Hows the Missile Defense

[philw]

North Korea threatens to 'wipe U.S. off the map'


http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25687088-5006301,00.html

NORTH Korea has threatened to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch missiles in the coming days.

Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship, accused of transporting banned goods in the past, is believed to be bound for Burma, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

The new U.N. Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception as a declaration of war and yesterday accused the U.S. of seeking to provoke another Korean War.

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a state of war.

The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities.

Tensions have been high since North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April and then conducted its second underground atomic test on May 25.

Reacting to U.N. condemnation of that test, North Korea walked away from nuclear disarmament talks and warned it would fire a long-range missile.

North Korea has banned ships from the waters off its east coast, starting today, until July 10 for military exercises, Japan's Coast Guard said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported yesterday that the North may fire a Scud missile with a range of up to 500km or a short-range ground-to-ship missile with a range of 160km during the sailing ban period.

A senior South Korean government official said the ban period was believed to be connected to North Korean plans to fire short-or mid-range missiles. U.S. defence officials in Washington said they also expected the North to launch short-to medium-range missiles.

[deepwater]

The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a state of war.

and they still want more of us? oh yeah, we have the 'chosen one' in orifice, nothing to worry about..
(damn nut jobs!)

[fightingquaker13]

The problem is we don't have enough troops to fight a third war in Korea and even if we did, it would truly tank the global economy with SK, Japan and southern China all being seen as at risk. Kim Jong Il is crazy and evil, not stupid.
FQ13

[Kid Shelleen]

Go ahead Kim Jong Il, fire one of your shi&^%^ty missles at us and please put a nuke on it. We'll shoot it out of the sky (If you can get it up there). That should then give us the right to send a nuke or two your way.

Who needs to commit troops?

BTW Kim, how's your missle defense?

[philw]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25727195-5006301,00.html

NORTH Korea has fired a barrage of short-range missiles in a possible prelude to the launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii this weekend.

Firing a ballistic missile on Independence Day would be a challenge to Washington, which has been rallying international support for enforcement of U.N. sanctions imposed against Pyongyang following a May 25 nuclear test.

North Korea is banned from testing ballistic missiles under U.N. resolutions.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said overnight that a long-range missile launch this weekend was possible.

 "We cannot rule out the possibility," he said, citing Pyongyang's past behavior.

In 2006, North Korea launched its most advanced Taepodong 2 missile while the U.S. celebrated Independence Day, though the rocket fizzled shortly after takeoff and fell into the ocean.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the United States remains concerned about North Korea's missile and nuclear programs but called the overnight launches "not unexpected."

Several U.S. Defense Department officials said there is nothing to indicate that North Korea is ready to launch a long-range ballistic missile and there appears to be no immediate threat to the United States.

The April 5 launch of a Taepodong-2 required 12 days of preparation on the launch pad, which was fully observable to U.S. satellites. Short and medium-range missiles, however, can be launched with little notice.

Missile defenses around Hawaii were beefed up following a mid-June report in a Japanese newspaper that the North might fire a long-range missile toward the islands in early July.

The head of the U.S. Northern Command, General Victor E. "Gene" Renuart, said in an interview with the Washington Times this week that U.S. missile defenses are prepared to knock down any incoming North Korean missile.

"I think we ought to assume there might be one on the Fourth of July," he said, according to the paper.

North Korea raised concern in late April when it explicitly threatened to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile and warned of a nuclear test.

The regime followed through with the atomic blast in May, leaving the ICBM test as its next likely step.

"I totally expect that we will see another long-range missile launch ... because they said they will do it," Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, told The Associated Press from Beijing where he was attending a nonproliferation conference.

The North's April launch, which is estimated to have sent a rocket about 3200 km, represented a "significant advance" in the country's long-range rocket technology, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists said in a recent report.

South Korea believes the Taepodong 2 can travel at least 6700 km, putting Alaska and Guam within striking distance.

 The North is also believed to be developing an advanced version of the Taepodong 2 that could reach not only Hawaii, but also the West Coast of the U.S. with a potential range of about 8000 km.

Pyongyang had earlier marked a large area of water off its east coast as a no-sail zone through July 10, citing military drills. Thursday's launches of four short-range missiles were believed to be the North's first military action in the designated zone.

Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed military official, reported that all four missiles flew about 100 km and identified them as KN-01 missiles with a range of up to 160km.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso denounced the launches as "provocative."

South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan, said the firings are "not a good sign because they are demonstrating their military power."

South Korean analysts were skeptical about the possibility of a long-range launch anytime soon.

Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said he expects the North will take more time to assess international reaction to its recent pledge to expand its nuclear program.

