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North Korea has completed work on a new west coast site capable of launching improved intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to senior South Korean officials quoted by Yonhap news agency. The Dongchang-ri base has been under construction for several years despite long-running international efforts to shut down the communist state's missile and nuclear programmes. "The construction is as good as finished," one South Korean official told Yonhap on condition of anonymity. "The necessary facilities are all there." Another official said the North has been testing missile parts such as boosters at the site about 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Pyongyang....

Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after midnight I was informed in a telephone call by President Barack Obama that (his) administration had decided to pull out from the planned missile defense shield installations" in the Czech Republic and Poland, the...

Strategic Defense: With Iran on the verge of a deliverable nuke, the administration tells our allies in the dead of night that we will scuttle missile defense plans in Eastern Europe to please the Russians.Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after...

As Defense Secretary Gates tours our missile defense site at Fort Greely, Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin calls for restoration of the missile defense cuts. Meanwhile, North Korea points another missile at the U.S. Robert Gates' visit to our missile defense facility at Fort Greely on Monday was a pointed reminder to the North Koreans that while we have been talking softly, we still have a few big sticks in the ground ready to turn the North Korean missile program into so much scrap metal.

Defense: As we prepare to celebrate our independence, North Korea wants to remind us of Pearl Harbor. Fortunately, we can make use of assets dreamed of by Reagan and deployed by Bush to defend our 50th state. Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported Thursday that North Korea would launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile at Hawaii on or about July 4. This would be the anniversary of the first Taepodong-2 test on July 4, 2006. It would also mark the 15th anniversary of North Korean President Kim Il Sung's death.Those who know have stopped laughing at North Korea's increasingly credible nuclear and global...

DPRK blasts S. Korea's intention to participate in PSI www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-30 22:30:43 Print PYONGYANG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) blasted the intention of the South Korea to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) on Monday, warning "resolute countermeasure" against it. "We solemnly declare that should the Lee group participate in the 'PSI,' oblivious of this reality, the DPRK will consider this as a declaration of a war and promptly take a resolute countermeasure against it," the official KCNA news cited a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying....

America's top military officer said on Friday that a rocket North Korea plans to launch next month has a range that could possibly reach Hawaii. Asked if the North Korean rocket could reach the US states of Hawaii or Alaska, Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN: "In some cases, yes, they could probably get down to Hawaii." International concern has been mounting about North Korea's announcement it would launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8. The United States, Japan and other allies believe Pyongyang is using the launch to test a ballistic missile that could, in theory, cross the...

An armada of air, sea and space intelligence assets are being deployed above and around North Korea in anticipation of the imminent test of a 105 ft. Taepo-Dong-2 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile disguised as a satellite launch vehicle. The timing of the test is unknown, but expected soon. Key North Korean support hardware has been spotted moving into place around the launch site and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il visited the launch facility February 25. Iranian hardware, including possible satellite components, are part of the North Korean test. Many of the same flight test objectives for demonstrating ICBM flight and guidance...

N.Korea 'Could Test Missile During Clinton's Asia Visit' An expert on East Asian relations has suggested that North Korea could test-fire its inter-continental ballistic missile during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's four-nation Asian tour. Secretary Clinton leaves the U.S. Sunday to visit Korea, Japan, Indonesia and China. She is scheduled to stay in Seoul on Thursday and Friday. The prediction came at a seminar in Washington D.C. on Thursday by Georgetown University scholar Balbina Hwang. She is a former senior special advisor to ambassador Christopher Hill, who worked as Washington's chief nuclear envoy to North Korea under the George...

N.Korea 'Transports Missile to Launch Site' North Korea has transported a missile to a launch site in Musudan-ri on the east coast using a special covered cargo carriage to make it difficult to track, intelligence agencies claimed Thursday. This 40m-long special cargo carriage is double the length of an ordinary carriage and said to be capable of carrying the first and second-stage rockets and components of the Taepodong-2. But South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies cannot say how large the missile is. They assume that North Korea is now assembling the missile at the launch site in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong...

U.S. official: North Korea might be making missile preparations From Barbara Starr CNN Pentagon Correspondent WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. spy satellite snapped an image within the last several days of preparations at a North Korean missile site previously used for Taepodong-2 missile launch operations, a senior U.S. official told CNN Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, in an undated photo that the state news agency released Saturday. The photograph shows North Korea assembling telemetry equipment at the site -- equipment that would be needed for a launch to take place, the official said, adding that so far,...

