Free Republic

SEOUL — As South Korea marks the 33rd anniversary of a citizen's uprising, there are questions about whether North Korea secretly attempted to stir social turmoil at the time. A former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, retired Army General John Wickham, Jr., says it is “plausible” North Korea may have tried to take advantage of unrest in the South during the 1980 uprising, but that he never saw evidence of that. Wickham, who subsequently served as U.S. Army chief of staff, recalls that he and then-U.S. Ambassador William Gleysteen had “limited intelligence on sources of unrest and activity” in Gwangju,...

North Koreans holding Chinese boat for ransom By William Wan, Published: May 20 BEIJING — Armed North Koreans are holding a Chinese fishing boat and its crew for ransom despite the protests of Chinese officials, the boat’s owner said Monday. The boat’s seizure — which occurred early this month but was revealed by Chinese officials only Sunday night — is the latest dust-up between North Korea and China, which Pyongyang has long relied on to prop up its economy and defend it from international censure efforts by the United States and others.

A group of North Koreans claim to have hijacked a Chinese fishing boat, are holding hostages, and demand some 600,000 yuan in ransoms. The initial hijacking took place on May 6, but authorities are struggling to pin down exactly what happened. They are investigating the boat owner's claims that his ship and its crew were taken, but officials have been silent. North Korea isn't just fun-runs and basketball stars; there is a serious concern that the hijackers were in the nation's military, and may be harming their prisoners, as South China Morning Post reports: Yu [the boat owner] was not...

A group of North Koreans claim to have hijacked a Chinese fishing boat, are holding hostages, and demand some 600,000 yuan in ransoms. The initial hijacking took place on May 6, but authorities are struggling to pin down exactly what happened. They are investigating the boat owner's claims that his ship and its crew were taken, but officials have been silent. North Korea isn't just fun-runs and basketball stars; there is a serious concern that the hijackers were in the nation's military, and may be harming their prisoners, as South China Morning Post reports: Yu [the boat owner] was not...

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday launched three short range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast, South Korea's Ministry of Defense said. The ministry said it detected two launches in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon. It said the missiles were fired in a northeasterly direction away from South Korean waters. "A more detailed analysis will be needed but the missiles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or the KN-02 surface-to-surface missile derived from the Soviet era SS-21 that has a range of about 120 kilometers," a Seoul official...

(Reuters) - North Korea fired three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's Defense Ministry said, but the purpose of the launches was unknown. Launches by the North of short-term missiles are not uncommon, but the ministry would not speculate whether these latest launches were part of a test or training exercise. "North Korea fired short-range guided missiles twice in the morning and once in the afternoon off its east coast," an official at the South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman's office said by telephone.

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- China's latest move of cutting ties with a key North Korean bank is a "very interesting and hopeful sign" that Beijing may be taking a tougher stance on the communist country, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea policy said Monday. Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, made the remarks at a Seoul airport upon his arrival ahead of talks on Tuesday with South Korean officials to discuss ways to deal with North Korea following last week's summit talks between their leaders. In a move seen by analysts as indicating that...

North Korea has replaced it hardline defense chief with a little-known army general. ... It's not known when Jang replaced Kim Kyok Sik. Kim is the former commander of battalions believed responsible for deadly attacks on South Korea in 2010. State media previously identified Jang as head of the army's First Corps who pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un and threatened South Korea in a speech last December.

North Korea missiles moved away from launch site: U.S. officials By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON | Mon May 6, 2013 6:53pm EDT (Reuters) - North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea last month that it would be a "huge mistake" to launch the medium-range missiles, but the prospects of a test had put Seoul, Washington and Toyko on edge.

North Korea will "pay" for any attack on South Korea, says president Park Geun-hye North Korea will "pay" if it launches even a small-scale attack on South Korea, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in an interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan Monday. Park, the recently elected South Korean president, is in the United States this week for a summit meeting with President Obama, during which she'll lay out her plan for addressing the confrontational North Korean government.

