North Korea (Superthread)

[CougarKing]

After reading some comments on another thread not associated with army.ca,k I can only conclude some people learned international relations from Sesame Street or Romper Room. ;D

Say, OldSolduer you seen this link about the "Dear Great Leader" yet?  ;D He's so RONRY(yes I know the real one is married).

 

[OldSolduer]

Say, OldSolduer you seen this link about the "Dear Great Leader" yet?  ;D He's so RONRY(yes I know the real one is married).

Good one.....he's a lunatic....the 600 pound gorilla in the room no one wants to talk about.
.50 cal...... :sniper:

 

[old medic]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-korea-war-games10-2009mar10,0,6470939.story

U.S., South Korea open war games; North Korea in combat mode

By John M. Glionna and Ju-min Park
10:02 AM PDT, March 9, 2009

Reporting from Seoul -- The U.S. and South Korea today began annual war games involving tens of thousands of troops, prompting North Korea to call its military into "full combat readiness," saying it views the joint land and sea exercises as a prelude to an invasion.

The hostilities raised tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest point in weeks as the U.S. and its allies anxiously awaited North Korea's test launch of its most advanced long-range missile.

North Korean officials late last week declared that the isolationist nation could not guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger jets flying near its airspace during the 12-day exercises.

Several airlines immediately announced that they would avoid North Korean airspace as a precaution. North Korea also cut off a military hotline, leaving North and South without means of communication during the escalating brinkmanship.

South Korea today expressed regret over the suspension of what it called a crucial channel of contact. Officials said 726 South Koreans also were barred from crossing into North Korea to the jointly run Kaesong Industrial Complex.

"We, the government, feel sorry that North Korea continues to take regrettable measures, although we are reacting with patience," said South Korea's Ministry of Unification spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials here tried to diffuse tensions while stressing that the exercises, which will be larger in scale and duration than in previous years, would go on as scheduled.

"The primary goal is to ensure the command is ready to defend the [Republic of Korea] in the event it becomes necessary," said U.S. Army Gen. Walter L. Sharp, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea.

He insisted that the war games were "a routine training exercise that takes place every year at about the same time. It is not tied in any way to any political or real-world event."

Stephen Bosworth, the new U.S. envoy on North Korean issues, met today with South Korean officials. The former U.S. ambassador to Seoul arrived Saturday for four days of meetings at the end of an Asian tour that also took him to Beijing and Tokyo.

Bosworth said today he knew a tough job lay ahead.

"I have no illusions about what I have agreed to do. It is a very difficult mandate," he told South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Usually testy in response to what it sees as provocations from the administration of hard-line South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, North Korea proclamations have become more belligerent.

Experts say North Korea is particularly incensed at suggestions made by the U.S. and Japan that they could if necessary shoot down any long-range test missile launched by North Korea.

North Korean officials have said they are planning to launch a communications satellite and today threatened that they would view any outside interference as an act of war.

The military will "deal merciless retaliatory blows at them," if outside forces intrude on North Korea by "even one inch," said a North Korean news agency. "The Lee Myung-bak group of traitors and the U.S. and Japanese aggressors would be well advised to behave with discretion."

North Korea has the world's fifth-largest military, with its armed forces estimated to number more than 1 million.

The U.S.-South Korea military exercises, called Key Resolve-Foal Eagle drills, will involve 26,000 U.S. servicemen, including 13,100 stationed outside South Korea, and will also involve several U.S. destroyers and the aircraft carrier John Stennis.

Experts here say verbal bombast is expected from North Korea when it feels under threat.

"The U.S. and South Korea do this military exercise annually and historically North Korea has been oversensitive," said political scientist Kim Seung-hwan, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the impoverished nation normally resorts to words over weapons. "It costs a lot of money, such as in gas, fuel and observation," he said. "North Korea has used its hostile rhetoric over military drills."

North Korea's reported plans to test fire its Taepodong-2 missile also come at a crucial time. The last test launch in 2006 was a failure and the regime of hard-line ruler Kim Jong Il believes it needs a successful launch to boost public opinion, experts say.

On Sunday, North Korea held parliamentary elections, and new members are scheduled to reelect Kim as leader in early April.

Pyongyang watchers say the government might also at that time announce the appointment of Kim's third son, Jong-un, to succeed his father, who has reportedly suffered several debilitating strokes.

