North Korea May Fire Missile Toward Hawaii

North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile, possibly in the direction of Hawaii, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday, citing an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry.

South Korean kindergartners play near displays of models of mock North Korea’s Scud-B missile, right, and other South Korean missiles at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 18, 2009. North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July, a Japanese news report said Thursday, as Russia and China urged the regime to return to international disarmament talks on its rogue nuclear program. Collapse

(Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

The conclusion was reached after analyzing North Korea’s recent activities and looking at intelligence gathered by U.S reconnaissance satellites, according to the The Yomiuri Shinbun, one of Japan’s major dailies.

Most analysts, however, doubt that a North Korean missile could reach Hawaii, roughly 4,500 miles from the Korean Peninsula and just out of reach of even an upgraded Taepodong-2, which has an estimated range of 4,038 miles, the paper reported.

The paper said the Japanese ministry is now studying the possibility of deploying Aegis-equipped destroyers with surface-to-air missiles, which could intercept a North Korean missile, sources told the paper.

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The Japanese government has already deployed PAC3 anti-missile sy

via Will North Korea Fire a Missile Toward Hawaii? – ABC News.

North Korea Warns of Nuclear War

North Korea’s communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions.

The North’s defiance presents a growing diplomatic headache for President Barack Obama as he prepares for talks Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North’s missile and nuclear programs.

[...]

A commentary Sunday in the North’s main state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, claimed the U.S. has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. Another commentary published Saturday in the state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. has been deploying a vast amount of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.

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Obama Must Consider Military Option on North Korea

By Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland
National Security Expert/Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense

North Korea snatched two American journalists and is holding them hostage under the window dressing of calling them ’spies.’  They’ve detonated two nuclear bombs. They’ve tested medium and long range ballistic missiles and they’re preparing another round of tests. They’re getting so close to joining the ranks of great nuclear nations that they can taste it.

Both Presidents Clinton and Bush tried diplomacy and failed. It’s now up to President Obama to try a different road.

The world is now at a crossroads and must make a decision within weeks – if not days. Will it stand by while North Korea becomes a nuclear weapons state? If so, others will quickly follow –- in northeast Asia, in the Middle East, perhaps even in South America. Think of it as a giant nuclear domino game — where one country going nuclear leads inevitably to its neighbor doing the same. Here’s how this would break down:

In Northeast Asia: In response to North Korea, Japan, and possibly South Korea, will believe they have no option but to become nuclear states themselves, which both could do in short order by converting their nuclear power programs into nuclear weapons programs.

In the Middle East: Iran will interpret the world’s inability to halt North Korea’s program as a green light for its own efforts. They will buy more missiles and nuclear technology from North Korea — reports are they already have people standing by in Pyongyang. A nuclear Iran will set off an arms race in the the most dangerous part of the world, as the Sunni states of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and perhaps even Turkey feel the need to offset Shiite Iran.

Is there anything we can do to stop the world from slowly slipping toward nuclear Armageddeon? Actually there is. It’s time to draw a line in the sand on nuclear proliferation and the place to start – immediately – is with North Korea.  There can be NO NoKo Nukes. But the U.S. can’t do it alone.

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NK Detonates Underground Nuclear Bomb

North Korea’s state media has confirmed the communist state has conducted a nuclear weapons test.

It is believed the blast was much stronger than Pyongyang’s first test in 2006.

South Korea says weather agency officials detected what they called an artificial earthquake in the communist North this morning.

The government in Seoul immediately accused North Korea of conducting a nuclear weapons test.

It has called an emergency security meeting of its cabinet in response to the announcement.

Two hours later the secretive communist regime confirmed via its state media that it had detonated a nuclear device, saying the underground test was successful and was part of the country’s nuclear deterrent policy.

In response, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency national security council meeting, while Japan’s government said it had set up a crisis task force.

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North Korea Threatens Retaliation

North Korea ordered its armed forces on standby and warned Monday it will retaliate against anyone seeking to block its planned satellite launch, which many fear will disguise a missile test.

The threat was the North’s latest attempt to escalate tensions on the divided peninsula and a strong sign that the communist nation intends to push ahead with the launch despite mounting international pressure to drop the plan. Analysts say Pyongyang is trying to grab President Barack Obama’s attention as his administration formulates its North Korea policy.

Monday’s warning came hours before United States and South Korea kicked off annual war games involving tens of thousands of troops, which the communist nation has condemned as preparations for an invasion.

The joint drills across South Korea began as concerns mounted that Pyongyang could be gearing up to test-fire a long-range missile capable of reaching U.S. territory. North Korea says it plans to launch a communications satellite, but neighboring governments believe it is a cover for a missile test.

Analysts have said a launch could come late this month or in early April when the North’s new legislature, chosen in Sunday’s election, is expected to convene its first meeting to confirm Kim Jong Il as leader.

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South Korea’s Navy On Alert After North Issues Warning Of Conflict

North Korea issued another warning on Sunday, threatening South Korea of a possible military conflict as the former try to restructure its foreign policies against South Korea amid mounting tension in the Korean Peninsula.

The reports on Sunday said the South Korean Defense Ministry officials have indicated that the country’s navy will remain on high alert along the western sea border.

The Communist country warned that it will abandon all the peace agreements with its southern neighbor, adding that he is confident that it’s army has grown to be “invincible”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) claimed that the South Korean government has been responsible for worsening ties between the two nations.

South Korean president had pledged to reduce tensions by resuming food aid after the talks between the two sides, which accepted truce after 1950-1953 conflict but have not agreed on a peace treaty.

But with Friday’s warning by the North, the political analysts fear that the tension may lead to inevitable military conflict and a war.

“The KPA (Korean People’s Army)… has grown to be the invincible revolutionary ranks all members of which devotedly defend the Party and the leader” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim Jong-Il as saying, without giving a date for the visit, according to AFP.

The state media has blamed the South Korea’s president for trying to avoid his personal responsibility for the two sides’ strained relations by reviving previous bilateral summit accords.

via Source