North Korea Fires Missiles During US Navy Joint Exercise

[beijingwalker]

North Korea Fires Missiles During US Navy Joint Exercise​

Reuters
October 1, 2022

By Cynthia Kim (Reuters) – North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Saturday, hours before South Korea staged a large military show, displaying stealth fighters and its own missiles.

Pyongyang’s fourth launch in a week comes amid a flurry of military muscle-flexing by countries in the region, including joint anti-submarine exercises on Friday by the navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the region this week, meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on Thursday.

The rival Koreas are in a regional arms race that has seen a major increase of weapons and military spending.

Marking South Korea’s 74th Armed Forces Day, Yoon condemned what he called recent military provocations by the North and vowed to strengthen joint military drills with the United States.

“The government will further strengthen the Korea-U.S. joint exercises, will respond strongly to North Korean provocations and threats by showing them the ‘Alliance in Action’,” Yoon said in a televised speech.

He and military officials observed a major show of advanced weaponry, including multiple rocket launchers, ballistic missiles, main battle tanks, drones and F-35 fighter aircraft, among other systems.

The U.S. military demonstrated fighter jets and attack aircraft. Images of the event showed Yoon saluting from the back of a convertible car while driving by rows of tanks and other weapons.

He has said his country’s conventional weapons are key to deterring the North, and Seoul has also been seeking more major arms sales around the world.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a report in July the North had been launching short-range missiles that fly low and irregular trajectories, characteristics observed since May 2019 that are likely designed for higher war-fighting effectiveness.

The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on the North for its ballistic missile and nuclear tests. Pyongyang rejects such moves as infringement of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration.

The North has completed preparations for a nuclear test, a window which could open between China’s Communist Party Congress this month and U.S. mid-term elections in November, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday.

MISSILE RACE​

Saturday’s two short-range missiles were launched from Sunan, north of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It estimated the range at 350 km (220 miles) at 30 km (20 miles) altitude and speed of Mach 6.

Japan’s coast guard reported at least two suspected ballistic missile tests by Pyongyang. The missiles flew 400 km and 350 km, reaching an altitude of 50 km, said Toshiro Ino, state minister of defense.

Tokyo has lodged a protest against the North through diplomatic channels, Ino said, adding the missiles possibly flew an “irregular trajectory” designed to evade missile defense.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it is aware of the ballistic missile launches and has assessed they do not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory or to its allies.

North Korea fired missiles before and after Harris’ visit to South Korea, extending a record pace in weapons testing this year as it increases the threat of a credible nuclear power that can strike the United States and its allies.

Pyongyang also conducted the first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017.

Analysts see the increased pace of testing as an effort to build operational weapons, as well as to take advantage of a world distracted by the Ukraine conflict and other crises to “normalize” its tests.

U.S.-China Rivalry​

“Despite North Korea’s internal weaknesses and international isolation, it is rapidly modernizing weapons and taking advantage of a world divided by U.S.-China rivalry and Russia’s annexation of more Ukrainian territory,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international politics at Ewha University in Seoul.

“The Kim regime is also playing hardball with the Yoon administration while South Korean politics are hobbled by infighting,” he said.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Chang-Ran Kim; Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jack Kim, Muralikumar Anantharaman and William Mallard)

North Korea Fires Missiles During US Navy Joint Exercise

By Cynthia Kim (Reuters) – North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Saturday, hours before South Korea staged a large military show, displaying stealth...

gcaptain.com

 

[beijingwalker]

US destroyed Iraq on the false pretext that the latter possessed WMD, now we all know it's a lie.
North Korea openly declares it has WMD and repeatedly threatens US with them, they never try to hide their intention about using them against US, but why US doesn't dare to do a sht about it?

 

[beijingwalker]

North Korea conducts 4th round of missile tests in 1 week​

By Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press and Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
Oct 2, 10:19 PM

A TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch with file footage, is seen at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (Lee Jin-man/AP)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Saturday test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles, its neighbors said, the fourth round this week of weapons launches that prompted quick, strong condemnation from its rivals.

In an unusually strong rebuke of North Korea’s weapons programs, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea’s “obsession” with nuclear weapons is deepening the suffering of its own people, and warned of an “overwhelming response” from South Korean and U.S. militaries should such weapons be used.

“North Korea hasn’t abandoned its obsession with nukes and missiles despite the persistent international objection in the past 30 years,” Yoon said during an Armed Forces Day ceremony at the military headquarters in central South Korea. “The development of nuclear weapons will plunge the lives of North Korean people in further pains.”

“If North Korea attempts to use nukes, it’ll face a resolute, overwhelming response by the South Korea-U.S. alliance and our military,” Yoon said.

Yoon’s comments could enrage North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who in July alleged that Yoon’s government was led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters.” Kim has also rebuffed Yoon’s offers of massive assistance in return for denuclearization.

The North’s testing spree this week is seen as a response to recent naval drills between South Korea and the United States and their other training that involved Japan. North Korea views such military exercises by the allies as an invasion rehearsal and argues they reveal U.S. and South Korean “double standards” because they brand the North’s weapons tests as provocation.

On Saturday, South Korea, Japanese and U.S. militaries said they detected the two North Korean missile launches. South Korea said the liftoffs occurred from North Korea’s capital region.

According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the missiles flew about 350-400 kilometers (220-250 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30-50 kilometers (20-30 miles) before they landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Toshiro Ino, Japan’s vice defense minister, said the missiles showed “irregular” trajectory.

Some observers say the weapons’ reported low and “irregular” trajectory suggest they were likely nuclear-capable, highly maneuverable missiles modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile. They say North Korea has developed the Iskander-like weapon to defeat South Korean and U.S. missile defenses and strike key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.

The five other ballistic missiles fired by North Korea on three occasions this week show similar trajectories to the ones detected Saturday.

“The repeated ballistic missile firings by North Korea are a grave provocation that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Ino called the launches “absolutely impermissible,” adding that four rounds of missile testing by North Korea in a week is “unprecedented.”

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launches highlight “the destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea conducts 4th round of missile tests in 1 week

It is North Korea’s fourth round of weapons launches this week and seen as a response to nearby military drills by the U.S. and its allies.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[BHAN85]

US destroyed Iraq on the false pretext that the latter possessed WMD, now we all know it's a lie.
North Korea openly declares it has WMD and repeatedly threatens US with them, they never try to hide their intention about using them against US, but why US doesn't dare to do a sht about it?

The Iran Deal is a even better example.

Threat with develop nukes and USA will reward you with large amount of money

 

[K_Bin_W]

US destroyed Iraq on the false pretext that the latter possessed WMD, now we all know it's a lie.
North Korea openly declares it has WMD and repeatedly threatens US with them, they never try to hide their intention about using them against US, but why US doesn't dare to do a sht about it?

For obvious reasons - US knows whats coming if it makes a pigs squeak beside NoKo is not alone if US ever gets a G-Khujili..