North Korea fires four short-range missiles

[SajeevJino]

North Korea fires four short-range missiles​

North Korea has test-fired four short-range missiles into the sea, Seoul's defence ministry said, in an apparent show of force to coincide with the South's joint military exercises with the US.

A ministry spokesman said the missiles, with an estimated range of 200km (125 miles), were fired off the east coast of North Korea.

"Our military will maintain tight vigilance in preparation for additional launches or any military provocation from the North," the spokesman said.

North Korea regularly carries out short-range missile tests, and has used them before to display its anger at the annual military exercises. Observers said the tests were unlikely to trigger a significant rise in military tensions.

The South Korea-US drills began on Monday despite vocal opposition from Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion.

This year they overlapped with the reunion of families divided by the Korean war - an event that has raised hopes of greater cross-border co-operation after a three-year hiatus.

Pyongyang initially insisted the joint exercises be postponed until after the reunion finished on Tuesday, but Seoul refused and – in a rare concession – the North allowed the family gatherings on its territory to go ahead as scheduled.


North Korea fires four short-range missiles | World news | theguardian.com

 

[Sea Eagle]

It looks like North Koreans are fighting against the Sea

 

[amoy]

It looks like North Koreans are fighting against the Sea

depite NK's strong opposition S.Korea and America launch their ANNUAL joint military drills "key resolve" and "foal eagle" . pls develop a balanced view!

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[nirranj]

depite NK's strong opposition S.Korea and America launch their ANNUAL joint military drills "key resolve" and "foal eagle" . pls develop a balanced view!

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Why is China supporting a family rule in NK??? China is a systematic communist regime. but the NK is like a family property.

 

[amoy]

Why is China supporting a family rule in NK??? China is a systematic communist regime. but the NK is like a family property.

no matter Kejriwal or Sonya or Rahul or Rajeev or Indira or Modi rules India China keeps business as usual with India doesnt she? arent u hailing the new pact with Saudi Arabia, which's a Wahabist family rule?

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[nirranj]

no matter Kejriwal or Sonya or Rahul or Rajeev or Indira or Modi rules India China keeps business as usual with India doesnt she? arent u hailing the new pact with Saudi Arabia, which's a Wahabist family rule?

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

My question is regarding the conflicting communism prevailing in NK and China... China is prosperous, a common man can one day head the communist party, People are enjoying the benefits of the prosperity, But it is completely opposite in NK. Why is China a true peoples republic supporting a family rule???

 

[nirranj]

no matter Kejriwal or Sonya or Rahul or Rajeev or Indira or Modi rules India China keeps business as usual with India doesnt she? arent u hailing the new pact with Saudi Arabia, which's a Wahabist family rule?

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

In this case China is doing business with a democratic system. The system doesn't changes with the person in helm.. The Saudi's have never changed from centuries. But the DPRK emerged as a communist nation, I never knew that communism is a one family rule. China shoud not encourage such a family rule as it will bring down the faith many have in communism...

 

[amoy]

In this case China is doing business with a democratic system. The system doesn't changes with the person in helm.. The Saudi's have never changed from centuries. But the DPRK emerged as a communist nation, I never knew that communism is a one family rule. China shoud not encourage such a family rule as it will bring down the faith many have in communism...

I do encourage u to think beyond "ideology" in foreign relations. Your beloved Congress brands theirs as "socialism" so does your neighbor SL. But nobody would think it's the same as Chinese version of "socialism". Even if BJP who follows Hindutva takes over one day not much difference in Indo China relationship will be made. DPRK's dynastic politics is no more ugly than Japanese monarchy which should have been abolished as war criminals - just my personal view anyway.

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[amoy]

Large US contingent to take part in South Korean exercise - News - Stripes

A South Korean sailor watches as the USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser pulls into Mokpo, South Korea, on on March 8, 2014. The ship is one of four U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers that arrived in South Korea to particpate in the annual Foal Eagle field training exercise.

SEOUL — Almost 10,000 U.S. troops will join the South Korean military later this month in the peninsula's largest joint amphibious landing drill, South Korean media reported Tuesday.

U.S. Forces Korea officials did not comment on the exercise, although a Pentagon spokesman told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency that the number of troops taking part in this year's Ssang Yong exercise — to be held March 27 through April 7 — is unprecedented.

"The scale of this year's Ssang Yong is greater than any other in the past, proving the Navy and Marine Corps' ability to conduct the full spectrum of a combined arms, amphibious landing operations in cooperation with our international partners," Lt. Col. Jeff Pool told Yonhap.

Yonhap reported that, along with the 9,500 U.S. forces, some 3,500 South Korean marines and 1,000 South Korean sailors would be involved.

