The Rush is ON- North Korea Ballistic Missile Engine Test-Success

[Geaux4it]

All the global nut jobs will pick up the pace to carry out actions no other sensible POTUS would allow. These dictators know Obama will do absolutely nothing for the next 9 months so its open season. You watch, some crazy things will begin to transpire.

Turn that shit hole to glass. China? BFD. 4-Star Admirals have been silenced relative to their plans and briefs calling on the US to show China we are still a Nation to be respected. Especially in the south china sea.

China will do nothing

-Geaux
=============

View photos
According to the North's official KCNA news agency, the ground engine test was ordered and personally monitored by leader Kim Jong-Un


North Korea said Saturday it had successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) that would "guarantee" an eventual nuclear strike on the US mainland.

It was the latest in a series of claims by Pyongyang of significant breakthroughs in both its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

Outside experts have treated a number of the claims with scepticism, suggesting the North Korean leadership is attempting to talk up its achievements ahead of a showcase ruling party congress next month.

According to the North's official KCNA news agency, the ground engine test was ordered and personally monitored by leader Kim Jong-Un.

As soon as Kim flagged off the test, "the engine spewed out huge flames with deafening boom", KCNA said.

"The great success... provided a firm guarantee for mounting another form of nuclear attack upon the US imperialists and other hostile forces," Kim was quoted as saying.

Now North Korea "can tip new type inter-continental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth including the US mainland within our striking range", he added.

North Korea says successfully tested ballistic missile engine

 

[there4eyeM]

Funny how propaganda all is so similar.

 

[Geaux4it]

Funny how propaganda all is so similar.

Now we have Iran and NK ramping up the presses. Reminds me how we pulled back in Vietnam to try and get the North to the table. All the while they were running up the arms via the HMT in prep for the 1968 Tet Offensive

Obama sitting back and letting them prepare

-Geaux

 

[waltky]

Lil' Kim's missile goes pfft! on his birthday...

N Korea’s missile launch fails, draws Chinese ire
Sat, Apr 16, 2016 - ‘DAY OF THE SUN’: China’s state media accused North Korea of ‘saber-rattling,’ after Pyongyang tried but failed to launch a mid-range missile on Kim Il-sung’s birthday

North Korea yesterday attempted and failed to launch what experts believe was an intermediate-range ballistic missile in defiance of UN sanctions and in an embarrassing setback for leader Kim Jong-un, drawing criticism from major ally China. The failed launch, as the reclusive country celebrates the “Day of the Sun” on the birthday of Kim’s grandfather, follows the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to new UN sanctions. That has not stopped the North from pushing ahead with its missile program, supervised by Kim, in breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

The US-based 38 North Web site, which specializes in North Korea, said there has been activity at the country’s nuclear site based on satellite imagery and on Wednesday said the possibility of a fifth nuclear test “could not be ruled out.” China, North Korea’s most important economic and diplomatic backer, has been angered by Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and rocket launches in the face of UN sanctions that China has also backed.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said the UN council was clear on North Korean rocket launches. “At present, the situation on the peninsula is complex and sensitive,” he told reporters. “We hope all parties can strictly respect the decisions of the Security Council and avoid taking any steps that could further worsen tensions.”

Chinese state media were more direct. “The firing of a mid-range ballistic missile on Friday by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK], though failed, marks the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere,” China’s Xinhua news agency said in an English-language commentary. “Nuclear weapons will not make Pyongyang safer. On the contrary, its costly military endeavors will keep on suffocating its economy,” it said.

MORE

See also:

North Korea missile launch ended in failure, Seoul says
April 14, 2016 - North Korea’s numerous provocations have invited warnings from its allies, including China and Russia.

North Korea attempted to launch a missile Friday, but the mission likely ended in failure, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said. Pyongyang was planning to fire the missile in commemoration of founder Kim Il Sung's 104th birthday anniversary, Yonhap reported. The launch attempt took place on the eastern coast of North Korea, "early in the morning," Seoul stated. "North Korea attempted to fire a missile, but the launch is believed to be a failure," the joint chiefs said in statement.

