North Korea says it tests ballistic missile from submarine

[Bleipriester]

North Korea said, it tested a new missile that is launched from a sub-marine.

"PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday that it successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in what would be the latest display of the country's advancing military capabilities. Hours after the announcement, South Korean officials said the North fired three anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast."

North Korea says it tests ballistic missile from submarine

 

[ChrisL]

North Korea said, it tested a new missile that is launched from a sub-marine.

"PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday that it successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in what would be the latest display of the country's advancing military capabilities. Hours after the announcement, South Korean officials said the North fired three anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast."

North Korea says it tests ballistic missile from submarine

Oh geez . . . This is just what we need. I think it's important that we find a way to prevent these rogue nations from obtaining nuclear capabilities.

 

[Jesse Booth]

...I've been waiting so long to use this meme again.

 

[ChrisL]

View attachment 41188

...I've been waiting so long to use this meme again.

 

[Bleipriester]

The hysteria about the North Korean Nuke is ill-founded. North Korea´s 3-stage missiles that the West says are capable of carrying nukes have a maximum payload of about 100 kg. While this is still a powerful weapon it is rather a tactical nuke than a strategic nuke and nobody who isn´t attacking North Korea militarily has to fear a nuke strike.

 

[waltky]

Kim wantin' food for his starvin' people `cause he don't run his country right...

North Korea's Hint of Nuclear Test Sounds Familiar
September 16, 2015 — North Korea’s recent pronouncements touting advances in its long-range rocket program and restarting its nuclear reactor appear to fit Pyongyang’s established pattern for pressuring the United States and its allies for aid and assistance.

“The first stage is to make the situation look as tense as possible,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University in Seoul. Professor Lankov said that in the 1990s and 2000s Kim Jong Un’s father Kim Jong Il used missile launches, nuclear weapons and conventional military provocations to create international crises. “Once the situation looks very tense and the world media begins to talk about the Korean peninsula being on the brink of war, North Korea then agrees to negotiate and agrees to drive tensions down in exchange for some concessions,” Lankov said.

Yongbyon reactor

Most recently in 2007 North Korea agreed to shut down its Yongbyon reactor in return for emergency energy assistance and enter into six-party talks involving the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas to normalize relations. But in 2009, North Korea pulled out of the denuclearization talks and expelled international inspectors after the U.N. Security Council condemned Pyongyang for a failed satellite launch that was considered a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since then both South Korea and the U.S. have taken a firm stand to require Pyongyang to halt its nuclear program before they would enter into any new talks.

Satellite image provided by GeoEye shows the area around the Yongbyon nuclear facility in Yongbyon, North Korea.

The North’s subsequent military skirmishes with the South, ballistic missile launches and third nuclear test have drawn increasing international sanctions. South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee Wednesday reinforced what U.S. and other western leaders have been saying about Pyongyang’s recent announced developments, that its main nuclear reactor is operational and it is preparing to launch a satellite into space. “If [North Korea] launches a rocket or conducts a nuclear test, it will be a grave provocation, and a military threat. Also it is an act which squarely violates the resolution of the U.N. Security Council,” Jeong Joon-hee said.

Sanctions and penalties

 

[waltky]

China gonna try to keep Lil' Kim in check?...

Report: China, North Korea agree to work toward peace on Korean peninsula0
Oct. 9, 2015 - Liu Yunshan, fifth in China's Communist Party hierarchy, told the North Korean leader Beijing is willing to work together with Kim to restart the six-party talks.

A top Chinese official who is in North Korea to attend the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party met with Kim Jong Un to discuss ways to move toward peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Liu Yunshan, fifth in China's Communist Party hierarchy, told the North Korean leader Beijing is willing to work together with Kim to restart the six-party talks, a move that could help better maintain stability between the two Koreas, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.

A Chinese magazine featuring a front page story on North Korea's leadership. China is trying to persuade Kim Jong Un to pursue the path of peace, but on Saturday, Pyongyang time, North Korea’s military prepared armored vehicles and ballistic missiles for an anniversary parade.​

Liu and Kim agreed opportunities to expand high-level talks and increase bilateral exchange at all levels could open a door to a new future. Kim welcomed the idea of developing North Korea's economy and improving the standard of living for ordinary North Koreans, according to Chinese press. Kim also reportedly said he would push for improved inter-Korea relations, and would work toward furthering friendly relations between Pyongyang and Beijing. Earlier, Liu had delivered a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping that stated the friendly relations between China and North Korea was a "public asset," South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

China is trying to persuade North Korea to pursue the path of peace, but on Saturday, Pyongyang time, North Korea's military prepared armored vehicles and ballistic missiles for display in what is expected to be one of the largest military parades in the country's history. The BBC reported North Korea had claimed it would show "cutting-edge" weaponry for use in modern warfare, but it is yet to be determined whether Kim is to deliver a speech during the event.