 

[CougarKing]

Here's a little update:

from: Agence France-Presse - 3/9/2009 4:44 PM GMT

So which Kim Jong Il double do you think the DPRK/North Korea will send? hehehehe.

NKorea's Kim to visit China: state media
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is to make an official trip to China, state media said Tuesday, as the two allies celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The Korean Central News Agency said in a short statement that Kim had accepted an invitation from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The statement gave no further details and did not say when the visit would go ahead.

"Kim Yong Il, premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will soon pay an official goodwill visit to the People's Republic of China at the invitation of Wen Jiabao," the statement said.

North Korean state media reported late last month that China had invited Kim for a summit with President Hu Jintao.

It said the invitation was extended by senior official Jia Qinglin to a visiting delegation of the North's ruling Workers' Party, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station said.

"Mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries are the most essential and irreplaceable in developing bilateral relations," Jia was quoted as telling the North Korean officials.

"We will ardently welcome Comrade Kim Jong-Il and senior officials of the Korean party and government to visit China at a convenient time."

Jia is chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the fourth-ranking member of the Communist Party's Politburo standing committee.

Kim accepted a similar invitation from Hu in a letter delivered by a Chinese party official in January, according to Chinese state media.

The official, Wang Jiarui, was the first foreign guest to meet Kim since his reported stroke last August.

No schedule has been set for a summit. Kim last visited China in January 2006 in a trip focusing on its industrial facilities. Hu's last visit to Pyongyang was in October 2005.

Yonhap said the North Korean delegation was led by Ri Kwang-ho, a close confidant of Kim's and the country's top science expert. Ri also accompanied the North Korean leader on his latest China visit.

Jia proposed strengthening economic and trade links, according to the broadcaster, saying this would be beneficial to "strategic cooperation."

After the meeting between Kim and Wang on January 23, North Korea announced that China has decided to provide free aid but gave no details.

China is by far the North's biggest trade partner. It fought for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against South Korea and US-led United Nations forces.

 

 

[a_majoor]

First Iran, now the DPRK will test a satellite launcher. The "Axis of Evil" never quits, but look at the reaction...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/13/north-korea-japan-nuclear-missile

Japan warns it may shoot down North Korean satellite launcher

• Pyongyang says response would be act of war
• Regional tensions rise over missile launch

    * Justin McCurry in Tokyo
    * guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 March 2009 12.39 GMT

Japan today threatened to shoot down a satellite that North Korea plans to launch early next month if it shows any signs of striking its territory.

Tokyo's warning that it would deploy its multibillion-dollar missile defence system raised tensions in the region after North Korea said that it had identified a potential "danger area" near Japanese territory along the rocket's flight path.

The regime told the International Maritime Organisation that the missile would be launched during daylight between 4 and 8 April, and that its boosters would fall into the Sea of Japan – about 75 miles (120km) from Japan's north-west coast – and the Pacific Ocean.

Officials in Tokyo said they reserved the right to destroy any threatening object in mid-flight, despite North Korean warnings that it would consider such a move an act of war.

"Under our law, we can intercept any object if it is falling towards Japan, including any attacks on Japan, for our security," Takeo Kawamura, the chief cabinet secretary, told reporters.

Despite repeated assurances from Pyongyang that the rocket is a vital part of North Korea's space programme, other countries in the region suspect the hardware is a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile.

South Korean intelligence has reported a build-up of activity in recent days near the missile's launch pad at Musudan-ri base on its neighbour's north-east coast.

Any missile launch, even one intended to put a satellite into orbit, would represent a snub to the US administration, which has repeatedly invited the communist state to return to negotiations over its nuclear weapons programme.

Last month the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, urged the north to cancel the launch, which US officials say would be in violation of a 2006 UN security council resolution.

The South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement: "If North Korea goes ahead with the launch, we believe there will be discussions and a response by the security council on the violation of the resolution."

The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said a missile or satellite launch would "threaten the peace and stability in the region."

After Japan's transport ministry ordered airlines and shipping companies operating in the area to take precautionary measures, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said they would alter flight paths on several European and other routes.

Speculation has been mounting for weeks that North Korea was about to put its hitherto unreliable missile technology to the test. The regime suffered a setback in 2006 when a Taepodong-2 missile – theoretically capable of reaching Alaska – blew up moments into its flight.