Gates jokes about North Korean missile test /snip "Since the first time that they launched the missile it flew for a few minutes before crashing, the range of the Taepodong-2 remains to be seen," Gates told reporters during a Pentagon news conference. "So far, it's very short." /snip

North Korea preparing for ballistic missile launch: media By Jon Herskovitz 48 mins ago SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch its longest range ballistic missile, media reports said on Tuesday, stoking tensions just days after the reclusive state warned that the Korean peninsula was on the brink of war. North Korea, which typically carries out missile tests in times of political friction, last week said it was scrapping all agreements with South Korea in a move analysts said was aimed at pressuring Seoul and grabbing the attention of new U.S. President Barack Obama. The North,...

Excerpt - SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is preparing for a mass military parade to showcase its weaponry, possibly including its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, a move expected to heighten tension in the region, a South Korean source said Sunday. South Korean intelligence authorities have detected the North covering missiles, army trucks and other military hardware with camouflage blankets, which are to be used in a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its Korean People's Armed Forces, the source said, on condition of anonymity. The anniversary falls on April 25. "We are focusing on...

The U.S. missile defense system yesterday shot down an incoming dummy warhead simulating the last-stage trajectory of a North Korean Taepodong-2 missile, a milestone that U.S. officials expect to counter critics of earlier tests. It was the first time a dummy North Korean missile was intercepted, and the sixth successful intercept since 1999, said officials from the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. "What we did today is a huge step in terms of our systematic approach to continuing to field, continuing to deploy and continuing to develop a missile defense system for the United States, for our allies, our friends, our...

N. Korea removes second Taepodong-2 missile from launch site:officials SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may have relocated a long-range missile from a launch site from which it test-fired missiles last month, but the reason for its removal and its new location were not immediately known, a government official said Friday. The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in the eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the first missile was launched on July 5 along with six other short- and mid-range missiles from other launch sites.

SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been constructing new underground missile bases and silos along its east coast in recent years to deploy intermediate-range rockets targeting Japan and U.S. military facilities on the archipelago, a report said Thursday. "The new bases clustered along the east coastal line, in particular, are short- and medium-range missile bases aiming at Japan and U.S. military installations in Japan," said a report written by Yun Deok-min, a security expert at the state-funded Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. About 200 Rodong missiles with ranges of up to 2,200 kilometers and 50...

Excerpt - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has been working closely with Iran to develop its long-range ballistic missiles, possibly using Chinese technology, and is building large bases to prepare for their deployment, a South Korean state-run think tank said. Communist North Korea is also building new sites near the Demilitarised Zone border for short-range missiles and is deploying missiles with improved precision that can strike most of Japan, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) said in a report. "The development of Taepodong-2 is conducted jointly with Iran, and it is possible China's technology is used in...

(LEAD) N. Korea building new missile bases, silos along east coast: Report SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been constructing new underground missile bases and silos along its east coast in recent years to deploy intermediate-range rockets targeting Japan and U.S. military facilities on the archipelago, a report said Thursday. "The new bases clustered along the east coastal line, in particular, are short- and medium-range missile bases aiming at Japan and U.S. military installations in Japan," said a report written by Yun Deok-min, a security expert at the state-funded Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. About 200...

N. Korea missile thought to have flown less far than Japan estimated TOKYO, July 30 KYODO The United States has told Japan that North Korea's long-range Taepodong-2 missile, fired July 5, exploded in midair within 1.5 kilometers of the launching pad, Japanese government sources said Saturday. Japan had estimated the missile had reached a Sea of Japan area 400-600 kilometers away. The sources also told Kyodo News the Japanese and U.S. governments have tracked the flight paths of four other ballistic missiles North Korea launched the same day. The findings could enable Japan to release a report on the incident...

High Frontier Strategic Issues Policy Brief July 14, 2006 “Six Scuds and a Dud” – Why should we care? By Henry F. Cooper 1 (Stanton Coalition Presentation) On Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume referred to North Korea’s intrusion on our July 4 celebration with their launch of “Six Scuds and a Dud,” and implied this was not a particularly significant event. I beg to differ. The Dud Problem First, the “dud,” their failed test of a Taepodong-2, involved a three stage rocket presumably intended to deliver a modern nuclear weapon to Hawaii, Alaska or the Northwestern continental United States. And...

