Japan on full alert for NKorea missile

[Ceewan]

Japan is on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea, its defence minister says, as South Korea raised its military watch alert to 'vital threat'.

'We have been on full alert since we deployed military units, and so we will maintain this sense of vigilance,' Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe separately said: 'We are making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety.'

The South Korea-US Combined Forces Command raised its 'Watchcon' status from 3 to 2 reflecting indications of a 'vital threat', Yonhap news agency said, citing a senior military official.

South Korean intelligence says the North has prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions.

Japan, where the armed forces have been authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, on Tuesday stationed Patriot missiles in its capital to protect the 30 million population.

In addition to PAC-3 batteries, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Pyongyang's bellicose rhetoric has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, with near-daily threats of attacks on US military bases including in Japan and South Korea in response to ongoing South Korean-US military exercises.

A top US military commander said on Tuesday he favoured shooting down a North Korean missile only if it threatened the United States or Washington's allies in the region.

Analysts said Tokyo's measures were purely precautionary and a mis-targeted missile that might end up falling uncontrollably towards Japanese territory was most likely what Tokyo was readying for.

source:
http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=862210

 

[Ceewan]

N. Korea warns foreigners in the South should make plans to evacuate

SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday said all foreigners and foreign-run businesses in the South should draw up evacuation plans, the latest in a series of shrill warnings from Pyongyang about what it describes as likely armed conflict on the peninsula.

The North “does not want to see foreigners in South Korea fall victim to the war,” the country’s state-run news agency said in a statement attributed to the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, an arm of the ruling Workers’ Party.

The warning was dismissed as bluster by most security analysts. They say Pyongyang wants only to raise tensions and win political concessions from the South, not go to war with it. Officials in Seoul said they saw no signs in the North of irregular military activity or preparations for war, and a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said there was no evidence of an imminent threat to U.S. citizens in South Korea.

Still, the North’s warning underscored how the secretive police state is taking increasingly unfamiliar measures to portray itself as a threat. Within the past week, North Korea, under 30-year-old leader Kim Jong Un, has temporarily shuttered a joint industrial park, announced the restart of a nuclear reactor that generates weapons-grade plutonium and told diplomats in Pyongyang that their safety couldn’t be guaranteed from this Wednesday.

South Korean officials have also said the North could test-fire a midrange missile sometime this week.

“I don’t take the [evacuation threat] seriously,” said Robert Kelly, an international relations specialist at Pusan National University, in the southeastern part of South Korea. “If the North really wanted a war with a chance of winning, they’d have to do a surprise attack — like Pearl Harbor — because the South Korean military is so advanced compared to theirs . . . . You don’t telegraph it weeks and weeks in advance.”

The North has characterized war as something it, too, wants to avoid — although its restraint has been tested by a recent round of U.N. sanctions and joint U.S.-South Korean military drills. If war does break out, the North said Tuesday, “it will be an all-out war, i.e., a merciless sacred retaliatory war.”

After the North issued its warning, Robert Koehler, an American who has lived in the South for 15 years, wrote on his popular blog, “It’s touching to know that North Korea has my well-being at heart.”

Koehler later said in an interview that he is accustomed to North Korea’s rhetoric and less alarmed by it than his family in the United States.

“It’s their attempt to try to get attention,” Koehler said. “It’s the same thing we’ve seen before.”

source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...26de24-a0f7-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html

 

[kraidazen]

rather ironic that nokor is wanting foreigners to leave sokor because they don't want to hurt them but not extend the same sympathy to their countrymen from another "wall"

 

[lark6]

thanks bro:notagain:

 

[elgringo14]

Ceewan, bringing the happy news to the otaku world. :scared:

 

[Ceewan]

N. Korea looks to outwit missile launch watchers

North Korea has been repeatedly moving multiple missiles around in an apparent bid to confuse outside intelligence gatherers ahead of an expected launch, Yonhap reported Thursday.

According to intelligence analysis cited by the South Korean news agency, two mid-range Musudan missiles have been repeatedly moved in and out of a warehouse facility on its east coast.

At the same time, at least five mobile launch vehicles have also been spotted swapping places and positions.

"There are signs the North could fire off Musudan missiles any time soon," an intelligence source told Yonhap.

"But the North has been repeatedly moving its missiles in and out of a shed, which needs close monitoring."

Another source suggested Pyongyang was hoping to "fatigue" South Korean and US intelligence gatherers who have been on a heightened state of surveillance alert since Wednesday.

The mid-range missiles mobilised by the North are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of anywhere up to 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles).

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.

North Korea has proved quite adept at confounding intelligence monitoring in the past.

Its long-range rocket launch in December had been widely flagged in advance and was subjected to intense satellite scrutiny.

In the end, the rocket blasted off hours after a succession of South Korean media outlets, citing satellite imagery analysis by government, diplomatic and military sources, suggested the launch was facing a lengthy delay.

Yonhap news agency had quoted military officials as saying the entire three-stage Unha-3 carrier had been removed from the launch pad and returned to a nearby assembly facility for repair.

Various Japanese media on Thursday reported defence officials confirming that at least one of the North Korean mobile launchers had placed its pad in a launch-ready position.

The reports also said that such moves could be deliberate attempts by North Korea to sow confusion and did not necessarily indicate a launch was imminent.

A defence ministry spokesman contacted by AFP declined to comment, citing a desire not to compromise secrecy surrounding intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked about the reports, said the government was doing everything it can "to protect the lives and the safety of our people".

"We are aware of all sorts of information. We are sharing information with South Korea and the United States," Suga said.

source:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130411/n-korea-looks-outwit-missile-launch-watchers

 

[Ceewan]

North Korea now threatening Japan

WASHINGTON – North Korea today expanded its saber-rattling, which earlier included threats against South Korea and the United States, to target Japan, which the renegade nation is claiming is conspiring with the U.S. to pose a military threat.

Specifically, the North Koreans took aim at the prospect that the U.S. intends to use Japan to deploy Global Hawk drones. It claims the U.S. intends to use a base there to launch the flights to keep a closer eye on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“This military nexus is bound to entail unpredictable consequences as it is a dangerous action of escalating the regional tension,” a North Korean statement said.

The U.S. had indicated that it would begin to send pilotless drones over the DPRK as a form of Indications and Warning, or I&W, to determine its preparedness in moving troops and especially missiles.

“We once again warn Japan against blindly toeing the U.S. policy,” the North Korean ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said. “It will have to pay a dear price for its imprudent behavior.”

Japan’s concerns over North Korea’s threat to launch missiles with nuclear weapons have prompted the Japanese government to consider developing its own nuclear weapons as a deterrent.

In turn, such a major policy change by Japan will get the attention of China, which remains leery of Tokyo since the end of World War II.

However, Beijing may have more concern over the possession of nuclear weapons and delivery systems by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, over whom Beijing has discovered it has little influence.

Indeed, China’s inability to prevent North Korea from undertaking recent missile and nuclear tests prompted Beijing to vote in favor of sanctions against North Korea in the United Nations Security Council.

North Korea has threatened to launch missiles, possibly on the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the birth of the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung, on April 15. The rogue nation also recently threatened to strike U.S. military bases in Japan, some of which are located among the 33 million residents of the Tokyo region.

Japan has been vocal in threatening to shoot down any North Korean missiles that use a flight path over Japan, using some of the Aegis anti-ballistic missile systems the U.S. delivered to Japan.

In addition to Aegis systems, Japan also has deployed Patriot anti-missile batteries in and around Tokyo as a second line of defense, with the Aegis systems being positioned closer to North Korea itself between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

The U.S. military also has its own Patriot batteries which are located on bases in Okinawa, the Japanese island that has some 50,000 members of the U.S. military.

There are increasing indications that the North Koreans are readying their Musudan medium-range missile, which would be capable of reaching not only Japan but also Guam where the U.S. has a considerable military presence.

U.S. satellites have been able to pinpoint at least two sites in recent days where North Korean missiles could be launched. Both are located on the east coast of the DPRK. However, the trajectory for the missiles remains unknown.

The new leadership in Japan, however, promises a more militant approach to North Korean threats.

Japan’s recently elected prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is more hawkish and is pushing for Japan to revise its constitution and develop more of an offensive military capability.

Given the threats to Japan from North Korea, this could include the development of nuclear weapons. Japan certainly has the industrial capacity to do so.

Already, what is regarded as a “third force” in Japanese party politics is being led by Shintaro Ishihara, who recently was the governor of Tokyo. He is regarded as even more hawkish than Abe and not only has called for revision of the Japanese constitution but to develop nuclear weapons.

Similarly, Shingeru Ishiba, a former Japanese defense minister, is making a similar call for nuclear weapons development, saying it is “a tacit nuclear deterrent.” Ishiba is an influential member of the Japanese Diet, or parliament.

Both Ishihara and Ishiba are regarded as major players in Japan’s governing coalition, which is led by Abe. They also advocate maintaining Japan’s nuclear power program despite public opposition, seeing it as a potential source for nuclear weapons development and the deterrent to which Ishiba referred.

To date, neither the U.S. nor the International Atomic Energy Agency, the international nuclear watchdog, has commented publicly on the prospect that Japan could go the way of developing nuclear weapons.

Ishihara is said to be a nationalist and is critical of Japan’s Chinese residents. He led the push recently for Japan to buy the disputed islands of Senkaku-Diaoyu, which has created a jurisdictional issue with China, which claims the islands are in its sphere of influence.

Nevertheless, Beijing for now has not publicly challenged Tokyo over the potential that it might consider a more assertive military position, including the possibility of developing nuclear weapons.

Beijing sees North Korea’s Kim, over whom it apparently now has little influence, as a more immediate concern.

While China has been critical of 29-year-old Kim and has called for a resumption of the six-party talks, Beijing would be happier if North Korea’s young leader would go away, thereby dampening the potential prospect that Japan or even South Korea would develop their own nuclear weapons.

source:
http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/north-korea-now-threatening-japan/

 

[Ceewan]

Japan to locate missile defense system in Okinawa permanently

The government said Friday it will deploy a missile defense system in Okinawa Prefecture permanently, amid repeated threats by North Korea to launch missiles that could strike any target in Japan.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that the Self-Defense Forces will locate the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles at its two bases in the country's southernmost prefecture "as soon as possible within April."

The SDF has previously transported the missiles to the island prefecture when it needed to respond to such threats. The interceptors were not fired during the previous two temporary deployments as there were no incoming missiles from the North.

source:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2013/04/219103.html

 

[Ceewan]

I expect nothing to come of all this myself. But this is the news and worries that directly affect the people who live in Japan so I thought this thread worth updating for those that are interested. It would be nice if there was more entertaining news available but that is not what news agencies tend to concentrate on. Either way, I will continue to update this thread until it becomes obsolete news.

 

[elgringo14]

So North Korea is threatening Japan for being able to shoot any missile coming from... North Korea. I see some irony there. :study:

It shows how pathetic are their recent provocations, which are mainly made to reinforce the internal power of the current NK leader, who looks like a spoiled kid for the rest of the world... Though we can't figure out how much they can really be harmful.

 

[Princess-nuzzle-me]

Maybe we should send Kim Jong-un some idol movies, that would surely stop him from targeting Japan. erfectplan:

 

[SecretPal]

**NEWS**
April 15th, 2013
North Korean General "WARNS" the South there will be "NO MORE WARNINGS!!!"

Thank goodness...we can all go back to ignoring them. :negligent:

 

[Ceewan]

N. Korea becoming less provocative: Japan spokesman

Kyodo -- Apr 17

North Korea is becoming less provocative, even as the country is widely believed to be preparing to test-launch a ballistic missile in defiance of international pressure, Japan's government spokesman said Wednesday.

"Honestly, it is difficult to know" whether North Korea will actually fire a missile as the isolated country "has made fewer provocative acts," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

Pyongyang had issued bellicose statements in recent weeks, threatening to begin a war with South Korea and the United States in protest against their joint military drill that followed the U.N. Security Council resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea for its third nuclear test in February.

 

[loveGIANT]

**NEWS**
April 15th, 2013
North Korean General "WARNS" the South there will be "NO MORE WARNINGS!!!"

Thank goodness...we can all go back to ignoring them. :negligent:

True. Well, if you think about it, it was pretty clear from the beginning that Norh Korea just wanted to provoke South Korea and Japan. Just think about how many information about their military leaked through, so everyone knew what they can expect from North Korea. And if you leak out that many informations, it would be pretty "unwise."

Anyways, i still think that North Korea actually plans to sink the Senkaku islands xD

 

[Ceewan]

True. Well, if you think about it, it was pretty clear from the beginning that North Korea just wanted to provoke South Korea and Japan.

Actually the general concept is that North Korea seeks pacification and is trying to extort financial and political gains through threats and intimidation. Most moves that are made to counter possible threats from North Korea are just the good politcal and military doctrine: " To keep the peace one must prepare for war".

 

[Ceewan]

Relatives of abductees issue call in the U.S. for international teamwork

WASHINGTON – Family members of Japanese abducted by North Korea called Thursday in Washington for international cooperation to quickly resolve the issue.

The symposium was the first of its kind hosted by the Japanese government in the United States.

Shigeo Iizuka, a brother of abduction victim Yaeko Taguchi, said as he showed her picture to the audience: “She stares at me, saying, ‘Help me.’ My heart aches whenever I see this face.”

Iizuka, 74, is a representative of the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea.

Teruaki Masumoto, secretary general of the association, stressed the urgent need to resolve the conflict quickly because the abductees and their families are growing old.

“We must bring the abductees back soon, even one,” he said.

Keiji Furuya, state minister in charge of the abduction issue, said U.S. understanding and support is vital to resolve the problem.

Robert King, U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, said U.S. support for Japan’s effort to resolve the abduction issue is stronger than ever.

The Japanese government has identified 17 Japanese who were abducted by North Korean agents. Five were repatriated to Japan in 2002.

After the symposium, Furuya told a news conference that the Japanese government, while seeking a comprehensive solution to North Korea-related issues, places priority on resolving the abduction issue.

Progress in the abduction issue would likely lead to advancement over the nuclear and missile issues, he said.

 

[Ceewan]

North Korea has fired its fourth missile in two days

North Korea fired Sunday's guided missile into the East Sea (commonly known as the Sea of Japan) on Sunday, according to the South's Defense Ministry. On Saturday, North Korea had fired three short-range missiles, apparently as part of a military drill.

"We find it deplorable that the North does not stop provocative actions such as the launch of guided missiles yesterday," South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok said on Sunday before the latest exercise.

"We call on the North to take responsible actions for our sake and for the sake of the international community," he said.

The reported launches follow months of threats from North Korea of impending war with the US and Seoul. In February, a North Korean nuclear test sparked tougher UN sanctions.

Speaking during a visit to Moscow, UN chief Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, called for the North to halt the missile tests, adding that the country should resume talks with the international community to reduce tensions.

"We are very worried over North Korea's provocative action," he told RIA, the Russian state news agency. "I hope North Korea will refrain from further such actions," Ban added. "They must soon return to talks and lower tensions."


source:
http://www.dw.de/north-korea-fires-fourth-missile-in-two-days-into-sea-of-japan/a-16823823

 

[Ceewan]

N Korea fires 6th missile in three days

May. 20, 2013 - 05:09PM

SEOUL —

North Korea fired a sixth short-range missile into the Sea of Japan on Monday, defying warnings from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and South Korea after a flurry of similar tests at the weekend.

The latest firing was confirmed by the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), who said it was unclear if the North was testing guided missiles or rockets from multiple launchers.

“North Korea launched two projectiles on Monday—one in the morning and the other in the afternoon,” a JCS spokesman told AFP.

Such drills are not unusual but they come as the Korean peninsula is only just emerging from a period of particularly elevated military tensions triggered by the North’s nuclear test in February.

In a statement on Monday, Pyongyang angrily rejected criticism that the missile exercises were a deliberate attempt to kick off a fresh cycle of tensions.

“Military training ... is the indisputable right of any sovereign nation,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said.

“Viciously taking issue with our military’s rocket firing training ... is an unacceptable challenge and a wanton provocation,” it said.

North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles off its east coast on Saturday and another on Sunday.

South Korea had labelled the weekend tests “deplorable”, while U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged Pyongyang to exercise restraint.

“It is time for them to resume dialogue and lower the tensions,” Ban said in Moscow on Sunday.

North Korea argues that the real provocation is coming from South Korea and the United States, which have carried out a series of small and large-scale joint military drills in recent months.

The joint exercises have included the use of nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers and, most recently, the participation of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

On Monday South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye’s top security advisor, Kim Jang-Soo, again urged Pyongyang to desist from any more drills.

“Whether it’s just a test or a show of force, the North should not get involved in actions that create tension,” Kim said.

At one point, North Korea had been primed to test a pair of medium-range missiles, but U.S. intelligence said the weapons were removed from their launch pads in early May.

The most significant fallout from the recent months of saber-rattling has been the withdrawal of both sides from the Kaesong joint industrial park which lies 10 kilometers over the border in North Korea.

Established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, Kaesong had come through previous crises on the Korean peninsula unscathed.

In early April, however, the North ordered all of its 53,000 laborers working for the 123 South Korean companies in Kaesong not to report to work. Seoul responded by pulling out its personnel soon afterwards.

South Korea has proposed formal talks on recovering stockpiles of raw materials and finished goods the South Korean firms left behind, but Pyongyang on Monday suggested any dialogue should focus on the overall future of the project.

“A more pressing issue than removing the finished goods is whether the complex will collapse or not,” said a spokesman for the North side of the management committee that runs Kaesong.

Neither of the two Koreas has officially declared the complex closed, and Seoul has continued to supply a minimum amount of electricity.

Owners of the South Korean firms in the complex said Monday that they were the victims of a catfight between Seoul and Pyongyang.

“Entrepreneurs and company employees are being squeezed by the emotional struggle between the governments of the two Koreas,” an association representing the owners’ interests said in a statement.

Some 200 CEOs and managers filed a request Monday to visit the complex, but the South’s Unification Ministry said North Korea would first have to agree to working-level talks.

source:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/n-korea-fires-fifth-missile-in-three-days