North Korea preparing for missile test (again)

[American Patriot]

Nations to Pursue U.N. Action if N. Korea Fires Rocket

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Dec. 6, 2012

South Koreans on Thursday protest against North Korea's announced plans to launch a long-range rocket later this month. The United States on Wednesday said it would join Asian allies in seeking a U.N. Security Council response should the launch occur (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man).
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday said the United States and partner Asian governments would demand a U.N. Security Council response should North Korea disregard international demands and proceed with launching its space rocket later this month, the Associated Press reported.
Japan, South Korea, and the United States have agreed to pursue action at the Security Council, "but I'm not going to get into what that might be," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said to journalists. He noted that "there's always ways to toughen enforcement of sanctions."
Pyongyang has been under heightened Security Council sanctions for several years. The economic restrictions target its nuclear and ballistic missile development programs and ban the North from engaging in arms deals on the international market. The export of luxury goods to North Korea is also forbidden.
Washington and its allies oppose Pyongyang's plans to fire a Unha 3 long-range rocket as a violation of U.N. restrictions against the North's use of ballistic missile technology. The Stalinist state has declared it will fire its rocket sometime between Dec. 10 and 22 with the aim of placing a satellite in orbit. However, international opinion holds that the launch is cover for another long-range ballistic missile test, which the pariah nation has yet to carry out successfully in four previous attempts.
The head of U.S. forces stationed in Japan on Thursday said Pyongyang's coming rocket launch was creating "a very dangerous situation," AP separately reported. Lt. Gen. Salvatore Angelella said U.S. military personnel in Japan were "monitoring the situation closely."
NATO on Wednesday demanded Pyongyang abandon its rocket plans, Reuters reported. "Such an act would be in direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874. It would risk exacerbating tensions in the region and further destabilizing the Korean Peninsula," the military bloc said in a statement.
The U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy, Glyn Davies, on Wednesday suggested the Obama administration and China are jointly considering options for signaling to Pyongyang it must give up its launch plans, Kyodo News reported. As North Korea's leading economic benefactor, Beijing is seen as having special sway with the Kim Jong Un government.
Davies hinted that Washington had already personally communicated its demands to Pyongyang, possibly through the North's U.N. office in New York.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Thursday said Seoul is similarly in discussions with Beijing on potential responses to a North Korean rocket launch, according to a Yonhap News Agency report.
North Korea's announced flight path calls for the rocket to fly above the Yellow Sea, dropping its first stage in the ocean some 87 miles west of South Korea and then losing its second stage roughly 85 miles to the east of the Philippines, according to Wired. That route is in line with the North's intentions for its most recent rocket launch.
The attempt in April turned into a high-profile embarrassment for the Kim regime when the rocket broke apart only a minute-and-a-half after lifting off. A number of experts are doubtful Pyongyang has had enough time to fix the problems that caused the launch failure.
"I think it’s too soon to tell about whether they’ve improved their capability," Secure World Foundation missile analyst Victoria Samson stated by e-mail. "However, based on the splash-down zones that Pyongyang submitted to the International Maritime Organization, this satellite launch is expected to follow pretty much the same flight path as the April attempt, so I’m guessing that they will be testing roughly the same technology this time around."
"I think it’s easy to read too much into this launch. The North Koreans have been trying for years to successfully launch the technology needed for a long-range ballistic missile/satellite launch vehicle," she cautioned.
If all three rocket stages perform correctly, it would mark a notable development for the North's space flight efforts, which are not advanced, according to Samson. "At the risk of sounding glib, this is rocket science and it is complicated. Their missile program is based on reverse-engineering old Soviet ballistic missiles; their space program does not have that strong of a foundation to work off of."
Meanwhile, Tokyo is slated to reach an official determination on Friday whether to issue an intercept order if it appears the North's rocket or its debris are likely to land on Japanese territory, according to a Jiji Press report. The Japanese government was prepared to attempt an intercept if necessary in April.
Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missiles are being positioned on Okinawa islands in readiness of a possible intercept order. PAC-3 missiles are also being positioned to protect Tokyo. Additionally, Japan is fielding Aegis warships with Standard Missile 3 antimissile systems in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.