Japan has intensified efforts to protect itself against conventional missile attacks since 1998, when the north test-launched a long-range rocket over its territory without warning.

In response, Japan and the US have jointly developed a ballistic missile defence system that includes interceptor missiles on board ships and Patriot missiles dotted around Tokyo.

But experts believe that a rocket capable of launching a satellite into orbit may be too high to intercept.

 

[Yrys]

N Korea sets rocket launch date, Thursday, 12 March 2009

North Korea has said it plans to carry out a controversial rocket launch between 4 and 8 April.

The International Maritime Organization said it had received a communication from Pyongyang
confirming the launch. South Korea and the US say Pyongyang may be preparing to test-fire a
long-range missile and have warned it not to go ahead with the launch.

But North Korea insists it is preparing to send up a communications satellite, not a missile.
It has said any attempt to shoot it down will result in war.

North Korea's neighbours believe it is planning to test-fire the Taepodong 2 missile - which is
capable of reaching Alaska - from the Musudan-ri base in Hwadae on its north-east coast. It
first tested the missile in July 2006, but it failed less than a minute after launch.

Earlier this month Japan suggested it could deploy a vessel equipped with missile interceptor
technology to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to shoot the rocket down. On Thursday, it called
on North Korea to exercise restraint, saying it "would not tolerate" its moves to raise tensions
in the region.

Nuclear talks

The IMO said Pyongyang informed the agency of its intentions on Wednesday - confirming
earlier reports by South Korean officials. "We have received a letter and it contains dates,
times and coordinates," said IMO spokesman Lee Adamson, confirming the dates as 4-8 April.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says guidelines state that the world transport authorities
should be informed in advance, so they can warn ships and planes.

A South Korean maritime ministry official, citing information from the IMO, said the North
referred to areas in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The ministry said
the rocket's booster would fall into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, and
its main body would plunge into the Pacific.

Our correspondent says that despite a range of international sanctions, North Korea has
built what it calls "an experimental communications satellite" and a rocket capable of
delivering it into orbit.

If successful, the launch would have a major propaganda message - North Korea would
have beaten its Southern rival into space, our correspondent says. South Korea's own
home-grown satellite project is not scheduled for take-off until later in the year.

Stoking tensions

The reports come a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Washington
had "a range of options" it could take if North Korea went ahead with the launch - including,
Reuters reported, action in the UN Security Council. She said the six-way talks on ending
North Korea's nuclear programme would not be affected.

Mrs Clinton also expressed disappointment that a US special envoy who had just visited the
region was not invited to Pyongyang.

North Korea's move is stoking already heightened tensions with South Korea. Pyongyang said
it had put its military on full combat alert as an annual military exercise by US and South
Korean forces began earlier this week. And in January, the North scrapped a series of peace
agreements with the South over Seoul's decision to link bilateral aid to progress on
denuclearisation.



North Korea's missile programme

 

[CougarKing]

Now what could Pyongyang be up to now with this latest development?

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean guards detained an American journalist near the country's western border with China, a newspaper report said Thursday. However, another report said two U.S. reporters were taken into custody in the far northeast while trying to shoot footage of the communist country.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_us_journalist_held

 

[zipperhead_cop]

A good question would also be "what were the 'reporters' up to and photographing?"  Some photo ops are more interesting than others...

 

[CougarKing]

Time for the ROKAF or the JASDF to pull an Osiraq-like precision preemptive air strike on this target? 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090326/pl_afp/nkoreanuclearmissileskorea;_ylt=AhL5yzpt4SUCyIKYOlOKAlJ34T0D

NKorea places long-range missile on launch pad
AFP/KCNA via KNS/File – A Korean People's Army missile unit on display during a military parade in Pyongyang. Secretive North …
Play Video North Korea Video:'A Provocative Act' FOX News  Play Video North Korea Video:Clinton: NKorea missile plan 'provocative' AP  Play Video North Korea Video:Interrogation underway of reporters in N. Korea AP by Jim Mannion Jim Mannion – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) – North Korea has placed a long-range missile on a launch pad, a US official has said, as Washington warned it would take the matter to the United Nations if Pyongyang goes ahead with the planned launch.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a launch for any purpose would be a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.

"We intend to raise this violation of the UN Security Council resolution, if it goes forward, in the UN," Clinton said during a visit to Mexico City.

