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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Yemen Insurgents Launch Missile Toward Mecca – Saudi Arabia

In the midst of Yemen’s stalemate civil war, Shiite rebels in the country launched a ballistic missile in the direction of the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said on Friday. It was the rebel’s deepest attack yet into the kingdom.

Mecca is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the world’s Muslims pray toward five times a day. According to Rebel media in Yemen, the missile targeted an international airport in Jeddah. However, Saudi Arabia countered that the projectile was intercepted and destroyed 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mecca.

The missile attack drew the immediate rage of Saudi citizens. For them, the security of Mecca is a fundamental pillar of the Saudi royal family’s stature and the country’s national identity. Further, the missile strike shows the capability of Yemen’s Shiite rebels, or Houthis, and their allies to persist in attacking Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi military said the missile caused no damage. It was fired Thursday night from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province neighboring the kingdom. The Saudi military has a stock of U.S.-made surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The military said in a statement transmitted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately sent airstrikes that targeted the area where the missile was fired.

The Houthis are backed by forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have a supply of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants.

‘Direct hit’ on airport

A published bulletin was circulated by the Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah. It said its forces had launched a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without citing Mecca. That airport is located 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency stated that the missile “directly hit” the airport and produced substantial destruction. But there were no immediate diversions or delays involving the airport Friday.

Earlier this month, a Houthi ballistic missile targeted Taif. This is where Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base is located, which also is close to Mecca.

Yemen is on the southern periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014 when the Iranian-backed Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa. The then deposed the country’s internationally recognized government.

A Saudi-led alliance of Arab countries began a military campaign against the Houthi forces in March 2015. They claim that part of their mission is to counterbalance Iran’s influence after its nuclear agreement with world powers.

U.S. backs down amidst mounting civilian casualties

At the outset, the Saudi-led campaign had the intelligence and logistical backing of the U.S. However, escalating civilian fatalities from its airstrikes forced America to back off. Earlier this month some 140 people died and over 600 were wounded in a Saudi attack on a funeral in Sanaa.

The U.S. also launched Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites. The US’ response was executed following reports that its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait.

 

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Yemen Insurgents Launch Missile Toward Mecca – Saudi Arabia

In the midst of Yemen’s stalemate civil war, Shiite rebels in the country launched a ballistic missile in the direction of the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said on Friday. It was the rebel’s deepest attack yet into the kingdom.

Mecca is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the world’s Muslims pray toward five times a day. According to Rebel media in Yemen, the missile targeted an international airport in Jeddah. However, Saudi Arabia countered that the projectile was intercepted and destroyed 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mecca.

The missile attack drew the immediate rage of Saudi citizens. For them, the security of Mecca is a fundamental pillar of the Saudi royal family’s stature and the country’s national identity. Further, the missile strike shows the capability of Yemen’s Shiite rebels, or Houthis, and their allies to persist in attacking Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi military said the missile caused no damage. It was fired Thursday night from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province neighboring the kingdom. The Saudi military has a stock of U.S.-made surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The military said in a statement transmitted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately sent airstrikes that targeted the area where the missile was fired.

The Houthis are backed by forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have a supply of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants.

‘Direct hit’ on airport

A published bulletin was circulated by the Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah. It said its forces had launched a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without citing Mecca. That airport is located 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency stated that the missile “directly hit” the airport and produced substantial destruction. But there were no immediate diversions or delays involving the airport Friday.

Earlier this month, a Houthi ballistic missile targeted Taif. This is where Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base is located, which also is close to Mecca.

Yemen is on the southern periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014 when the Iranian-backed Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa. The then deposed the country’s internationally recognized government.

A Saudi-led alliance of Arab countries began a military campaign against the Houthi forces in March 2015. They claim that part of their mission is to counterbalance Iran’s influence after its nuclear agreement with world powers.

U.S. backs down amidst mounting civilian casualties

At the outset, the Saudi-led campaign had the intelligence and logistical backing of the U.S. However, escalating civilian fatalities from its airstrikes forced America to back off. Earlier this month some 140 people died and over 600 were wounded in a Saudi attack on a funeral in Sanaa.

The U.S. also launched Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites. The US’ response was executed following reports that its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait.

 

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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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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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Rebel-Held Yemen Fires Missiles On US Navy Ship

A failed missile attack from Iran-aligned Houthi rebel territory in Yemen targeted a US Navy guided missile destroyer, a US military spokesman said. Neither of the two missiles struck the ship.

It was the second such launch targeting ships after a United Arab Emirates vessel came under attack from Houthis a week earlier.

The botched missile attack on the USS Mason started about 7 pm local time, the US military said. That time, the ship spotted two incoming missiles in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast over a 60-minute time frame.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said there were no damage to the ship and injuries to the sailors as both missiles hit the water before reaching the ship.

The United States and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran for providing weapons to the Houthis. Tehran denies it equips them with weapons but sees the Houthis as the rightful authority in Yemen.

Missile alley

A US defense official said the first missile triggered counter measures from the USS mason but the ship did not return fire. He added that the incident happened just north of the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen’s southern coast, the same general area where last weeks attack on a UAE vessel took place.

Davis emphasized a duty to preserve freedom of navigation and safeguard US forces. However it was uncertain what actions the US military might take.

He said that the US will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that its ships and service members are safe.

The attack also came the same day that Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s powerful former president and key Houthi ally, summoned for an increase of attacks against Saudi Arabia.

A projected 10,000 people have died in Yemen’s war. The United Nations holds the Saudi-led coalition accountable for 60 percent of close to 3,800 civilian deaths since they began attacks in March.

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