[American Patriot]

Well... When we sent "War Ships" there is obviously something going on.

US sends warships as North Korea prepares rocket launch

Heavy snow may be delaying a North Korean rocket launch, according to satellite images, but Pyongyang could still be ready for liftoff in a couple days. TODAY's Erica Hill reports.

By NBC News and wire reports


WASHINGTON -- The United States is shifting four warships into position to track and possibly defend against a planned North Korean rocket launch, while urging Pyongyang to cancel its second such attempt this year, officials told NBC News.


The Aegis guided-missile cruiser Shiloh and three guided-missile destroyers John S. McCain, Benfold, and Fitzgerald will be put in place as a "prudent precaution," officials told NBC News.


The Navy ships' guided missile will attempt to intercept and destroy the North Korean missile if it veers off course and threatens either Japan or the Philippines.
The North Koreans have announced they will attempt to "put a satellite into orbit" atop a ballistic missile sometime between Dec. 10 to 22.

"It should seem logical that we'll move them around so we have the best situational awareness," Adm. Samuel Locklear, who commands U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region, told a Pentagon news conference, according to Reuters.
"To the degree that those ships are capable of participating in ballistic missile defense, then we will position them to be able to do that," he added.

He said U.S. warships were being moved to monitor the rocket, as they were when Pyongyang attempted a similar launch in April.


"It should seem logical that we'll move them around so we have the best situational awareness," he said. "To the degree that those ships are capable of participating in ballistic missile defense, then we will position them to be able to do that."


Satellite into space or ballistic missile test?

Pyongyang says the launch aims to put a satellite into space. The United States and many other countries view it as a test of a long-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile that would violate U.N. resolutions and further destabilize the Korean Peninsula.


South Korean warships are searching the Yellow Sea for debris from a recently failed rocket launch by North Korea. NBC's Richard Engel reports.



The North Korean launch attempt in April failed.


Russia, China press N. Korea to scuttle planned rocket launch


Locklear said the re-positioned U.S. ships would help answer a series of questions.


"If they do violate the Security Council and launch a missile, what kind is it? What is it about? Where does it go? Who does it threaten? Where do the parts of it ... that don't go where they want it to go, where do they go? And what are the consequences of that?" he said.

The admiral said his main concern was reassuring U.S. allies that the United States was effectively monitoring the situation.


"We believe it is still contradictory to the U.N. Security Council resolutions ... because of the nature of the type of missile that they will be firing and the implications it has for ballistic-type of activity somewhere down the road and the destabilizing impact that will have on the security environment throughout the region," Locklear said.

New leadership may be more 'rational'

He said there had been signs that the government of new leader Kim Jong Un would take a more "rational approach" to how it deals with its economy, its citizens and its international relationships.


Q&A: Rocket is 'not a military missile ... but it's darn close'


Kim took power after the death of his father, former leader Kim Jong Il, on Dec. 17, 2011. The anniversary of his father's death falls during the time frame set by North Korea for the rocket launch. Presidential elections in neighboring South Korea take place two days later, on Dec. 19.


'Grave provocation': North Korea vows to test long-range rocket



Locklear said while there was hope for a shift in North Korea's political direction, Pyongyang was once again poised to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions regarding its nuclear program.


"We encourage the leadership in North Korea to consider what they are doing here and the implications on the overall security environment on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in Asia," he said.


NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Reuters contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

December 6th, 2012
09:39 AM ET


U.S. Navy positions ships to monitor North Korea launch

Editor's Note: The sourcing in the story was changed to Department of Defense officials. The original story did not accurately describe the source.
By Barbara Starr



The Navy is moving some warships into position to monitor a possible upcoming North Korean launch of a long-range ballistic missile, U.S. Department of Defense officials said Thursday.