Report: China, North Korea agree to work toward peace on Korean peninsula

See also"

U.S. commander: North Korea has capacity to miniaturize nuclear warheads
Oct. 9, 2015 - North Korea has the capacity to miniaturize nuclear warheads that could then be installed on an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to Adm. Bill Gortney.

North Korea has the capacity to miniaturize nuclear warheads, send long-range ballistic missiles to the United States and has sufficient plutonium to create 22 nuclear weapons. Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Wednesday that North Korea's nuclear missiles are capable of hitting the continental United States, but added the U.S. military can intercept a North Korean missile. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., Gortney said he agrees with U.S. intelligence claims that North Korea has the capacity to miniaturize nuclear warheads that could then be installed on an intercontinental ballistic missile. "We're ready for [Kim Jong Un], and we're ready 24 hours a day if he should be dumb enough to shoot something at us," Gortney said.

Gortney said the military has been investing in updating the current missile defense system, but also securing cost-effective missile deterrence, including new sensors and radars. Gortney's remarks come three months after Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said North Korea possesses nuclear ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, Voice of America reported. North Korea's nuclear arsenal continues to grow, even as the isolated country has come under attack from the international community for its weapons program. The Institute for Science and International Security issued a report Wednesday stating Pyongyang now has enough nuclear material to build 22 nuclear weapons, and more specifically, between 66 and 88 pounds of separated plutonium in late 2014.

The report said activities captured in commercial satellite imagery at the Yongbyon nuclear site indicated spent fuel has been removed for chemical processing, and the fuel could have been used for nuclear tests. North Korea could produce weapons from plutonium or weapons-grade uranium, the report said, and could make a median of 22 nuclear weapons, but more information is needed on the size of North Korea's centrifuge program.

U.S. commander: North Korea has capacity to miniaturize nuclear warheads

 

[Bleipriester]

Kim wantin' food for his starvin' people `cause he don't run his country right...

It is more complicated. North Korea offers only 14 % of agricultural usable ground and is densely populated.

 

[waltky]

Granny says Obama oughta send our stealth subs to sink dey's subs an' wipe dat grin offa fatboy's face...

North Korea planning submarines that can carry multiple SLBMs
Aug. 26, 2016 -- North Korea's Kim Jong Un ordered the construction of new submarines so Pyongyang has the capability to fire off multiple rounds of SLBMs.

Kim had asked Korean Workers' Party cadres to build the new submersible by Sept. 9, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean government, the Tokyo Shimbun reported on Friday. The mandate was issued in June 2015 and Kim allegedly told his military industry chief Ri Man Gon that if he succeeds, he would "raise a statue" in Ri's honor, according to the report. Only one missile can be mounted on the 2,000-ton Sinpo-class submarine believed to have been used for the SLBM launch on Wednesday. Launches also can take place only at a depth of 10 meters below the water's surface with the current technology.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un celebrating Pyongyang’s Wednesday SLBM launch, according to state media. Kim is planning to bring more powerful submarines into production so multiple rounds of missiles can be launched, Japan press reported Friday.​

North Korea is concurrently planning the development of a 3,000-ton submarine capable of carrying three submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Japan's Nihon Keizai reported on Friday. While North Korea touted the Wednesday SLBM launch as a victory on Thursday, Pyongyang has yet to achieve final-phase induction, meaning the technology has not been perfected. Kim has been very attentive to the SLBM development program, and visited the development site more than 10 times prior to launch according to Pyongyang's KCNA and Rodong Sinmun.

KCNA has stated Kim "has a direct tight grasp on the construction of powerful strategic submarines and ballistic missiles, owing to the dedication of his labor and heart to the tenacious push" for their development. Kim Keun-sik, a professor of political diplomacy at South Korea's Kyungnam University told JoongAng Ilbo the SLBM could be the "trademark" of the Kim Jong Un period of rule, since development did not begin until after he assumed power. According to Japan's Defense White Paper North Korea retains 78 submarines and other submersibles, including the 3,500-ton Golf-class submarine that Russia sold to North Korea for scrap in the '90s.

