(URGENT) N. Korea threatens preemptive nuclear strike against aggressors

N. Korea fielding mobile ICBM: U.S. intelligence chief

english.yonhapnews.co.kr...

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea seems to have taken "initial steps" to deploy mobile long-range missiles, the head of the U.S. intelligence community said Tuesday, as the unpredictable communist nation churns out military threats.

"Last April it displayed what appears to be a rogue mobile intercontinental ballistic missile," James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, said at a Senate hearing on national security challenges. "We believe North Korea has already taken initial steps towards fielding this system, although it remains untested."

He was apparently talking about North Korea's military parade in April last year, in which what seems to be a new long-range missile was made public.

Clapper, formerly an Air Force general, has long worked in the intelligence sector. In the 1980s, he worked as director of intelligence for U.S. Forces Korea.

He expressed concern about Pyongyang's recent bellicose statements. It has warned of a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" against South Korea and the U.S. and the nullification of the 1953 Armistice Agreement, which has served as a basic tool for shaky peace on the peninsula for decades.

"The rhetoric, while it is propaganda laced, is also an indicator of their attitude and perhaps their intent," Clapper said. "So for my part I am very concerned about what they might do and they are certainly, if they chose -- so chose could initiative a provocative action against the South."

In an annual report to Congress submitted earlier, Clapper said the North may attempt to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. if its leadership, led by Kim Jong-un, known to be in his late 20s, feels a threat to its survival.

"Although we assess with low confidence that the North would only attempt to use nuclear weapons against U.S. forces or allies to preserve the Kim regime, we do not know what would constitute, from the North's perspective, crossing that threshold," he said in the report on global security issues. "We do not know Pyongyang's nuclear doctrine or employment concepts."

The possibilities of North Korea launching a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile towards the U.S. or its allies have drawn keen attention in the U.S. capital in recent weeks.

North Korea apparently conducted a successful nuclear test last month in the wake of managing to launch space rocket in December.

"North Korea has already demonstrated capabilities that threaten the United States and the security environment in East Asia," Clapper said.

U.S. government officials state they are confident of defending their homeland against any ballistic missile attacks.

Just an update on current status by english.yonhapnews.co.kr...

(LEAD) N. Korea fielding mobile ICBM: U.S. intelligence chief (ATTN: UPDATES with comments by top U.S. military official) By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea seems to have taken "initial steps" to deploy mobile long-range missiles, the head of the U.S. intelligence community said Tuesday, as the unpredictable communist nation churns out military threats. "Last April it displayed what appears to be a rogue mobile intercontinental ballistic missile," James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, said at a Senate hearing on national security challenges. "We believe North Korea has already taken initial steps towards fielding this system, although it remains untested." He was apparently talking about North Korea's military parade in April last year, in which what seems to be a new long-range missile was made public. Clapper, formerly an Air Force general, has long worked in the intelligence sector. In the 1980s, he worked as director of intelligence for U.S. Forces Korea. He expressed concern about Pyongyang's recent bellicose statements. It has warned of a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" against South Korea and the U.S. and the nullification of the 1953 Armistice Agreement, which has served as a basic tool for shaky peace on the peninsula for decades. "The rhetoric, while it is propaganda laced, is also an indicator of their attitude and perhaps their intent," Clapper said. "So for my part I am very concerned about what they might do and they are certainly, if they chose -- so chose could initiative a provocative action against the South." In an annual report to Congress submitted earlier, Clapper said the North may attempt to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. if its leadership, led by Kim Jong-un, known to be in his late 20s, feels a threat to its survival. "Although we assess with low confidence that the North would only attempt to use nuclear weapons against U.S. forces or allies to preserve the Kim regime, we do not know what would constitute, from the North's perspective, crossing that threshold," he said in the report on global security issues. "We do not know Pyongyang's nuclear doctrine or employment concepts." The possibilities of North Korea launching a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile towards the U.S. or its allies have drawn keen attention in the U.S. capital in recent weeks. North Korea apparently conducted a successful nuclear test last month in the wake of managing to launch space rocket in December. U.S. government officials state they are confident of defending their homeland against any ballistic missile attacks. "What I can say is we are confident we could defeat a threat from North Korea today," Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said at a separate congressional hearing. "But given the potential progress we are seeing from them, we are considering right now whether we need to take additional steps." Asked about whether the U.S. has sufficient missile defense assets, he said yes if those are to counter a "limited attack." Under the Obama administration, the number of ground-based interceptors in the U.S. has been reduced from 44 to 30. "I am satisfied that we can defend against a limited attack from North Korea today with 30," he said. He stressed that his troops will be ready for any decision by President Barack Obama to deal with the North Korea crisis. "What I would say is that deterring North Korea from acting irrationally is our No. 1 priority," he said. "And today, my assessment of certainly Strategic Command's role in this is that we are capable of offering to the president a full range of options. Whatever he chooses to use in response to a North Korea act, I believe we can make available to him and I am confident in that today."

Originally posted by eriktheawful
Now, satellite pictures of the same missiles deployed where they would be launched from.....that's a different story. Unless of course you made fake ones that you know are going to be photographed by spy satellites,

That would be an extremely stupid thing to do.
Not that they are not known for doing stupid thing but….

It’s like a person using a fake gun to rob someplace. All you are doing is making it a lot more likely to get yourself shot by someone using a real gun.

All fake launchers will do is make it more likely that outside countries will take drastic military action to counteract such threats.

Without the fake military equipment, people will obviously see that you have just lost your mind, and will ignore you for the most part, or deal with your tantrums in more controlled ways.

Originally posted by Mr Tranny

Originally posted by eriktheawful
Now, satellite pictures of the same missiles deployed where they would be launched from.....that's a different story. Unless of course you made fake ones that you know are going to be photographed by spy satellites,

That would be an extremely stupid thing to do.
Not that they are not known for doing stupid thing but….

It’s like a person using a fake gun to rob someplace. All you are doing is making it a lot more likely to get yourself shot by someone using a real gun.

All fake launchers will do is make it more likely that outside countries will take drastic military action to counteract such threats.

Without the fake military equipment, people will obviously see that you have just lost your mind, and will ignore you for the most part, or deal with your tantrums in more controlled ways.

Actually it's more like trying to not give the position of your real missiles away, so that they won't be targeted in a first strike.

We're talking about intelligence gathering here based on things from last year. If you're trying to maintain the most up to date information on the position of various military assets (troops, heavy armor, missile/rocket launchers, etc) you watch were these things are being placed.

Setting up fake things like this (as far as the weapons go, troops are bit harder to do), while trying to keep your real weapons camouflaged is a classic thing to do, and has been used by military groups for centuries.

reply to post by eriktheawful


It’s a workable idea for the most part, but when the fakery causes you to get attacked in the first place, then it is self defeating.

It makes sense when the existence, and number of fake units does not affect the apparent balance of power. Where the enemy will spend ammo attacking fake units, which will allow real units to survive. But the addition of the units does not change the fact that you have that capability in mass, and it does not make you more likely to be attacked as a whole.

But when you have fake equipment that represents a force that you actually do not have. Or makes your almost non existent force look several fold bigger than what you actually have. Then you make it a lot more likely that you will get a full fledged attack. And since your forces are mostly fake, then you have nothing to back up your rhetoric.

It could make the difference between the attacking army carpet nuking your country, or just launching a traditional ground invasion.

All they are doing if they are constituting a fake ICBM force to try and intimidate the outside world, is committing collective suicide.

Originally posted by Mr Tranny
reply to post by eriktheawful

 

It’s a workable idea for the most part, but when the fakery causes you to get attacked in the first place, then it is self defeating.

It makes sense when the existence, and number of fake units does not affect the apparent balance of power. Where the enemy will spend ammo attacking fake units, which will allow real units to survive. But the addition of the units does not change the fact that you have that capability in mass, and it does not make you more likely to be attacked as a whole.

But when you have fake equipment that represents a force that you actually do not have. Or makes your almost non existent force look several fold bigger than what you actually have. Then you make it a lot more likely that you will get a full fledged attack. And since your forces are mostly fake, then you have nothing to back up your rhetoric.

It could make the difference between the attacking army carpet nuking your country, or just launching a traditional ground invasion.

All they are doing if they are constituting a fake ICBM force to try and intimidate the outside world, is committing collective suicide.

What you say is true, to a point.

Setting up fake missiles launch sites, outside of the DMZ well into NK country side wouldn't be enough of a provocation to be attacked. Even with all the threats NK has made, they have made these threats historically many times over in the past 60 years.

There are too many questions that do not have answers: are they real missiles? (NK has whole towns along the DMZ that are fake), If their real, what are their capabilites?

We're pretty confident that they do not have the capability to make a nuclear device small enough to place on a missile right now. But note that word: "Confident".

In science we call that "A working theory with evidence", but that doesn't make it a fact.

I personally don't think they do have it, but that doesn't mean they don't have something else that can be very nasty in that missile.

So fake or not, it's not enough to attack. Remember the last time the US attacked a country because it had "WMDs" ??? That didn't turn out so well.

Now if they move stuff like that into the DMZ itself.....that's another ball game.

N. Korea sharply increases flights of fighter jets By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's air force has sharply increased jet fighter training flights in the past few days, with the number of sorties reaching as many as 700 on the day South Korea and the United States launched a joint war game earlier this week, a military source in Seoul said Wednesday.

The North's move is seen as part of efforts to beef up combat readiness and to closely monitor joint drills in the South that began on Monday. The drill, called Key Resolve, involves about 10,000 Korean troops and 3,000 American personnel as well as military weapons and equipment, including F-22 stealth jets and B-52 bombers deployed from overseas U.S. bases.

"Flights of North Korean air force's fighter jets and helicopters reached about 700 sorties on March 11," the source said on the condition of anonymity. "It is seen as unprecedented in scale."

english.yonhapnews.co.kr...

N. Korea's military again threatens merciless retaliation for S. Korea, U.S.

The internet in NK is completely down - no .kp sites are currently working and haven't been for a while. Also, no tweets coming out from foreign journalists in NK.

Raymond Pritchett ‏@Galrahn
Last news articles on DRPK news sites before internet went offline were about the preparations and callups of several local party militias.

Raymond Pritchett ‏@Galrahn
The internet is completely down in North Korea right now. Not sure any country has been this completely offline in the 21st century

Something is brewing, me thinks

Or lil Kim forgot to pay the bills

reply to post by Curio
well that would be the first indication that some things a brewing, www.kcna.co.jp... no up dates sense the 10th and then there is the old wait then hit tactic nwww.koreaherald.com... from the link

History shows N. K.'s pattern: wait, then attack



Published : 2013-03-12 21:56
Updated : 2013-03-12 21:57

Recent Korean history reveals a sobering possibility: It may only be a matter of time before North Korea launches a sudden, deadly attack on the South. And perhaps more unsettling, Seoul has vowed that this time, it will respond with an even stronger blow.

Humiliated by past attacks, South Korea has promised _ as recently as Tuesday _ to hit back hard at the next assault from the North, opening up the prospect that a skirmish could turn into a wider war.

Lost in the headline-making North Korean bluster about nuclear strikes on Washington in response to U.N. sanctions is a single sentence in a North Korean army Supreme Command statement of March 5. It said North Korea ``will make a strike of justice at any target anytime as it pleases without limit.''

Those words have a chilling link to the recent past, when Pyongyang, angry over perceived slights, took its time before exacting revenge on rival South Korea. Vows of retaliation after naval clashes with South Korea in 1999 and 2009, for example, were followed by more bloodshed, including attacks blamed on North Korea that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

Those attacks three years ago ``are vivid reminders of the regime's capabilities and intentions,'' Bruce Klingner, a former U.S. intelligence official now at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, wrote in a recent think tank posting.

Almost a mirror image of the current tensions happened in 2009, when the U.N. approved sanctions over North Korean missile and nuclear tests, and Pyongyang responded with fury. In November of that year, Seoul claimed victory in a sea battle with the North, and Pyongyang vowed revenge.

In March 2010, the Cheonan, a 1,200-ton South Korean warship, exploded and sank in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. A South Korean-led international investigation found that North Korea torpedoed the ship, a claim Pyongyang denies.

The Cheonan sinking may have been retaliation for the naval defeat four months earlier, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea specialist at Seoul's Dongguk University.

In November 2010, North Korea sent a warning to South Korea to cancel a routine live-fire artillery drill planned on Yeonpyeong Island, which is only seven miles from North Korea and lies in Yellow Sea waters that North Korea claims as its own.

this is what they do best , the other is sucker punch, hit us when we least When we least expect it is this some thing to worry about?? No there have done this for the past month Rodgon Sinmun is there Official news site, is one that is off the on the web only when Un has some major pic to take are they on the web or have news form the past days news 24 to 36 hours after the fact, i would say with in the hour it will,be up. it not then there might be goings on.

just seen this on nwww.koreaherald.com...

N.K. says South Korea “not qualified” to discuss armistice



Published : 2013-03-13 13:49
Updated : 2013-03-13 13:55
North Korea on Wednesday dismissed South Korea’s claim that the armistice agreement remains valid, arguing that the South is not qualified to discuss the matter.

“The (South Korean) puppets that worked as a tool for America and drove the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war should not be shamelessly discussing the current problem,” the Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said. “Furthermore, the South Korean puppets are not even the directly involved party in the armistice.”

The newspaper added that truce agreements are not retained by words and can be made void by actions, saying that the United States and South Korea are responsible for the tensions in the peninsula.

Pyongyang warned last week that it will scrap the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, in protest of the annual South Korea-U.S. Key Resolve exercise. It also cut off the inter-Korean communication hotline that runs through the truce village of Panmunjom as of Monday.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that the truce remains valid, saying that the terms of the agreement cannot be unilaterally terminated.


By Yoon Min-sik
([email protected])

SK is not going to the aggressor on this one, it is going to be DPRK.

want to know what it is like there well besides the propaganda about preparing for war there are other things going on

www.dailynk.com... from the link

NK Ways to Raise Wartime Authenticity

By Choi Song Min
[2013-03-11 20:41 ]
Facebook Twitter
Sources from inside North Korea have been describing to Daily NK the various ways in which the authorities are generating a tense domestic atmosphere following UN Resolution 2094 and the start of ‘Key Resolve-Foal Eagle’ ROK-U.S. military exercises.

A source from the North Hamkyung Province city of Chongjin told Daily NK today, “Province, municipal and county administrations have been moved underground and civilian exercises are being held daily, so tensions are at a high right now. There are some people selling possessions to buy rice and other emergency foods.”

“By moving provincial radio, provincial news and telephone communications agencies underground, they have moved the authenticity of the wartime crisis up a notch,” she also added. “Even those guys who used to see it as more of the same old ‘war atmosphere propaganda’ have grown tenser.”

At the same time, however, people are still expressing annoyance at the war preparations. As the source said, “Everywhere I go there is propaganda about preparing for war. People would far rather have a war than live in these hard conditions.”

She went on to explain that military and civilian rallies and ongoing defense evacuation drills are hindering market activities, forcing up food prices and making it more difficult to secure supplies. The price of rice has risen by 500 won/kg since last week, she explained, adding, however, “People are just praying that they won’t close the markets down, even if a war were to break out.”

Meanwhile, another source from southerly Gangwon Province told Daily NK, “The authorities there are getting people to take part in a ‘grand army support project’, and collecting rice cake from the merchants in the market. These days food traders just leave their posts when they see Party cadres coming into the marketplace.”

As for fake missile launchers.. just one thing..

To understand why, you have to understand Eastern warfare. It's not like our gun-ho *shock and awe* approach..

Be not where your enemy strikes, move swiftly, strike hard, fade to shadow, use deception to gain advantage.. it's not western warfare.

I'm pretty sure NK is following Eastern methods here.. it's why many are confused and things don't make sense to a western trained war *specialist*. The East fight's hard, many times that whole "i don't want to die" mindset is long forgotten, replaced with feelings of Duty, honor and face. they will die for their rulers.. or risk loosing face, and sentenced to death anyway... it's better to die for a cause than as a traitor or be seen as weak (loose face).

They don't play pussyfoot around life like the west does, nor sing alla's praise in a show of glory before striking, they ... just... do.

If the net's severed, no com's in or out... then the plan is in motion, Un ISN'T his father.. Ill was a fruitcake, but he was a wise fruitcake who knew his place... Un is none of that, and his generals have his ear.. not the UN.. not precious America and Rod-Man. Folks that have had this thought out, planned and stockpiled for for decades are running this and Un was raised for this exact moment.

It's time to throw out all pre-concived ideas about NK and asses this as it stands with the intell at hand.

They do have enough to wipe a fair chunk of this earth should they see fit
They are heavily fortified, in such ways that mean a ground invasion is suicide, and a nuke just bruises the surface, possibly doing more harm to China and SK than NK iteself.. as it's all underground or bunkered into mountians.
This isn't a new thing.. weapons have been built for decades, they are NOT behind in tech we just don't know where they are.. but seriously *behind*.. look at what your calling behind.. Asians, backed by Countries that have spy's everywhere... if you were going to 3rd party some heavy duty (and highly illegal under UN law) weaponry... you'd build it in NK. The last intell was from 2004 (that ive seen).. it's been 10 yrs since that "known weaponry" was known about... you think they still have the same?

In short.. i believe much of NK is a farce, a facade to hide a true threat like never seen before, the plan goes way back to the creation of NK.. folks just joining this now might want to go take a look at why NK even exists.

So much more to all this than one crazy 20 something loudman... SO... MUCH .. MORE

their websites are still down (07.45h CET/MEZ / 15.45h KST)

Guaranteed 90% of Nk forces will defect when the west starts dropping Hershey bars and porn mags

Just stumbled accross this article...

North Korea's first public, senior-level mention of South Korea's first female president ended up being a sexist crack. The body that controls North Korea's military complained Wednesday about the "venomous swish" of her skirt.

From here
North Korea insults South's president amid rising tensions

Boy! he is not making any friends...thats for sure.

reply to post by Zerschmetterling
web site back up er on, must have been moving it to one of the under ground bunkers or just wanted to see what the west would do, same old same old the latest words from DPRK

Decisive Option



The war rehearsal of the U.S. and its south Korean puppets to invade the DPRK is a grave military provocation and an overt declaration of war against it.

They used our satellite launch for the peaceful purpose and self-defensive nuclear test as a pretext to justify their hostile act against the DPRK.

The resolution on sanctions that outrageously infringes on the independent rights of a dignified sovereign state compelled the DPRK to conduct the third underground nuclear test as part of the substantial countermeasures to defend the safety and sovereignty of the country.

But, far from learning a due lesson from the grave situation created by their provocative rash act, they are clinging to more vicious maneuvers. A salient proof of it is the "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises.

Worse still, the south Korean puppets obsessed with war provocation made preemptive attack on the DPRK an established fact and buckled down to putting it into practice, hand in glove with the U.S.

Our measure to discontinue the activity of the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People's Army is a decisive option to mercilessly smash the maneuvers of the hostile forces.

In fact, the Korean Armistice Agreement was reduced to a scrap of paper because of the U.S. and its south Korean puppets' war games to attack the DPRK.

We have no need to be bound to the agreement any longer and maintain the activity of the KPA Panmunjom Mission.

Through a telephone message the KPA Panmunjom Mission had already urged the U.S. and its south Korean puppets to stop the joint military exercises.

Nevertheless, they kicked off the "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises.

It proved that they do not want to give up their war scenario to attack the DPRK, but to rush along the road of nuclear war at any cost.

Now that the warmongers at home and abroad embarked on the practical stage to impair our sovereignty and dignity and realize their wild ambition to invade our republic, our option also got clear.

We value peace, but the sovereignty and dignity of the country are more precious.

We will further boost our nuclear deterrence both in quality and in quantity for lasting peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.

Our option is just.

No force on earth can match the people who rise for justice.

Sim Chol Yong

the above is from rodongsinmun kp eng intl

North Korea's leader oversees artillery fire near disputed islands

www.reuters.com...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a live artillery drill close to a disputed sea border with South Korea, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday, in the latest sign of increased tensions between the two Koreas.

KCNA did not specify when the drill took place. The border is seen as the most likely site of any clash between the North, which has stepped up military preparations in response to being sanctioned for its February nuclear test, and South Korea.

North Korea has threatened a nuclear war with the United States in response to new United Nations sanctions and to strike back at South Korea and the United States during military drills that the two allies are holding.

Kim praised the artillery units on two islands after watching them hit targets, in what KCNA described as the "biggest hotspots in the southwestern sector of the front", in practice for striking at two South Korean islands

yawn.

Update on artillery exercises today....oops already posted but a lil more specific....SOooorrrrryyy.

N. Korean leader guides artillery exercise against S. Korean islands SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided artillery exercises that targeted South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, the communist country's media reported Thursday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report monitored in Seoul said Kim oversaw live ammunition drills to test the capabilities of artillery batteries under real battle conditions. It said that exercises were aimed at the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong that lie just south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) that acts as the de facto sea border between the two Koreas. The North does not recognize the NLL and has tried to impose its own demarcation line that has been rejected by Seoul.

Kim's actions come as Pyongyang put its armed forces on high alert in response to the joint South Korea-U.S. Foal Eagle and Key Resolve military exercises that began in earnest on Monday. It also follows the isolationist country's moves to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula by unilaterally nullifying the Armistice Agreement that halted the Korean War (1950-53) and claiming all nonaggression pacts between the two countries were null and void. The North on several occasions has threatened to turn Seoul and Washington into a "sea of fire" and boasted it has significant nuclear weapons capability to deal with outside aggressors. The North's official news wire service, meanwhile, did not give the exact date of the exercise or the units involved, but it likely took place on Wednesday, and involved batteries capable of targeting Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong. It said the North Korean leader, who holds the rank of marshal in the Korean People's Army, was pleased with the level of accuracy of the artillery units. The KCNA said the goal of the exercise was to destroy the headquarters of South Korean Army and Marine Corps units on the two islands as well as other military installations. South Korea has a Harpoon anti-ship missile detachment, multiple rocket launcher systems and 155 millimeter howitzers on the islands, as well as tanks, anti-artillery radar and electronic intelligence gathering posts. The latest report comes as North Korean media gave high profile coverage to Kim visiting several front-line units along the country's southwestern coast that have seen numerous clashes with the South. There have been three naval clashes along the NLL since 1999 in addition to the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel by a North Korean submarine in March 2010 that left 46 sailors dead. The North also shelled Yeonpyeong Island in Nov. 2010, which resulted in four deaths.

Poopy pantts is trying to look like he's doing something......