North Korea Test-Fires Two Missiles

[American Patriot]

N.Korea launched 10 missiles: Russian armed forces
Reuters AlertNet ^ | 05 Jul 2006 | Reuters

MOSCOW, July 5 (Reuters) - North Korea launched a total of 10 missiles, the head of Russia's General Staff was quoted as saying on Wednesday, but he could not confirm how many of them were intercontinental weapons.

"Our control systems can confirm that the rockets were launched," he told reporters in the town of Chita, near the Mongolian border, Interfax news agency reported.

"Ten rockets were launched. According to one set of data, they were rockets of different classes. According to another set of data, they were all intercontinental. I can only say what class they were after receiving the technical data."

[American Patriot]

Missile could threaten Alaska, Hawaii
Herald Sun ^ | 5 July 2006

THE long-range Taepodong-2 missile at the centre of the North Korean crisis could bring the fringes of the US into range for the first time, military experts said today.

A first test of the Taepodong-2 early today resulted in failure, with US and South Korean officials saying the missile crashed into the Sea of Japan within a minute of launch.

However, the US and its allies do not underestimate North Korea's missile capability.

The South Korean defence ministry says the Taepodong-2 can carry a 1000kg warhead up to 6700km – far enough to hit targets in Alaska and possibly Hawaii.

US and South Korean intelligence sources say the North Koreans are also working on a multi-stage Taepodong-2, which could carry a smaller payload over 10,000km, to hit targets on the west coast of the US.

Since no successful flight tests of the missile have yet been achieved, and its technical specifications remain mostly secret, predictions of its range remain largely the guesswork of military experts.

The Taepodong-2 is a next generation missile after the two-stage Taepodong-1 missile, with a range of 2000km, that North Korea fired over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, causing an international furore.

US intelligence reported in 2004 that North Korea might be ready to flight-test the Taepodong-2 – or TD-2 – missile capable of reaching the US mainland with a nuclear weapon-sized payload.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, which gives the missile a maximum range of 4300km, the TD-2 uses a liquid propellant-driven engine, while the second stage is based on the Nodong short-range missile.

[Sean Osborne]

After all, these missiles were launched from a number of locations and, I don't think that DPRK leaders are so dumb as to think that would camouflage anything.

It is my private opinion and assessment that the continuing North Korean missile launches were and remain for specific purposes both political, first and foremost, and military.

1.) The funding of these missiles and their launches came directly from Iran. These missiles and their fuel were bought and paid for by the Ayatollah and his Hojjatieh cronies.

2.) North Korea has correctly assessed that with a significant of US combat power and its treasury engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as counter-terrorism operations around the globe, it could procede with the launches becuase the United States WOULD NOT react decisively to such an agressive display of military force.

3.) The timing of these tests was intentionally scheduled to coincide with the American 4th of July holiday... this is a blantly overt message of aggression, again, paid for the the Islamic Republic of Iran. The increase of US intelligence, security and BMD defensive postures CLEARLY evidences that the US Government knew well in advance that these launches would occur during this holiday period.

4.) These missile launches were also a belligerent message directed at the strengthened military relationship and increased joint military capabilities between Japan and the United States which is specifically directed to counter North Korean military adventurism.


5.) The reactions from Russia and Red China to these North Korean launches will serve to illustrate with crystal clear, laser-like precision the intent and nature of the Trans-Asian Axis (i.e.: The SCO or Shanghai Pact) towards the Western Judeo-Christian democracies led by the United States.

6.) That the North Korean Dear Leader WAS IN RUSSIA just prior to the ignition of these lauches should be lost upon no one WHO HAS BEEN PAYING ATTENTION to the Sino-Russian anti-American agenda.

[American Patriot]

N. Korea May Have Fired Up To 12 Missiles

Six launches including Taepodong-2 were confirmed...the additional launches were being investigated

It is possible that N. Korea launched six additional launches of short-range and shore-to-ship missiles, in addition to six launches of Taepodong-2, Nodong, and Scud surface-to-surface missiles, during dawn and morning hours of July 5th.

