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The regime of Kim Jong Un has threatened to hit the US mainland with a preemptive nuclear attack.
The US is beefing up its missile defence systems with new interceptors after recent threats of a nuclear attack by North Korea.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced the addition of 14 interceptors in Alaska to the US-based missile defence system, a nearly 50% increase in defence capability.
The new interceptors, added to the 30 already installed in California and Alaska, will improve the US' ability to shoot down missiles in flight before they reach the US.
Mr Hagel said the US is also working with Japan to deploy new radar systems from Japan that could better track and provide warning of any missile launched by the Communist regime.
And, he said, the Pentagon is studying the feasibility of alternative missile defence system sites in other parts of the US.
US officials do not believe North Korea is capable of carrying out a nuclear attack on the US, but the recent threat has added to tensions between the two countries.
The defence system has existed since 2004, when the George W Bush administration built it because of threats from North Korea.
In the past year North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and successfully launched a satellite into orbit - the same technology needed to launch a long-range missile.
North Korea's ire has also been directed at neighbour South Korea, recently threatening to reduce the country's capitol of Seoul to "a sea of fire".
More follows...
Originally posted by HomoSapiensSapiens
But seriously, NK is still stuck in the 1950s/60s and so is its military and weaponry. They are no match for anything - maybe they could successfully invade some weak African countries...?
Originally posted by HomoSapiensSapiens
Continued...
The new interceptors, added to the 30 already installed in California and Alaska, will improve the US' ability to shoot down missiles in flight before they reach the US.
Mr Hagel said the US is also working with Japan to deploy new radar systems from Japan that could better track and provide warning of any missile launched by the Communist regime.
And, he said, the Pentagon is studying the feasibility of alternative missile defence system sites in other parts of the US.
US officials do not believe North Korea is capable of carrying out a nuclear attack on the US, but the recent threat has added to tensions between the two countries.
The defence system has existed since 2004, when the George W Bush administration built it because of threats from North Korea.
In the past year North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and successfully launched a satellite into orbit - the same technology needed to launch a long-range missile.
North Korea's ire has also been directed at neighbour South Korea, recently threatening to reduce the country's capitol of Seoul to "a sea of fire".
More follows...
Well, I'm quite concerned that the United States is taking this seriously - but then again, it's better safe than sorry, right?
Having said that, we haven't heard much from the other bogeyman (i.e. Iran) - is everything quiet on that front?
But seriously, NK is still stuck in the 1950s/60s and so is its military and weaponry. They are no match for anything - maybe they could successfully invade some weak African countries...?
news.sky.com
(visit the link for the full news article)
Other links:
U.S. to beef up missile defense against North Korea, Iran
U.S. ramping up missile defense against N. Korea amid new threats
edit on 3/15/2013 by HomoSapiensSapiens because: (no reason given)
edit on 3/15/2013 by HomoSapiensSapiens because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by HomoSapiensSapiens
reply to post by FidelityMusic
Dear me, I only just realised that Hagel said they would be up by 2017 - WTF??!!
North Korea's been ramping up its rhetoric (and actions) in recent times now - and the US is giving another 4 years to be well prepared! By the sounds of it, NK's attacks (if any) seem to be imminent!
The US plans to bolster its missile defences on the west coast to counter the threat from North Korea, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced. He said the US would add 14 interceptors, which can shoot down missiles in flight, to 30 already in place in California and Alaska by 2017. But the final phase of the US European Missile Defence programme is being scrapped to partly fund the project. Due to begin in 2022, it would have sited interceptors in eastern Europe. Mr Hagel cited a "series of irresponsible and reckless provocations" recently by North Korea. Pyongyang carried out a third nuclear test last month. A statement in North Korean state media last month also threatened the US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. Europe plan shelved However, analysts say the regime is years away from producing a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the US. "The US has missile defences to protect us from limited ICBM [Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile] attacks," Mr Hagel told Friday's press conference. "But North Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations."
The plan to beef up U.S. missile defense capabilities will also affect Japan, given the increasingly threatening posture adopted by its neighbor North Korea. “With the support of the Japanese government, we’re planning to deploy additional radar in Japan,” the defense chief said, adding the measure is aimed at providing “improved early warning and tracking of any missile launch from North Korea at the United States or Japan.” Hagel was referring to an X-band radar system that Tokyo and Washington are considering installing in Japan, in addition to the existing large-scale radar unit at an Air Self-Defense Force base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Japan and the United States are considering installing a second X-band radar system in an ASDF base on the Sea of Japan coast in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan. Asked when the second X-band radar will be installed, James Miller, undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters, “At this point, I would say it’s a matter of at least some months,” although the two governments are discussing the precise timing of the installation.
This whole thing strikes me as being highly illogical, If analysts say the regime is years away from producing a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the US, then why spend all those millions of taxpayers money bolstering up missile defense systems for something that is never going to happen?
Tensions are quietly building between the US and China over a number of issues... Using the empty threats from NK as justification for the buildup is good cover for the actual reasons for it. North Korea's ability to even reach the west coast isn't close enough yet. The defenses already in place can handle any real threats from NK. But not from Chinese sub, or air, or sea-surface launched cruise missiles.
The primary goal of the US plans to bolster missile defense in Alaska isn’t about tackling a North Korean threat, but putting a claim on the natural resources of the Arctic, former MI5 intelligence officer, Annie Machon, explained in an interview RT.