North Korean nuclear crisis

[tramp]

Who will blink first?!

North Korea to withdraw workers, suspend Kaesong operations
SEOUL | Mon Apr 8, 2013 3:09pm IST
(Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday it would withdraw its workers from the Kaesong factory park jointly run with South Korea and temporarily suspend all operations there.

"It will temporarily suspend the operations in the zone and examine the issue of whether it will allow its (continued) existence or close it, " its official KCNA news agency quoted Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, as saying. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Vincent Se Young Lee; Editing by David Chance)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/08/north-korea-kaesong-idINDEE93706720130408

 

[SajeevJino]

Pentagon Estimates 250,000 US Dead In A North Korean War​

The intensifying war of words between North Korea, the United States and ally South Korea could ignite a major conflict. The likely trigger would be a small clash at sea, in the air, or along the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas.

What would a war in Korea look like?

First, nuclear conflict is unlikely. North Korea is not believed to have any long or medium-ranged nuclear weapons, certainly none that could hit North America. North Korea might be able to strike South Korea with a nuclear device. But then US nuclear weapons would wipe North Korea off the map.

North Korea's military strategy would be to launch a surprise attack on the south to occupy Seoul and Inchon. The vital US Air Force bases at Osan and Kunsan, and eight South Korean air bases, would be primary targets.

North Korea's elite 88,000 special forces units are tasked to attack and neutralize these air bases as well as headquarters, communication nodes, and munitions depots of the US and Republic of Korea (ROK) forces.

Barrages of North Korean conventional missiles would hit these bases and command hubs, possibly with chemical warheads.

Special North Korean amphibious units would land and strike these targets from the sea. North Korea has 300 old Soviet-era AN-2 biplanes that carry ten commandos each. Invisible to radar because they are made of fabric and hug the earth, the AN-2's would air assault suicide squads into US and ROK airbases.

Other North Korean special forces are tasked with attacking US bases in Okinawa, Japan and as far off as Guam, where the US is installing its new THAAD anti-missile system.

North Korea has developed potent electronic warfare capability that would degrade US/South Korean communications and online targets.

Meanwhile, 14,000 North Korean heavy guns and rocket batteries dug into caves behind the DMZ could pour storms of shells or rockets per hour onto US/ROK positions south of the DMZ. North Korea's 170mm guns and 240mm rockets have a range of 50 and 45 km respectively. Large parts of Seoul would be heavily damaged.

North Korea has about 700,000 soldiers within 150km of the DMZ, with another 400,000 in backup echelons further north. These divisions would fight their way south through South Korea's 'Maginot Line,' seven parallel lines of anti-tank ditches, minefields, and high earth walls surmounted by tanks (South Korea denies it exists, but I have seen it).

In spite of intense air attacks by the US and ROK, the North Korean offensive could likely reach at least as far south of Seoul, only an hour's drive from the DMZ.

US retaliation would be ferocious. US and ROK warplanes would quickly attain air superiority over the entire peninsula. North Korea's 70 airbases would be obliterated and its obsolescent air force quickly neutralized. The North Korean surface fleets would share a similar fate. US warplanes would pound North Korea's command and control, communications, rail lines, bridges and factories not buried underground.

During the 1950-53 Korean War, US B-29 heavy bombers literally flattened North Korea. That's why North Korea reacted so furiously when US B-52 heavy bombers and B-2 Stealth bombers skirted its borders late last month, triggering off this latest crisis. The B-2 can deliver the fearsome 'MOAB' 30,000 lb. bomb called "the Mother of All Bombs" designed to destroy deep underground command hq's (read Kim Jon-un's bunker) and underground nuclear facilities.

Unless the US uses tactical nuclear weapons, it will be difficult to defeat North Korea. Doing so means invading North Korea, a risky operation that might invite Chinese intervention, as it did in 1950.

The Pentagon estimated a full-scale invasion of North Korea could cost 250,000 American casualties. In short, a real war, not the jolly little police actions launched by the US in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

WHAT A THIRD KOREAN WAR WOULD LOOK LIKE « Eric Margolis

 

[arnabmit]

@Yusuf so MOAB can be used to take out NK Artillery positions after the first or second volley... Would that be 4000-8000 shells/rockets?

During the 1950-53 Korean War, US B-29 heavy bombers literally flattened North Korea. That's why North Korea reacted so furiously when US B-52 heavy bombers and B-2 Stealth bombers skirted its borders late last month, triggering off this latest crisis. The B-2 can deliver the fearsome 'MOAB' 30,000 lb. bomb called "the Mother of All Bombs" designed to destroy deep underground command hq's (read Kim Jon-un's bunker) and underground nuclear facilities.