"This provocative action in violation of the United Nations mandate will not go unnoticed and there will be consequences," she said.

A US counter-proliferation official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Japanese press reports that a long-range missile has been placed on a launch pad "are accurate."

The official said the missile was believed to be a Taepodong-2, a long-range missile that could, in theory, reach Alaska.

Two stages of the missile were visible but the top was covered with a shroud supported by a crane, NBC television reported, citing US officials.

North Korea has said it intends to launch a satellite over Japan and into orbit between April 4-8.

But the United States, South Korea and Japan suspect that the planned launch is a disguise for a long-range missile test.

South Korea Thursday described North Korea's planned rocket launch as a "serious challenge and provocation" to regional security.

Defence ministry spokesman Won Tae-Jae declined to confirm the US report, saying Seoul would not comment on intelligence matters.

But he said the communist state is moving forward with preparations for the launch, which would constitute "a serious challenge and provocation" to the security of the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia.

"North Korea's long-range rocket launch clearly violates UN Security council Resolution 1718. We strongly urge it to stop this immediately," Won said.

On Tuesday, North Korea warned that stalled six-party nuclear disarmament talks would collapse if new UN sanctions are imposed to punish the launch. The forum groups the United States, Japan, Russia, the two Koreas and China.

Japan's security council, meanwhile, will meet this week to prepare for the shooting down of a North Korean rocket if it threatens to strike its territory, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Wednesday.

Japan's government will issue an advance order Friday for the Self-Defense Forces to use its Patriot missile defense system to destroy any missile or debris if it shows signs of falling toward Japan, Jiji Press reported.

North Korea says it would regard any attempt to shoot down its rocket as an act of war.

The last time North Korea launched a Taepodong-2, on July 4, 2006, the missile failed seconds after launch. Success this time would show that it is capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii with a nuclear capable missile.

President Barack Obama's administration has issued no public warning that it would shoot down a North Korean rocket.

Admiral Timothy Keating, the US commander in the Pacific, said earlier this month there was a "high probability" that the United States could intercept a missile aimed at its territory.

Washington and Tokyo have worked jointly on a missile defense shield, using land and sea-based missiles, against a possible attack from North Korea, which fired a missile over Japan in 1998 and tested a nuclear bomb in 2006.

Pyongyang has said that the rocket's first booster will likely plunge into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) off Japan's northern Akita prefecture, while the second will drop into the Pacific between Japan and Hawaii.

In an unsourced online report, The Sankei Shimbun said "North Korea has entered into the final stage of preparing for a launch as it has moved a rocket from storage."

And the Mainichi Shimbun said in an online report, quoting an unnamed South Korean defense source, that the missile was in place and would in theory be ready for launch as early as Saturday.

Tensions have been rising between North and South Korea. The North in January scrapped all peace pacts with its neighbour.

China's military chief, General Chen Bingde, arrived Wednesday in Seoul for talks with senior South Korean officials days before the scheduled launch.

China, a traditional ally and major donor for impoverished North Korea as well as a permanent UN Security Council member, has not publicly urged Pyongyang to halt the launch.

 

[CougarKing]

I wonder if the USS McCain is named after Senator McCain or his father or grandfather?

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090326/usa/nkorea_nuclear_missile_japan_us_military

US says warships deployed before NKorea launch
Module body

2 hours, 42 minutes ago


TOKYO (AFP) - The US Navy said Thursday it had deployed two warships in waters off Japan ahead of North Korea's planned rocket launch early next month.


Two destroyers fitted with Aegis technology to track and destroy missiles left port on Wednesday, US Navy public relations officer Charles Howard told AFP.


"I would say we are ready for any contingencies," he said.


Pyongyang says it will launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8. The United States and its Asian allies suspect the launch is a test of a long-range ballistic missile that could reach North America.

Tensions have risen after US officials said overnight that North Korea had moved a Taepodong-2 missile to the Musudan-ri launch site on the country's northeast coast.


The US Navy spokesman said two Aegis-equipped destroyers -- the USS McCain and USS Chafee -- left Sasebo port in southwestern Japan where a third, the USS Curtis Wilbur, remained docked.


The USS Stethem, another Aegis-equipped destroyer, was set to leave northern Aomori port Thursday after a port call of several days, a US Navy spokeswoman said, without specifying its destination.