According to the U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. contingent for SSang Yong, which means "double dragon," will include 7,500 Marines and 2,000 U.S. Navy personnel. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade from Okinawa and the 7th Fleet's Commander Task Force 76 will participate in the exercise, which will address such scenarios as disaster relief and complex expeditionary operations, according to a U.S. military statement.

Yonhap reported that 12 U.S. and South Korean amphibious ships would take part in the drill, along with an unspecified number of Okinawa-based V-22 Ospreys. About 130 Australian soldiers are also expected to participate.

A spokesman for South Korea's Defense Ministry declined to answer questions Tuesday about Ssang Yong, saying queries should instead be directed to U.S. military public affairs personnel.

Ssang Yong falls under the umbrella of the ongoing Foal Eagle joint field-training exercise, which ends April 18. As part of Foal Eagle, four U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers arrived Saturday in ports across the peninsula: the USS Curtis Wilbur and USS Lassen in Pyeongtaek, the USS Lake Erie in Mokpo, and the USS Howard in Donghae.

About 12,700 U.S. troops and 200,000 South Korean troops are participating in either Foal Eagle or Key Resolve, the annual joint command post exercise that ended last week.

During last year's Ssang Yong, 21 U.S. servicemembers were injured when a U.S. military helicopter made a hard landing near the Demilitarized Zone.

Republic of Korea Marine Corps assault amphibious vehicles advance past a smoke screen as their crews execute an amphibious landing April 26, 2013, at Doksuk-ri Beach, South Korea, during Exercise Ssang Yong 13.

Marines with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force disembark the high-speed vessel, Westpac Express, April 4, 2013, after arriving at Pohang Port in the Republic of Korea in preparation for exercise Ssang Yong 2013.

 

[SajeevJino]

North Korea fires 10 rockets into into sea: official​

North Korea Sunday test-fired ten rockets into the sea, South Korea's defence ministry said, the latest in a series of launches that have provoked criticism from Seoul and Washington.

The rockets were fired off the North's east coast and flew about 70 kilometres into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), a ministry spokesman said.

"Following the North's rocket launch at 6:20 pm (0920 GMT), our military has maintained a close watch for possible North Korean provocations," he said.

Yonhap news agency earlier reported that 10 short-range missiles were fired.

South Korean troops have increased vigilance following a series of launches of rockets or missiles.

The activity coincides with annual South Korean-US military exercises that started in February and will run until mid-April.

Pyongyang routinely condemns such joint exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive.

North Korea fires 10 rockets into into sea: official

 

[sydsnyper]

Its called applying technology in the fishing industry....

It looks like North Koreans are fighting against the Sea

 

[prohumanity]

North Korea firing missiles like crazy. WHy? May be they are very afraid of being attacked . This type of behavior usually is driven by fear.

 

[SajeevJino]

N.Korea test-fires 30 missiles into sea​

North Korea test-fired 30 short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the latest in a series of launches despite calls from Seoul and Washington to stop "provocative actions".

"North Korea fired off 30 short-range missiles between 4:00 am and 6:10 am (1900-2110 GMT Friday) this morning from its east coast into the Sea of Japan (East Sea)," said a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs.

"The missiles are estimated to have flown about 60 kilometres (37 miles)," he added.

Analysts said the missiles had been launched from the same location as 25 projectiles on Sunday, near the eastern port of Wonsan. The projectiles were Soviet-era short range Frog missiles from the 1960s, they said.

"This is an expression of anger at the joint military exercises" South Korea has been staging with its ally the United States, Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

It is not unusual for Pyongyang to carry out such tests but there has been a spate of them in recent weeks. Saturday's launch was the sixth in just over a month.

South Korea urged North Korea earlier this week to stop what it called "provocative" and potentially dangerous tests.

"The North should stop actions that cause military tension and unnerve its neighbours," Seoul's defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters on Monday.

"Provocative action made without any prior notifications... can pose significant danger to sea vessels and aircraft passing by the area," he added.

The US State Department had also called on Pyongyang to refrain from "provocative actions that aggravate tensions".

Beijing expressed concern earlier this month after the North test-fired a rocket into the flight path of a Chinese airliner.

- 'Low-level provocation' -

But Yang downplayed the danger.

"North Korea apparently decided to get rid of its rusting stockpile of some 100 Frog missiles by lobbing them into the sea as a show of force," he said. "This is merely a low-level provocation."

"The North is likely to test-fire all the remaining Frog missiles in the near future", he added.

The annual South Korean-US military drills started in late February and will run until mid-April.

The North has habitually criticised the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises, along with other military drills south of the border, as rehearsals for an invasion.

Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive.

http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-test-fires-30-short-range-missiles-231937699.html;_ylt=AwrBJR_1ySxTwmUALG_QtDMD

 

[amoy]

North Korea Tunnel Work Could Presage New Nuclear-Test Series - NationalJournal.com

A pattern of recent digging at North Korea's nuclear-trial grounds could indicate a plan to more aggressively test atomic devices, according to a new analysis.

