N.Korean Launch Pad 'Ready for Missile Test'

A satellite image taken on June 3 shows part of what analysts says is a new long-range missile base in North Korea.

North Korea has finished preparatory work at a missile launch pad in Tongchangri, North Pyongan Province, where a long-range missile has been transported, a South Korean government source said Monday. "But the launch is not imminent because no radar has been set up and no missile has been installed at the launch pad," the source added.

But the launch structure connecting electric power and fuel to the missile and allowing personnel to check the missile has been erected. That means North Korea is speeding up preparations to launch a long-range missile there.

Expert analysis of satellite photos shows the launch structure is about 50 m high, much higher than the 30 m it had previously been believed to be. A launch pad of this height is capable of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile measuring 40 m or longer.

The old launch pad at the Musudanri launch site in North Hamgyong Province is a mere 32m high. The whole Tongchangri launch site actually seems to be three times as large.

But experts are still divided on when and what kind of missile the North will fire, the source added. There is a likelihood that North Korea will conduct a third nuclear test in resistance to the UN Security Council's adoption last week of a resolution sanctioning it over the last one.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are watching for signs of another nuclear test, having spotted constant moves of personnel and vehicles in the Punggyeri area in Kilju-gun, North Hamgyong Province, where it conducted the first and second nuclear tests.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence services are watching two or three locations as possible candidate sites for another nuclear test. The likeliest candidate site is the eastern mine pit area of Mt. Mantap in Punggyeri, where the first nuclear test in October 2006 happened.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54796

North Korea Must Renounce Nuclear Weapons, Obama, Lee Say

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2009 – Given North Korea’s bellicose threats, it is unacceptable for the nation to possess nuclear weapons, President Barack Obama said today at the White House.

Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held a news conference following their meeting to discuss the issue. Obama called North Korea a “profound threat” to stability in Northeast Asia and security around the world.

“We agreed that under no circumstance are we going to allow North Korea to possess nuclear weapons,” President Lee said. “We also agreed to robustly implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874. Of course, all the parties will faithfully take part in implementing this resolution.”

North Korea’s record of proliferation makes them incredibly dangerous, Obama said. “They have not shown, in the past, any restraint in terms of exporting weapons to not only state actors but also non-state actors,” he said.

North Korea has abandoned commitments and violated international law, Obama said. North Korea leaders have said that all international agreements – including the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 – are null and void.

Obama praised South Korea for its steadiness and resolve, and the two leaders reiterated their commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

Lee and Obama discussed the way forward with regard to North Korea. The United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia are working to make it clear to North Korea “that it will not find security or respect through threats and illegal weapons,” Obama said.

North Korea has received near-universal condemnation since conducting a nuclear test in April. The nation also has tested intercontinental and intermediate-range missile technology.

“On Friday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that called for strong steps to block North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” Obama said. “Now we must pursue a sustained and robust effort to implement this resolution together with our international partners.”

There is another path for North Korea that could lead to full integration with the community of nations, Obama said. “That destination can only be reached through peaceful negotiations that achieve the full and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54801

Pentagon Spokesman Expresses Hope North Korea Won’t Test UN Resolution

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2009 – The United States and its international partners have the assets and authorities needed to carry out a UN Security Council resolution aimed at stopping North Korea’s proliferation activities, but the Pentagon press secretary expressed hope today North Korea won’t put them to the test.

“Hopefully it does not become necessary” to enforce provisions of UN Security Council 1874, Geoff Morrell told Pentagon reporters today. “Hopefully the north will be fully compliant with the Security Council resolution that bans their shipment of a number of goods, including arms.”

The Security Council passed the resolution unanimously June 12, condemning North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test and tightening sanctions aimed at blocking further nuclear, missile and proliferation activities. The resolution widened a ban on North Korea’s arms imports and exports and called on the international community to inspect cargo to or from North Korea suspected of violating its provisions.

“So we continue, as we have for some time, to monitor the North Korean shipments,” Morrell said today. “Should there be reasonable grounds to believe that one of those ships is carrying banned cargo, we have the authorities under the Security Council resolution to take action.”

Such action, should it be warranted, would begin with a request to the North Korean government – not the suspect ship – for a compliant boarding to inspect the ship, he explained. In the event that request is denied, the U.N. Security Council would be informed. The next step would be a request to the North Korean government, asking that it direct the ship into a convenient port to be boarded and inspected.

The resolution, particularly the fact that it passed unanimously, demonstrates the broad international commitment to working together to stop North Korea from proliferating weapons of mass destruction, he said.

“So this is not just about what we can or have been able to do or will be able to do,” Morrell said. “This is about a commitment, on the part of all of our allies, to deal with this problem collectively.”

By working together to prevent the North Koreans from proliferating weapons of mass destruction and other arms, the international community will eliminate a revenue source that sustains the North Korean regime and its ability to pursue its nuclear and ballistic program.

“This has been a main source of revenue for the North for quite some time, and we want to put a stop to it,” Morrell said.

Meanwhile, the resolution will help “prevent that kind of technology from being spread to other countries and other non-state actors where it could pose a threat to us and our allies,” he said.
Related Articles:
North Korea Must Renounce Nuclear Weapons, Obama, Lee Say

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North Korea may fire missile toward Hawaii
Associated Press ^ | 6/17/2009 | Shino Yuasa
Posted on June 17, 2009 10:45:37 PM PDT by America2012

TOKYO — North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday, amid escalating tensions between the communist country and the United States over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

The missile, believed to be a long-range Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers), would be launched from North Korea’s Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast, said the Yomiuri daily, Japan’s top-selling newspaper. The report cited an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry and intelligence gathered by U.S. reconnaissance satellites.

The Yomiuri said the Taepodong-2 could fly over Japan and toward Hawaii, but that it would not be able to hit the main islands of Hawaii, which lie about 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) from the Korean peninsula.

The missile launch could come between July 4 and 8, the paper said. It noted that North Korea had fired its first Taepodong-2 missile on July 4, 2006. Also, July 8 is the anniversary of the 1994 death of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.

NOTE: THIS IS THE NEW THREAD:

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N.Korean Missile Train on the Move
Chosun Ilbo ^ | Jun. 17, 2009 07:37 KST
Posted on June 17, 2009 5:28:08 AM PDT by maquiladora

A special North Korean train which transported a long-range rocket or intercontinental ballistic missile to a launch site in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province in May recently moved from a missile research center in Sanum-dong, Pyongyang to another launch site in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong Province, a South Korean government source said Tuesday.

South Korean and U.S. authorities believe the North may have transported a second intercontinental missile to the launch site. The North launched a long-range rocket from Musudan-ri on April 5, which had also been transported by special train.

Seoul and Washington are wondering whether the North will launch two long-range missiles from both launch sites at the same time or whether the train is just a smokescreen to confuse watchers.

North Korea has threatened to launch another missile in protest against UN sanctions over its nuclear test. It apparently has three to four intercontinental ballistic missiles, and may be keeping one or two more at the research center in Sanum-dong.

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