The Japanese navy's two Aegis-equipped destroyers Kongo and Chokai are on stand-by at Sasebo, a defence ministry spokeswoman said.


A South Korean Aegis-equipped warship is also likely to be deployed in waters near Japan, public broadcaster TBS reported, without citing sources.


The North's missiles have alarmed Japan since a Taepodong-1 overflew its territory in 1998. The first test of a longer-range Taepodong-2 in 2006 failed after 40 seconds.


Japan's security council will meet this week to prepare for the shooting down of any rocket or debris which threatens to strike its territory.


General Ryoichi Oriki, chief of staff of the Japanese Self Defence Forces, told a media briefing: "We will take all measures possible to ensure safety once the government order is issued."


Asked when he would deploy surface-to-air Patriot missiles and the destroyers, he said: "We want to deploy swiftly after the order."

 

[Rifleman62]

USS John S  McCain (DDG 56) is the namestake of his grandfather and father, John Sidney, Sr., and John Sidney, Jr., both 4 star Admirals. http://www.McCain.navy.mil/Site%20Pages/namesake.aspx

Faith OF My Fathers is a good read.

P.S.  wonder if the North Korean army will fight, or will fight to the end? Are they totally indoctrinated, in fear, out of touch with reality?

 

[tomahawk6]

Both the USN and JDF are in position fpr a shoot down attempt should the political masters decide to gibe it a try.

As for the NK Army they are indoctrinated to do what they are told. If they invade the south the troops will know they will be able to eat as much as they like. Expect a no holds barred fight for the first 30 days anyway. Once the regime is seen to collapse then the military will collapse as well.

 

[CougarKing]

An update: and Japan okays the shoot-down of the North Korean satellite launcher! It seems those JMSDF AEGIS destroyers may see action after all.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4010747&c=ASI&s=TOP

Japan OKs Shoot-Down of Inbound N. Korean Rocket
Agence France-Presse
Published: 27 Mar 14:16 EDT (18:16 GMT)

TOKYO - Japan's leaders Friday authorized the shooting down of a North Korean rocket or its debris if it threatens to hit the country, said Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.

"I issued the necessary order after the (government) security council this morning decided to issue a destruction order in advance," he said after a meeting with Prime Minister Taro Aso and other key cabinet ministers.

Related TopicsAsia & Pacific Rim
"We will do our best to handle any flying object from North Korea in order to assure the Japanese people's safety and security."

The defense ministry was expected to deploy two Aegis-equipped destroyers in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and Patriot interceptors in northern Akita and Iwate prefectures, although Hamada announced no precise plans.

The isolated Pyongyang regime has said it will launch a communications satellite over Japanese territory in early April, but the United States and its Asian allies suspect the launch is a ballistic missile test.

Tokyo, which has developed a missile defense system with the United States in recent years, has previously warned it will attempt to shoot down any missile or debris that threatens to hit its territory.

North Korea, which has announced a launch window of April 4 to 8, says it would regard a rocket intercept as an act of war.

The order is Japan's first of its kind after it revised its Self-Defense Forces Law in 2005 and legalized possible interceptions of ballistic missiles.

(...)

North Korea has warned that the rocket's first booster would likely plunge into the Sea of Japan off Japan's northern Akita prefecture, while the second stage would drop into the Pacific between Japan and Hawaii.

Japan has warned that any North Korean launch would be a breach of past U.N. resolutions and has repeatedly urged Pyongyang to refrain from the launch.

 

[tomahawk6]

Good news because I dont think Obama would give the order to the USN to launch.

 

[CougarKing]

Yikes! And now Gates says that the US won't be able to shoot it down.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/29/gates-prepared-respond-north-korea-missile-launch/

The United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
Appearing on "FOX News Sunday," Gates said North Korea "probably will" fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: "And there's nothing we can do about it?"

"No," Gates answered, adding, "I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it."

Last week, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said the U.S. is "fully prepared" to shoot down the missile. But Gates said such a response is unlikely.

"I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it," Gates said. "But I don't think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point."

North Korea has moved a missile onto a launch pad and says it will be fired by April 8. Pyonyang insists the missile is designed for carrying a communications satellite, not a nuclear warhead that the secretive nation appears bent on developing.