 

[SajeevJino]

@arnabmit
Nope ..not Possible US had >15 B2 Bombers.. in one ride a B2 carry a Pair of MOAB ..that couldn't takeout 21K Artillary's in one or two rides if they put all B2's in action..that MOAB used to takes out high value underground Bunkers and underground Nuclear facilities ...

 

[SajeevJino]

Tumbling North Korean Satellite may fall anytime over US

North Korea's satellite is wobbling out of control, and might rain down fiery death debris at any moment. Want to make sure you're not underneath when the sky falls? Track the thing in realtime right here.

As I type this, the Bright Star-3 "weather satellite" (death weapon) is over Antarctica. Tomorrow? Who knows. Washington, DC

Track North Korea's Terror Death Satellite Live in Space

 

[SajeevJino]

US Calls on Russia, China to Ease Tensions with N. Korea​

S officials said Monday they have asked Russia and China – two North Korean allies – for help in getting Pyongyang to back off the escalating rhetoric and inflammatory actions that have alarmed its neighbors and prompted the Pentagon to heighten its military readiness.

"We have asked China and Russia to use their influence with North Korea to get them to cease this provocative behavior," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney during a press briefing Monday.

"But as veterans of this issue, we've seen this pattern of behavior before. It comes at the expense of the welfare of the North Korean people," he added.

On Monday during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hanover, Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin appealed for calm on the Korean Peninsula. "I would like to call on everybody to calm down and to sit down at the negotiating table and calmly resolve the issues that have been accumulating there for many years," Putin said.

Putin warned that the escalating tensions in the region could lead to a nuclear disaster far worse than the Chernobyl incident.

US Calls on Russia, China to Ease Tensions with N. Korea | World | RIA Novosti

 

[SajeevJino]

North Korea readies missile launch as fears of a covert cyberwar grow​

As Pyongyang moves ballistic weapons to the coast, it may also be planning to disable computer networks in the US.South Korea is bracing for a protracted standoff with the North that could include at least one missile test-launch and a border skirmish.

The regime's next move could be to break into US computer networks to steal information and spread viruses, Jang Se-yul, who defected to the South in 2008, told the Observer. North Korea's hackers are suspected of being behind recent cyberattacks that paralysed computer networks at several South Korean banks and broadcasters.

"It would demonstrate that North Korea is a strong cyberpower," Jang said. "Their prime target is the US, and they've been preparing for something like this for years, including when I was there in the 1990s. I can't say how successful they would be, but it's a possibility."

North Korea readies missile launch as fears of a covert cyberwar grow | World news | The Observer

 

[tramp]

BBC News - Profile: Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un has taken on the mantle of North Korea's supreme leadership with little political or military experience behind him.

Kim Jong-il, North Korea's "Dear Leader", was in the process of grooming Kim Jong-un as his successor when he died on 17 December 2011.

Immediately after his father's death, the younger Kim was hailed as "the great successor". He was named head of the party, state and army within a fortnight of his father's death.

Most recently he was appointed marshal, following a high-level military reshuffle in which army chief Ri Yong-ho was removed.

The highest military rank, it could cement his control over the army.

'Morning Star King'
Little is still known about the elusive young man who is the youngest son of Kim Jong-il and his late third wife Ko Yong-hui.

Born in 1983 or early 1984, he was initially not thought to be in the frame to take up his father's mantle.

Analysts focused their attention on his half-brother Kim Jong-nam and older full brother Kim Jong-chol.


This image of Kim Jong-un shows him as a boy aged about 11
However Kim Jong-nam's deportation from Japan in May 2001 and middle brother Kim Jong-chol's apparent "unmanliness" improved his chances.

Analysts saw him as the coming man after he was awarded a series of high-profile political posts.

Swiss-educated like his brothers, Kim Jong-un avoided Western influences, returning home when not in school and dining out with the North Korean ambassador.

Since his return to Pyongyang, he is known to have attended the Kim Il-sung Military University.

His mother was thought to be Kim Jong-il's favourite wife, and she clearly doted on her son, reportedly calling him the "Morning Star King".

In his 2003 book, I Was Kim Jong-il's Chef, a Japanese man writing under the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto also claimed that Jong-un was his father's favourite.

In August 2010 Kim Jong-il visited China. One South Korean TV station cited a South Korean official as saying Kim Jong-un had accompanied his father on the trip.

Some reports speculated that he had been anointed successor partly because of his resemblance to North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung.

A few North Korea watchers went so far as to say that he may have had plastic surgery to enhance the resemblance, in a country where the deification of the Kim family is at the heart of its grip on power.

There have already been poems and a song, Footsteps, composed, to promote the young man's virtues as a leader.

North Korea's tightly-controlled media has also been building up a personality cult around Mr Kim in the six months since the death of his father.


Coverage has moved in stages, from respectful mentions to presenting him now as a confident, modern leader in tune with the daily concerns of citizens.

