N. Korea building missile launch pad capable of aiming at U.S.

[jimmy olsen]

I'll believe the missiles can reach the US only once we have a few successful tests. Nevertheless, get ready for the annual media barrage from N. Korea over the coming annual joint military exercise, hopefully it will be less crazy than last year.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/30/22506777-n-korea-building-missile-launch-pad-capable-of-aiming-at-us-report?lite

N. Korea building missile launch pad capable of aiming at U.S.: report

By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor

North Korea is improving one of its missile launch sites and may soon be able to fire rockets large enough to hit mainland United States, according to experts.

Recent satellite images appear to show that one of the country's launch stations has been modified to accommodate an intercontinental missile 25 percent larger than one it fired into space in Dec. 2012, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute (USKI) published Wednesday.

The report added that the launch pad, which could be ready as early as March, would allow for "a more robust rocket test program in the future involving larger space launch vehicles and road-mobile ballistic missiles able to attack targets in Northeast Asia and the United States."

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that North Korea had gone through with its threat to continue its nuclear weapons program, posing "a serious threat to the United States and to the security environment in East Asia."

The satellite images appeared to show that North Korea has also tested a rocket engine for a new road-mobile intercontinental missile called the KN-08, the report said. Rockets have been displayed at parades in the capital Pyongyang but analysts have speculated these were mock-ups.

Outwardly, however, North Korea is on something of a charm offensive, having hosted the press in New York, London and Beijing in the past week.

North Korea's ambassador to the U.K., Hyun Hak-bong, gave an interview to Sky News on Thursday in which he blamed the U.S. for its hostile policies. He said his country had "no option but to have the nuclear deterrent."

The North sent the South an open letter earlier this month in which it called for an end to hostilities. The letter warned that the tense stand-off between the two nations could lead to "an all-out...nuclear war" from which "no Korean can escape."

It comes ahead of the annual joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. Last year more than 10,000 American personnel participated. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un responded with a series of internationally-condemned missile tests and suggested he was about to launch a nuclear attack.

[Josquius]

I'm totally willing believe they have missiles that can hit the US.
Anything with more accuracy than hitting the right country however....no.

[Tamas]

hmm, food supplies running low again?

[LaCroix]

overall, NK is a defensive power, not aggressive

[Valmy]

overall, NK is a defensive power, not aggressive

I suppose in the sense of not actually attacking anybody.  In every other sense they are pretty aggressive.  Government sponsored counterfeit schemes, selling nuclear technology, participating in the drug trade, and kidnapping foreign nationals: those are pretty provocative and aggressive moves.

[Grey Fox]

Guam or a tip of Alaska(Attu Island) don't really count.

[derspiess]

overall, NK is a defensive power, not aggressive

Wonder why they keep building tunnels into the South, then.

[alfred russel]

To stay even in the arms race, perhaps we should build a missile launch pad capable of reaching North Korea.

[Ed Anger]

Guam or a tip of Alaska(Attu Island) don't really count.

Yes it does, you fuck.

[DontSayBanana]

To stay even in the arms race, perhaps we should build a missile launch pad capable of reaching North Korea.

We've got two: USS Antietam, and USS Shiloh.

[LaCroix]

Wonder why they keep building tunnels into the South, then.

showing aggression and demonstrating they are willing to fight a war does not mean the nation is an aggressive power*

*"aggressive power" as i originally meant = the aggressor in a full out war, that they do not commit acts of aggression

I suppose in the sense of not actually attacking anybody.  In every other sense they are pretty aggressive.  Government sponsored counterfeit schemes, selling nuclear technology, participating in the drug trade, and kidnapping foreign nationals: those are pretty provocative and aggressive moves.

many of those are ways for an already ostracized and economically unstable power to get a quick buck. see response to derspiess

[Valmy]

*"aggressive power" as i originally meant = the aggressor in a full out war, that they do not commit acts of aggression

Sure by that definition, besides that war they started that killed millions, they are choir boys.  They are masters of provocation and saber rattling, if they were masters of aggression they would not exist anymore.

[derspiess]

showing aggression and demonstrating they are willing to fight a war does not mean the nation is an aggressive power*

*"aggressive power" as i originally meant = the aggressor in a full out war, that they do not commit acts of aggression

I think the number and scale of the tunnels go a bit beyond that.  Each tunnel the North made has been large enough for an entire infantry division to pass through in one hour.  The KPA's posture, training & doctrine is at least as much offensive as defensive.

[LaCroix]

Sure by that definition, besides that war they started that killed millions, they are choir boys.  They are masters of provocation and saber rattling, if they were masters of aggression they would not exist anymore.

well, they're clearly not choir boys. my point is that anyone who worries about north korea launching a sudden invasion, or attack against japan/united states, doesn't understand north korea

I think the number and scale of the tunnels go a bit beyond that.  Each tunnel the North made has been large enough for an entire infantry division to pass through in one hour.  The KPA's posture, training & doctrine is at least as much offensive as defensive.

so, north korea preparing to win a war should war occur is proof they are likely to be the aggressor? i think most nations prepare to win wars

[Valmy]

well, they're clearly not choir boys. my point is that anyone who worries about north korea launching a sudden invasion, or attack against japan/united states, doesn't understand north korea

I don't think anybody expects them to.  They just expect them to cause trouble and proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

so, north korea preparing to win a war should war occur is proof they are likely to be the aggressor? i think most nations prepare to win wars

Wait is North Korea under the impression they can win a war?