Gates said while he doesn't think North Korea has the capability yet to shoot off a long-range nuclear-tipped missile, "I don't know anyone at a senior level in the American government who does not believe this technology is intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile."
Gates conceded that North Korea will likely get away with thumbing its nose at the international community by test-firing the missile. He also said that six-party talks aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions have been largely fruitless.

"It's very troubling," Gates said. "The reality is that the six-party talks really have not made any headway anytime recently."

Gates also lamented that the missile launch planned by dictator Kim Jong-Il comes just two months after President Obama took office.

"If this is Kim Jong-Il's welcoming present to a new president, launching a missile like this and threatening to have a nuclear test, I think it says a lot about the imperviousness of this regime in North Korea to any kind of diplomatic overtures," he said.

Gates also said Japan is unlikely to shoot down a North Korean missile unless it drops debris on the island nation.
The Obama administration has signaled it wants to scale back the deployment of a missile defense system that was initiated by former President George W. Bush. The White House is also talking about dropping plans for missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Gates lamented the futility of diplomatic efforts toward North Korea and Iran, another nation with nuclear ambitions. Despite the Obama administration's talk of ramping up diplomatic overtures toward Tehran, Gates was pessimistic about that strategy.

"Frankly, from my perspective, the opportunity for success is probably more in economic sanctions in both places than it is in diplomacy," Gates said. "What gets them to the table is economic sanctions."

 

 

[CougarKing]

And as the day for the launch grows nearer,  Pyongyang shows no sign of backing down from what it is about to do.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/01/north.korea.rocket/index.html

  North Korea is fueling rocket, U.S. military says
Story Highlights
Nation could be in the final stages of launch, which could come this weekend

Sources say "bulbous" shroud atop rocket could indicate satellite aboard

Any such launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolution

Pentagon worries launch of any kind will help nation develop missile program

By Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea has begun fueling its long-range rocket, according to a senior U.S. military official.

The fueling signals that the country could be in the final stages of what North Korea has said will be the launch of a satellite into space as early as this weekend, the senior U.S. military official said Wednesday.

Other U.S. military officials said the top portion of the rocket was put on very recently, but satellite imagery shows a shroud over the stage preventing a direct view of what it looks like.

The officials said the payload appears to have a "bulbous" cover, which could indicate that there is a satellite loaded on it. Such a cover protects a satellite from damage in flight.

Although the sources did not know for sure what the payload is, they said there is no reason to doubt that it is a satellite, as indicated by North Korea.

Pyongyang has said it will launch the rocket between April 4 and April 8. A launch would violate a 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution banning the reclusive state from launching ballistic missiles.

Pentagon officials worry less about the payload and more about the launch itself, saying that any kind of launch will give the North Koreans valuable information about improving their ballistic missile program.

The United States believes that the North Koreans have the technology to hit Alaska or Hawaii with a missile and that the country is working on advancing that technology so it could hit the west coast of the United States.

 

[tomahawk6]

Its clear that Iran and NK are working together to advance their shared goals. Iran needs a delivery system for its nuclear warheads. North Korea has not had success with nuclear testing which the Iranians can help with and profit by. If NK can get a working device this means Iran wont need to test,they can copy the NK design.

 

[CougarKing]

Another update: Obama delivers tough words against Pyongyang.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_re_us/us_nkorea_missile

Obama issues warning as North Korea readies rocket
AFP By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins ago
WASHINGTON – As North Korea fueled a multistage rocket Thursday for its threatened satellite launch, President Barack Obama promised a "stern" response and Japan vowed to press for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council. Senior U.S. defense officials said that trailers and vehicles carrying rocket propellant were in place at North Korea's coastal launch site and that fueling had begun.
A U.S. counter-proliferation official said the fueling process could take "up to a few days." But a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that Pyongyang was on track for a projected Saturday launch

The American officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence issues.

At the G-20 summit in London, Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak issued a statement agreeing on "a stern, united response from the international community if North Korea launches a long-range rocket."

State Department spokesman Robert Wood would not address the U.S. intelligence reports. But he repeated earlier warnings for the North Koreans not to take any "provocative" actions.

Japan's ambassador to the U.N. said his nation will request an emergency session of the Security Council if North Korea proceeds with the launch. Yukio Takasu said he raised the possibility during closed-door council talks Thursday.

Takasu and other council diplomats say they anticipate a possible emergency session as early as this weekend.

