South Korea warns it may shoot stray rockets from North

South Korea warns it may shoot stray rockets from North

www.bbc.co.uk

South Korea has warned that it might shoot down any North Korean rocket that strays into its territory, ahead of the North's planned launch next month.

Pyongyang says the rocket launch is part of a peaceful space programme, but the US and its allies say it is a cover for a long-range missile test.

It said the launch will follow a new southern trajectory instead of a route it has used to the east over Japan.

The US says North Korea could face more sanctions if it goes ahead with plans.

North Korea said that the new flight path of the rocket launch - scheduled for between 12 and 16

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This could be bad or at least Interesting.........The two Korea's are at each others throats at the best of times. I f the South Shoot down the North's Rocket then I expect serious problems to occur Immediately.

There never seems to be a dull moment on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan says it will shoot down the rocket if it looks like over shooting their airspace.

Personally I think the North will not shoot this rocket at all, it is just another
attention seeking ploy to get them more seriously on the world stage in their efforts to secure food for their starving populace.

You would think it would be easier to just play nice......

www.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I think the solution to this crisis is very simple indeed. If thier is an airspace incursion, by this rocket into either South Korean territory or Japanese , then it must be shot down. If it remains in a non threatening position however, it ought to be left to do its work, so that no anger can be expressed legitimately on the part of those god awful nutters in high office in the North.

If this is a "space exploration" rocket is it manned or unmanned?
2nd

reply to post by rigel4


I see this as a bit of a non-story really. The North are not aiming the Rockets at the South. But the South has announced that, should one stray into their airspace, they will shoot it down... which they have every right to do.

the north will fire the rocket, nobody will shoot it down. 100 threads gone to waste (can I have that 10 mins of my life back n all that).

If launched, the rocket will "malfunction"
Unless China has changed it's position regarding their stated unhappiness about this, it is unlikely that NK will go through with this launch.
China does not want to give the West any legitimate reason to ramp up their involvement so close to home.

The U.S. simply has to avoid being blackmailed yet again by NK. This would send a clear message to China and they will either; a) behind closed doors inform NK to not do it or b) tell the U.S. that they will stop NK from doing it...for a price of course. or c) have a back room agreement with the U.S. that the U.S. can "malfunction" the rocket and will limit the Chinese response to a public finger wag to keep up appearances if the "malfunction" is discovered to have been "helped" by the West.

bottom line......nobody wants NK to advance their nuke program, nobody. But it has to play out, like almost everything else, under the rules of global politics.

Here's my inception reply. It's a post within a post within a post:

I posted this in another thread where people were freaking out that the missile would go over Japan like last time:

"Everyone calm down. Do a bit of research and you'll find that the USA, Russia, China, Europe and everyone else for that matter launch their satellites in an easterly direction. Why? Because the Earth rotates counter-clockwise and launching to the east is easier and far more efficient.

NK has given the world plenty of notice of their impending launch, and given that Japan is directly to the East, it is really no surprise that their rocket will pass over Japan. Japan's diligence is fine, of course they should be on guard, but this is not necessarily a belligerent act on North Korea's part. So relax on the propaganda, there is no need to get your blood boiling over this.

Besides, NK's social/political track record is far more damning than their space program. They may have no respect for human life, and that is certainly something to be upset about, but they do have to respect the laws of physics. It's just a rocket launch."

This is no different. The only time countries launch to the South rather than the East is when they wish to put satellites in polar orbits. The USA, Russia, China and Europe do this ALL THE TIME. What is South of Korea? Australia. I'll say it again, calm down. There is no need to talk about eliminating an entire nation over this. It's not just a weapons program, it's a space program. How many foreign objects are over NK right now? How many are over your countries?

reply to post by Orwells Ghost


This is not just a normal rocket "test".........this is the first "long range" test....we don't want them to successfully achieve this for obvious reasons......it is unlikely that this will result in any significant change in geo-politics, but it is a major step in the wrong direction. I still say 60/40 chance that this test "fails".... with help.