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North Korea’s missile movement is not targeting USA

flag-N-KoreaDefense chief says North’s missile movement not aimed at U.S. mainland By Kim Eun-jung  SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) — South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Thursday that North Korea has moved an intermediate-range missile to its east coast for an imminent test firing or military drill, but it does not seem to be aimed at striking the U.S. mainland.
   In a parliamentary defense committee meeting, Kim refuted media reports that Pyongyang has moved a KN-08 missile, which is believed to have a range of 10,000 kilometers, into position to strike the U.S.

Without specifying the type of missile, Kim said it is believed to be able to reach a “considerable distance,” though it is not able to strike the U.S. mainland.

“The missile does not seem to be aimed at the U.S. mainland,” Kim told lawmakers. “It could be aimed at test firing or military drills.” Although there is slim chance that Pyongyang’s harsh rhetoric could lead to a full-scale war, Kim said the North could launch other forms of provocations, including border clashes and cyber attacks.

   “Our military has upgraded several systems and carried out drills under upgraded military readiness status,” Kim said. 
According to intelligence analysis by South Korean and U.S. forces, it is believed to be a Musudan missile, which is estimated to have a range of 3,000-4,000 km, putting the U.S. base in Guam within striking….. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/04/04/96/0301000000AEN20130404009251315F.HTML

April 5, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea: international relations on the brink

The situation is ripe for miscalculation. The new South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, whose mother was killed by a North Korean agent, has made it clear she will not roll over like other South Korean leaders. Moreover, there is a new U.S.-South Korean agreement that could result in the United States more forcefully backing the South militarily short of all-out war. Another North Korean attack could result in the U.S. forces joining South Korea in some form of military retaliation.

Either way, we should not think this is a case of parties on the peninsula crying wolf. North Korea has shown time and time again it will strike with violence. It may well be on the verge of doing so again.

flag-N-KoreaHOLMES: Decoding North Korea’s nuclear rhetoric Pyongyang’s saber-rattling often precedes attack By Kim R. Holmes The Washington Times. April 3, 2013  North Koreans are famous for belligerent rhetoric. Most recently, they’ve threatened to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire.” The North’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, comes across as a madman strutting around in a 1950s cartoon. Such flamboyance can tempt people to dismiss the North Koreans as either a joke or too crazy to be taken seriously. This is a mistake. They are not crazy, but wily operators who know how to play brinkmanship to their advantage. Continue reading

April 4, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea has ‘given approval’ for nuclear attack

flag-N-KoreaNorth Korea declares it has given approval for a nuclear attack on the United States VIDEOSand GRAPHICS

  • North Korean army says it has ‘final approval’ for nuclear attack
  • United States to move anti-missile system to Guam
  • Two advanced missile destroyers moved closer to North Korea
  • NORTH Korea says it has approved a nuclear attack on the United States in its latest threat as US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Pyongyang to back down. Continue reading

April 4, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Mass rally in North Korea against USA

N Korea stages mass rally, vows to hit US http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-29/n-korea-stages-mass-rally2c-vows-to-hit-us/4601790   includes videos Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians have held a huge rally and march in Pyongyang, as the hermit nation ratchets up talk of striking the United States.

The rally on Friday in the capital’s giant Kim Il-Sung square was attended by soldiers, veterans, workers and students, all wearing military uniforms.

North Korea rally

The North’s young leader, Kim Jong-Un, was not present.

State television said the rally took place to support a decision issued by the Korean People’s Army (KPA) supreme command on Tuesday – and ratified by Kim Jong-Un on Friday – to order missile units to prepare to strike the US mainland and military bases.

The North has no proven ability to strike the US mainland, but Kim Jong-Un has vowed to “settle accounts” after nuclear-capable US stealth B-2 bombers flew over South Korea for a drill on Thursday.

In the event of any “reckless” US provocation, North Korean forces should “mercilessly strike the US mainland … military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea”, Kim Jong-Un was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Continue reading

March 30, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | 2 Comments

In the secrecy of North Korea, it is now immune from attack

flag-N-KoreaNorth Korea now immune from attack BY:GREG SHERIDAN, FOREIGN EDITOR The Australian  February 16, 2013  “……..The truth is, Western intelligence knows very little about what goes on inside North Korea, especially inside the head of Pyongyang’s bombastic young dictator, Kim Jong-un.

