Posted on 04/07/2009 7:10:46 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Behind North’s jubilation was anxiety
Questions arise over rocket science technological advances by Pyongyang
April 08, 2009
South Korean intelligence sources said there was confusion and anxiety behind North Korea’s celebratory facade after what it claimed a successful satellite launch on Sunday.
An intelligence source told the JoongAng Ilbo that Pyongyang was “in a state of confusion” following the rocket launch.
Officials from the United States and South Korea have said no object entered orbit, but the source said that wasn’t the reason for disquiet in the North Korean capital.
According to the source, North Korean officials were on the edge of their seats before the launch because of their primitive technology, and some said it was a wonder that the rocket even got off the pad.
South Korean sources said the North decided to send merchant vessels to the East Sea and to the Pacific Ocean, around projected landing areas for the rocket’s boosters.
The North wanted to have experts out in the sea to track the rocket but it did not want to send a warship that close to Japan.
However, the engine of a ship it sent to the Pacific broke down. South Korean sources said North Korean officials were busy trying to pass the buck for the problem.
South Korean sources said the North’s officials actually did not know where the rocket had traveled. The North does not own a high-tech radar system that tracks objects for thousands of kilometers.
South Korea’s radar on its Aegis destroyer King Sejong the Great tracked the rocket up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), while the more advanced radars of the United States and Japan followed it the rest of the way.
North Korea could not keep track of its second booster, which reportedly traveled about 3,100 kilometers east of its launch base in Musudan-ri, northeast of the peninsula.
It took nearly four hours after the launch for North Korea to announce its satellite had reached orbit. South Korean sources said the North took time to analyze data from the South, Japan and the United States before making the call.
Hwang Eui-don, a general in intelligence in the South’s defense ministry, told a legislative committee that the North flew fighters and bombers after its pre-launch preparations leaked.
But the South’s sources said a MiG-21 fighter jet crashed due to inadequate maintenance.
Meanwhile, U.S. Marine Corps General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke of the unlikelihood that the rocket launch would increase the danger of North Korean proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“On the idea of proliferation, would you buy from somebody who had failed three times in a row and never been successful?” said Cartwright.
A South Korean government official said, on condition of anonymity, that it remained unclear whether the second and the third stages of the rocket had separated before they plunged into the Pacific Ocean, saying, “It will take up to a week to determine that, following additional analysis.”
By Lee Young-jong, Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
Their aging planes are falling out of sky due to poor maintenance and lack of training, I suspect.
Ping!
Just imagine what a strong Reagan like President could do to curb these incompetent jerks. Too bad all we’ve had is GW (barely adequate) and zero (no comment needed).
Hey Tiger you know what I think they afraid tell Chia Pet the truth about missile what do you think like in Team America he shot his translater
“On the idea of proliferation, would you buy from somebody who had failed three times in a row and never been successful?” said Cartwright.
No. But Huey Chavez might.
According to the local media report in S. Korea, the separation between second and third stage rocket failed. The bolts connecting the two did not blow up to allow the separation as designed.
What makes North Korea dangerous is the large amount of artillery, troops and armor they possess.
The DMZ is gonna be one hell of a hot place if North Korea ever decides to cross the border in force. They’ll be raining down artillery well ahead of their advance. They’ll have saboteurs and special forces running amok behind South Korean lines. Lots of mayhem and lots of civilian casualties too.
I certainly hope that the Air Force (and the ROK Air Force) can slow the North Korean advance long enough to allow our (and the ROK) troops to get into position.
It sounds easy, but it isn't. It's just one of those little two-bit things that has to be right every time or the whole thing comes tumbling down.
I find it fascinating that this article appears the same day as the article in which Russia claims Iran is “no threat” to the UNited States — in fact, that article follows this one on the News/Activism Forum of FR...
Why do I question this? Why are we being told that those powers in the Axis of Evil are no longer to be considered a threat? I find that FAR too convenient for the agenda of President Obama.
If NK has sold their technology to Syria, helping them build a Nuke Plant (which Israel took out last year), they ARE a threat. If the NK can launch a missile/Rocket which overflies Japan and certainly CAN reach at least Alaska, and probably the West Coast, they ARE a threat.
AND, if Iran has missiles that can reach Tel-Aviv and Western Europe, then THEY are a threat. If they have the capability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz (and they do w/Russian built Nuke Subs)then they certainly ARE a threat.
This is Obama propaganda to take our eyes off that very REAL problem and convince us to do his bidding here at home, spending Billions diverted from legitimate defense expenses to his Socialist pipe-dreams....
Don’t buy it, or we could find ourselves in a mess in several places around the world far worse than the ones we’re in now.
NYT was hard at work in that regard. NK rocket is indeed rudimentary at this stage. On the other hand, one does not need a sophisticated bomb to torch a house. All you need is a determined psychopath keep trying again and again to set a fire with a match. And the skill of psychopath is improving. He is about to have a primitive flame thrower of his own.:-)
The front line troops have to fight a holding action or staged withdrawal in the face of superior forces. However, the attackers aren't going to get much further than they can go on one tank of fuel. Then with their restricted mobility and depleted ammunition stocks we would counter attack and execute maneuver warfare - attacking when and where we decided, with initiative and surprise.
What makes this problematic in Korea is that Seoul is only what, 40 miles south of the 38th parallel? Not a lot of room to trade for time.
obama: we cannot afford to ignore or minimize this threat simply to fuel your ego and meet your political agenda. To do so will cost American lives.
Besides, there is far less flat area for providing armors and transportation vehicles to drive on. They will be trapped into a maze, taking fire from all direction.
Overdeveloped urban area can have some fringe benefit: to stop massed advance of enemy.:-)
can be used as hand handy bunkers as defensive positions.
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