Deployment of THAAD: News & Discussions

[ahojunk]

What are the two Koreas doing?
First, South Korea with THAAD. Now, North Korea is producing plutonium.
Looks like a showdown happening soon? But I hope not. They need to talk.

--------
North Korea resumes plutonium production
2016-08-19 06:51:20 | CRIENGLISH.com | Web Editor: Zhang Guanghao

Japan's Kyodo news agency is reporting that North Korea has confirmed its resumed plutonium production.

In confirming the restart of nuclear fuel processing, North Korea also says it has no plans to stop nuclear testing as long as perceived threats from the United States remain.

North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute says it is producing highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear arms and power "as scheduled."

This has validated earlier reports in June by the UN's nuclear watchdog that North Korea appeared to have reopened the Yongbyon nuclear plant.

 

[ahojunk]

South Korea may relocate THAAD in Seongju
2016-08-18 20:54:47 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Meng Xue

South Korea's defense minister Han Min-goo said the government would consider deploying THAAD somewhere else in Seongju County if the local residents reach a consensus.

South Korean authorities announced the location for the anti-ballistic missile system last month, causing persistent public opposition.

Currently the local opinions diverge. Some feel changing the location to another is sufficient while others object to the system being installed anywhere in the county.

During his visit to Seongju, Han apologized for making the announcement without consulting the public in advance.

"The government said THAAD is going to be deployed in Seongju without introducing the details to local people or receiving their approval. I once again extend my apologies."

Han released the decision-making procedure and computer simulations of THAAD's deployment.

But the public didn't buy it. A leader from an anti-THAAD organization said Han failed to provide people with proper justification.

"Minister Han Min-goo showed the assessment and computer simulation on THAAD, where there are some mistakes and question marks. We made further inquiries and we are not satisfied with his explanations."

South Korean media reported that officials from the defense ministry recently visited a golf course in north Seongju. The field, clear of civil residences is considered a potential location for THAAD.

As the news came out, local people blocked the road with discarded farm vehicles to protest.

 

[simple Brain]

US threats to North Korea backed fired on them really badly. Even US now realizes that their is no solution to North Korea's weapons development except to agree with it's own terms and conditions. The more US tries to push North Korea into a corner the more it gets aggressive and North Korea's claim to test a Hydrogen Bomb is one good example for everyone..

 

[xunzi]

These two are very childish. They need to be put in the ring and box it out.

 

[TaiShang]

US threats to North Korea backed fired on them really badly. Even US now realizes that their is no solution to North Korea's weapons development except to agree with it's own terms and conditions. The more US tries to push North Korea into a corner the more it gets aggressive and North Korea's claim to test a Hydrogen Bomb is one good example for everyone..

I feel that was exactly what the US wanted to eventually achieve. A peaceful Korean peninsula is antithetical to US interests. Hence, they are pushing both sides to the corner, hoping that they would eventually act irrationally.

 

[BoQ77]

NK : plutonium vs SK: THAAD
or
NK : plutonium vs SK : barehand

which is better ?

 

[simple Brain]

I feel that was exactly what the US wanted to eventually achieve. A peaceful Korean peninsula is antithetical to US interests. Hence, they are pushing both sides to the corner, hoping that they would eventually act irrationally.

You are right about it that a peaceful Korean peninsula is antithetical to US interests, but their wrong policies did backfired against US in Korean peninsula, North Korea with a capability of Hydrogen bomb at least US wasn't expecting that coming...they were infect so shocked that they called a press conference after 14 hours of North Korean claim of testing a Hydrogen bomb, and the height of US frustration is that they still keep denying the fact and reality that North Korea did eventually tested a real Hydrogen Bomb.

 

[TaiShang]

You are right about it that a peaceful Korean peninsula is antithetical to US interests, but their wrong policies did backfired against US in Korean peninsula, North Korea with a capability of Hydrogen bomb at least US wasn't expecting that coming...they were infect so shocked that they called a press conference after 14 hours of North Korean claim of testing a Hydrogen bomb, and the height of US frustration is that they still keep denying the fact and reality that North Korea did eventually tested a real Hydrogen Bomb.

There is definitely something (or more than a thing) that keeps the US at bay in Korean Peninsula. If historical precedent meant something, the US would have already launched preemptive strike or something to that effect against the DPRK.

North Korea's own capabilities may be playing a role.

But, in the final analysis, the US would not care any less about any potential South Korean casualty, be it civilian or military.

Then factors in China, that is, regional great power that maintains, more or less, regional stability, and prevents the emergence of a Syria or Libya in East Asia.

That's also the main reason why East Asian economy is so dynamic as compared to the rest of the world: There is relative stability and the chain of manufacturing centered upon Northeast Asia functions with no major hindrance.

 

[simple Brain]

Then factors in China, that is, regional great power that maintains, more or less, regional stability, and prevents the emergence of a Syria or Libya in East Asia.

That's also the main reason why East Asian economy is so dynamic as compared to the rest of the world: There is relative stability and the chain of manufacturing centered upon Northeast Asia functions with no major hindrance.