No one watches North Korea more closely than Seoul. But in the 1980s and 90s Seoul was famous for producing faulty intelligence on the North.

I have interviewed the past four South Korean presidents. The only one I found convincing on North Korea was Lee Myung-bak, who leaves office on February 25. He said that on critical North Korea issues: “We don’t have accurate information.”……..

The North Koreans claim their new nuclear device is miniaturised, which implies they could put it on their missiles. This is probably untrue. US intelligence believes Pyongyang is still a few years away from this, but Washington is aware of the limitations of its intelligence…..  A decade ago I broke a story about the Pentagon’s contingency plans to strike North Korea militarily to prevent it acquiring nuclear weapons. The arguments against such a strike were always very strong and prudence governed Washington’s decision not to act.

That may have been the right decision. But now North Korea possesses at least several nuclear devices and is immune from attack. …. Kim is capricious, self-indulgent and probably suffers a serious personality disorder, but so far he is making three vastly more powerful nations dance to his tune. In a strategy paradoxically born of weakness, it is the power of the bomb, ruthlessly applied.

February 16, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

More nuclear test plans by North Korea

North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test – source By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING  Feb 15, (Reuters) North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message.

Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of government in both Beijing and Pyongyang. Continue reading

February 16, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea: bellicose statements and actions to get foreign aid?

 Rising official dissent appears to be spreading across the country from those who have lost political and military power. Fabricating an external threat may be meant to suppress dissatisfaction among unhappy North Korean elite. The only product the North Korean economy now produces of any consequence are weapons, since it cannot feed itself or provide consumer products for its population (except through imports from China).
Kim promised—but has not delivered—more food, economic reform, improvements in public services, and a way out of the country’s slide into oblivion.
The North’s upcoming test and threats to bomb the United States are a crude attempt to intimidate the South Korean, Japanese, U.S., and Chinese governments into making economic concessions to resuscitate their sclerotic economy or provide food aid.

flag-N-KoreaWhy North Korea Is Testing Nuclear Weapons Now US News, By  February 8, 2013 The first test of the Obama highly-recommendedadministration’s second term foreign policy team is shaping up to be North Korea’s upcoming nuclear explosion. Korean President Kim Jong Un last week declared martial law in anticipation of the country’s third nuclear test that Un has reportedly ordered be conducted before the middle of February, which will coincidentally occur on his late father’s (and former leader of North Korea) birthday.

This week a bellicose and belligerent North Korean government put on its official website a bizarre and provocative video of the bombing of what appears to be New York City with the caption: “Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing… It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself.” The video includes the launch of a North Korean missile, implying that if the United States puts too much pressure on them the consequence will be a nuclear response. The Chinese foreign minister on Wednesday issued a stern public warning to North Korea against the test, and the Chinese Communist Party official party newspaper published an unprecedented editorial saying, “If North Korea insists on a third nuclear test despite attempts to dissuade it, it must pay a heavy price.” North Korea is in no position to anger its only remaining patron and ally, and yet it may go ahead with the nuclear test anyway……

Why, then, is the 28-year-old ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong Un—himself in office for just over a year—exploding a nuclear weapon right now? Continue reading

February 9, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea- a new nuclear test creates new problems

Another nuclear test will make it impossible for the new South Korean government or the second Obama administration to look for resolution of long-standing enmities by focusing on issues beyond the nuclear dispute.

What to Expect from a North Korean Nuclear Test, Foreign Policy, Pyongyang is about to make some more trouble. Here’s what to look for when Kim Jong Un debuts his new bomb. BY SIEGFRIED S. HECKER | FEBRUARY 4, 2013 Pyongyang lashed out harshly at the United States following the most recent U.N. Security Council resolution condemning its December missile test. The Kim Jong Un regime threatened to increase its nuclear deterrent both quantitatively and qualitatively and vowed to conduct a third nuclear test at a “higher level.” So what might we expect from another test? Why, what, how will we know, when, and what difference will it make?Kim-Jong-un-NK

 First, why test? Without additional nuclear tests, North Korea is greatly limited in its ability to miniaturize a nuclear device to fit on one of its missiles. Continue reading

February 4, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | 1 Comment

North Korea ups the nuclear ante

Defiant North Korea ups nuclear rhetoric,SMH, January 24, 2013 Flavia Krause-jackson and Sangwon Yoon    NORTH Korea vowed to boost its nuclear capability after the United Nations Security Council, including its ally China, imposed new sanctions against the totalitarian state for last month’s rocket launch

Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula is impossible,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. ”We will take physical response measures to expand and bolster the quality of our sovereign military power – including our nuclear deterrence.”

