North Korea To Launch Missile Within Few Days

North Korea has been preparing to launch another ballistic missile in the next three days. This was according to an unconfirmed report by Fox Business News.

Officials from South Korea said they are closely monitoring the activity of its neighbour, especially its military manoeuvres.

The Unification and Defense Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday, “I could say the government is fully prepared for possible various kinds of North Korean provocations and has been paying sharp attention to relevant movements.”

On October 20, North Korea tried to launch an intermediate-range Musudan missile, reports show the test failed after launch.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the intermediate-range Musudan missile has a lethal range of 1,500 to 2,500 miles. This is enough to threaten neighboring allied bases in South Korea, Japan, and Guam.

North Korea has been making “provocative” moves recently, firing ballistic missiles and developing nuclear warheads. Moreover, they have ignored U.N. sanctions to stop them from developing weapons of mass destruction.

On Tuesday, Ambassador Joseph Yun, a U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy had a bilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Ministry representative Kim Hong-Kyun. They discussed North Korea’s recent provocative moves.

The two officials also talked about a new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed to sanction North Korea and to improve the two countries mutual ties.

“We affirmed that hastily insisting on the need for dialogue is not helpful in solving the North Korean nuclear issue and that the most important thing was to proceed with further strengthening sanctions and pressure against North Korea,” the South Korea Minister said.

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US Pledges All-Out Defense to Counter Grave North Korean Threat

The United States and South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs posed a grave security threat after repeated tests this year. Consequently, the two countries agreed to intensify diplomatic and military efforts to counter that threat.

The countries said they had agreed to establish a high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group. The group’s purpose is to influence “the full breadth of national power” following talks in Washington between their foreign and defense ministers. This includes military coordination, information, diplomacy, and economic elements.

The United States would do whatever it has to protect itself, South Korea and other allies against North Korea, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry.

A joint statement by Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter reiterated that any attack by North Korea would be crushed. It also stated that any use of nuclear weapons would be met with an effective and overwhelming response.

Kerry and Carter also reaffirmed the solid and unwavering US commitment to bring in the full range of its military capabilities. Their primary goal is to provide extended deterrence to South Korea. These military capabilities include conventional strike, the US nuclear umbrella, and missile defense capabilities.

Questioned on what the US could do to stop North Korea from conducting more nuclear tests following those in January and September, Kerry told a news conference: “We will up and energize those three things that we have already been doing and put greater pressure, put greater diplomacy to work, and put greater deterrence to work so that in every case, we will underscore the futility of what Kim Jong-un and North Korea are pursuing.”

He said the military alternative was a last option and Washington was exerting effort to tighten sanctions. This includes trying to seal off a loophole in UN steps that permitted North Korea to export coal for commerce.

Kerry said the United States, as part of the military effort, would position the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea immediately.

China sharply resists deployment of the missile defense system, saying it would intrude on its own strategic deterrence.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed North Korea was close to the final stage of nuclear weaponization. Due to this imminent threat, the allies would marshal “all tools in the toolkit” to defend themselves.

“Extended deterrence” could include permanent positioning of US strategic assets in South Korea. These assets involve F-22 stealth fighter jets, nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, and nuclear-powered submarines.

Yun said he knew this would be deliberated on in talks between Carter and Han at the Pentagon on Thursday. He did not give further details.

Carter said earlier that Seoul and Washington would persist to modernize the alliance, appropriate new opportunities, and tackle developing threats. However, the Pentagon did not immediately respond when queried about the likelihood of such deployments.

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Japan to Speed Up Missile Defense Upgrades

JAPAN – Three government sources said that Japan may fast track about $1 billion of planned expenditure to improve its ballistic missile defenses. This decision is in the heels of missile tests indicating North Korea is close to deploying a more potent medium-range missile.

The disbursements include money to evaluate a new missile defense layer. This will either be Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ashore or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Aegis Ashore is a land-based variety of the ballistic missile defense system utilized by vessels in the Sea of Japan.

The sources familiar with the proposal said it covers funds to upgrade the range and accuracy of PAC-3 Patriot batteries. The sources requested no to be named since they are not allowed to speak with the media.

However, the same sources noted that the rollout of Aegis Ashore or THAAD could still take years. Further, the companies involved in production of Patriot missile batteries, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Raytheon, are unlikely to supply upgrades much quicker. Most probably, due to limited capacity to speed up already tight production schedules.

The Sankei newspaper reported earlier that up to 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion) of defense spending will be involved in a third auxiliary budget. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration has yet to acknowledge whether it will request legislators to endorse additional expenses before discussions begin on next year’s budget.

Pyongyang’s evident technological advancement on missiles has been sooner than expected. A senior Japanese military commander said earlier this month that this exposes Japan to a heightened threat.

North Korea fired a missile over Japan for the first time in 1998. Since then, Pyongyang and Tokyo have been wedged in an arms race.

Musudan ballistic missile renders SM-3 obsolete

North Korea has test-fired more than 21 ballistic missiles and managed two nuclear tests so far this year. On June 22, a medium-range Musudan missile achieved a height of 1,000 km (620 miles) on a lobbed arc. At this height, the missiles are beyond the range of SM-3 missiles deployed on Aegis destroyers at the Sea of Japan. The SM-3 missiles are designed to hit warheads at the edge of space.