North Korea planning submarines that can carry multiple SLBMs

See also:

U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea missile test
Aug. 27, 2016 -- The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned a ballistic missile launch by North Korea this week, saying it is a violation of an international ban on long-range missile testing.

A statement approved by all 15 members of the security council called North Korea's actions a "grave violation" and a "flagrant violation" of security council resolutions calling on North Korea to halt their intercontinental ballistic missile system.

The United Nations Security Council condemned a missile launch by North Korea this week. All 15 nations endorsed a statement calling it a "grave violation" of previous council resolutions banning long-range missile systems.​

The security council said the continued development of long-range missiles contributes to North Korea's development of a nuclear weapons system that destabilizes the region and inflames tensions on the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia. The security council statement called on U.N. member states to "redouble their efforts" at a weapons embargo and economic sanctions against North Korea as a result of the missile tests.

North Korean President Kim Jong Un hailed the launch, which happened from a submarine off the North Korean coast, as a military success and show of strength. The North Korean government released video of the missile launch as proof of its success. Kim ordered the production of more submarines that could carry long-range missiles after the test.

U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea missile test

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

"North Korea says..."

NK’s most effective ‘weapon’ is its ability to bamboozle the West.

 

[waltky]

North Korea gonna deploy SLBMs in 1 to 3 years...

North Korea to deploy SLBMs in 1 to 3 years, Seoul says
Aug. 29, 2016 -- South Korea's military believes North Korea is likely to deploy submarine-launched ballistic missiles in one to three years, and that the weapons pose a possible threat to the U.S. mainland.

Seoul's defense ministry said North Korea has been accelerating the development of SLBMs and has fired more than 20 of the missiles since 2014, Yonhap reported Monday. The findings were presented at a parliamentary defense committee meeting less than a week after Pyongyang test-launched an SLBM early Wednesday, hailed by Kim Jong Un as the "success of all successes."

South Korea had previously estimated deployment would take two to three years after North Korea fired a SLBM on April 23. That forecast changed with the latest missile, which traveled 310 miles and entered Japanese air space. "North Korea is planning to increase the range and effectiveness of SLBMs...They pose direct threats to [South Korea] and can even be a threat to the U.S. mainland," the ministry had stated. Pyongyang is working on missile development across all fronts, including fixed-mobile and road-mobile launchers that can fire missiles from land.

South Korea said Monday Pyongyang is ramping up SLBM development, less than a week after North Korea fired a SLBM last week.​

The defense ministry also stated North Korea's SLBM development began in the early 2000s under Kim Jong Il. "A test site was built near a shipyard in the Sinpo area between 2012 and 2013," the ministry stated. Seoul's military also plans to deploy an early-warning radar to track SLBMs while accelerating the development of long-range and medium-range surface-to-air guided weapons, the L-SAM and M-SAM. In cooperation with U.S. forces, the military is also seeking to rapidly deploy THAAD, the U.S. anti-missile defense system, according to the report.

North Korea has yet to show any signs of willingness to give up weapons development, but Seoul has not ceased to engage North Korea on the issue. South Korean unification minister Hong Yong-pyo stated at a denuclearization conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Monday that Seoul is committed to providing North Korea with "new opportunities" if Pyongyang agrees to denuclearization, News 1 reported.

North Korea to deploy SLBMs in 1 to 3 years, Seoul says

See also:

North Korea could soon conduct test of nuclear warhead, analysts say
Aug. 29, 2016 -- South Korea's military and local analysts say North Korea's next step may involve the testing of a miniaturized nuclear warhead mounted on a ballistic missile.

Although the South Korean forecasts are largely speculative, Kim Jong Un has previously stated the launch of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles should be pursued and made similar remarks last Wednesday, Newsis reported. "An all-out war with the U.S. imperialists could happen without warning, and in preparation for a nuclear war, the nuclear weapons development of the military sciences department must be accelerated, while at the same time it focuses on their means of delivery," Kim had said Wednesday, according to North Korea state media.

Kim had also said all possible measures must be taken to show North Korea is a major military power. South Korean military officials and experts have said North Korea has not yet conducted a test of a nuclear warhead, but one military official told Newsis the North is expected to continue tests and launches of ballistic missiles with nuclear capability.