North Korea heightened its militarist rhetoric toward the U.S., Japan and South Korea on Thursday, threatening retaliation for any attempt to shoot down the rocket. Quoting an unidentified North Korean general, the North Korean Central News Agency said Japan would be struck with a "thunderbolt of fire" if it attempts to intercept the multistage rocket.

The news service also issued a veiled threat against American warships moving in position to monitor the launch, saying: "The United States should immediately withdraw armed forces deployed if it does not want to receive damage."

Some U.S. lawmakers are urging Obama to shoot down the rocket if it endangers the United States or its allies. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a weekend TV interview that the U.S. had no plans to intercept the rocket — though it might consider the move if an "aberrant missile" were headed to Hawaii "or something like that."

U.S. officials have been keeping tabs on North Korea's launch preparations with satellite imagery and other surveillance. North Korea has complained that the U.S. is also using high-altitude U-2 spy planes and has warned the aircraft would be shot down.

North Korea's pre-launch movements are similar to the steps taken in advance of its 2006 firing of a Taepodong-2 missile, the U.S. intelligence official said.
The fueling starts an informal pre-launch phase that precedes the formal countdown.

"You need to launch within a few days because rocket fuel is typically quite corrosive," said Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C.

U.S. intelligence analysts continue to believe that North Korea aims to launch a communications satellite rather than conducting a missile test, which would violate a U.N. resolution. However, the rocket launch would yield data directly applicable to its long-range ballistic missile program.

The issue was top of the agenda Thursday when Obama met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in London. Obama pledged to push for "peace and stability," while Lee's office issued a statement saying the two leaders agreed to keep working on a verifiable dismantling of North Korea's worrisome nuclear programs.

Russia appeared to be edging closer to Washington's position in an apparent show of goodwill. But a strong united response likely would prove difficult given that China — the North's closest ally — has veto power in the Security Council. Beijing continued to urge all sides to show restraint.

North Korea is warning against any effort to intercept the rocket, take the issue to the Security Council or even monitor the launch. It says its armed forces are at a high level of combat-readiness.

Debris from the rocket could fall off Japan's northern coast, North Korea has said. Tokyo has deployed warships and missile interceptors there as a precaution, but says it has no intention of trying to shoot the missile down on its own.
___

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Jae-Soon Chang in Seoul, Mark S. Smith in London, Shino Yuasa in Tokyo, Mari Yamaguchi in Akita, Japan, John Heilprin and Robert Burns in New York and Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
         

 

[CougarKing]

And North Korea continues to make threats as the launch date grows nearer. Do any of you really think the DPRK/North Korea has the ability to hit Japan, whether with airpower or Scuds?  ???

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090402/world/nkorea_missile

NKorea vows to attack Japan if rocket intercepted

Thu Apr 2, 3:56 PM

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea's military threatened Thursday to attack "major targets" in Japan if Tokyo tries to shoot down a satellite it intends to launch as soon as this weekend.

"If Japan recklessly 'intercepts' the DPRK's (North's) satellite for peaceful purposes, the KPA will mercilessly deal deadly blows not only at the already deployed intercepting means but at major targets," said a statement from the Korean People's Army (KPA).

Japan, South Korea and the United States see the North's plan to launch a communications satellite some time between April 4 and 8 as a disguised test of a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile which could in theory reach Alaska or Hawaii.

US defence officials said Thursday they had detected "propellant activity" at a North Korea rocket, but said it was uncertain that Pyongyang had begun fuelling ahead of its planned launch.

A US defence official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP "it's ambiguous" if North Korea has begun fuelling the rocket.

(...)

Pyongyang has said that even a UN discussion of its launch -- let alone new sanctions -- would trigger the breakdown of international nuclear disarmament talks.

UN resolutions bar Pyongyang from missile-related activities.

However, the North has signed on to international space treaties and analysts believe China and Russia would block any new sanctions move on the grounds that the resolutions do not cover satellite launches.

Moscow urged North Korea's neighbours on Thursday to hold back from military action over the issue.

Meanwhile Taiwan called on North Korea to exercise restraint in launching the rocket, saying the plan had threatened peace in the region.

"As a member of Northeast Asia, we're very concerned about it," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.

 

 

[tomahawk6]

Yes they have the means to strike all of the ROK and Japan with their missiles.