The USS Benfold and the USS Fitzgerald - both guided missile destroyers - are moving into positions, although the Navy declined to give their exact location. They are being sent to monitor for a possible launch and "provide reassurance to allies," according two Defense Department officials.


It's possible two additional ships will be sent in the next few days, the officials added.


North Korea appears to be working toward its goal of launching a rocket later this month, with a recent satellite image showing preparations continuing around the site.

The December 4 image provided to CNN by satellite imagery company GeoEye shows increased activity by workers on the launch pad, an imagery analyst told CNN.com's Security Clearance. The launch pad activity was not evident in an image from DigitalGlobe taken three days earlier.


The U.S. is also, “rapidly moving assets to pacific region because of the ballistic missile threat in the region,” the Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Thursday morning in reference to the North Korean threat.


"I don't believe that a launch is imminently imminent, but what we are seeing is sort of what they call the beginning of the end of launch preparations," Allison Puccioni, an analyst with Jane's IHS who writes about North Korean imagery for Jane's Defense Weekly, said last week. "Prior to this, we had not seen much in the way of rocket launch pad activity, but now we are seeing some significant stuff happening," such as additional work on the rocket launch tower, she said.


North Korea says it intends to launch a rocket it claims is for science and research purposes sometime between December 10 and December 22. The United States has condemned the test because the launch employs the same technology that would be used in a test of ballistic missiles. The launch would also be a violation of two separate resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council.


"We believe it is still in contradictory to the U.N. Security Council resolutions that because of the nature of the type of missile that they'll be firing and the implications it has for ballistic missile type of activity somewhere down the road and the destabilizing impact that will have on the security environment throughout the region, not just on the peninsula," Adm. Locklear said.

[American Patriot]

Fox just confirmed what I thought... two Aegis cruisers. USS Benfold and one other, both are Aegis cruisers with, as Fox put it, "High tech missile defense systems aboard".

Benfold is an "Arliegh Burke" class destroyer.

Length:	505 ft (154 m) (Flights I and II) 509 ft (155 m) (Flight IIA)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	30.5 ft (9.3 m)

USS BENFOLD fire Tomohawk

[American Patriot]

Check out this video

http://www.mda.mil/global/videos/aeg...15QL_small.wmv

[American Patriot]

Here's another:
http://www.mda.mil/global/videos/thaad/ftt_10a.wmv

We'll get it if it goes the wrong way....

[Malsua]

I find those acronym filled videos from weapons mfgs very humorous. I suppose it reminds me of something like Robocop where they have fake advertisements that are quite funny.

[American Patriot]

hehehe. Well, the video was put together actually by my agency, not really the "makers" of the weapons.

On the other hand, I HATE acronyms with a passion. I've been around this crap almost 37 years now and it drives me batshit every time some dufus throws out a mouthful acronyms to someone who's "not in the loop".

I just look at them and say "Speak English" now a days.

I think that the folks that make the videos (some of them live here in my building) aren't really THINKING of the "public" when they put together a "video to be released to the public" but rather thinking about how "cool" the crap sounds when they say it.

But for the record, "Aegis" isn't an acronym. It's Greek meaning "shield" I think. Now, THAAD is an acronym. It stands for "Terminal High Altitude Area Defense" which USED to be called "Theater High Altitude Area Defense".

I am not sure why there was a name change, except perhaps they originally intended the system as a localized (theater) defensive system and now, it's a globally deployable resource that can protect against any sort of high altitude threat including satellites from what I gather. I doubt it can shoot down an asteroid (lol)

[Malsua]

They explained the acronyms, but by the end of the thing "The APLG guided by the TTAM with the SDM Package will deliver the SWPWASD to the target SEFAEWE" etc. It's silly.

It's also very RAH RAH for a frickin missile. It's a fricking missile!

[American Patriot]

hahaha

It IS a frickin' missile.

However, a lot of folks just don't really grasp the impossibility of the thing.

Shooting DOWN a missile isn't as easy as it sounds like. No one else can do it, not reliably, except the US.