The Security Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to measures that build on a series of travel bans and asset freezes. The US-drafted resolution imposes sanctions on North Korea’s space agency, targets the illicit smuggling of sensitive items and updates a list of nuclear and ballistic missile technology prohibited for transfer in or out of the country……. The most significant aspect of the UN vote may be political, with China siding against its ally and neighbouring communist regime in the world body for the first time in four years.

North Korea has ignored repeated calls to abandon its nuclear weapons program and to also stop test launches to develop long-range ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/defiant-north-korea-ups-nuclear-rhetoric-20130123-2d7as.html#ixzz2IutipoMw

January 24, 2013 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Nuclear non Proliferation not working, as North Korea launches missile

N. Korean rocket success a failure of nuclear non-proliferation regime PAUL KORING WASHINGTON — The Globe and Mail , Dec. 12 2012, With a fiery – and finally successful – launch of a satellite into orbit, North Korea’s new leader has boldly defied the international community even as he erased the shame of previous failures and solidified his hold on the
impoverished neo-Stalinist state.

In the face of stark warnings and a UN ban outlawing both nuclear and long-distance missile testing, Pyongyang has done both –underscoring the failure of the international community to make good on vague threats against rogue states or enforce United Nations resolutions…..
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/north-korean-rocket-success-shows-failure-of-nuclear-non-proliferation-regime/article6228596/

December 13, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea claims it can strike USA with nuclear missiles

North Korea says missiles can strike US Radio Australia 9 October 2012,   North Korea says it possesses “strategic rocket forces” capable of striking the US mainland. The statement comes in response to a new US-South Korean deal to extend the range of the South’s missile systems. Continue reading

October 10, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea’s former leader wanted mass production of nuclear bombs

Kim Jong-il ordered mass production of uranium bombs: papers http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2012/07/02/16/0401000000AEN20120702003200315F.HTML TOKYO, July 2 (Yonhap) — North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il had ordered his officials to mass-produce nuclear bombs by using highly enriched uranium, Japanese news reports said Monday, citing an internal document obtained from Pyongyang. Continue reading

July 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China against North Korea having nuclear weapons

Chinese paper urges Beijing to oppose N. Korea’s nuclear power claim, SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap)– A leading Chinese newspaper has urged Beijing to oppose North Korea’s nuclear power status proclaimed in its revised constitution.

The Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper under the People’s Daily, said in its June 2 editorial that any legalization of North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons can stimulate South Korea and Japan, and prod Taiwan to demand its right to nuclear arms,
triggering a chain reaction of nuclear armament in Northeast Asia……
The Global Times editorial is the first unofficial response from China, as the Beijing government has kept mum on the issue so far. Continue reading

June 4, 2012 Posted by | China, North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea’s complicated manouverings on nuclear testing

 it is possible that from before its inception, the HEU program was made to be sold. The North is likely to freeze and even dismantle it, on the condition of a big pay off and if they are allowed to maintain their existing stock piles of weapons-grade plutonium

Uranium or plutonium?   The Korea Times, By Andrei Lankov 7 May 12It seems likely that the third North Korean nuclear test will take place soon ― perhaps, in a matter of days or weeks. There are signs of preparation at the test site, and it would fit into a well-established pattern: a test of a long-range rocket is usually followed by a nuclear test. …. Continue reading

May 7, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea preparing for 3rd nuclear test

NK nuclear test seen ‘imminent’  The Korea Times, By Kang Hyun-kyung, 1 May 12 North Korea appears to be preparing for a third nuclear test amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the reclusive nation’s failed launch of a satellite when it fell into the West Sea on April 13. Continue reading

May 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment