Free Republic

The U.S. on Tuesday test-fired its THAAD anti-ballistic missile system from Alaska that successfully intercepted a target missile launched from an Air Force Cargo plane north of Hawaii. The drill was previously scheduled in June and comes a week after North Korea successfully test-launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of hitting Alaska. THAAD is used to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It does not target intercontinental ballistic missiles. The U.S. has a perfect record on launches, hitting 14 out of 14 targets. "I couldn't be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today,"...

Exertion of strong American leadership stands any chance of success in thwarting rogue regime's escalating ambitions. Must be backed up by credible threats of economic pressure on countries doing business with North Korea and use of military force President Trump vowed that North Korea’s possession of an ICBM capable of reaching the United States “won’t happen.” It just happened. The United States confirmed that North Korea successfully test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, said to be capable of reaching as far as Alaska. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un said the missile was “a gift” to “American...

Nikki Haley warns China on trade with North Korea if it wants U.S. trade UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley warned China on Wednesday that it risks its massive trade with the United States if its business with North Korea violates U.N. sanctions. In a hard-hitting speech at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council following Pyongyang's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, she said that "the world has become a more dangerous place" and China has a key role in promoting peace and "preventing a catastrophe."

The New York Times issued a correction related to North Korea’s successful ICBM test on Tuesday in yet another series of embarrassing blunders. The Washington Free Beacon spotted the correction, which revolved around the New York Times citing a parody North Korea Twitter account: “Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article attributed incorrectly a Twitter statement to the North Korean government. The North Korean government did not belittle a joint American-South Korean military exercise as ‘demonstrating near total ignorance of ballistic science,’ that statement was from the DPRK News Service, a parody Twitter account.”

Ralph Peters: 'Messy, Bloody' Military Action Probably Required in North Korea Retired Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters said that dealing with North Korea's expanding nuclear missile program will probably require "messy, bloody" military action by the United States. Peters called the idea a "grand delusion" that China would choose the good will of the U.S. over what it sees as a very valuable alliance with North Korea. "We will never see Beijing remove that regime or even bully it to the point where it threatens to destabilize the regime. Period," the retired officer said. North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile...

The Pentagon said Wednesday that the ICBM fired by North Korea was a first-of-its-kind missile that the U.S. had not seen before and represented a dangerous escalation of the threat posed by the regime of Kim Jong Un. "This act demonstrates that North Korea poses a threat to the United States and our allies, and we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of our capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

United Nations Security Council Meeting on North Korea The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss the latest developments in North Korea and efforts to prevent the government there from further development of its nuclear program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un taunted the US on Wednesday after carrying out an intercontinental ballistic missile test, saying it was a "gift" to "American bastards" on their independence day. The test of an ICBM on Tuesday was confirmed by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said it marked "a new escalation of the threat to the world". It marks a milestone for North Korea's missile programme and heightens concern in Washington about Pyongyang's declared pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach the United States. The US "attempts to test our determination and ignores our warnings", the state-run...

President Donald Trump called an emergency meeting on the Fourth of July to formulate a 'measured response' to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test, amid fears it could reach as far as Alaska. North Korea declared Tuesday that it had finally achieved its dream of building an intercontinental ballistic missile, saying it would 'fundamentally put an end to the US nuclear war threat and blackmail'. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later confirmed the latest missile test was with an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. The closed-door meeting of the 15-member council likely would be held Wednesday, according to reports. Haley sarcastically thanked North Korea in a tweet on Tuesday for filling up her Fourth of July with meetings. Spending my 4th in meetings all day. #ThanksNorthKorea— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) July 4, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday confirmed and condemned North Korea's test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and called for "global action" to cut off the rogue regime. The United States will take the issue to the U.N. Security Council and press for stronger sanctions to hold North Korea accountable, Tillerson said in a written statement.

headline only for now.

A U.S. defense official said Tuesday that-- if left unchecked-- it is "inevitable" that North Korea will develop a nuclear device that has intercontinental capabilities. Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said at a Senate hearing that North Korea is working to produce a device that can be transported on a ballistic missile. "If left on its current trajectory, the regime will ultimately succeed in fielding a nuclear-armed missile capable of threatening the United States homeland," Stewart said. Stewart’s remarks are the latest indication of the U.S.’ increased worries about North Korea’s missile and nuclear...

Iran is continuing to work on ballistic missiles that would be capable of carrying nuclear weapons over thousands of miles, according to US Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats. Coats described the growing threat of Iran's missile program in a written testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday. 'Iran's ballistic missiles are inherently capable of delivering WMD [weapons of mass destruction], and Tehran already has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East,' he wrote. 'We judge that Tehran would choose ballistic missiles as its preferred method of delivering nuclear weapons, if it builds them.'...

/begin my translation [Breaking] N. Korea Reveals for the First Time What Appears to be a ‘New ICBM’ during their Parade on the ‘Day of Sun.’ 2017.04.15 N. Korea revealed what appears to be a ‘new ICBM’ for the first time during their Military Parade Commemorating the 105th Birthday of President Kim Il-sung (the Day of Sun) on Apr. 15. Military sources said, “It appears to be a new ICBM, and has a longer frame than KN-08 or KN-14.” /end my translation

N. Korea conducted another rocket engine test last week: report SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea carried out another ballistic missile engine test last week, a foreign news report said Tuesday. The North's move, the second in less than a week, took place Friday, the U.S. cable news channel CNN said, quoting two unnamed U.S. defense officials. The North's state media announced on March 19 that it succeeded in a high-thrust rocket engine test.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un hails engine test as 'new birth' for rocket industry: KCNA Rocket engines are easily re-purposed for use in missiles. Outside observers say that the nuclear-armed Pyongyang's space programme is a fig leaf for weapons tests. "The development and completion of a new-type high-thrust engine would help consolidate the scientific and technological foundation to match the world-level satellite delivery capability in the field of outer space development," KCNA reported. "The leader (Kim) noted that the success made in the current test marked a great event of historic significance as it declared a new birth of the...

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity. In a Reuters interview, Trump also complained about Russian deployment of a cruise missile in violation of an arms control treaty and said he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when and if they meet. On another front, Trump said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to," ratcheting up pressure...

Russia’s deadliest new nuclear weapon currently under development, the new super-heavy thermonuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) RS-28 Sarmat may be in trouble, the Russian Nuclear Forces Project (RNFP) reports. One sign: repeated delays in the missile’s first ejection test, which tests the mechanism of a missile leaving its launch container, according to a January 19 blog post on the RNFP website.“The first sign was the delay with be first ejection tests–they were moved from 2015 to the end of 2016 and now to 2017 (for all we know, this may be the end of 2017). The delay was sort of...

Is the Kalma Ballistic Missile Test Site Ready for an ICBM Launch? By Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. 23 January 2017 North Korea has recently threatened to conduct its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Last week, media reports even cited “unnamed” South Korean officials stating a test of a previously unknown 2-stage ICBM “may be imminent.”[1] While the North’s ability to produce a 2-stage ICBM is questionable and validity of these reports remains to be verified, they have heightened concerns as to when Pyongyang may decide test launch an ICBM. One of the possible locations for an ICBM...