It has been stated that "it is akin to hitting a bullet with a bullet". So the "hype" is there because if you try to do the calculations for hitting a ballistic missile with another ballistic missile (and I know you understand the speeds of bullets, now, speed that up considerably to escape velocity) you will start to get a hint why the geeks get so excited about it haha.

In truth, some of the "rah rah" got shot down. Gen. Riley was replaced... he was.. umm.. "retired" a couple of days ago. A new Admiral was put in his place and came through here this week to say hi to everyone. (I didn't get to see him, and didn't much care to to be honest).

The truth appears to be MDA has had it's share of failures (though not as bad as they could be) and everything was spun to sound like a "success". Riley is gone because of the "failed successes" from what I hear.

Commanders come and go, but the JOB remains the same. Protection of the United States and that job has to be performed correctly, accurately and exactly every single time. Not just for testing.

I for one can only HOPE that we do our job in that manner every single time. My ass is on the line where I am sitting if ONE nuke gets through to the building. Not my job, my very atoms.

[Malsua]

I completely understand how difficult this is.

I also know something about high speed programming. That it works at all is pretty much a miracle.

[American Patriot]

I HOPE it works when we need it the most!

lol

If you consider the Israeli "Iron Dome" (who do you think helped in designing that thing? The US, and funding too) it is similar in fomr and function to the Patriot missile systems.

Iron Dome has approximately an 84% success rate. Not good when you're talking ICBMs loaded with MIRVs and decoys.

If 500 ICMBs were launched from some country at the US and we only shot down 84% then 80 missiles will get through. If you assume that each has 5 re-entry vehicles, that's still something like a 400 warhead hit.

I don't know the precise number of multiple reentry vehicles a typical Russian or Chinese missile can hold for sure, I'm assuming 5 on each missile which gives us 2500 warheads.

We would "shoot for" (pardon the pun) taking out the missile at the boost stage - as far as I know from the unclass stuff I've seen and read on open sources. But if we MISS the boost stage we can still try to take out the warheads. Differentiation of the decoys vs warheads is problematic I'm sure. So if 400 war heads get through, it will be messy with vaporized earth, trees and human DNA being blasted into the atmosphere to rain down on others' heads at some later date.

Personally, I want to be one of the ones who gets rained ON rather than being the atoms than rain down.... at least you get a chance to survive.

Being vaporized might be quick and all, but... well... I'd just rather NOT.

Ya know? LOL

[Malsua]

Well, there is certainly some comfort in vaporizing without even knowing what hit you. Just instant nothingness.

It would be better to live as long as you could, but I couldn't really complain as long as I don't suffer for days with flash burns and radiation poisoning.

[American Patriot]

Yeah, that other stuff sucks bad too!

Now, the real question is... will the people making the decision have the balls to shoot down a North Korea missile?

There will be a lot of "ifs" involved, I'm sure and they have very, very little time to make that decision. Personally, I know we can do it, but I have my doubts as to whether we WILL do it.

If it looks like its going to land on a population center, that's a "clear and present danger" and we will do it.

If it looks like it will "fall harmlessly to the sea" (uninformed poor fishermen notwithstanding...) we likely won't mess with it.

If it goes over US territory, it's going to be toast, but the DPRK has CAREFULLY worked out a southern launch track it looks like to me from everything I've been able to glean in the last few days. Rumor has it I'm right. So it won't go over us. Philippines yes. US no.

IF on the other hand we're all WRONG about the launch direction - the missile might fly over Japan and the Japanese are having no part of that, and they will try to shoot it down (and will with our assistance, I'm certain).

Personally, I think this is going to be another non-starter. The missile will go up, it will fly "off course" and will get blown up by the guy in their mission control with his finger over the DESTRUCT button, or it will simply fail and fall down, blow up or won't even launch.


Anyone else have predictions?

[American Patriot]

The rocket fueling process has begun.....

North Korea Preparing to Start Fueling Rocket



Dec. 7, 2012



Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda stands Friday near a Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile battery deployed to Tokyo ahead of North Korea's anticipated firing of a long-range rocket as early as Monday (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara).