Senior government sources said, "The confirmed launches so far by N. Koreans are one Taepodong launch and five launches of Nodong and Scud missiles, totaling six. However, we have indications that, between 7am and 8:13am, six additional missiles are launched, which we are trying to confirm." These additional missiles are likely to be 'Seersucker' shore-to-ship missiles (range: 100~120km) and Scuds(range: 300~500km.)

The (S. Korean) government officially announced (this morning) that, on July 5th, at 5am, N. Korea launched Taepodong-2 missile at Taepodong, Hwa-dae County, N. Hamkyong Province, and, starting at 3:32am, several Scud and Nodong missiles at Kitaeryong, Anbyun County, Kangwon Province.

Intelligence agencies determined that Taepodong-2 blew up mid-air over East Sea, 40 seconds after its launch, turning the test into a failure.

Yoo Yong-won, military affairs correspondent

posted : 2006.07.05 11:46 17'

[American Patriot]

I can not disagree at all with your assessment, Sean.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I still believe there was more intent though, to cause us to do something to "cause a war".

[American Patriot]

Analysis: N. Korea impact being weighed
AP on Yahoo ^ | 7/4/06 | Pete Yost - ap

WASHINGTON - Six-party talks: Dead? Tensions around the Sea of Japan: Off the charts. And in Washington: What do we do now?

North Korea delivered some unwanted fireworks to the Bush administration on the Fourth of July, shooting off missiles in an act heard around the globe. Now the White House must figure out how to transform what it calls a "provocation" into an opportunity.

"We're just going to have to do our homework, do the analysis and see what we can divine about what they had in mind," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said of North Korea.

Even before North Korea's latest move, regional talks on the country's nuclear program were stalled, some observers say functionally dead, though they had not been declared so.

Suddenly, with missiles plunging into the Sea of Japan, the idea that any of the negotiators would sit down in a relatively cordial and non-confrontational atmosphere seems inconceivable for the forseeable future.

The temperature-taking is about to begin, with Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill heading to the region for discussions with South Korea, Japan and China about their views and whether the six-party talks are headed for the graveyard.

Sandy Berger, the National Security Adviser in the Clinton administration, said on CNN the United States ultimately would have to enter direct talks with North Korea because the six-party talks have failed.

Another of the many downsides to North Korea's action is the lesson that missile tests might offer for other countries unfriendly to the United States. Take, for example, Iran.

North's Korea's Independence Day display got the attention of the world in a way all of Iran's rhetoric hasn't. None of this is lost on the White House, which wasted no time in letting the two bad boys on the block know where things stand.

"The message that we do not want a nuclear North Korea or a nuclear weapon-armed Iran — that message is the same message and the international community is unified in sending that message," said Hadley. "So that is the lesson that we hope both the Iranians and North Koreas will draw from this."

If there's a silver lining to Tuesday's events, some observers argue, it might be the failure of the long-range Taepodong 2 missile.

On the other hand, says Selig Harrison, an American scholar on the North Korean regime, the flop of the Taepodong 2 could have the unfortunate effect of strengthening the hand of the North Korean military leaders who have argued for more frequent testing of the missile.

Unless the United States succeeds with new diplomatic advances soon, the North Korean generals may win an internal argument in favor of speeding up their missile development program, Harrison said.

___

White House reporter Deb Riechmann, diplomatic writer Anne Gearan, military writer Bob Burns and Washington reporter Larry Margasak contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

Defiant N. Korea fires series of missiles
Yahoo News ^ | 007/04/06 | By Eric Talmadge,

TOKYO - A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat.

The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan — and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle.

None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed in the Sea of Japan between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

"We do consider it provocative behavior," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.