US objects to Japan’s plans for Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing Posted on May 2, 2013 by John Hofilena inPoliticswith1 Comment The Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant located in Japan’s northern Aomori Prefecture is capable of putting out nine tons of weapons-grade plutonium in a year, and this is exactly why the United States is opposing Japan’s plan to reprocess its nuclear fuel. The annual output of the facility, once at full capacity, is enough to build as many as 2,000 nuclear weapons, a fact not lost on Washington, as Tokyo insists that the program is non-military in nature. The Japanese government has...

Seoul monitors possible N.K. military realignment in Kaesong By Kim Eun-jung SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense ministry said Monday it is closely watching North Korea's moves near a suspended joint industrial zone amid rising concern the North many increase its military presence in the border area. Angered by joint South Korea-U.S. military drills, Pyongyang earlier this month pulled its workers out of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and banned South Koreans from crossing the border to bring food and supplies. After Pyongyang rejected Seoul's offer of talks to resolve the weeks-long stalemate, the South Korean government on Friday...

Chinese troops continue mobilization along N. Korean border BY: Bill Gertz April 24, 2013 5:00 am China’s military is continuing to mobilize military forces along the North Korean border despite official denials as Pyongyang appears set for a missile test launch this week, according to U.S. officials. U.S. intelligence agencies continued to collect reports of Chinese military movements in border provinces that have been underway since last month.

China: North Korea Could Carry Out Fourth Nuclear Test William Ide April 22, 2013 BEIJING — A top military official in China says it is possible North Korea could carry out a fourth nuclear test.

Our nation has been righfully griped by the events in Boston over the past week. Just before that, the world seemed on the brink of global nuclear conflagration. Just why did that switch got turned off and all of a sudden what seemed like an imminent worldwide crisis has fizzled into nothing. Little Kim was upstaged, or was he?

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday denied that it has any links to the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded dozens earlier this week, saying it opposes all forms of terrorism. On Wednesday, the conservative U.S. news Website WND reported that North Korea may be behind the bombing, citing the communist country's recent threats to attack the U.S. and its "history of committing terrorist attacks without taking credit for them." The report also noted that the April 15 bombing coincided with the 101st birth anniversary of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il-sung, the grandfather...

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has recently moved two additional missile launchers believed to be for Scud missiles to its east coast, a military source familiar with the matter said Sunday, in yet another sign of preparations for a missile launch at a volatile time on the Korean Peninsula. According to intelligence authorities, the North in early April moved two mid-range Musudan missiles to Wonsan, and placed seven mobile missile transporter-erector-launchers (TEL) in Wonsan and South Hamgyeong Province at its eastern coast. Coupled with warning diplomats in Pyongyang to leave in case of war, the missiles fueled speculation...

One of North Korea' missiles gone missing... seeking attention? /begin my excerpts 2013.04.20 13:41 While N. Korea continues to threaten missile launches, one of two Musudan missiles escaped from our surveillance. JTBC reports on Apr. 19 that this may be a ploy to raise tension and regain attention. N. Korea's missile units are on the move again. One of two Musudan missiles which were seen in Dong-han Bay at East Sea has gone missing. /begin my excerpts

China is moving tanks and armored vehicles closer to the North Korean border in response to increasing military threats from Pyongyang. People’s Liberation Army troop and tank movements were reported in Daqing, Heilongjiang, and in Shenyang and Dandong, Liaoning. They include the 190th Mechanized Infantry Brigade based in Benxi, Liaoning. Large numbers of fighter jets were also reported above Fucheng, Hebei and Zhangwu and Changchun, Liaoning. The Washington Times reports that one of China’s Russian-made Su-27 jets crashed on March 31 in Rongcheng, Shandong – across the Yellow Sea from Korea.

President Obama shared his thoughts on North Korea in an interview that aired this morning on NBC: (video)

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, April 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military on Tuesday issued an "ultimatum" saying it would launch retaliation against South Korea without warning if "anti-North Korean" activities continue in the South. "The supreme command of the Korean People's Army Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the South Korean puppet group," Pyongyang's official news agency, KCNA, said in an English-version article.