North Korea's numerous provocations have invited warnings from its allies, including China and Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Pyongyang on Thursday to refrain from "irresponsible behavior," Radio Free Asia reported. Lavrov, who was on a state visit to Mongolia, advised the North to act rationally and stay away from further provocations. The Russian diplomat made the remarks while delivering a lecture at the Mongolian foreign ministry, Russia's TASS News Agency reported.

Lavrov said Pyongyang has been disregarding the United Nations Security Council resolutions while testing missiles and nuclear weapons. The Russian official added North Korea's desire to become a nuclear weapons state is a mistake and the country needs to wake up to reality, according to Radio Free Asia. Lavrov also said North Korea must give up nuclear weapons development if it wants to fully regain its membership in the international community.

North Korea missile launch ended in failure, Seoul says

 

[waltky]

And again - North Korea missile test launch 'fails'...

Tue, 31 May 2016 - North Korea has attempted to fire a ballistic missile off its east coast but the launch appears to have failed, South Korean military officials say.

It is unclear what type of missile it was, but it follows three failed tests of the medium-range "Musudan" missile in April. The North is banned by the UN from using any ballistic missile technology. Tensions have run high in the region after Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January and numerous missile tests. Also on Tuesday, the newly promoted vice-chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers Party, Ri Su-yong, arrived in China for what South Korean media said was an unannounced official visit.

China is North Korea's closest ally and trading partner, but ties have been strained by the nuclear test and weapons activity. It is the first visit since the Worker's Party congress earlier this month in North Korea, the first in 36 years. Mr Ri, who was travelling with a large entourage, would likely be briefing China on other major developments at the congress, in an attempt to rebuild the relationship, said Yonhap.

'Breakthroughs'

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the attempted launch happened at 05:20 local time (20:50 GMT Monday) off the North's east coast, near the city of Wonson. A report in the Yonhap news agency quoted sources saying this fourth failed test may also have been of a Musudan missile. A Musudan missile, in theory, has the range to reach Japan and the US territory of Guam, however the North has never successfully tested one.

During the party congress, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un extended an offer of military dialogue to the South. But Seoul dismissed the proposal as insincere. At the same meeting, Mr Kim also vowed to continue with the nuclear weapons programme. Pyongyang has claimed a series of technical breakthroughs in recent months, including miniaturising a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, that experts have treated with scepticism.

North Korea's rocket launches

 

[waltky]

No. Korea gettin' closer to missiles that can reach the U.S....

N. Korea test fires two powerful, mid-range missiles
June 22, 2016 • Nuclear-armed North Korea conducted two back-to-back tests of a powerful new medium-range missile on Wednesday, with both achieving a significant increase in flight distance over previous failed launches, South Korea's Defence Ministry said. Both tests were believed to be of a much-hyped, intermediate-range Musudan missile -- theoretically capable of reaching US bases as far away as Guam.

International condemnation was swift, with the United States, NATO and Japan labelling the launches a clear violation of UN resolutions, and South Korea vowing to push for tighter sanctions on Pyongyang. Existing UN Security Council measures ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology. The first test shortly before 6:00 am (2100 GMT Tuesday) was deemed to have failed after reportedly flying around 150 kilometres (90 miles) over the East Sea (Sea of Japan).

According to Japanese military monitors, the second missile attained a height of 1,000 kilometres and a range of 400 kilometres -- a trajectory some experts suggested was calculated to avoid any violation of Japanese air space. Four failed Musudan tests earlier this year all either exploded on the mobile launch pad or shortly after take-off. A successful test would mark a major step forward for a weapons programme that ultimately aspires to develop a proven nuclear strike capability against the US mainland.