President Bush has been in consultation with Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The State Department said Rice will start conferring tonight with her counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Hadley said the long-range missile was the Taepodong-2, which failed 35 seconds after launch. Experts believe the Taepodong-2 — Korea's most advanced missile with a range of up to 9,320 miles — could reach the United States with a light payload.

The State Department said initial intelligence indicates that the four smaller missiles included a Scud and a Rodong. The Scuds are short-range and could target South Korea. The Rodong has a range of about 620 miles and could target Japan.

The launch came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test the Taepodong-2 from a site on its northeast coast. The preparations had generated stern warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.

"North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. "That is regrettable from the standpoint of Japan's security, the stability of international society, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

He said the first missile was launched at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, or about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday EDT. The two others were launched at bout 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., he said.

Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command — which monitors the skies for threats to North American security — went on heightened alert, said NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek.

"There's a lot going on," he said. "The safety of our people and resources is our top priority."

If the timing is correct, the North Korean missiles were launched within minutes of Tuesday's liftoff of Discovery, which blasted into orbit from Cape Canaveral in the first U.S. space shuttle launch in a year.

North Korea's missile program is based on Scud technology provided by the former Soviet Union or Egypt, according to American and South Korean officials. North Korea started its Rodong-1 missile project in the late 1980s and test-fired the missile for the first time in 1993.

North Korea had observed a moratorium on long-range missile launches since 1999. It shocked the world in 1998 by firing a Taepodong missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, the North's main news agency quoted an unidentified newspaper analyst as saying Pyongyang was prepared to answer a U.S. military attack with "a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war."

The Bush administration responded by saying while it had no intention of attacking, it was determined to protect the United States if North Korea launched a long-range missile.

On Monday, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns warned North Korea against firing the missile and urged the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.

The six-party talks, suspended by North Korea, involved negotiations by the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia with Pyongyang over the country's nuclear program.

The United States and its allies South Korea and Japan have taken quick steps over the past week to strengthen their missile defenses. Washington and Tokyo are working on a joint missile-defense shield, and South Korea is considering the purchase of American SM-2 defensive missiles for its destroyers.

The U.S. and North Korea have been in a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program since 2002. The North claims to have produced nuclear weapons, but that claim has not been publicly verified by outside analysts.

While public information on North Korea's military capabilities is murky, experts doubt that the regime has managed to develop a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on its long-range missiles.

Nonetheless, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told U.S. lawmakers last week that officials took the potential launch reports seriously and were looking at the full range of capabilities possessed by North Korea

[American Patriot]

North Korea fires series of missiles(2 TD2, 4 Nodong ?)
AP ^ | 07/04/06 | ERIC TALMADGE


North Korea fires series of missiles

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer

6 minutes ago

A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat.

The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan — and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle.

None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed in the Sea of Japan between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

"We do consider it provocative behavior," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.

President Bush has been in consultation with Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The State Department said Rice will start conferring tonight with her counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Hadley said the long-range missile was the Taepodong-2, which failed 35 seconds after launch. Experts believe the Taepodong-2 — Korea's most advanced missile with a range of up to 9,320 miles — could reach the United States with a light payload.

The State Department said initial intelligence indicates that the four smaller missiles included a Scud and a Rodong. The Scuds are short-range and could target South Korea. The Rodong has a range of about 620 miles and could target Japan.

The launch came after weeks of speculation that the North was preparing to test the Taepodong-2 from a site on its northeast coast. The preparations had generated stern warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.

"North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. "That is regrettable from the standpoint of Japan's security, the stability of international society, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

He said the first missile was launched at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, or about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday EDT. The two others were launched at bout 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., he said.

Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command — which monitors the skies for threats to North American security — went on heightened alert, said NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek.

"There's a lot going on," he said. "The safety of our people and resources is our top priority."

If the timing is correct, the North Korean missiles were launched within minutes of Tuesday's liftoff of Discovery, which blasted into orbit from Cape Canaveral in the first U.S. space shuttle launch in a year.