I definitely agree with you on this mate!

 

[Peer Haman Shah]

There is or are some more to fight both brothers.

 

[ahojunk]

North Korea appeared to resume plutonium production this year, U.N. says
| Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:56am EDT


North Korea appeared to resume activities this year aimed at producing plutonium, which can be used in the core of an atomic bomb, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has confirmed, though it added that signs of those activities stopped last month.

Pyongyang vowed in 2013 to restart all nuclear facilities, including the main reactor at its Yongbyon site that had been shut down and has been at the heart of its weapons program.

It said last year that Yongbyon was operating and that it was working to improve the "quality and quantity" of its nuclear weapons. It has since carried out what is widely believed to have been its fourth nuclear test.

"From the first quarter of 2016, there were multiple indications consistent with the radiochemical laboratory's operation," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said in a report to the agency's annual General Conference, referring to a site used to reprocess plutonium.

"Such indications ceased in early July 2016," Amano said in the report posted online and dated Friday. Those indications included deliveries of chemical tanks and the operation of a steam plant linked to the lab, the report said.

The IAEA, which has no access to North Korea and mainly monitors its activities by satellite, said last year it had seen signs of a resumption of activity at Yongbyon, including at the main reactor.

There were signs the reactor had been running in the past year, with a pause between October and December, probably to refill it with enough fuel for the next two years, according to the report dated Friday.

Amano said in June that the agency had seen signs of reprocessing, the production of plutonium from spent reactor fuel, at Yongbyon.

Japan's Kyodo news agency last week quoted North Korea as saying it had resumed plutonium production by reprocessing and had no plans to stop nuclear tests as long as perceived U.S. threats remain.

North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute, which has jurisdiction over Yongbyon, also told Kyodo it had been producing highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear arms and power "as scheduled".

"There were indications consistent with the use of the reported centrifuge enrichment facility," Amano's report to the General Conference, which will be held at the end of September, said, adding that construction work had been carried out around the building that houses the facility.

"There were new construction and refurbishment activities on the (Yongbyon) site, which are broadly consistent with (North Korea's) statement that all the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon have been 'rearranged, changed or readjusted'," it added.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Dominic Evans)

 

[Oldman1]

US threats to North Korea backed fired on them really badly. Even US now realizes that their is no solution to North Korea's weapons development except to agree with it's own terms and conditions. The more US tries to push North Korea into a corner the more it gets aggressive and North Korea's claim to test a Hydrogen Bomb is one good example for everyone..

You mean North Korean threats are backfiring with the stationing of THAAD.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/...-action-thaad-deployment-160711041934213.html

North Korea threatens action against THAAD deployment
Warning comes after US and S Korea announce agreement to deploy advanced anti-missile defence system to counter threats.

 

[CAPRICORN-88]

Does THAAD really enhance South Korea security or it is in fact targeting a third nation?

Whatever the BIGGEST loser will be South Korea.

I can across this interesting article recently.

What Can THAAD Do?

A THAAD battery consists of nine launcher vehicles, each equipped with eight missiles, with two mobile tactical operations centers and an X-Band radar. A THAAD missile weighs 900kg with a length of 6.17m and a diameter of 34cm; it has an operational range of 30-200 km and an altitude range of 15-150 km. Its X-Band radar (AN/TPY-2) can detect and track a conventional ballistic missile within 4000km and a signal-reduced ballistic missile within 2000km. THAAD is designed for high-altitude intercept in a missile’s terminal phase, meaning that it is optimized mostly to defend against medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles but is of little or no use against the short- and tactical-range ballistic missiles most likely to be employed against the ROK.

Besides, THAAD can do nothing to deal with the real and realistic threats posed by the DPRK’s artillery. Therefore the deployment of THAAD in the ROK is mainly symbolic and can do little to improve the ROK’s security environment.

 

[Oldman1]

Besides, THAAD can do nothing to deal with the real and realistic threats posed by the DPRK’s artillery. Therefore the deployment of THAAD in the ROK is mainly symbolic and can do little to improve the ROK’s security environment.

Really? Does North Korea's artillery really able to go hundreds of kilometers to hit military bases further south? If you want to prevent a U.S. led counterattack, long range ballistic missiles is the way to go to hit bases further South Korea as well as in Japan. North Korea knows that, hence ballistic missiles are being developed. Capturing or destroying Seoul doesn't guaranteed automatic victory. You should know that.

Not to mention North Korea wouldn't go gaga over THAAD either if they had confidence their so called awesome artillery could hit it from that range.

 

[TaiShang]

Does THAAD really enhance South Korea security or it is in fact targeting a third nation?

THAAD places a huge bull's eye in the middle of South Korea. It makes the country a legitimate target for several actors, based on their own calculations of national security.

THAAD also brings in serious regional implications, which draw response from other major powers such as China and Russia.

South Korea has definitely made itself less secure in and out. It is being exploited and abused by the US.