- Worrying progress -

Melissa Hanham, an expert on North Korea's WMD programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Wednesday's launches represented a worrying step forward. "The second was likely a success. Testing is iterative and they are learning from each flight," Hanham told AFP. "Policymakers need to focus on a testing ban to prevent this from becoming a working missile," she added. US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the latest launches would only increase global efforts to counter North Korea's illicit weapons programme. "W‎e intend to raise our concerns at the UN to bolster international resolve in holding (North Korea) accountable for these provocative actions," Kirby said in a statement. Japanese broadcaster NHK quoted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying such tests "cannot be tolerated", while NATO "strongly condemned" the launch in a statement from its secretary general.

South Korea's foreign ministry warned that North Korea would face even stronger sanctions and said the tests underlined "the hypocrisy and deceptiveness" of Pyongyang's recent offers of military talks with Seoul. China, traditionally the North's closest ally, cautioned against "any action that may escalate tension" and called for a resumed dialogue on the North's nuclear programme. First unveiled as an indigenous missile at a military parade in Pyongyang in October 2010, the Musudan has a theoretical range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres. The lower estimate covers the whole of South Korea and Japan, while the upper range would include US military bases on Guam.

- String of failures -

See also:

North Korea makes apparent progress with midrange missile
Jun 22,`16 ) -- North Korea took a significant step Wednesday in the development of a powerful ballistic missile intended to reach U.S. bases in the Pacific, launching one of the weapons about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) high after five failed attempts in recent months.

The North's suspected Musudan tests worry Washington and its allies, Tokyo and Seoul, because the missile's potential 3,500-kilometer (2,180-mile) range puts much of Asia and the Pacific, including U.S. military bases there, within reach. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the most recent launch demonstrated a "certain level of capability," and could lead to a further strengthening of North Korea's ballistic missile capabilities that can cover Japanese territory. Each new test - apparently linked to a command from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - likely provides valuable insights to the North's scientists and military officials as they push toward their goal of a nuclear and missile program that can threaten the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang earlier this year conducted a nuclear test, its fourth, and launched a long-range rocket that outsiders say was a cover for a test of banned missile technology.

A statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected first Musudan launch from the east coast city of Wonsan failed. It didn't elaborate, but Japan's Defense Ministry said the missile fragmented and pieces fell into waters off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. Later Wednesday, the South's military said the North fired another suspected Musudan, which flew about 400 kilometers (245 miles). Seoul didn't immediately classify this launch as either a success or failure. Japan's Defense Ministry said that its radar analysis found that the missile reached an altitude exceeding 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), which suggests it was a Musudan missile.

A man watches a TV news program reporting about a missile launch of North Korea, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea. In a remarkable show of persistence, North Korea on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, fired two suspected powerful new Musudan mid-range missiles, U.S. and South Korean military officials said, but at least one of the launches apparently failed, Pyongyang's fifth such reported flop since April. The letters read on top left: "Fail, North Korea's Musudan missile."​

"We have to see it as a success," Lee Choon Geun, an analyst at South Korea's state-funded Science and Technology Policy Institute, said of the second launch. "No other (previous) missiles fired by North Korea have ever flown that high." The U.S. Strategic Command in Hawaii said its systems detected and tracked two suspected North Korean Musudan missiles that fell into the Sea of Japan. They didn't pose a threat to North America, it said. In April, North Korea attempted unsuccessfully to launch three suspected Musudan missiles, but all exploded midair or crashed, according to South Korean defense officials. Earlier this month, North Korea had another suspected Musudan failure, South Korean officials said.

Before April's launches, North Korea had never flight-tested a Musudan missile, although one was displayed during a military parade in 2010 in Pyongyang. The launches appear to stem from Kim Jong Un's order in March for more nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The order was an apparent response to springtime U.S.-South Korean military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

MORE

Related:

North Korea missiles 'a serious threat' after new tests
Wed, 22 Jun 2016 - Japan warns North Korean missiles pose "a serious threat" after the country carries out new tests in defiance of international sanctions.

