North Korea: South On Alert For Missile Launch

North Korea: South On Alert For Missile Launch

uk.news.yahoo.com

South Korea and the US have upgraded their military surveillance status on the Korean Peninsula amid concerns Pyongyang is ready to fire up to three missiles.

North Korea, which previously said it cannot guarantee the safety of foreign embassy workers after today, is believed to have moved weaponry to its eastern coast, facing Japan.

(visit the link for the full news article)

More bravado/Sabre rattling or could this actually be heading somewhere. I have stayed pretty quiet in the threads relating to NK/SK etc but it seems things haven't slowed or gone 'quiet' as it has in the past. Is the NK leader mearly a puppet along for the ride or is he disillusioned into thinking NK will actually come out of any conflict as they are threatening with.

I must say, much restraint has been displayed by SK and the West during all of this too...

uk.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I just hope the missile If fired goes the way the NK's want it to go and not go wrong and actually hit something.

It does look like they will fire missile tests...

based on what the United States has seen, the belief is that the missiles have received their liquid fuel and are ready for launch.

After any launch, U.S. satellites and radars in the region would be able to calculate the trajectory of missiles within minutes and quickly conclude whether they are on a test path headed for open ocean or potentially headed for land areas such as Japan.

The United States and Japan would then have to decide whether to try to shoot the missiles down, the officials said.

As NK will most probably test fire without a warning, not only would it be a danger for land targets in the area but also a danger to aerial crafts and maritime vessels in the area.

In most probability, if they fire - which I think they will - , the missiles will be shot down.

How NK reacts to having its missiles shot down is the real question and could be the game changer...

JMHO.

www.cnn.com...

If they do it's all on them. US is trying to negotiate before rushing to fight. A smart man would take advantage of that.

The US can't really fire the first shot though, as NK boarders with China and I don't think they'd be very happy as their #1 trader. The whole world is watching what that 28 year old bastard, is he really that deluded that he believes his systems are as or more advanced as the Wests? Or are our media lying to us, I've read that NK's technology is far greater than what the media is portraying...

Only time will tell really

Originally posted by StarTraveller
More bravado/Sabre rattling or could this actually be heading somewhere.

I think, going on the previous actions of NK, it's sabre rattling. He's trying to do what his daddy did to get aid from the rest of the world, and he's using a public holiday to bolster his position with his own people.

Their entire culture is built on the military, but they never actually fight. So, they have to have these little periods where they're taken to the brink, they bolster nationalist pride, then they gradually calm it down again when they get what they want.

This wouldn't work in other countries of course, because we have access to information and we could just vote these people out. But there, the people have no clue. The NK state could announce tomorrow that they successfully scared the international community and won, and the people would believe it and praise their leader. Even if they didn't believe it, they have no choice.

I guess we'll find out. If they do launch something and it does threaten Japan, SK or a US base then they SHOULD face retaliation. But I don't think that's likely. I really think they'll just launch a test rocket, wait to see what happens, then maybe launch another in a couple of days.

They're playing a very risky game with China though. China is really the only reason no one has taken down their leadership yet. If their guard dog decides it's had enough and agrees that something has to be done to stabilize their neighbourhood, then that really gives the international community the chance to stop the ongoing threats once and for all.

Personally, although I hate any prospect of war, if China is on our side the international community should act and remove Kim and his leadership quickly. We cannot afford another nuclear state, and especially not one who is already trying to threaten the world before they even have that weapon. We should be taking them out as soon as possible.

It would be interesting if they test a missile, but it's trajectory is close enough to "warrant" a shoot-down attempt. I think that is what NK is looking for in hopes of gaining some international support. Pointing out that US/Japan/SK committed an 'act of war'. Time will see I suppose. Hopefully it all is just bravado.

Originally posted by conz1992
The US can't really fire the first shot though, as NK boarders with China and I don't think they'd be very happy as their #1 trader. The whole world is watching what that 28 year old bastard, is he really that deluded that he believes his systems are as or more advanced as the Wests? Or are our media lying to us, I've read that NK's technology is far greater than what the media is portraying...

Only time will tell really

This used to be the case, but I don't think China has the patience for them any more. I don't think the US would do anything without firm guarantee from China to either stay out of it or join the effort. We would need China to be at least supportive of the move if not actually involved themselves. That's actually not so unlikely now, they view NK as a little sibling, sometimes extremely annoying, and I think now they actually do recognize the threat from the regime.

I think Kim's age and inexperience has a lot to do with this. Chinese (and Japanese) cultures have a reverence for elders and wisdom, and they do not think a youth like Kim is a capable leader. They're right too, he's not. I believe they look at him with suspicion and deem him to be a child, and a weak one able to be pushed around by his (female) relatives, something they would also not respect in the slightest.

Maybe that's another reason for all of this too though? Perhaps NK is trying to prove something to China as well as the people of the North?

I don't think anything will happen unless we have China on the side of the international community, but I don't think that's so unlikely now. Their patience with their annoying little neighbour is wearing very thin, and if there is a risk of war in their back yard I think they would probably be more eager to watch it unfold with caution than act in any way against it.

I say shoot all 3.That should shut up Nk and show them for the blowhard pseudo bullies they are when they do absolutely nothing.A great opportunity to these big mouths shut.

I am not an advocate for war or conflict but sometimes war is a necessary thing sadly and I think with regards to the situation with North Korea then I think this theory applies. The only sad part are the people who do not deserve to be caught up in war and they are innocents people on both countries.

If North Korea 'test fire' a missile again into the ocean off Japan then all we will see (that is if it is not shot down first) is the international community going to the UN and the UN then putting more sanctions on the sanctions that they sanctioned a few years ago and then North Korea will start the bluster all over again and we will continue in a mad cycle.

I personally think this needs stopping once and for all! I am getting sick and tired of al the words and all the rhetoric. The people of South Korea and Japan should not ever need to live there lives in fear of the North attacking them.

Also the poor people in the North need to have food and not eat grass and dirt. No one in this modern times should be eating dirt and grass especially Children! A war to libirate the people of the North and give them freedom and food and a state of living that every person deserves is a just war in my opinion.

Originally posted by ownbestenemy
It would be interesting if they test a missile, but it's trajectory is close enough to "warrant" a shoot-down attempt. I think that is what NK is looking for in hopes of gaining some international support. Pointing out that US/Japan/SK committed an 'act of war'. Time will see I suppose. Hopefully it all is just bravado.

Couldn't these weapons be shot down over international waters regardless of whether it was a test? They are missiles, they are a potential threat to aircraft, ships, marine life. All the US would have to do is wait until the ordinance is above international waters and take em out. Good test for US Anti-missile systems, good F off to the DPRK.

Just a quick thought there.

I think it would be really amusing if they all mysteriously blew up during launch. The West currently has the ability to do this.
The only thing that might stop them is the fact that NK and Lil Kim would lose too much face...and overcompensate by doing something even more stupid.

It will at best be a "warning shot" that will blast into the ocean. It's a way for Kim to say to say "Look we have them too". However I don't think he himself has the balls to actually attack S. Korea or any other target. His generals on the other hand are different story...

-SAP-

reply to post by StarTraveller


If North Korea keeps going in this direction. They're likely to get where their going.

reply to post by StarTraveller

www.cuttingedge.org...

"A hair-raising nuclear confrontation in Korea may, towards the end of the period, threaten man's very survival."

[Peter Lemesurier, "The Armageddon Script", p. 223]

Here we have a book written in 1981 and re-printed in 1983 predicting todays events.

Now there's a co-incidence.

reply to post by randyvs


Poor ruddy fish

Just swimming along dum de dum and boom!!!

reply to post by boymonkey74


Ya ! That was a fishing trawler out there, getting a little to ambitious with their method of the daily catch.

Originally posted by SloAnPainful
It will at best be a "warning shot" that will blast into the ocean. It's a way for Kim to say to say "Look we have them too". However I don't think he himself has the balls to actually attack S. Korea or any other target. His generals on the other hand are different story...

-SAP-

This leads into the point I made here though. We can have several scenarios here:

1: Kim lets loose test missiles and does what you said, proclaims to the world they can achieve 1950s distances. It is bluster.

2: Kim does the above, but into an area that the US/SK recognizes as a "no-go" area; we intercept it and Kim claims to the world that the West initiated an attack.

3. Kim fires em off, they falter or fail to meet expectations. They blame the West.

4. Kim continues rhetoric and nothing happens.

5. Kim "mistakenly" fires a missile too close for comfort and the West again, intercepts the missile, causing harrumphs from around the globe.

It is all in Kim's hands right now. What path will he choose?