U.S. Treasury tracking N. Korea's overseas slush funds U.S. Treasury Department's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen says his department is tracking slush funds used by the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his family. In an interview with Voice of America released on Sunday, Cohen said Washington plans to introduce measures to ensure the slush funds can not be used. Media reports have been rife with suggestions Kim Jong-il left more than 3 billion U.S. dollars in Swiss bank accounts for his son and current successor, Kim Jong-un. When asked if North Korea continues to...

Exclusive: How North Korea Tipped Its Hand by Eli Lake Apr 15, 2013 4:45 AM EDT The U.S. recovered the front section of the rocket used in North Korea’s satellite launch in December, which gave away the status of the regime's nuclear arms program. When North Korean engineers launched a satellite into space on December 12, it seemed like business as usual, with the familiar cycle of condemnations from the west and statements of defiance from the Hermit Kingdom. But that launch also led many U.S. intelligence analysts to assess that Pyongyang possessed the ability to miniaturize the components necessary...

S Korea "regrets" North rejection of dialogue South Korea voiced regret at North Korea's dismissal of its offer for dialogue, as the South's armed forces remained on heightened alert for an expected missile test by Pyongyang. Both President Park Geun-Hye and her Unification Ministry have, in recent days, made tentative proposals for talks in an apparent bid to reduce soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula. The North's immediate response was negative, calling the offers "empty" and a "crafty trick" to cover up Seoul's aggressive and confrontational policies. "It is very regrettable that the North dismissed our offer for dialogue,...

Since April 15th (Later on today United States Time) is Kim il Sung 101st birthday, we think today would be the day for the DPRK to launch if they intend to. New Secretary of State Kerry is in the region trying to come up with his first victory since taking office. But the DPRK is not backing down. NORTH KOREA UNBENDING Pyongyang, which was preparing to celebrate the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung on Monday, reiterated it had no intention of abandoning its atomic arms programs. "We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the...

TOKYO — The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find "ready partners" in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program...

North Korea rejects South Korea calls for talks

BEIJING — Secretary of State John F. Kerry lobbied China on Saturday to lean harder on its Marxist ally North Korea, suggesting that Washington might reverse certain military moves in the region if the North gives up its nuclear weapons ambitions. Kerry argued that the North’s escalating belligerence threatens the entire Pacific region, including China’s interests. He won a modest restatement of the shared goal of a ­non-nuclear Korean Peninsula and a public call from China’s foreign policy chief, Yang Jiechi, for a way out of the tension “peacefully, through dialogue.” That was a clear warning to North Korea that...

Question! I'm trying to learn more and keep up with the movements, etc in North Korea. Where on the internet are there some good, reliable websites that Freepers go to for news about the rogue state? For instance there was a Freeper a few days ago who had posted about how you can go online and watch North Korea's "objects" in orbit. Anyhow just curious! Would be great to pool some news resources!

Inside North Korea: No Ads, No Planes, No Internet, No Mobiles, No 21st Century... A rare dispatch from deep within the lunatic rogue state enslaved by Zombie and Sons By JOHN SWEENEY IN PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA 13 April 2013 Down, down inside the Pyongyang Metro stands a statue of the Eternal Ruler of North Korea, Generalissimo Kim Il Sung – dead these past 19 years but still calling the shots. Brainwashing cast in bronze. The regime’s florid propaganda blares from loudspeakers: ‘The pure white snows of our sacred mountains’ artillery will wipe the filthy enemy from existence.’ Or something like...

April 13, 2013 North Korean Leader, Young and Defiant, Strains Ties With Chinese By JANE PERLEZ BEIJING — The last known face-to-face contact between Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and senior Chinese officials did not end well. A member of China’s Politburo, Li Jianguo, led a small delegation to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, in November. He carried a letter from China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, which is said to have contained a simple message: Do not launch a ballistic missile. Twelve days later, Mr. Kim did just that.