North Korea has accelerated the tests of missiles in 2016. Pyongyang may use the mid-range Musudan missile for its next test of a nuclear warhead, analysts in South Korea say.​

Kim Dong-yup, a professor at Kyungnam University's Far East Institute, said Pyongyang has already demonstrated its possession of nuclear material, and that it is likely North Korea could detonate an unloaded nuclear warhead to test the device. Through the tests North Korea could verify whether the warhead is detonating properly especially during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The South Korean analyst added North Korea may use the mid-range Musudan or Rodong missile for its next test. The speed at which North Korea is testing its weapons is raising concerns in Seoul. On Monday in a meeting with senior secretaries of the presidential Blue House, President Park Geun-hye said if North Korea is capable of mounting a miniaturized warhead on a ballistic missile the development would "jeopardize the survival" of the South Korean people.

North Korea could soon conduct test of nuclear warhead, analysts say

Related:

Chinese commenters air North Korea frustrations, call Kim 'fat'
Aug. 29, 2016 -- The Chinese government has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defense system on the Korean peninsula, but some Chinese online commenters see things differently.

Beijing, which recently endorsed the United Nations Security Council statement condemning North Korea's provocations, has hesitated to back previous U.N. statements because of THAAD deployment, Yonhap reported. But some Chinese commenters posting online say they understand the viewpoint of the South Korean government while mocking North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Public opinion also conveyed a general frustration with North Korea provocations, including the recent test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

China's social media platform Weibo and the comments section of state tabloid Global Times included criticisms of Seoul's decision to deploy THAAD, but others said they could understand why South Korea has no choice but to deploy the missile defense system. Some commenters also ridiculed the North Korean ruler, calling him a derogatory word that translates into "the third fat member of the Kim family." One wrote, "To a certain extent I can understand why South Korea and the United States want to deploy THAAD...because North Korea's Fatty Kim without principle easily and quickly fires missiles," comparing the act to flatulence.

A Chinese news magazine featuring a front-page story on Kim Jong-un is sold at a news stand in Beijing. The North Korean leader was ridiculed on Chinese social media after the firing of a SLBM last week.​

Another commenter said deploying THAAD is like applying mosquito repellent, and a third commenter said the deployment is good because "If South Korea decides to develop its own nuclear weapons, then guess whose headache that will be," Yonhap reported.

A fourth complained that China cannot chide North Korea even as the "third fatty Kim develops nuclear weapons." "Is there a more tough country than North and South Korea?" the commenter lamented. Beijing has raised concerns THAAD's powerful radar could be used to monitor the country, but the United States and South Korea have attempted to persuade China to approach the issue differently.

Chinese commenters air North Korea frustrations, call Kim 'fat'

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd heard dey gonna put a nuclear warhead onna torpedo an' call it the Fatboy...

Analyst: North Korea submarine may be preparing to go to sea
Dec. 19, 2016 -- North Korea's GORAE-class experimental ballistic missile submarine may be preparing to go to sea.

Writing for 38 North, a Johns Hopkins University website dedicated to North Korea issues, analyst Joseph Bermudez stated work on the submersible craft appears to be complete at Sinpo South Shipyard, according to satellite images taken Dec. 9. The netting that once covered the submarine and a submersible test barge has been removed, and North Korea also appears to have completed work on the land area along the waters, a "reconfiguration [that] will allow the stand to test missiles with engines larger than the KN-11 SLBM last tested in August."

The analyst added the imagery is not yet available to confirm a recent report that North Korea conducted a "cold launch" from a land-based facility in December. If it did happen the launch "would have taken place from the vertical test stand at Sinpo," Bermudez writes. What the images from Dec. 9 do show are a "small grouping of equipment of supplies" and the removal of netting that covered the submarine. "These two factors suggest that both [submarine and submersible test barge] may have recently been at sea or are preparing to go to sea in the near future," the analyst writes.

Those possibilities however do not necessarily mean North Korea is preparing for another test of an SLBM. "There are numerous reasons why the GORAE or test barge would be put to sea other than testing missiles or their components, such as certification of personnel or validation of repairs. Therefore, based on satellite imagery alone, it is not possible to determine whether a SLBM test is imminent," the analyst stated.

North Korea has previously tested SLBMs in April, July and August, and possibly in December, according to a U.S. official who spoke anonymously to Japanese television network NHK.

Analyst: North Korea submarine may be preparing to go to sea

 

[sealybobo]

View attachment 41188

...I've been waiting so long to use this meme again.

Well, they just tested trump. They didn't cross trumps line but still a pretty prevocative act. I don't like Kim jung in. I wouldnt be surprised if trump took him out.