Tensions over North Korea's actions come as its leader Kim Jong Il has reportedly been laying the groundwork to hand power over to one of his sons, and as two American journalists were imprisoned for illegal border crossing and hostile acts.

Analysts predict the North will continue its provocative acts in an attempt to command world attention that can lead to economic benefits.

"I think what North Korea will continue to do is ratchet up the tension," said Brad Glosserman, another analyst at the CSIS think tank. "It needs that attention to get the concessions from other countries ... as well as to demonstrate its strength to domestic constituencies."

President Barack Obama has vowed the U.S. won't make the same mistake of rewarding North Korea's bad behavior, and his administration has been pressing China - a key North Korean ally - to enforce the new U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.

In an interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Obama said he was trying to "keep a door open" for North Korea to return to international nuclear disarmament talks, but the country must abandon its nuclear weapons programs before it can join the world community.

Philip Goldberg, in charge of coordinating the implementation of sanctions against the North, told reporters in Beijing that he had "very good conversations" with Chinese officials Thursday, though did not give details of the talks .

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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[tombogan03884]

 There is a simple way to send the appropriate message to Pyongyang. Call in their UN Ambassador (They have no diplomatic relations with the US) and send back his head in a box with a note stating that we a not happy about the attitude they are adopting.

[fightingquaker13]

Our response to this is a tough call. Worst case scenarios, in order:
They launch, we shoot it down, and the scewy little bastard decides he has nothing to lose, and launches the Korean War part II.
They launch, we try to shoot it down and miss, in which case we have problems with Iran, NK, and Eastern Europe gets cold feet.
They launch, we hit, but everyone with  a spy sattellite sees how it works and begins building countermeasures.
They launch, we do nothing and hope folks see this as restraint not weakness, and we state how well our tracking radar worked.
I'm not seeing a lot of good options here.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

Our response to this is a tough call. Worst case scenarios, in order:
They launch, we shoot it down, and the scewy little bastard decides he has nothing to lose, and launches the Korean War part II.
They launch, we try to shoot it down and miss, in which case we have problems with Iran, NK, and Eastern Europe gets cold feet.
They launch, we hit, but everyone with  a spy sattellite sees how it works and begins building countermeasures.
They launch, we do nothing and hope folks see this as restraint not weakness, and we state how well our tracking radar worked.
I'm not seeing a lot of good options here.
FQ13

You forgot one
They launch, We blow the little shithole off the map. But I expect you #4 because a bunch of assholes, illegal aliens and dead people elected a mouse, not a man.

[fightingquaker13]

Actually I prefer number 3. Unless we get concrete assurances from Russia and China to allow boarding of NK vessels (like Iraqi ones) so they don't have to deal with the Eastern European and Japaneses responses to a succesful launch. In reality, popping off a nuke premptively is not a live option and you know it.  We need real policies, not macho posturing.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

 No one said anything about nukes, although that WOULD be a quick and dirty response. The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is no longer utilizing our strategic strike capability, We possess quite enough B-1's, B-2's, B52's and Cruise missiles to do the job. As I have stated before, such a response would have the added benefit of making Iran rethink THEIR position as well, which, considering their proven support for groups like Al Queda, and Hezbollah, would go a long way to restoring peace in that region.
I must say FQ, if you apply the same reasoning to your SELF defense, there is no point in you owning guns as you will never use them no matter WHAT happens around you. You may be educated but you aren't to bright. I don't know what YOU think a "Nation" is, so I will point out that it is a large group of PEOPLE, lead or ruled by a PERSON, or a group of PEOPLE. With 4,000 years of history to draw on people like you and those striped pants faggots in Foggybottom still have not figured out that "thug" nations need to be dealt with the same way you would deal with any other aggressive armed gang of hoodlums, rogues, and ruffians. Why is it that so many allegedly "smart" people lose sight of the fact that they are not dealing with "a nation", or "the populace" but are in fact dealing only with a small group who through thuggery and or corruption have seized the reins of power ?
 One quick example, ( I could supply several off the top of my head) In '91 we went through the Iraqi Army and Republican Guard like shit through a chicken, suddenly, the entire region was relatively quite for a while,. Do you know why ? Because the belligerent assholes of the area, like Syria, and Iran, looked at their nice, big, shiny war machines and realized that they were exactly the same equipment we had just blown to hell in record time. the same sort of "pause for reflection" happened after the 1968 Six Day war, the Arabs didn't get froggy again until after the  Soviets reequipped them with new generations of equipment and advanced missile technology. Restraint in the face of a violent threat is not a virtue, it is either cowardice or stupidity.