Taepodong-2 Launch Failure: What Really Happened /begin my excerptThere is another interesting development. Up to now, it has been reported that, 42 seconds after its launch, (N. Korea's) Taepodong-2 missile (1) exploded in mid-air  or (2) veered off its intended flight path, and continue to fly for another 7 minutes, covering 499km. However, more careful investigation showed that, it developed some problem 29 seconds after the launch,  smoke came out from some parts of the missile, it veered off its flight path, flying in a spiral path, and finally ending in the complete explosion, 42 seconds after the launch, blowing up into...

Intelligence services in Seoul and Washington are analyzing suspicions that the seven missiles North Korea test-fired on July 5 include two new intermediate-range ballistic missiles with a range of 2,500-4,000 km. A government source said spy agencies detected electronic signals different from the North’s Rodong or Scud missiles from two of six medium-range missiles the North test-launched on July 5. Intelligence services considered whether they could be Scud-ERs with a range of up to 1,000 km, but additional analysis produced the suspicion that they could be a whole new type of IRBM, the source said. If so, they are...

Security Council 5490th Meeting (PM) SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA'S MISSILE LAUNCHES, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1695 (2006) Demands Suspension of All Related Ballistic Missile Activity;Urges Country to Return Immediately to Six-Party Talks Without Precondition The United Nations Security Council today condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's recent test-firing of a series of missiles, and demanded that the North-East Asian country suspend all ballistic missile related activity and reinstate its moratorium on missile launches. Acting "under its special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security", the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1695 (2006), by the...

N.Korea 'Spending Hand Over Fist While People Starve' A Grand National Party lawmaker and member of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Friday said North Korea’s budget structure means it can pour money into its missile program while its people are starving. The comments from Chung Hyung-keun came at a meeting of leading party members a day after the North slammed the South’s refusal to continue food aid until it returns to disarmament talks. "We understand that North Korea intends to build up to 17 more Taepodong-2 missiles,” Jung said. "Some people say each Taepodong-2 costs W60 billion (US$1=W954), but...

/begin my translationLegislator Chung, "N. Korea to make up to 17 Taepodong's" Supreme Council Member Chung Hyung-geun   National Assemblyman Chung Hyung-geun, a member of Supreme Council of Hannara Party(note: S. Korea's conservative opposition) made a claim on July 14 regarding N. Korean missile launches. He said, "N. Korea intends to make up to 17 (Taepodong-2) missiles." Supreme Councilman Chung added this remark, at the council meeting held in (Hannara) party headquarter at Yom-chang-dong(, Seoul,) while adding, "N. Korea has plenty of black budget." He further explained, "N. Korea has No. 1 budget, which is for the Cabinet, and No. 2 budget, the...

The following is the gist of a draft resolution on North Korea over its recent missile tests, circulated at the U.N. Security Council by China and Russia on Wednesday. The U.N. Security Council: -- expresses serious concern over missile launches on July 5, 2006 local time by North Korea which had a negative effect on the peace and stability in Northeast Asia and beyond. -- expresses its grave concern about North Korea's indication of possible additional launches of ballistic missiles in the near future. -- expresses also its desire for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the situation and...

N.Korea Has Eight Medium-Range Missile Pads: NIS The secret service says it has spotted eight launch pads for medium range missiles in North Korea. National Intelligence Service Director Kim Seung-gyu told a parliamentary committee Wednesday the launch pads were believed to be for Rodong-2 or Scud missiles. The NIS believes the missiles can be fired from the pads within three or four hours of preparation but the likelihood that they will be is small, a member of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee said. The NIS chief was quoted as saying that a long-range Taepodong-2 missile North Korea test-fired on July...

Starting on the Fourth of July, North Korea launched a salvo of seven short-, medium- and long-range missiles. Despite the failure of the single long-range missile, the Taepo Dong-2, the launches confirmed that North Korea is seeking to advance its missile arsenal in order to threaten both the United States and its allies in Asia. The short- and medium-range missiles, the Scud and No Dong respectively, all flew in the direction of Japan, so it seems that North Korea is focused on achieving a military capability to threaten Japan in particular. It remains unclear at this point whether North Korea...

The Japanese and U.S. governments are keeping a close watch on North Korea as there are signs the country will launch a second Taepodong-2 missile following its firing of seven missiles July 5. Political shock waves from the launches, which took the international community by surprise, continue to reverberate. Musudanri, in northeastern North Korea, which is the only launching site for Taepodong-2 missiles, is located approximately opposite from Aomori and Akita prefectures across the Sea of Japan. In early May, Japanese and U.S. satellites over North Korea photographed large trailer trucks carrying at least two ballistic missiles believed to be...