That puts older PAC-3 Patriot missiles guarding major cities like Tokyo as a last line of defense. Their enhancement program will not provide the initial upgraded batteries until 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics.

Pyongyang’s Rodong missile has warheads that travel at speeds of up to 3 km (2 miles) per second. Meanwhile, payloads on rockets like the Musudan plummet from space at least twice as fast.

Japan plans to obtain a more formidable version of the SM-3 it is jointly developing with the United States. However, it is not known when the first will be deployed.

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Sightseeing in Ultralight Aircraft is Pyongyang’s Latest Fad

Up to a few months ago, a 150-meter (492-foot) tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square is your only option if you wanted a bird’s eye view of North Korea. These days, you can climb aboard an ultralight aircraft – if you have the cash.

Foreign tourism firms are looking to lure visitors with unique things to do besides visit war museums and political monuments. Due to this, a Pyongyang flying club began offering quick flights over some of the capital’s foremost sights.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supports the endeavor. Moreover, he promised to give North Koreans more contemporary and cultured ways to spend their free time.

The tours started late July and are operated by the Mirim flying club from a fancy new facility on an old airfield.

At least 4,000 North Koreans, along with hundreds of foreigners from 12 countries have gone up in the ultralight since, according to officials.

The flights go precisely over some of Pyongyang’s most iconic locations. These include the May Day stadium, Kim Il Sung Square area, the torch-tipped Juche Tower, and the Munsu Water Park.

Before the tour can get off the ground, considerations of sites best not exposed to flyovers were almost definitely a factor. Further, club officials inspect photos taken from the air after each flight.

Viewing the city from almost 6,500 feet while leisurely making your way through the skies offers quite a unique perspective. Tourists and most residents had never been able to achieve these feats before.

Expensive aerial tour

The flights aren’t cheap, though. A 25-minute flight from the airstrip to Kim Il Sung Square and the Juche Tower goes for about $150. Shorter flights, which only fly around the proximate area of the flight club are offered at more affordable prices. Prices start at around $65.

Club officials would not say how much but prices for North Koreans are much cheaper.

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According to Hacked Email, US to Ring China With Missile Defense

According to hacked email messages, US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the United States had cautioned Beijing it would surround China with missile defense unless it did more to rein in North Korea’s missile program. She said this in an exclusive speech to bank executives three years.

Clinton said in a speech to Godman Sachs on June 4, 2013 that the implication to China had been, “You either control them, or we’re going to have to defend against them.” This was taken from a supposed Clinton campaign document. The file was appended to an email published by Wikileaks.

The authenticity of the leaked email was impossible to confirm. Further, the Clinton campaign has neither confirmed nor denied the validity of hacked emails.

On Friday, the State Department refused to comment on “alleged leaked documents”. An official remarked that to comment publicly on diplomatic discussions was not department policy.

According to the hacked email, the Democratic presidential candidate said in a speech that Washington could not tolerate a situation in which North Korea developed an inter-continental ballistic missile that can carry a miniaturized warhead.

She said that this could compromise treaty allies South Korea and Japan. Moreover, this could reach Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States.

“We’re going to ring China with missile defense. We’re going to put more of our fleet in the area. So China, come on. You either control them, or we’re going to have to defend against them,” Clinton said, according to the email.

China says THAAD radar a security risk

Plans revealed this year by South Korea and United States to set up the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system has angered China. The anti-missile defense system is aimed to defend against the threat posed by North Korean missiles.

Beijing is worried that the system’s powerful radar would pose a risk to its security. The United States, however, has reasoned THAAD is not intended at restraining China.

In February, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States had made apparent that resolving the North Korean nuclear issue is the way to avert THAAD deployment.

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South Korea President to North Koreans: Come to ‘Bosom of Freedom’

South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye made an extraordinary call to the people of North Korea. She directly exhorted their northern neighbors to defect.

Her speech included the mention of the “gruesome realities” the North Koreans endured every day.

The president said, “We will keep the road open for you to find hope and live a new life. Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South.”

Her remarks follow the recent defection of a North Korean soldier who traversed the heavily secured Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to get to the South.

In the speech performed t commemorate the South’s armed forces day, she further added:”The universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and welfare are the precious rights you should also enjoy.”

Ms. Park also used the occasion to deliver a warning to Pyongyang concerning its nuclear and missile tests. She swore that South Korea would fight to defend itself.

It remains unclear whether the target audience would receive her invitation due to the tight control of the northern state over its media.

Heavily fortified strip of land

The DMZ has been in place since the cessation of the Korean war in 1953. It bisects the peninsula from east to west and its depth stretches 4km (2.5 miles). Barbed wire, landmines, gun positions, assorted cameras & sensors manned by thousands of troops from both sides, cover the zone.

This level of security at the DMZ makes for extremely rare defections across it. The incident such as Thursday’s was the first in more than a year.

The last one involved a teen-aged military trainee who approached South Korean sentries at the border.

The last one before that caused a major security revamp in 2012. A North Korean soldier bypassed all the electronic security measures without detection before presenting himself to his Southern counterparts.

Most of the almost 30,000 defectors since the 1950’s went through China. The South Korean government assists them in terms of integration. However, a number of them complain about discrimination and financial issues.

The persistent nuclear tests by the north despite international sanctions keep tensions high between the two Koreas.

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