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public over the past two weeks, setting off speculation that he might be tempted to tone down fiery threats of provocations, according to sources and an analyst on Sunday. Kim's absence from the public eye, judged by the North's choreographed media reports, was not unusual, but this month's disappearance from public view comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang is expected to launch a mid-range ballistic missile.

North Korea Missile Test Delayed By Windows 8, Kim Jong-Un To Declare War On Microsoft? /snip The New Yorker is claiming the North Korea missile test was delayed by Windows 8 since previously their computers were running on Windows 95. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) says they are “working with Windows 8 support to resolve the issue” and the North Korea missile test has “been delayed indefinitely.” It’s said “Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is furious about the Windows 8 problems” and may declare war on Microsoft. /snip

April 12, 2013 Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late By JEREMI SURI AUSTIN, Tex. SINCE February, the North Korean government has followed one threatening move with another. The spiral began with an underground nuclear test. Then the North declared the armistice that ended the Korean War invalid. The young dictator Kim Jong-un followed with a flurry of threats to attack civilian targets in South Korea, Japan and the United States.

2013/04/13 14:53 KST (LEAD) N. Korea has likely not moved mobile missile launchers: source SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea did not appear to move vehicles suspected to be mobile launchers for its medium-range missiles over the past two days, a government source said Saturday, in an indication that Pyongyang's missile launch is not imminent. According to intelligence sources, the North had moved two Musudan intermediate missiles, which had been concealed in a shed in the eastern port city of Wonsan, in and out of the facility earlier this week in an apparent bid to interfere with Seoul's intelligence...

Analysts fear that a dramatic advance in North Korea's nuclear missile technology, revealed inadvertently during a Congressional hearing Thursday, will quickly find its way to Iran -- forcing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fast-track a long-contemplated attack against Tehran’s nuclear-enrichment facilities. In February, North Korea detonated what is described as a “lighter, miniaturized atomic bomb.” At the time, there was speculation this could signal the Hermit Kingdom had developed a nuclear warhead that it could place on its long-range missiles. Pentagon officials, however, continued to insist it was at least a year away from developing that capability. Jerusalem Post...

Don't look now, but the birthday of Kim Jong-un's grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, is right around the corner, on Monday, with absurd celebrations and marathons and magic horses all weekend. But nothing would do more poetic justice to North Korea's warped version of history and its "unacceptable" war-mongering rhetoric than to drown one of its oldest enemies in a sea of nuclear flames. Which absurdity will win out? "North Korea warned Japan Friday that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula if it continues to maintain its hostile posture," reports South Korea's...

Kerry to North Korea: Don't test missile By BRADLEY KLAPPER | Associated Press – 1 hr 18 mins ago SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a stark warning to North Korea on Friday not to test-fire a mid-range missile, while rejecting a new U.S. intelligence report suggesting significant progress in the communist regime's nuclear weapons program. Kicking off four days of talks in an East Asia beset by increasing North Korean threats, Kerry told reporters in Seoul that Pyongyang and its enigmatic young leader would only increase their isolation if they launched the missile...

Pyongyang warned that Tokyo would be its primary target if war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, if Japan maintains its "hostile posture." It also threatened a nuclear strike against the island nation if it intercepts any North Korean test missiles. In the comments, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo's standing orders to shoot down any North Korean missile heading towards Japan, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reports.

President Obama warned North Korea on Thursday that his administration will take "all necessary steps" to defend the United States from aggression and urged Pyongyang to tone down its threats. "Now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they've been taking, and to try to lower temperatures," he said in the Oval Office, after a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "Nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean Peninsula." North Korea, he said, must "observe the basic rules and norms" set by the international community, including the UN. "We...

"While I cannot speak to all the details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage," said George Little, the Pentagon spokesman. The US denial was followed quickly by the South Korean defence ministry, which said the North had still not developed a warhead small enough to place on top of a a missile. "Our military's assessment is that the North has not yet miniaturised," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a news briefing....