North Korea's missile program is based on Scud technology provided by the former Soviet Union or Egypt, according to American and South Korean officials. North Korea started its Rodong-1 missile project in the late 1980s and test-fired the missile for the first time in 1993.

North Korea had observed a moratorium on long-range missile launches since 1999. It shocked the world in 1998 by firing a Taepodong missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, the North's main news agency quoted an unidentified newspaper analyst as saying Pyongyang was prepared to answer a U.S. military attack with "a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war."

The Bush administration responded by saying while it had no intention of attacking, it was determined to protect the United States if North Korea launched a long-range missile.

On Monday, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns warned North Korea against firing the missile and urged the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.

The six-party talks, suspended by North Korea, involved negotiations by the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia with Pyongyang over the country's nuclear program.

The United States and its allies South Korea and Japan have taken quick steps over the past week to strengthen their missile defenses. Washington and Tokyo are working on a joint missile-defense shield, and South Korea is considering the purchase of American SM-2 defensive missiles for its destroyers.

The U.S. and North Korea have been in a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program since 2002. The North claims to have produced nuclear weapons, but that claim has not been publicly verified by outside analysts.

While public information on North Korea's military capabilities is murky, experts doubt that the regime has managed to develop a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on its long-range missiles.

Nonetheless, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told U.S. lawmakers last week that officials took the potential launch reports seriously and were looking at the full range of capabilities possessed by North Korea.

[American Patriot]

U.S. officials: North Korea tests long-range missile (UPDATE & more details: 6 missiles!)
CNN ^ | July 4, 2006 | CNN

North Korea test-launched a Taepodong-2 missile early Wednesday along with several short-range rockets, but the long-range missile apparently failed, U.S. officials said.

U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said there were five missile launches in all. One was the Taepodong-2 missile, and the other four were short-range.

A short time after Hadley spoke, North Korea launched a sixth missile, U.S. military sources said.

Hadley described the tests as "provocative behavior."

A senior U.S. State Department official said the launches were timed to coincide with the launch of the space shuttle Discovery from Florida, calling it "a provocative act designed to get attention."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

[American Patriot]

(Grin)

North Korean Missile Suffers "Projectile Disfunction"-Fails 45 seconds into flight

The Morning Paper-Special Edition | 07/04/06 | vanity

Posted on 07/04/2006 6:17:19 PM MDT by genefromjersey

This just in from our N. Korean Correspondent :

N. Korean Taepodong 2 Missile Suffers From " Projectile Misfunction " : Fails 45 seconds into Flight

Kim Jong II mutters: " This never happened to me before !"

July 4 , Pyongyang : In an early morning gesture of friendship toward the United States , Kim Jong II , Fearless Leader of the Extremely Democratic and Nice People's Republic of North Korea launched no less than three "celebratory fireworks displays" , including one that employed the much-heralded Taepodong 2 multi stage rocket.

The display started out rather well. Alerted by early-warning sensors, Japanese officials hurried to a protective bunker , and there were rumors that Walter Mondale ( a former Peace candidate, who had urged destruction of the North Korean display units while they were still on their launch pads ) might have had to change his Underoos.tm

Unfortunately, a mere 45 seconds into its flight, the Taepodong 2 suffered "projectile disfunction " , and failed. (Look : It can happen to ANYONE, okay ? )

Our Fearless Leader rose bravely to the occasion , and had two Scud -type rockets fired towards Japan ; however, the Scuds experienced "premature oscillation" , and fell into the sea quite some distance from their goal .

Needless to say, our Fearless Leader was somewhat distressed.

"This has never happened to me before !", he shouted.

( A young woman, who had been "attached to his staff" (as it were)had the temerity to giggle most inappropriately,and was handed over to the troops for re-indoctrination. )

It is hoped that Carter chap will be sent over soon to bring us some better rocket fuel , a few tons of uranium (and, perhaps, some Viagra) so we can help America celebrate its next birthday more fittingly !