North Korea has begun preparations for injecting fuel into its space rocket ahead of its announced plan to fire the suspected modified long-range ballistic missile later this month, a high-ranking South Korean military insider told the Yonhap News Agency on Friday.


The South has detected a heightened degree of movement around the fuel holding area at the North's Dongchang-ri missile complex. "As soon as (the North) completes injecting fuel into the storage [tank], it is expected to supply the rocket with fuel," the anonymous insider said. "Fuel injection could begin Saturday."


A picture taken on Thursday by a South Korean satellite reveals a tanker and an air compressor located close to the launchpad. There were also a variety of automobiles parked close to the control facility as well as a number of transport vehicles parked close to the rocket assembly center.


Recent snowfall could have impeded the rocket launch preparations at Dongchang-ri but not necessarily enough to cause North Korea to miss the beginning of its stated launch window of Dec. 10 through Dec. 22, the Associated Press reported.


A blast of snow on Monday might have forced the North to suspend its launch preparations, said 38 North image analyst Nick Hansen in a report for the website operated by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Hansen examined pictures taken on Tuesday by the commercial satellite imagery firm GeoEye.


The images also suggest the North had not finished placing all three rocket stages on the launch platform by Wednesday. News reports in South Korea indicated the work had been completed by that point.


"Pyongyang's rocket scientists can't be happy about the increased technical risks of a wintertime test, but certainly appear to have taken every precaution necessary in order to launch the rocket on time," according to 38 North editor Joel Wit.


The Kim Jong Un regime is understood to wish to carry out the rocket launch close to the one-year anniversary of the Dec. 17, 2011, death of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il.


The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific on Thursday asserted the purpose of the rocket launch was not to place a satellite in orbit, as North Korea has claimed, but to test illegal long-range ballistic missile technology, AP separately reported.


The North wishes to "demonstrate to the world that they have the capacity to be able to build missiles and have missile technology to be able to use it in ways of their choosing down the road," Adm. Samuel Locklear told journalists at a Defense Department media briefing.


The aspiring nuclear power's four previous space launches, which are all widely interpreted to have been ballistic missile tests, were all unsuccessful.


Locklear said it was not known if Pyongyang had fixed the malfunctioning systems that caused another Unha 3 rocket in April to break apart shortly after liftoff.


The admiral said the U.S. Navy is positioning its warships in the Asia-Pacific to provide optimal "situational awareness" and to signal U.S. support to regional friendly governments. Three or four U.S. warships with antimissile systems are being deployed to the Western Pacific, two unidentified U.S. officials informed the news agency.


Locklear said there are "indications" the North could fire its rocket as early as Dec. 17, The Hill reported.


The U.S. and South Korean Combined Forces Command on Thursday announced it had put its forces on higher alert in response to the looming North Korean rocket launch, Yonhap reported.


Separately, the Japanese government on Friday issued directions for the nation's military to use antimissile technology to eliminate falling rocket debris should it endanger the island nation's territory, the Xinhua News Agency reported.


"All the preparations [for a possible intercept] will be completed one day before the earliest launch date," Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters.


Patriot Advanced Capability 3 antimissile systems have been positioned in three areas, including Tokyo.


Should the launch occur -- in direct contravention to international demands -- Japan intends to push for a new U.N. Security Council resolution that punishes Pyongyang, government insiders told Kyodo News. The Japanese government would additionally weigh enhancing national economic penalties targeting North Korea.


At present, Japan does not have a seat on the 15-member Security Council.


Envoys said Security Council veto holder China might block any new resolution that substantially increases sanctions against the North, Kyodo separately reported. However, the Security Council presidential statement that condemned the April rocket launch for violating council restrictions against the North's use of ballistic missile technology did warn of the U.N. body's "determination to take action accordingly in the event of a further D.P.R.K. launch or nuclear test."


The Security Council in its April statement said "any launch that uses ballistic missile technology, even if characterized as a satellite launch or space launch vehicle," would constitute a "serious violation" of previous measures from the U.N. body.