North Korea launched two missiles within hours of each other, with one flying about 400km (250 miles) and reaching an altitude of 1,000km. A confirmed successful test would mark a step forward for North Korea after four failed launches in recent months. South Korea, the US and Nato have also expressed alarm over the latest tests. Both launches are believed to have been intermediate-range Musudan missiles, whose range of about 3,000km is enough to hit South Korea, Japan and the US territory of Guam in the Western Pacific

A suspected first launch failed, South Korean officials said, travelling about 150km before landing in the sea. But the second showed what Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani called "some capability". "I believe the missiles are a serious threat to our country," he said. North Korea, which is developing nuclear weapons, is banned by UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology. In January it conducted its fourth nuclear test, claiming it as its first use a hydrogen bomb. Shortly after that it launched a satellite, widely seen as a test of long-range missile technology.

Washington watches on, by Jonathan Marcus, BBC Defence & Diplomatic Correspondent

This is at least the fifth test of the Musudan medium-range missile in the past few months and while most have ended in failure, one of the latest pair fired does seem to have travelled at a high trajectory for some 400km. The Musudan appears to be based on the technology of an old Russian Soviet-era submarine launched missile. It is carried on a wheeled launcher and was first seen in parades back in 2003, though it was never test-fired until April of this year. Experts believe the weapon is intended to be able to strike US bases on Guam, but North Korea's ultimate goal is to be able to threaten the continental United States.

North Korea's progress is mixed and erratic. But it is clearly determined and its missile and associated nuclear weapons programme means that its rocket tests are being carefully watched by Washington. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Seoul and the US were "carrying out an in-depth analysis" of the second missile, and did not say whether they considered it a success. Several analysts were less cautious though. Jeffrey Lewis, of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, tweeted: "That's a successful test folks."

In other reaction:

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - lil' fatboy crazy enough, he liable to do it...

Irked by U.S., South Korea anti-missile system, North Korea threatens open war
Monday 11th July, 2016 - Days after to and fro war of words and one failed submarine-launched ballistic missile test - North Korea has now issued yet another threat against arch-rival South Korea.

The warning was aimed at South Korea and U.S.’s commitment to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system that would effectively counter North Korea’s increasing nuclear capabilities. Both the countries committed to the THAAD deployment on Friday, followed by a strong North Korean response. The next morning, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, apparently targeting Seoul, the launch was said to have failed in the early stage of flight. Now, North Korean military has issued a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency that said, “There will be physical response measures from us as soon as the location and time that the invasionary tool for U.S. world supremacy, THAAD, will be brought into South Korea are confirmed. It is the unwavering will of our army to deal a ruthless retaliatory strike and turn (the South) into a sea of fire and a pile of ashes the moment we have an order to carry it out.”

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said that the THAAD system was not intended to target any third country. Geun-hye is said to have added that the THAAD system was purely aimed at countering the threat from the North, in an apparent message to Beijing. “I’m certain the international community knows full well that we have no intention whatsoever to target any other country or threaten them.” Some reports quoted officials from South Korea as saying that authorities would round up on a site for the deployment of the THAAD wishing weeks and that they were working to make it operational by the end of 2017. North Korea’s reaction has grown stronger as reports of the commitment to THAAD by rivals emerged merely a day after the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. The reclusive nation had claimed that the number of sanctions placed against the country and its leader amounted to a ‘declaration of war.’

Reports had stated that this was the first time that Kim Jong Un has been singled out personally, in the many sanctions slapped on the country, and placed on the blacklist for human rights abusers along with ten other officials. It was added that the sanctions are a move within an escalating campaign to attack the regime’s finances to retaliate against North Korea’s nuclear-weapon and ballistic-missiles tests. North Korea’s decision to adamantly pursue its nuclear programme, even in the face of strict UN sanctions, also led to U.S.’s decision to deploy an advanced missile defence system in South Korea. North Korea’s only key ally, China is said to have been agitated over the move claiming that it would “seriously damage” regional security in Northeast Asia. Beijing even urged the U.S. and South Korea to reconsider the deployment. Russia too has raised objections claiming that U.S. is trying to flex military muscle in the region. Pyongyang, on the other hand fired back at Washington after the announcement of the deployment, warning that North Korea would instantly cut off all diplomatic channels with the U.S. if the sanctions were not lifted.

