’ve said too much. I should hold my tongue. In short, we have something to provide an ‘asymmetrical’ (and cheaper) response to the Americans.”The interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The Kremlin was quick to dismiss the remarks, calling them “strange”. “I would suggest that you not take newspaper reports like this seriously,” government spokesman spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

  • “We are at war,” Mr Nixey told The Independent. “There’s no tanks, no shooting, no one’s dying right now. But Russia and the West aren’t just not getting on, there is a fundamental clash of interests, values and ambitions.”

    Moscow realises using the military is no longer the best way of achieving its aims, Mr Nixey said, and will use a number of methods in its place. He explained that while Russia will employ methods such as cyber-attacks, energy manipulation or bribery, the nuclear option remains the “ace in the pack”.

    “Russia ebbs and flows its nuclear rhetoric on a frequent basis – through its media, spokespersons and even President – there are ‘constant reminders’ that they are a nuclear power,” Mr Nixey said. He said the message could also be deployed through less official means, such as in journals or at conferences. …..http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-nuclear-weapons-seeding-us-coastline-kremlin-defence-spokesman-putin-donald-trump-missiles-a7713061.html

May 3, 2017 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Donald Trump on starting war with North Korea: ‘I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see’

Donald Trump on whether he could start war with North Korea: ‘I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see’ Answering a question about whether another nuclear test by North Korea would mean a military response by the US, Mr Trump appears to be undecided, The Independent, 1 May 17  Foster Klug, Kim Tong-Hyung Seoul President Donald Trump has said that he believes China’s president has been putting pressure on North Korea as it pursues its missile and nuclear weapons programmes – but when asked about whether another nuclear test would mean a military response from the US, Mr Trump said “I don’t know…we’ll see”.

In an interview with CBS programme Face the Nation Mr Trump said he won’t be happy if North Korea conducts a nuclear test and that he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping won’t be happy, either.

Asked if that means military action, Mr Trump responded: “I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see.”

………..Mr Trump has sent a nuclear-powered submarine and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to Korean waters and North Korea last week conducted large-scale, live-fire exercises on its eastern coast. The U.S. and South Korea also started installing a missile defence system that is supposed to be partially operational within days and their two navies are staging joint military drills.

Residents in the village of Seongj, where the missile defence system is being installed, scuffled with police on Sunday. About 300 protesters faced off against 800 police and succeeded in blocking two US Army oil trucks from entering the site, local media reported. A few residents were injured or fainted from the scuffle and were transported to a hospital.

The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system (THAAD), remains a controversial topic in South Korea and presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in even has vowed to reconsider the deployment if he wins a presidential election in May. He has said that the security benefits of THAAD would be offset by worsened relations with China, which is the country’s biggest trading partner and is opposed to its deployment.

Mr Trump raised eyebrows in South Korea last week when he said would make Seoul pay $1 billion for the missile defence system. Seoul’s presidential Blue House said on Sunday that White House National Security Adviser HR McMaster confirmed that the U.S. will not be seeking money for the system. ……http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-latest-war-a7710521.html

May 1, 2017 Posted by | politics international, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea’s threat to sink US nuclear submarine

North Korea threatens to sink US nuclear submarine http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-threat-sink-us-nuclear-submarine-uss-michigan-south-korea-donald-trump-kim-jong-un-a7709946.html ‘It will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming an underwater ghost without being able to come to the surface’ Samuel Osborne  @SamuelOsborne93 30 Apr 17, North Korea ,  has threatened to sink a US nuclear submarine deployed in South Korean waters.

“The moment the USS Michigan tries to budge even a little, it will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming an underwater ghost without being able to come to the surface,” the North’s propaganda website Urminzokkiri said.
“The urgent fielding of the nuclear submarine in the waters off the Korean Peninsula, timed to coincide with the deployment of the super aircraft carrier strike group, is intended to further intensify military threats toward our republic.”
The guided missile submarine USS Michigan has been joined by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group in waters near the Korean peninsula.

The website added that “whether it’s a nuclear aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, they will be turned into a mass of scrap metal in front of our invincible military power centred on the self-defence nuclear deterrence.”

The aircraft carrier group began exercises with the South Korean navy on Sunday after it completed drills with the Japanese navy.

The dispatch of the Carl Vinson was a “reckless action of the war maniacs aimed at an extremely dangerous nuclear war,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary.It comes after the hermit kingdom test-fired another ballistic missile in a clear message of defiance aimed at Washington and its allies.

However, US officials said the medium-range ballistic missile disintegrated mid-flight, minutes after launch, and fell into the Sea of Japan.

President Donald Trump, asked about his message to North Korea after the latest missile test, told reporters: “You’ll soon find out”, but did not elaborate on what the US response would be.The North has been conducting missile and nuclear weapons related activities at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks over fears the North may conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the 15 April anniversary of its state founder’s birth.

May 1, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »