Posted on 07/31/2017 5:01:46 PM PDT by Mozilla
We all like to scoff at that crazy little dictator, Kim Jong Un, who is a walking caricature, putting himself on the cover of a magazine as the sexiest man alive and talking smack like a WWF champ. But, in all seriousness, is North Korea actually a threat?
Unfortunately, it looks like the answer to that question is yes…and they’re turning into a bigger one each year.
Despite the buffoonery of their Dear Leader, the threat of North Korea is growing rapidly, according to the US Intelligence community. When prepping for a nuclear strike becomes the officially recommended course of action, it is time to pay attention.
(What you do in the minutes after a detonation could save your life. Learn what to do in the event of a nuclear strike here.)
The US military Defense Intelligence Agency says that by sometime in 2018, North Korea could have an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with the ability to transport a nuclear warhead.
They’re basing this on a recent successful test of such an ICBM.
“This test, and its impact on our assessments, highlight the threat that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose to the United States, to our allies in the region, and to the whole world,” the DNI’s National Intelligence Manager for East Asia, Scott Bray, told CBS News on Tuesday, adding that the U.S. intelligence community was “closely monitoring the expanding threat from North Korea.” (source)
Right now, experts don’t believe that North Korea could transport a nuclear warhead to the US mainland, however, Alaska and Hawaii are at risk. Hawaii would be a particularly valuable target, as it is the home of the US Pacific Command.
This image shows the current reach of different missiles that we know they possess.
However, they’re making rapid progress, and experts believe that by sometime in 2018, they’ll have the capability of striking the West Coast, with its large population centers in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco.
UPDATE: Two days after the publication of this article, North Korea successfully tested a missile that could reach as far as LA, Denver, and Chicago. This has changed the situation drastically, as now, half of the US mainland is in the nuclear range of North Korea. Get the details here.
In the immortal words of my daughters in their pre-teen years, “Duh.”
Although I personally can’t understand why anyone would want to travel to North Korea, especially after what happened to that poor young man, Otto Warmbier, it appears that thousands of people vacation there every year. 95% of the visitors are from China and about 75% of the visitors are male. About 800 Americans per year make the trip.
Recently, the State Department issued a travel warning:
The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). U.S. citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement. This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens U.S. citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with “wartime law of the DPRK.” Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens in North Korea. This notice updates the number of U.S. citizens who have been detained in North Korea and replaces the Travel Warning dated February 7, 2017. (source)
Being part of an official tour won’t help Americans if they are found with anything in their possession that is critical of North Korea, and there is no consulate there to rescue you. Some of the things that are illegal in North Korea and punishable by labor camps or death are:
(source)
Personally, I’d rather go just about anywhere on the planet than North Korea, but that’s just me.
When prepping becomes official, it’s time to pay attention.
First, the US recently tested defense technology and successfully shot down a simulated, incoming intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) similar to the ones used by North Korea. The simulation took place over the Pacific Ocean in July:
The test was the first-ever of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against an incoming IRBM, which experts say is a faster and more difficult target to hit than shorter-range missiles.
The US Missile Defense Agency said the IRBM was designed to behave similarly to the kinds of missiles that could threaten the US.
“The successful demonstration of THAAD against an IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the country’s defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries,” the Missile Defense Agency said in a statement. (source)
Finding themselves particularly in the crosshairs of North Korea, Hawaii has been openly working to prepare citizens for the potential of an attack. They’ll be testing an attack warning system in November.
A “guidance summary” from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency says residents will be alerted of nuclear detonation through siren alarms and flashing white lights. An Emergency Alert System will broadcast over television and radio frequencies as well. (source)
The state has released official guidelines on surviving a potential nuclear attack. (This is useful information no matter where you live.)
Matthew LoPresti, a legislator in Hawaii has been a strong advocate of the preparations.
“People think everybody would perish, but that is not the case. It would be a mass casualty event, but most people would survive. If you don’t take steps, more people will lose their lives.” (source)
A dear friend of mine living in Hawaii recently attended a public meeting informing citizens about getting prepared for the potential of an attack. Citizens were told that an official response could take a while, and to plan to be completely on their own for up to a month. (Gosh, sounds familiar, right?) These meetings have been taking place all over the state as the local government urges residents to be prepared for a disaster, a shut-down of services, and a complete halt to any merchandise of food being shipped into the islands.
They aren’t the only ones preparing. Los Angeles California is also making preparations for the potential of an attack, even though the technology is not expected to be advanced enough to reach them right now.
Fleets of big black trucks, harbor boats and aircraft, equipped with radiation sensors and operated by specially trained law enforcement teams, are ready to swing into action in Los Angeles for a catastrophe that nobody even wants to think about: a North Korean nuclear attack…
“We monitor events all over the world and assess whether there is something that could impact us here,” said Capt. Leonard McCray, commander of the emergency operations bureau at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “North Korea is clearly one of them.”
As tension rises, the inevitable question is: How well prepared are Los Angeles and other U.S. cities for a nuclear strike? The answer is somewhat unexpected. After two decades of fighting terrorism, law enforcement agencies and the federal government today are better equipped and trained to handle the aftermath of a limited nuclear attack than they ever were during the Cold War. Yet generations of Americans have grown up without learning how to protect themselves in the aftermath of a detonation. (source)
There are several reasons that some squeaky wheels object to these wise preparations.
David Wright, a weapons expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says that civil defense preparations are sending the wrong message to Kim Jong Un. And Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons analyst with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., thinks that the Venture County Sheriff’s Department may be overreacting.
“He’s ruthless, but he’s not crazy. There’s reason to be cautious. But it’s not a reason to start digging bomb shelters.” (source)
Hawaii’s Tourism Authority is likewise unimpressed. Charlene Chan, their spokeswoman, said in a statement:
“Everyone’s safety in Hawaii is always our top priority. However, we also know from speaking to our tourism industry partners that if reports are misinterpreted about the state’s need to prepare for an attack, this could lead to travelers and groups staying away from Hawaii. The effect of such a downturn would ultimately be felt by residents who rely on tourism’s success for their livelihood.” (source)
According to Chan, they shouldn’t be worried because an attack by North Korea “is a very remote possibility at this time.”
I applaud the preparations being made. While the reason behind it is terrible, it’s always a positive sign when people realize that they can’t always depend on the government to save them.
This article explains what to do in the event of a nuclear strike. As stressed above, if you aren’t at Ground Zero, it’s entirely survivable and it isn’t going to turn into some nuclear winter in which your surviving neighbors decide which family to cook for dinner, ala The Road.
We can scoff at North Korea as much as we want, but the fact remains that their technology is advancing extremely rapidly. Their tests are becoming more successful. And this article doesn’t even touch on the potential of an EMP, which, if detonated over the middle of the US would have a potentially devastating effect for a long period of time.
While North Korea has to know that they’ll lose in the event of a war, the vibe I get from Kim Jong Un is that he would be delighted to cause as much damage as possible on his way out.
Think about the psychology of someone who knows he is going to die anyway. When they’ve got nothing left to lose, people become dangerous indeed.
The threat is real.
Article posted with permission from Daisy Luther
An ICBM attach by NK would be suicide on their part. Placing the missile or bomb aboard a container ship would be a more likely way to attack.
It’s a huge threat to Japan and South Korea. Even China and Taiwan and Russia. But as of now it’s not much of a threat to the US. It will be in a year or so though. We need to act before they are a threat to us, which is now.
Indeed.
The Left likes to approach these situations in two phases:
1) They are not a threat to us right now, so we should do nothing. Let sleeping dogs lie. You can’t just attack someone with no reason.
2) OMG! They have operational weapons! They are a threat! We must be cautious! We can’t do anything or else they will kill us all! Let’s give them what ever they want!
Let’s hope we can be smarter than that.
A container ship would have no where near the destructive yield as an elevated detonation. It’s why if ya want the most bang for your buck, detonate your nuke at several thousand feet over the target.
True, but it would make detection of the attacker much harder.
The left has a 3rd option. They can scream “Everything was fine until Trump came along... now look what he’s done!”
Well, in major ports like LA, they’re sweeping inbound cargo for radioactive material. Even shielded nuclear material can be detected.
The Kims just go BLAH BLAH BLAH so they can get Free Stuff and it’s been working pretty well
They keep launching these things, but... with what payload? Empty missile can go a lot farther than one encumbered with a heavy nuke.
Zero.
Just a bit farther on range and a good Gaydar guidance system....
THE key is to totally reject sanctions. Totally reject Chinese help. Totally employ nuclear preemption to a level there will be no recovery by the NORKS. It must be total and complete and the Chinese must be hit and hit hard if they blink wrong. We have this multi billion dollar military, we need to get it out of the garage and drive it around NOW!!!
That can give one an idea of the magnitude of the threat.
Offer an unlimited reward to any hacker(s) who can get into the Nork ICBM guidance system to have the missile take a Western route after ignition. That’ll assure Russian and Chinese involvement in stopping NoKo from launching.
Nuclear poker:Who will call the bluff? Are we willing to use Americans as chips? The fate of millions rests on two leaders and one of them is paranoid,insane and may be as fanatical as any lunatic in Iran.
Let’s not forget that it is California that their ICBM can reach. I say all conservatives get out of there and let the bombs fly! /S/????
Offer an unlimited reward to any hacker(s) who can get into the Nork ICBM guidance system to have the missile take a Western route after ignition. That’ll assure Russian and Chinese involvement in stopping NoKo from launching.
If the Norks try the “Scud in a bucket” trick — launching a missile from a container ship a few miles off our coast — our reaction time would be virtually nil. The bird would reach altitude before our radar could get a good fix on it. In fact, our first warning would probably be the brilliant flash.
The only prudent alternative is to be prepared to “stay calm and carry on” for up to a month, with no government assistance of any sort. That can be as simple as a few extra canned goods on grocery shopping day, keeping the gas tank full, setting up a rain barrel, keeping a few candles in the closet ... simple stuff that your grandparents did.
Government cannot help you when the ballon goes up. Learn how to take care of yourself.
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