A top North Korean propagandist raised the threat of nuclear war yesterday as the fighting talk triggered by the isolated regime's missile launches got scarier than any disintegrating Taepodong-2. Kim Myong-chol, a freelance propagandist for the Stalinist state, claimed North Korea would treat any country supporting UN sanctions against it - and that would definitely include Australia - as a nuclear missile target. "Now the US is seeking sanctions for us doing nothing in violation of international law - this is outrageous," he said in Tokyo yesterday. "North Korea considers this an act of war and North Korea will...

Viewpoint: Former Clinton administration officials Ashton Carter and William Perry argue that the most effective way to curb the threat from Pyongyang is to destroy its missiles at their test sites * Analysis: North Korea's Missile Test - Diplomatic Arm-Twisting * Related: Can America's Missile Defense Handle North Korea? * Related Blogs: Click here for blog postings from around the web that are related to the topic of this article. The Bush Administration has tried to downplay the mounting danger posed by North Korea. That might be the understandable reaction of officials necessarily preoccupied with the ongoing campaign in Iraq....

Excerpt - NORTH Korea has threatened to take "stronger physical actions" after Japan imposed punitive measures in response to this week's barrage of missile tests and pushed for international sanctions at the United Nations. Japan introduced a draft UN Security Council resolution yesterday that would bar missile-related financial and technology transactions with North Korea, but China and Russia, which have veto power, opposed any punitive measures. Ambassadors from Japan, France and the United States said no vote would be held until Monday at the earliest. Japan had pushed for a vote today. Meanwhile Australia is reportedly prepared to offer North...

AUSTRALIA is prepared to offer North Korea a cheap, secure energy deal, probably coal shipments, if the rogue state returns to peace talks, as part of an attempt to solve the missile crisis. An Australian diplomatic mission leaves for China, Japan and South Korea next week as part of a concerted regional effort to avoid conflict on the Korean peninsula. The mission follows discussions between John Howard and US President George W. Bush yesterday about North Korea's launch of seven missiles over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. The missiles included a long-range Taepodong 2 that is designed to...

The U.S. Navy's two Aegis-equipped destroyers temporarily left the waters in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific side of Japan where they had been deployed to detect and track North Korea's missile launches, U.S. administration sources said Friday. The move stems from North Korea's failed test of a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile and a U.S. assessment that it will take time for the North to prepare to launch another one. The two destroyers, the Curtis Wilbur and Fitzgerald, had been deployed in those waters since North Korea accelerated its preparation over the past weeks to launch the Taepodong-2,...

The same North Korean ICBM efforts that throw a rock at Alaska can throw a large nuclear warhead at every ally the United States has in Northeast Asia. Japan and South Korea are not only close allies, they are critical trading partners. The risk of a war in this part of the world would inevitably threaten Chinese involvement in some form, and possible bloc trade with much of China for an extended period even if China did not become involved. Our troops and our bases in most of Asia would be at hazard as well. Americans need to stop thinking...

BEIJING, July 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea informed China of its plan to test-fire missiles prior to the North's missile launches this week, a top U.S. diplomatic envoy said Friday. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said at a press conference that he heard from Chinese officials the North informed China of its plan for the test-firing of ballistic missiles earlier Wednesday. Hill, who has visited China as part of his tour of nations involved in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear arms, made the remarks before he headed to Seoul. On Wednesday, the North shocked the...

WASHINGTON - North Korea’s threatening spate of missile launches — including an unsuccessful try with an advanced version of its Taepodong 2 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile that is capable of hitting the United States — has sparked a cacophony of talk from leaders and foreign policy experts around the world. As they debate and discuss various options at the United Nations and in capitals around the globe, the rudimentary U.S. missile defense system is poised to shoot down anything launched from North Korea that threatens the American homeland or the critical interests of our regional allies like Japan and Australia. Noticeably...

CNN -- For a nation that may well be the most isolated on earth, North Korea has a way of dramatically reminding the world of its existence. Tuesday's missile launches are the newest chapter in this half-century-old saga. But through it all, there is one stark reality at the center of the story: North Korea's military might.

When it became clear that the Taepodong 2 missile North Korea test-launched early on July 4 had broken up less than a minute into flight and plunged into the Sea of Japan, many Americans felt a sense of relief. After all, the missile — belonging to a class that is thought capable of reaching the U.S. mainland — had failed, and Kim Jong Il had been embarrassed in the eyes of the world, if not those of the North Koreans who were told nothing of the test’s outcome. But an embarrassed menace is a menace nonetheless. Despite North Korea’s failure...