He made his first public speech as North Korea marked the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Kim Il-sung on 15 April, praising the "military first" doctrine and vowing the time his nation could be threatened was "forever over".

"Superiority in military technology is no longer monopolised by imperialists," he said, adding: "We have to make every effort to reinforce the people's armed forces."

A few months into his leadership, North Korea launched a rocket which it said would put a satellite into orbit. The launch, which failed, was seen by many as a banned test of long-range missile technology.

Little was known of his personal life until television footage of an unidentified woman attending events with him in July brought her into the limelight.

Weeks after she sparked much discussion and debate, state media announced that Mr Kim was married to ''Comrade Ri Sol-ju'' and they were shown visiting an amusement park opening together.

Ms Ri is believed to be the same woman who was shown with him on state TV on 8 July at an official ceremony in honour of his late grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and again at a concert.

Little is know of her, but her stylish appearance - short, chic haircut and Western dress - led some analysts to suggest that she was from a upper-class family and that she fits Mr Kim's efforts to project a more relaxed image compared to his predecessors.

 

[SajeevJino]

Secret Transmission Detected from North Korea​

Within hours of South Korean news sources breaking a story that several Sang-Ho class submarines had disappeared from their North Korean bases, a ham radio operator named Tim, picked up a "numbers station" broadcasting on the same frequency as "The Voice of Korea" propaganda station. What makes this even more interesting is that at the tail end of the numbers transmission there was a long duration digital transmission as well.

So why is this important and alarming?

There are several reasons why this new development is particularly alarming. The first being the existence of the numbers station coming online shortly after the submarines put to sea, but more importantly is the digital transmission apparently tacked onto the end of the transmission and the ramifications of that transmission.

Secret Transmission Detected from North Korea - | Intellihub.com

 

[W.G.Ewald]

'Proportional' Response - Thomas Sowell - Page 1

Since when has it been considered smart to tell your enemies what your plans are?

Yet there on the front page of the April 8th New York Times was a story about how unnamed "American officials" were planning a "proportional" response to any North Korean attack. This was spelled in an example: If the North Koreans "shell a South Korean island that had military installations" then the South Koreans would retaliate with "a barrage of artillery of similar intensity."

Whatever the merits or demerits of such a plan, what conceivable purpose can be served by telling the North Koreans in advance that they need fear nothing beyond a tit for tat? All that does is lower the prospective cost of aggression.

 

[rock127]

First we had terrorists living in nations and now we have FULL-FLEDGED-TERRORIST COUNTRIES.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

PRUDEN: The perils of blinksmanship with North Korea - Washington Times

...everybody in Washington agrees (for once), all the bombast and bluster coming from Pyongyang is just noise, meant only to play the blinksmanship game, it's still important to make sure the noisemakers in North Korea don't win that game, either. The North Koreans calibrate these things carefully, and measure the response closely.

All the sobriety, dignity and reluctance to raise the president's voice has not so far impressed anyone in Pyongyang. Bill Clinton said the United States would not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. George W. Bush said the United States would not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. Barack Obama said the United States would not tolerate a nuclear North Korea.

Big talk, but now the United States is tolerating a nuclear North Korea, where lip-reading clearly frightens no one. Who can blame Mr. Kim, or whoever is pulling his strings, for thinking that Washington is prepared to tolerate a lot?

 

[Blackwater]

Is North Korea pulling its ambassador out of Britain TODAY? Removal van loads up outside Ealing semi where secretive state is based

Read more: North Korea embassy: Removal van loads up outside Ealing semi where secretive state is based | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Barking Dogs Never Bite. Let us see what North Korea will do, whether this is just barking of a Dog or a real threat........

 

[SajeevJino]

BREAKING: Tourist Visits to North Korea Suspended​

Despite development, Western agencies Koryo and Young Pioneer Tours report no changes to their itineraries

A China based travel company has announced that all tours to North Korea will be suspended from tomorrow due to spiraling tensions on the peninsula.

The news followed a warning made by Pyongyang today which advised foreigners based in South Korea to start preparing evacuation plans in the event that conflict takes place in the coming days.

Dandong based "Explore North Korea" published a notification this evening at 9:43pm Chinese time which told customers that all tours to the DPRK would be cancelled until further notice.

Following a nearly two hour long meeting with North Korean tour officials, the Chinese company posted an advisory adding that tours would only be resumed once official confirmation was provided by North Korea.

"Explore North Korea" normally brings western visitors to North Korea and would have normally carried out between five tours this April, having departure dates scheduled April 11, 13, 15, 17, and 20.

Another China based tourist source confirmed the development to NK NEWS by email today, adding that the Dandong Tourism Board would not be accepting Chinese citizens into North Korea as of April 10, 2013.