[American Patriot]

(Another Chuckle)

The Daily Tattletale

NORAD INVADED N. KOREAN PRIVACY !!

Washington, July 5,2006 : Unidentified sources in NORAD have advised us their super-secret electronic network monitored the launching and flight trajectories of North Korean missiles yesterday-without seeking the consent of North Korea’s Democratically- Elected and- Awfully Nice - People’s Government.

Outraged privacy advocates in and out of Congress have promised a full-scale investigation . “We’re going to get to the bottom of this ,” an angry Congressional hopeful (quoted on the basis of anonymity ) declared.

Meanwhile , one source in NORAD expressed relief the North Korean’s had not chosen a launch area sited just 87 kilometers southwest of the actual launch site. “Our sensor arrays have an anomalous blind spot in that area “,our source chuckled.

We have checked with our sources in the CIA and Pentagon,but have not been able to confirm the blind spot location yet.

The White House has issued a terse “No comment”.

[Sean Osborne]

I can not disagree at all with your assessment, Sean.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I still believe there was more intent though, to cause us to do something to "cause a war".

Rick,

No doubt, it was an excessive provocation, and because of its abject failure the next series of provocations will be even more significant. Yes, I agree with there being more involved in the overall objectives, the baseline intent. Yes, they want to start a war, a big war, and that war is with Russian and ChiCom approval. Ditto for Iran. And keep an eye on Venezuela and Cuba during all of this.

This is not over yet... much more to come.

Just got word from Col. Ray Coughenour that he thinks my analysis is "superb" and he will read it on-the-air today during his "Daily Brief" program on KCAA radio, California. Live streaming also.

[American Patriot]

Hence my original "Ground war in the US" thread on Anomalies

[American Patriot]

North Korea Pledges To Launch More Missiles
Breaking News.ie ^ | 7/6/06

North Korea today publicly acknowledged for the first time that it had tested missiles and vowed to continue launching them, threatening to take even stronger action if opponents of the tests pressured the country.

In a separate dispatch by state-run media, the reclusive regime accused the US of stepping up aerial espionage and preparing to start a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.

“The military and the people of DPKR are further strengthening the military deterrent to mercilessly punish aggressors’ provocations,” the Korean Central News Agency said.

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

[Sean Osborne]

Doug Hanson has apparently heard the same whispers I have heard.


Where was Kim's exploded ICBM pointing?



Douglas Hanson writes that it’s unlikely that Kim Jong Il exploded his own long-range missile after 42 seconds yesterday. True, with one possible exception: if it was on course to a real target. Ballistic missiles have predictable trajectories soon after launch—- that’s why they’re ballistic—- and the US Goverment must know roughly where Kim’s 9,300 mile Taepodong 2 was heading.

If it was bound for Japan, Okinawa, or US Navy vessels at sea, Kim could have destroyed it 42 seconds into flight quite deliberately, like a boxer pulling his punch to send the message: This one could have landed right on you, sucker.

I doubt that we’ll find out where KIm’s ICBM was heading. But you can be sure that all the watchers knew the likely targets within a dozen seconds of launch. If it was launched to kill, that news is now known to goverments all over the world.

One final thought. Iran seems to be following in Kim’s exact footsteps: Public threats, public promises, and relentless nuke development. Repeat until you’re immune from attack. Europe is still living in massive psychological denial of the WMD threat from the Mullahs. What would happen if Tehran decides to follow Pyongyang with a multiple missile launch? Would anybody wake up in Europe? Because Iran doesn’t have the Pacific Ocean to fool around in. Distances are much shorter.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Israel, the US Sixth Fleet are all less than a minute of missile travel from Iran. They might not wait 42 seconds to find out where the missiles were going. Human beings can’t respond strategically in that kind of time. You have to plan ahead of time precisely how you will respond.

Which raises the same basic question again: How crazy are the Mullahs really? Do they understand the basic facts? Do they care? If not, the only rational defense would be an offense.
James Lewis 7 6 06

http://www.americanthinker.com/comme...mments_id=5518


North Korean missiles



Anything is possible with ‘Lil Kim, but I don’t think deliberately failing the missile tests is one of them. Rather I think he was testing our resolve and our new missile defense system. Here is a good rundown of the missile firings (though it was published before today’s firing of a seventh missile).

The North Koreans fired an interesting assortment of ordnance with varying range bands. The 9,300-mile-range Taepodong-2, the 620-mile-range Nodong missile, and a Scud-type missile with a range of 300 to 500 miles. The article says the Taepodong failed after 42 seconds. I’m not sure how far downrange that is, but all of the missiles landed in the East China Sea and Japan Sea.

We said that we were prepared to shoot down the Taepodong-2 if it “appeared to be heading to U.S. or allied territory.” How close to Japan (landing in the Japan Sea) an ally, or how close to Okinawa (landing in the East China Sea) where US forces are stationed does the missile have to get before we shoot it down? Think back to the incident with the USS Vincennes shooting down the Iranian airliner during the Tanker Wars. The airliner was squawking an F-14 code from its IFF, all passengers were non-Iranian or Iranian expats, and the aircraft directly overflew the sometimes confusing situation in the Persian Gulf. Khomeni and his generals had nothing to lose. If the US Navy engaged and hit the target, valuable intelligence would be gained on US systems and a major propaganda victory would be handed to the mullahs. If we engaged and missed, intelligence would be gathered and protests lodged. If we didn’t engage, no harm, no foul, and Iran is left guessing as to why we didn’t engage (i.e., we didn’t detect it at all, or made the decision not to). Arguably, the NK test could have had similar goals. Not only did Kim thumb his nose at the US on Independence Day, but I would wager his electronic “ears” were on gathering any and all SIGINT and ELINT about our responses or lack thereof.

Douglas Hanson 7 5 06

[American Patriot]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1661294/posts

Not gonna post that whole article. Check the FreeRepublic for it.

It's a good read from about 2004.

[American Patriot]

Missile failure masks success - North Korea test rattles U.S., Japan
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/6/6 | James Sterngold

The North Koreans might have failed to send a long-range missile into space this week, but weapons experts say the test-firing succeeded in other important ways: It made clear that Pyongyang still has a credible, advanced missile program and that it has the ability to seize Washington's attention at will.

In remarks at the White House on Wednesday, President Bush conceded as much by seeming to belittle the multistage Taepodong-2 ballistic missile, which reportedly flew for just 40 seconds, while acknowledging the sobering message the launch sent.

"One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't stay up very long," the president said. "It tumbled into the sea, which doesn't, frankly, diminish my desire to solve this problem."

The missile appears to have exploded even before its second stage could ignite, falling within 350 miles of Niigata, on Japan's western coast. A test flight of an earlier version of the missile, in 1998, landed only 200 miles from Japan.

The latest test was still considered a highly provocative act, and Japan at once demanded an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to take up the matter and to consider penalties.

Analysts and military experts said that the test -- actually a series of test-firings of different missile types -- might have been largely a piece of diplomatic theater but that even the one failure did nothing to diminish North Korea's credibility as one of the most advanced missile producers in the developing world.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...

[American Patriot]

Where are ‘Star Wars’ critics now?
Washington Examiner ^ | 7/6/06 | Editors


WASHINGTON - North Korea’s threatening spate of missile launches — including an unsuccessful try with an advanced version of its Taepodong 2 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile that is capable of hitting the United States — has sparked a cacophony of talk from leaders and foreign policy experts around the world.

As they debate and discuss various options at the United Nations and in capitals around the globe, the rudimentary U.S. missile defense system is poised to shoot down anything launched from North Korea that threatens the American homeland or the critical interests of our regional allies like Japan and Australia.