The latest disinformation from North Korea's propaganda agency - Pyongyang, July 6 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Thursday as regards the missile launches in the DPRK: In the wake of the missile launches by the Korean People's Army the U.S. and some other countries following it, including Japan, are making much ado about a serious development. They are terming them "violation" and "provocation" and calling for "sanctions" and "their referral to the UN Security Council." The latest successful missile launches were part of the routine military...

Excerpt - North Korea on Friday demanded that Japan halt sanctions it has imposed on the country in reaction to Pyongyang's test-firing of ballistic missiles, warning that the North would take ''stronger measures'' should Tokyo continue along the current path. ''Japan is translating its criticism against us into action,'' Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador in charge of diplomatic normalization talks with Japan, told reporters in Pyongyang. ''This may force us to take stronger physical actions'' as a response, he said. Asked what the steps may be, he said, ''I leave that to your imagination.'' ~ snip ~

Taepodong-2 pointed at waters near Hawaii: report (Kyodo) _ The Taepodong-2 long-range missile recently test-fired by North Korea was pointed at waters near Hawaii, the Sankei Shimbun reported Friday in its online edition. Citing government sources in Japan and the United States, the report said Japan's Defense Agency and the U.S. military reached the conclusion after analyzing the missile's path from data collected by Aegis-equipped destroyers and RC-135S electronic reconnaissance aircraft. The missile was test-fired from its launching site in Musudanri in northeast North Korea early Wednesday local time before landing into the Sea of Japan about several hundred kilometers...

(ATTN: CORRECTS missile's flight distance from '390km' to '490km' in para 4) SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's long-range Taepodong-2 missile travelled for about 7 minutes after liftoff before it plunged into the East Sea, a top South Korean military officer said Thursday. The North's multistage missile was initially believed to have gone down 42 seconds after it blasted off from its launching pad in the reclusive country on Wednesday, sparking questions over whether the flight was a technical failure or was aborted.

The following is the gist of a draft text of a resolution circulated by Japan on Wednesday among U.N. Security Council members on North Korea's test-firing of missiles. The U.N. Security Council: -- reaffirms that proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security. -- deplores that North Korea is the world's leading proliferators of ballistic missiles and related technology. -- expresses grave concern that North Korea's launch of ballistic missiles, given the potential of such vehicles to be used as a means to deliver nuclear,...

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday claimed its successfully conducted missile launches were part of routine military drills to raise self-defense capabilities, and will be continued. "The successful launches of missiles this time were part of our normal military exercises that were aimed at reinforcing our self-defense capabilities," a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the country's Korean Central News Agency. The statement came one day after the communist state fired seven long- and medium-range missiles, including a Taepodong-2, which is believed to be capable of reaching as far as...

The North Korea threatens to draw from other missiles in "self-defence" SEOUL - the North Korea confirmed Thursday that it had carried out shootings of test of missiles, threatening to renew this "act of self-defence" if the international community made pressure on the mode. "the successful launching of missiles makes this time started from our normal military exercises the purpose of which are to reinforce our capacities of self-defence", according to an official statement of the ministry north-Korean of the Foreign Affairs, quoted by the South Korean agency Yonhap. "Our armed forces will continue their shootings of test of...

The US missile defense system was put to its first real test Tuesday and Wednesday with North Korea's launch of a long-range missile and a half dozen shorter range missiles. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was on and off the phone with top US commanders almost continuously for days before the missile tests. "I received the notification of the launch of these missiles probably within of a minute of when they occurred," he told reporters before a meeting with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Pentagon officials were circumspect, though, about how the multi-billion dollar missile defense system performed. "What...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea appears to be making preparations to launch another long-range Taepodong-2 missile but the missile is not yet on the launch pad, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. NBC said the missile was nonetheless in its final assembly stage. North Korea launched at least six missiles early on Wednesday and a seventh some 12 hours later, officials in Japan and South Korea said.

U.S. missile defense readied for N. Korea test NBC: Pyongyang in final preparation for second intercontinental missile test Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images South Korean protesters burn a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il during a rally on Wednesday in Seoul. WASHINGTON - The United States for the first time confirmed Wednesday that it had readied its missile interceptors to meet a specific threat — North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile said to be capable of reaching Alaska. U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News it appears North Korea is making preparations to launch another long-range Taepodong 2 missile...