A U.S. intelligence report concludes that North Korea has advanced its nuclear knowhow to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, a jarring revelation in the midst of bellicose threats from the unpredictable communist regime. President Barack Obama urged calm, calling on Pyongyang to end its saber-rattling while sternly warning that he would "take all necessary steps" to protect American citizens. The new American intelligence analysis, disclosed Thursday at a hearing on Capitol Hill, says the Pentagon's intelligence wing has "moderate confidence" that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles...

North Korea carries out parachute drills on Chinese border 12 April, 2013 Teddy Ng North Korean soldiers parachute over the North Korean town of Sinuiju in a photo taken from the border city of Dandong. Photo: Kyodo North Korean soldiers carried out parachute drills along the border with China yesterday as Taiwan's government became the first to urge its citizens to delay visiting South Korea. More than 50 North Korean soldiers conducted drills for about two hours in Sinuiju, which neighbours Dandong, Liaoning province, Kyodo News Agency reported.

China Carries Out Artillery Drills Near N.Korean Border China recently moved an Army corps close to the North Korean border and staged a live-fire exercise with tanks and self-propelled guns. Experts believe Beijing is taking no chances in case a North Korean provocation leads to an emergency. The official Global Times on Monday reported that an armored brigade from a Shenyang mechanized infantry unit carried out live-fire maneuvers near the border on April 1. Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun quoted a source in Dandong as saying the Chinese military has also stepped up vehicle patrols along the North Korean border.

Via Eli Lake, who had a separate timely piece this morning quoting experts who think the world should be taking this latest NorK tantrum more seriously than it is. Fast-forward to this afternoon’s House Armed Services Committee hearing with Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chair Martin Dempsey. Lake: According to the [Defense Intelligence Agency] report, “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles however the reliability will be low.” That line was read aloud by Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, on Thursday during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Lamborn...

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. military intelligence agency believes that North Korea has learned how to mount nuclear bombs on ballistic missiles, a U.S. congressman said Thursday, citing a classified report. But the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) still questions whether the secretive nation has mastered the sophisticated technology, according to Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). In a congressional hearing, he quoted the report as saying, "DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles; however the reliability will be low." Both Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman...

U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have identified the launch zone on North Korea’s east coast... The North Koreans recently began fueling two road-mobile Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles located along the east coast between the cities of Wonsan and Hamhung,.. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in addition to the 2,500-mile-range Musudans the North Koreans could conduct test firings of several 620-mile-range Nodong missiles and shorter-range Scuds simultaneously as a way to thwart U.S. missile defenses. Unlike earlier launches, the North Koreans are not expected to provide advance warning of the timing for the launches, such as announcing a...

N. Korean missile launchpad moved into firing position Published time: April 11, 2013 01:38 Edited time: April 11, 2013 05:27 A North Korean missile launcher has moved into the firing position with rockets facing skyward, Kyodo reports, citing a Japan defense official. The Japanese government is on high alert, citing indications that Pyongyang might soon launch ballistic missiles at its island neighbor. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Thursday morning that so far Tokyo was responding by “gathering a variety of information ... with a sense of tension,” according to Kyodo.

On April 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed severe concern over the current tense situation on the Korean Peninsula to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over the phone, and said Beijing "does not allow troublemaking at the doorsteps of China." In wake of the rising tensions on the Korea Peninsula, for the regional peace and stability and to safeguard China's national interest, it is necessary to address relevant sides over the issue: To DPRK: do not misjudge the situation To the United States: do not add fuel to the flames To South Korea: do not miss the focus To...

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- As South Korea and the United States brace for a possible missile launch by North Korea, the communist nation appears to be moving several missiles repeatedly on its east coast in an apparent attempt to interfere with intelligence monitoring, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday. According to intelligence analysis, the North has moved two Musudan intermediate missiles, which had been concealed in a shed in the eastern port city of Wonsan, in and out of the facility. Four or five wheeled vehicles, suspected to be so-called transporter erector launchers (TEL), were also spotted being...