However, western tour operators "Koryo Tours" and "Young Pioneer Tours" both said today that there were no plans to cancel any of their forthcoming tours, making it unclear if the suspension was being targeted at all companies.

"War zones are incompatible with joint industrial parks, travel groups or even with foreign embassies. Pyongyang wants to convince the world that Korea will soon be engulfed in the flames of nuclear inferno. The scary truth is that this can really happen regardless of who makes the first shot."

BREAKING: Tourist Visits to North Korea Suspended | NK News – North Korea News

 

[SajeevJino]

North Korea prepares to test medium-range ballistic missile as it closes border with China​

CNN reported US officials were expecting a launch by North Korea "at any time".Any such "test" launch would be seen as a further escalation of already high tensions in and around the Korean peninsula.

1. US satellites have located North Korea's missiles
2. They have been pictured fueled and ready for launch
3. Fears North Korea will not issue test-fire warning

Things could be made worse if North Korea does not issue a "standard warning" of a missile test firing to commercial aviation and maritime shipping.

"We hope they issue a notification but at this point we don't expect it. We are working on the assumption they won't, " the official said.

US officials have confirmed that satellites have been kept over the suspected launch areas for the past week in order to locate - and monitor - the launch vehicles. Bad weather has made their job harder, they said.

The launchers are said to be about half-way down the North Korean east coast and about 20km inland. Satellite imagery shows the missiles have been fuelled and positioned for launch.

The Pentagon has announced it is ready to respond to any missile aimed at America or its allies.

US and South Korean officials have said that the Pyongyang regime may launch the missile as early as Wednesday.

The commander of US forces in the Pacific sought to reassure Congress that the Pentagon would be able intercept a missile. US satellites and radars in the region will be able to detect and quickly calculate the missiles' trajectory.

This would help determine if the launch was hostile - or a test.

The missiles would be shot down by land or sea based anti-missile weapons if they were to track over South Korea or Japan.

Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear said: "We have a credible ability to defend the homeland, to defend Hawaii, to defend Guam, to defend our forward deployed forces, and to defend our allies,'' Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The US has never sought to shoot down a North Korean missile, and it's unclear if such a move would escalate the tension that has roiled the region. The Obama administration has moved additional military forces into the Pacific, but has sought to calibrate its response in the matter to avoid fueling the crisis.

A "counter-provocation plan" drawn up by US and South Korean officials calls for their combined military forces to respond proportionally to a North Korean attack, but to avoid any step that could set off an escalation of hostilities.

North Korea prepares to test medium-range ballistic missile as it closes border with China | News.com.au

 

[tramp]

Pardon my ignorance and for being offtopic. Has any country successfully used an anti-missile defence system in a war scenario? Against a ballistic missile? Against a cruise missile?

 

[SajeevJino]

North Korea: South On Alert For Missile Launch​

South Korea and the US have upgraded their military surveillance status on the Korean Peninsula amid concerns Pyongyang is ready to fire up to three missiles.


North Korea, which previously said it cannot guarantee the safety of foreign embassy workers after today, is believed to have moved weaponry to its eastern coast, facing Japan.

It has also warned foreigners living in South Korea to leave the country to avoid being dragged into a "thermonuclear war".

One unnamed official told the Yonhap news agency: "There are clear signs that the North could simultaneously fire off Musudan, Scud and Nodong missiles."

The South has also brought in extra intelligence officers.

In a separate report, Yonhap said the Combined Forces Command had raised the "Watchcon" status from three to two reflecting indications of a "vital threat".

Watchcon 4 is in effect during normal peacetime, while Watchcon 3 reflects indications of an important threat. Watchcon 1 is used in wartime.

In the Japanese capital Tokyo, Patriot missile batteries have been deployed as a pre-emptive defence measure.

Yahoo! News UK & Ireland - Latest World News & UK News Headlines

 

[SajeevJino]

U.S. official: North Korea could test fire missiles at any time​

The Obama administration calculates it's likely North Korea may test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time, based on the most recent intelligence showing Pyongyang probably has completed launch preparations, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

the United States has seen, the belief is that the missiles have received their liquid fuel and are ready for launch.

After any launch, U.S. satellites and radars in the region would be able to calculate the trajectory of missiles within minutes and quickly conclude whether they are on a test path headed for open ocean or potentially headed for land areas such as Japan.

The United States and Japan would then have to decide whether to try to shoot the missiles down, the officials said.

U.S. official: North Korea could test fire missiles at any time - CNN.com

 

[SajeevJino]

Pardon my ignorance and for being offtopic. Has any country successfully used an anti-missile defence system in a war scenario? Against a ballistic missile? Against a cruise missile?

There is no official claim about wartime Missile Interception ..the only known successful is Iron dome interception of Rockets and Shells not cruise or Ballistic missiles