Commercial satellites in recent months detected signs of excavation happening around the northern side of North Korea's Punggye-ri test site. Meanwhile, digging work has been halted on the southern side, where two suspected tunnels are thought to have been completed. Initial reports about the activity at the north side included speculation that a new tunnel could be used to house a nuclear test device.

However, Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, has a different theory.

"What if North Korea's recent excavations are not for new tunnels that will be used only once, but represent an effort to transform the mountains north and south of the site into complexes that could allow it to conduct multiple tests -- two or more -- in drifts off a single main tunnel with multiple entrances," Lewis wrote in a Thursday analysis for the expert website 38 North, which tracks weapons-related developments in North Korea.

An examination of satellite images taken of Punggye-ri's north side -- commonly known as the "West Portal" area -- show multiple entrances. These entrances could each open up to their own tunnels that run alongside one another.

"An alternate hypothesis suggested by patterns of U.S., Russian, and Chinese underground nuclear testing is that, rather than parallel tunnels, North Korea may be conducting tests in drifts that branch off a main tunnel." Lewis said. "This is how those three countries conducted underground nuclear tests."

North Korea's previous three atomic trial detonations all occurred as individual events, spaced years apart. Some analysts viewed them less as scientific "tests" than as political "demonstrations" to the world. Regardless of what the North was trying to achieve with its 2006, 2009, and 2013 nuclear explosions, the testing to date has been limited, said Lewis. In part, that is because Pyongyang has lacked enough fissile material to carry out a more robust testing program, he said.

However, the North is bolstering its ability to produce weapon-grade material -- both plutonium and highly enriched uranium. The country last year restarted an old graphite reactor and is assessed to be on the verge of completing a new, experimental light-water reactor. Pyongyang has said it would use the plutonium produced by the two reactors -- and the highly enriched uranium generated by a separate facility -- to support its nuclear-weapons program.

With more fissile material in the works, North Korea could soon have the resources it needs to embark on an effort involving more frequent testing, which the complex pattern of connected chambers could support, Lewis theorized.

Surveillance photographs taken earlier this month of the West Portal area reveal new excavation debris outside the mountain entrance on which North Korea has been working since last summer, according to a separate Thursday image analysis by 38 North, which is a project of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

However, there are no signs of preparations being made for an imminent underground explosion, concluded image experts Nick Hansen and Jack Liu.

 

[SajeevJino]

North Korea Launches Two Mid-Range Ballistic Missiles​

North Korea has fired two medium-range Nodong ballistic missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula, U.S. officials said today, noting the launches did not pose a threat to the U.S. homeland.

A spokesperson for NORAD/U.S. Northern Command confirmed that two missiles were fired at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time or 1:30 p.m. ET.

"We are aware of the reports that North Korea fired two missiles from its southeast coast," the spokesperson said. "Norad/U.S. Northern Command assesses the launches did not pose a threat to North America."

Another U.S. official confirmed that the two missiles launched by North Korea were Nodong mid-range ballistic missiles.

Neither official had information as to how far the missiles had traveled.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the ballistic missiles had traveled 400 miles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

United Nations Security Council Resolutions bar North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests.

Since Feb. 21, North Korea has fired several volleys of short-range Soviet-era FROG artillery missiles that had not been deemed a threat by either South Korea or the United States. On Monday, North Korea fired a volley of 30 of the missiles into the sea.

Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, told a congressional panel today that a small portion of the missile volleys were part of the normal winter training cycle.

The remainder were "demonstrations, both for his regime and for demonstration to the people of capability," Scaparrotti said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He said they were also intended to demonstrate to the U.S. and South Korea what they are capable of doing "on short notice, with very little warning."

North Korea typically conducts provocatory actions around the same time as an annual joint U.S.-South Korean military exercise.

This year's exercise will include a large-scale amphibious landing involving a joint U.S.-South Korean force of 13,000 and 20 ships, military officials said.

In his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Scaparrotti agreed with an assessment that North Korea is on pace to develop a long-range ballistic missile capability by 2024 that could reach the U.S. homeland.

In 2012, North Korea fired two long-range Unha 3 missile tests that it said were intended to launch a satellite into orbit, but which the U.S. said was a cover for an ICBM test.

Also of concern has been North Korea's development of the KN-08 missile, an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of being fired from a mobile launcher and with little warning. Early last year, North Korea played a cat-and-mouse game with the missile, placing it in a launch position several times, though ultimately no launch was carried out.

A U.S. official said Monday that the U.S. had not picked up any indications that North Korea was preparing to launch its long-range missile tests.

North Korea Launches Two Mid-Range Ballistic Missiles - ABC News