North Korea drew international ire in January this year, when it declared that it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. The country followed this with a satellite launch in February provoking the ire of the United Nations, that imposed the toughest sanctions ever on North Korea. Unabashed, North then sent out several threatening signs and military provocations to neighbour and long-standing enemy, South Korea and its main ally, United States. The country had claimed to have secured key intercontinental ballistic missile technologies like the re-entry and engine technologies and even threatened to conduct a “nuclear warhead detonation” test. Pyongyang also announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had inspected the final test fire of the 300-millimeter caliber rockets equipped with an accurate guidance system. Pyongyang then launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile thrice, all ending in failure. After four test failures, North Korea recently fired two suspected powerful new Musudan mid-range missiles.

Irked by US South Korea anti-missile system North Korea threatens open war

See also:

North Korea says will treat U.S. detainees under 'wartime law'
Mon Jul 11, 2016 North Korea said on Monday it has told the United States it will sever the only channel of communication between them, at the United Nations in New York, after Washington blacklisted leader Kim Jong Un last week for human rights abuses.

All matters related to the United States, including the handling of U.S. citizens detained by Pyongyang, will be conducted under its "wartime law," the North's official KCNA news agency said. The move was the latest escalation of tension with the isolated country, which earlier on Monday threatened a "physical response" after the United States and South Korea said they would deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. "As the United States will not accept our demand for the immediate withdrawal of the sanctions measure, we will be taking corresponding actions in steps," KCNA said. "As the first step, we have notified that the New York contact channel that has been the only existing channel of contact will be completely severed," it said. "The Republic will handle all matters arising between us and the United States from now on under our wartime laws, and the matters of Americans detained are no exception to this." North Korea has previously indicated that wartime laws would mean detainees will not be released on humanitarian grounds.

'BARGAINING CHIPS'

This could delay release of two detained Americans, giving North Korea one of its last bits of leverage in negotiations with the United States, said T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA's international advocacy director. "The tension is at one of the highest levels now, and one of the areas they have control over is with the detainees," Kumar said. "They will use them as bargaining chips to get some advantages." Kumar said he did not think the prisoners would be affected in other significant ways. North Korea and the United States remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War, in which Washington sided with the South, ended only with a truce. The so-called New York channel, via North Korea’s mission to the United Nations, has been an intermittent point of contact between North Korea and the United States, which do not have diplomatic relations. It has been used in the past to exchange messages and, less frequently, to hold discussions, including over detainees held by North Korea. However, the release of U.S. detainees by North Korea has generally come only after visits to Pyongyang by high-profile U.S. leaders, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

In 2011, North Korea used the New York channel to appeal for food aid and in 2012 to warn Washington about a planned satellite launch. The following year, a North Korean diplomat met with a U.S. official over a nuclear test. The two Americans known to be detained in North Korea are Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student sentenced in March to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean state media. The other, Korean-American Kim Dong Chul, is serving a 10-year sentence for espionage, state media said. A University of Virginia spokesman said the university remains in touch with Warmbier's family. Otto Warmbier's mother, Cynthia, declined to comment when reached by telephone on Monday. Simon Park, senior minister at the Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Virginia, who worked with Kim for several years, said he was concerned for Kim, and for his wife and their two children who are living in China. "He is currently on a hard labor sentence and whether this will change or not, we are not sure," Park said, adding that he last spoke with Kim shortly before his imprisonment. "All we can do is pray for his family," Park said.

'DECLARATION OF WAR'

Related:

North Korea Cuts Off Only Diplomatic Channel With US Over Sanctions
JULY 11, 2016 — North Korea said on Monday that it had cut off its only official channel of diplomatic communications with the United States in retaliation for Washington’s sanctions against its leader, Kim Jong-un, over human rights abuses. The North’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York notified the United States government of its decision on Sunday to sever the channel, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Although the two countries have no diplomatic ties, the United Nations mission has long served as a point of contact and was often used to arrange talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear weapons program. “Because the United States did not accept our demand that the sanctions be retracted, we are taking concrete actions one by one, the first of which is to completely cut off the New York channel of communication, the only official point of contact that has existed between the two sides,” K.C.N.A. said, citing the notice. North Korea also said that it would now treat all issues with the United States, including the handling of two Americans held in the North, under its wartime law.