Seoul and Washington are said to be examining options for strengthening their domestic sanctions targeting North Korea, including the possibility of targeting financial institutions that do business with the regime.


An anonymous South Korean government source told the Dong a-Ilbo newspaper that Pyongyang might order another underground atomic blast after it fires its space rocket, Bloomberg reported.


Signs of technical preparations for a third nuclear blast at North Korea's test site have been detected since the spring.

[Malsua]

I think it will fail at the 2nd stage.

[American Patriot]

Didn't their last one fail on the the second stage? hahaha

You know those orientals.... just can't get it up and all that.

[Malsua]

You know those orientals.... just can't get it up and all that.

Half their missiles are named "NoDong" so what did they expect?

[American Patriot]

It appears weather is getting the best of the NORKS.

North Korea extending rocket launch period to Dec. 29

By Associated Press
Monday, December 10, 2012 - Added 1 hour ago

E-mail Print (0) Comments Text size Share
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Monday extended the launch period for a controversial long-range rocket by another week until Dec. 29, citing technical problems.
An unidentified spokesman for the North’s Korean Committee of Space Technology told state media that scientists found a "technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket." The statement didn’t elaborate but said technicians were "pushing forward" with final preparations for the launch.

North Korea is making its second attempt of the year to launch a rocket that the United Nations, Washington, Seoul and others call a cover meant to test technology for missiles that could be used to strike the United States. They have warned North Korea to cancel the launch or face a new wave of sanctions.
The North Koreans call the launch a peaceful bid to advance their space program, and a last wish of late leader Kim Jong Il, who died a year ago, on Dec. 17. North Korea is also celebrating the centennial this year of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, current leader Kim Jong Un’s grandfather. An April launch broke apart seconds after liftoff.
The announcement of the planned rocket launch has sparked worry because of the timing: South Korea and Japan hold key elections this month, President Barack Obama begins his second term in January, and China has just formed a new leadership.
The North had originally set up a 13-day launch window, starting Monday, but it announced early Sunday that it may delay the liftoff because of unspecified reasons.
Experts in Seoul and Tokyo had speculated that technical glitches may have forced scientists to postpone the launch of the finicky three-stage rocket, its fifth attempt since 1998.
Temperatures in the border city of Sinuiju, near the launch site, dropped to minus-13 C (8.6 F) on Monday morning, and the Korean Peninsula has been seized by early winter storms and unusually cold weather, the Korea Meteorological Administration said in Seoul.
Engineers can launch a rocket when it’s snowing, but lightning, strong wind and freezing temperatures have the potential to stall liftoff, said Lee Chang-jin, an aerospace professor at Seoul’s Konkuk University.
Snow covered the North’s launch site last week, according to commercial satellite imagery taken by GeoEye on Dec. 4 and shared with The Associated Press by the 38 North and North Korea Tech websites. The road from the main assembly building to the launch pad showed no fresh tracks, indicating that the snowfall may have stalled the preparations.
Still, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Monday that his government would maintain vigilance. Tokyo has mobilized its military to intercept any debris from the rocket.
"At this moment, we are keeping our guard up," Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters Monday. "We have not seen any objective indication that would cause us to make any change to our preparedness."
At least one Aegis-equipped South Korean destroyer has been deployed in the Yellow Sea to monitor North Korea’s rocket launch, according to South Korean officials.
The United States has also moved extra ships with ballistic missile defense capabilities toward the region, officials said.
The U.S., Japan and South Korea say they’ll seek U.N. Security Council action if the launch goes ahead in defiance of existing resolutions. The council condemned April’s launch and ordered seizure of assets of three North Korean state companies linked to financing, exporting and procuring weapons and missile technology.

[Malsua]

Maybe if they fed their people(so they aren't all 4 foot tall), they wouldn't have so much trouble walking through 1 foot snow drifts and could get on with threatening the world.

I think George Bush needs to fire up the weather machine and direct more cold weather at NK.