Rival Koreas test missiles hours apart, raising tensions
Source: AP
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North and South Korea tested ballistic missiles hours apart Wednesday in a display of military might that is sure to exacerbate tensions between the rivals at a time when talks aimed at stripping the North of its nuclear program are stalled.
South Koreas presidential office said the country conducted its first submarine-launched ballistic missile test. It said the domestically built missile flew from a submarine and hit its designated target while President Moon Jae-in and other top officials looked on.
Moon said improvements in the countrys missile capabilities would serve as a sure deterrence against North Korean provocation.
Earlier Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea. Those launches came two days after the North said it fired a newly developed cruise missile, its first weapons test in six months.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-north-korea-pyongyang-1bf74218556e36697983cf6669ec9166
BumRushDaShow
(128,907 posts)North Korea Readies Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Test
Guy Snodgrass Contributor
Aerospace & Defense
Satellite imagery of a North Korean shipyard released on September 4, 2020 suggests preparations are ongoing for an upcoming test of a Pukguksong-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
The report, authored by defense experts Victor Cha and Joseph Bermudez and released by the Center for Strategic and International Studiess (CSIS) Beyond Parallel program, suggests these launch preparations might indicate the highly-speculated October surprise, which would be consistent with Beyond Parallel historical data that shows heightened provocations around U.S. presidential election years.
North Korea is widely believed to have advanced its ballistic missile and SLBM capabilities during the past year, and current defense sector speculation points to an expected test either during Foundation Day on September 9th or the Korean Workers Party Foundation Day on October 10th.
Beyond Parallel also highlighted the highly unusual presence of two ROMEO-class submarines anchored within the bay of the Mayang-do Submarine Base. Cha nd Bermudez note that, While a single ROMEO submarine is occasionally seen here, it is very unusual that two have been observed anchored in the bay... [P]reparations to observe a forthcoming SLBM test should not be ruled out at this time.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/guysnodgrass/2020/09/06/north-korea-readies-submarine-launched-ballistic-missile-test/?sh=2bcca5e64da3
2019
By HYUNG-JIN KIM September 10, 2019
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea launched two projectiles toward the sea on Tuesday, South Koreas military said, hours after the North offered to resume nuclear diplomacy with the United States but warned its dealings with Washington may end without new U.S. proposals. The launches and demand for new proposals were apparently aimed at pressuring the United States to make concessions when the North Korea-U.S. talks restart. North Korea is widely believed to want the United States to provide security guarantees and extensive relief from U.S.-led sanctions in return for limited denuclearization steps.
The North Korean projectiles fired from its South Phyongan province, which surrounds its capital city of Pyongyang, flew about 330 kilometers (205 miles) across the country and in the direction of the waters off its east coast, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Ministry. The military said South Korea will monitor possible additional launches. The JCS didnt immediately say whether the weapons were ballistic missiles or rocket artillery.
More detailed analysis is needed to determine the exact specifications, JCS spokesman Kim Joon-rak said. Tuesdays launches were the eighth round of launches since late July and the first since Aug. 24. The previous seven launches have revealed short-range missile and rocket artillery systems that experts say would potentially expand its capabilities to strike targets throughout South Korea, including U.S. military bases.
On Monday night, the Norths first vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, said North Korea is willing to resume nuclear diplomacy in late September but that Washington must come to the negotiating table with acceptable new proposals. She said if the proposals dont satisfy North Korea, dealings between the two countries may end.
https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-international-news-seoul-8f65ef636c4c4123a934580c90a216df
2018 (a pause)
Benjamin Haas in Seoul
@haasbenjamin
Wed 19 Sep 2018 12.57 EDT
First published on Tue 18 Sep 2018 23.28 EDT
North Korea will shut down key missile test facilities in the presence of international experts and is willing to close its only known nuclear complex if the United States makes reciprocal measures, South Korean president Moon Jae-in has announced in a joint press conference with Kim Jong-un.
The two leaders also agreed during a three-day summit in Pyongyang to connect two rail lines, on the east and west side of the peninsula, across one of the most militarised borders in the world. Kim also said he would visit Seoul in the near future, a move that would make him the first North Korean leader to visit the Souths capital.
North and South Korea agreed that the Korean Peninsula should turn into a land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats, Moon said. Any transport links would require the approval of the US-led United Nations Command, which oversees the border region.
There is not only going to be a smooth road ahead, there will be challenges and trials, but the more we overcome them the stronger we will become, Kim said. We are not afraid of future challenges. The agreement signed in Pyongyang will open a higher level for the improvement in relations between the two Koreas, Kim added, describing it as a leap forward toward peace.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/north-korea-shut-missile-test-summit-kim-jong-un-moon
2017
By James Griffiths, Zachary Cohen and Joshua Berlinger, CNN
Updated 6:14 AM EDT, Fri September 15, 2017
CNN In a major show of defiance to the international community, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido Friday. The launch is the second to fly over Japan in less than a month, and the first since North Koreas sixth nuclear test and new United Nations sanctions on the country.
North Korean state media has yet to reference the launch, but a commentary published in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper Friday said no matter how strong the pressure is, it doesnt work on us. Tokyo and Washington will be seeking to up that pressure at the United Nations Friday, with the two governments calling a snap meeting of the Security Council for Friday afternoon, ahead of the General Assembly next week.
Speaking after the launch, the first since North Koreas sixth nuclear test, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the launch was totally unacceptable and went against the international communitys strong, united will for a peaceful solution.
Fridays missile test follows the release of a statement Wednesday, in which the North Korean state news agency KCNA threatened the four islands of the (Japanese) archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche, referring to the ruling ideology of North Korea.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/asia/north-korea-missile-launch/index.html
2016
9 September 2016
North Korea says it has successfully carried out its fifth nuclear test, in continued defiance of UN resolutions. A 5.3 magnitude tremor had earlier been detected near its nuclear test site.
South Korea believes it is the North's biggest-ever test, raising fears it has made significant nuclear advances. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called it an act of "self-destruction" showing the "maniacal recklessness" of leader Kim Jong-un. The US warned of "serious consequences".
China's foreign ministry said Beijing was resolutely opposed to the test and urged North Korea to avoid further action that would worsen the situation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37314927
2015
By Jethro Mullen, CNN
Updated 9:42 PM EDT, Tue September 15, 2015
CNN In its latest bout of saber rattling, North Korea says it is ready to use nuclear weapons against the United States and other foes if they pursue their reckless hostile policy toward Kim Jong Uns regime.
In a statement carried by the Norths state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, an atomic energy official said Pyongyang is improving its nuclear weapons arsenal in quality and quantity.
If the U.S. and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy towards the DPRK and behave mischievously, the DPRK is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time, the director of the North Korean Atomic Energy Institute said, using an abbreviation of the countrys official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.
North Koreas main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, which includes a uranium enrichment plant and a plutonium production reactor, is operating normally, the official told the news agency.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/15/asia/north-korea-nuclear-program/index.html
heckles65
(549 posts)South Korea has twice the population of the North, ten times the GNP, a population very familiar with computers vs. one barely familiar with electricity.
padah513
(2,502 posts)rpannier
(24,329 posts)Bucheon within minutes. They have enough missile capability to take out Busan, Daegu, and Daejeon in less than 30 minutes.
It's a very complicated situation.
The massive amounts of artillery in the mountains just north of the DMZ is a major reason why sending our military across the DMZ has always been considered a bad idea
Add to that, their nuclear capabilities and their proximity to Japan, and they're a mush greater threat than many give them credit for
At some point, people are going to have to accept that the North will not give up their nuclear capabilities and that Russia and China will continue to fund North Korea regardless of sanctions