It did not elaborate on how its decision would affect the fate of Kim Dong-chul, a Korean-born American citizen who was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in April after being convicted of spying and other offenses. Another American, Otto F. Warmbier, is serving 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal a political banner from his hotel in Pyongyang, the capital. On Wednesday, the United States placed sanctions on Mr. Kim for the first time, accusing him of human rights abuses. It also blacklisted other top officials in North Korea, as well as the intelligence and security ministries there, over abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture. North Korea has called the sanctions “an open declaration of war” and warned of retaliation.

North Korea is already under heavy sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. But by singling out Mr. Kim, its 32-year-old leader, Washington sought to use pressure over human rights as leverage. The North is especially sensitive about outside criticism of its leader, who rules by a personality cult. Earlier Monday, North Korea threatened an unspecified “physical counteraction” once the United States and South Korea decided upon a site in the South where an advanced American missile defense system would be deployed. The warning from the North Korean military, carried by K.C.N.A., was its first reaction since South Korea and the United States announced an agreement on Friday to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, system in the South.

The allies said the deployment was to better protect South Korea and the United States military in the region from the North’s growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. Officials were expected to reveal the site for a Thaad base this year. On Monday, North Korea said that the rationale to deploy Thaad was “absurd,” adding that all its military weapons, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile it tested last month, were for “self-defense.” North Korea “will take a physical counteraction to thoroughly control Thaad,” the military said in its statement, which characterized the system’s deployment part of an American plan for “world domination.” In addition, the military vowed to act against the system “from the moment its location and place have been confirmed in South Korea.”

MORE

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dat lil' fatboy crazy enough, he liable to do it...

North Korea says it is preparing for nuclear strike against United States
Sunday 14th August, 2016 - North Korea says it is preparing for a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. The country says it has switched the status of its military from defense mode to attack mode.

The deployment by the United States of three B-52 stealth bombers to Andersen Air Force Base at Guam earlier this week has unnerved the North Korean regime which said Saturday the deployment was preparation for a planned nuclear strike on North Korea. The government said if it it sees any sign an invasion underway it will launch a nuclear strike against the U.S. The Yonhap news agency based in Seoul in South Korea confirmed the Nortth Korean government statement which it picked up from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North Korean official news agency. "The U.S. attempt to invade the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) is getting evermore reckless," KCNA said in a signed commentary.

The U.S. Air Force says it deployed the 3 B-52 to Guam on Tuesday, largely because of the recent rhetoric coming out of North Korea. Pyongyang however believes the United States is preparing for a pre-emptive nuclear strike. "The U.S. evermore undisguised reinforcement of the nuclear force goes to clearly prove that it is trying to make a preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK a fait accompli," said the commentary.

Warning that it could strike first, North Korea said: "The right to make a preemptive nuclear strike is not the monopoly of the U.S." "The DPRK revolutionary armed forces switched from their existing mode of military counter-action to the mode of a preemptive strike to cope with the enemy's ridiculous military hysteria to undermine its sovereignty and right to existence," the KCNA statement said. "All their operational groups are fully ready to deal a merciless and annihilating blow to the enemy if they make even the slightest provocation," it added.

Saturday's developments coincide with an acceleration of conscription in North Korea. The government has introduced a new recruitment regulation which requires all men aged up to their mid-30s, who have dodged military service in the past, to now join up. University students, factory workers, and men with families have been exempted in the past. They are now getting call-up notices to report for physical examinations.

North Korea says it is preparing for nuclear strike against United States

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - now fatboy got him a nuclear railroad...

Report: North Korea assembling rail-based missile launchers
Vehicles are being built to launch missiles moving on railways, sources say.

North Korea is constructing a mobile long-range missile launcher that can be transported on rail tracks, according to multiple sources in North Korea. The new system is being assembled at North Korea's June 4 vehicle factory and production began in 2016, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday. Engineers of Pyongyang's second economic commission began working on the launcher in May, one source on the North Korean side of Gangwon Province told RFA. The plans to operate the mobile launcher were initially suspended due to the short supply of electricity in North Korea and scarcity of steel, the source said. But under a plan, launched in 2014, to modernize North Korean weaponry, the project is now being managed by the second economic commission.

The vehicle factory has been manufacturing six railway-mounted launcher vehicles per month. The trains being used to transport the missile launcher would include about 8 to 14 cars, the source said, adding he had not directly observed the cars. A second source based in North Korea's North Hamgyong Province said he had "heard the news" that North Korea was building vehicles to launch missiles that move over railways, according to RFA. The source said the plan to transport the launcher on rail tracks might have been pursued after China refused to export heavy land-based vehicles to North Korea.

But North Korea's aging railroad system is not an optimal choice, other sources say. North Korea's infrastructure is also vulnerable to damage due to severe weather. Free North Korea Radio director Kim Seong-min told South Korean news service No Cut News heavy rains have been pounding on North Korea's North Hamgyong and Yanggang Provinces. On Monday in the border city of Hyesan, a five-story apartment building collapsed and 80 people were subsequently injured or killed, according to Kim.

Report: North Korea assembling rail-based missile launchers

See also:

North Korea soldiers 'given nuclear backpacks' as tensions rise over US-South Korean military exercises
Wednesday 31 August 2016 - Report comes after series of weapons tests by Kim Jong-un's forces

Elite North Korean soldiers are being armed with “nuclear backpacks”, a source has claimed as tensions increase over the authoritarian state’s attempts at military escalation. An anonymous source told Radio Free Asia special units have been formed since March to carry the weapons and had been taking part in simulated training exercises with dummy bombs. “Outstanding soldiers were selected from each reconnaissance platoon and light infantry brigade to form the nuclear backpack unit the size of a battalion,” the source from North Hamgyong province was quoted as saying. The supposed weapons were said to weigh between 10 and 30 kilograms and be able to “spray radioactive material”, possibly uranium, on the enemy. It was impossible to verify the account given to Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the US government.

North Korean propaganda showed soldiers wearing rucksacks bearing a yellow and black radiation symbol during a parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the national Workers' Party in October, while similar backpacks were seen at a procession in 2013. The report came after Kim Jong-un’s administration reportedly executed a vice premier and banished two other top officials to rural areas for dreaded “re-education”. South Korean officials said Yong-jin, a cabinet minister for education affairs, had been killed, possibly by a firing squad in July for unspecified anti-revolutionary and factional acts.

Reports said said Kim first faced an investigation because of the way he was seated during a meeting attended by the Supreme Leader. Kim Yong-chol, a top ruling Workers' Party official in charge of anti-Seoul spy operations, and Choe Hwi, a senior party official dealing with propaganda affairs, had been banished to undertake “revolutionary re-education” programmes. The reported purges came as North Korea continues to intensify its propaganda over joint military exercises being conducted by more than 75,000 American and South Korean troops in “Ulchi Freedom Guardian”.

While the North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system. In a statement earlier this month by US and South Korean forces described the exercises as “non-provocative in nature” and designed to enhance “readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula”. But the drills provoked a stream of threats from Pyongyang, which said it would turn Seoul and Washington into a “heap of ashes” with a pre-emptive strike.

An editorial published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday accused Barack Obama’s administration of presiding over a “reckless arms build-up” that “cannot but spark off a fresh nuclear arms race among regional countries”. North Korea has made considerable progress on weapons technology this year, including testing a submarine-launched missile for the first time, but it is unclear whether its nuclear material has been developed into a warhead able to be mounted on a missile. It conducted its fourth nuclear explosion in January and followed it up with a series of missile tests, in spite of severe United Nations sanctions.

North Korean soldiers 'given nuclear backpacks'