Noticeably absent are the voices of those who, since President Reagan first proposed such a system in 1984, have fought development and deployment of the missile defense system the U.S. must now depend upon in dealing with North Korea. These folks have claimed over and over that the system they derisively call “Star Wars” can’t possibly work, would be too expensive, would incite a new world arms race, etc., etc. Names that come to mind in this regard include senators like Joe Biden, D-Del., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., and the Clinton-Gore administration that delayed and dilly-dallied with work on missile defense for most of the ’90s.

It is important that the American people understand two aspects of the current crisis as it relates to missile defense. First, the system President Bush recently ordered advanced from its testing stage to operational status when the North Koreans began preparing the Taepodong 2 launch is extremely rudimentary because it is still being developed. The system now includes only 11 ground-based launch sites in Alaska and California capable of knocking out long-range missiles like the Taepodong 2, and four Aegis-class Navy destroyers equipped with missile defense battle management systems and Standard-3 missiles capable of hitting medium range threats.

Second, they will no doubt protest to high heaven, but “Star Wars” critics must bear the major burden of responsibility for the delays and setbacks that have prevented the missile defense system from becoming fully operational long before the present crisis with North Korea. There have been technological problems, especially in the very early stages, but those were temporary and subject to American technological prowess.

Far more serious have been the setbacks engineered by the critics — like then-Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell’s maneuvers to kill the first Bush administration’s Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (G-PALS) plan, the Clinton-Gore gutting of the Strategic Defense Initiative office in 1993 and the delaying tactics used by Senate Democrats in the first years of this decade to reduce the current program’s funding.

It is a sobering thought to wonder how much more secure the United States and its allies would be today in the face of madness like North Korea’s launches if instead of a limited defense still in development we could depend upon the robust protection first proposed many years ago.

[American Patriot]

Why multiple NoKo missile launches? (Important, overlooked point!!)
The American Thinker ^ | 7-05-06 | James Lewis

Just a small observation. Why did the North Koreans fire multiple missiles today? They know that we have a layered anti-missile defense, ranging from Aegis cruisers near the coast of North Korea to catch missiles in the slow boost stage, to developing mid-flight and near-target anti-missile systems. What they don’t know is how effective those are, nor how good they are at distinguishing between killer missiles and decoys. The cheapest way to defeat an anti-missile system is to fire multiple missiles at it. That’s what they did today.

The one country that is not being held responsible is China. But China could exercise immense influence on North Korea – if it chose to. It has not done so. Chances are that the Chinese military knew all about the today’s probes of allied defenses, and that they were watching and analyzing the results. China has secretly enabled North Korean proliferation to Iran, hoping that the United States and its allies will be drawn into a Middle East conflict that will expose our Pacific flank.

In the face of indisputable danger the wavering resolution of the South Korea, Japan and other Pacific nations is now growing stronger. Together they have formidable industrial capacity that is now being oriented toward missile defense. Taiwan will soon have Aegis anti-missile destroyers. While Democrats have done their damnedest to sabotage anti-missiled technology ever since Ronald Reagan, even the Europeans are now beginning to see Iranian nukes within easy range of Paris, Berlin and London. It does concentrate the mind wonderfully.

We still don’t know if missile defense will work. But Western and Pacific rim nations are beginning to get serious about it. It is high time, because the worst regimes in the world can now buy mass-murdering toys from Kim Jong-Il.

[American Patriot]

Forget the Missiles, This is Even More Bizarre (North Korea)
StrategyPage ^ | July 5, 2006

July 5, 2006: While everyone's attention was focused on North Korean missiles, the real story is the North Korean economy. It continues to fall apart, and more North Koreans are unhappy about that. Worse yet, more North Koreans are finding out how badly they have been screwed by their leaders. Meanwhile, North Korean officials engage in even more bizarre behavior. For example, food and fuel supplies sent to North Korea have been halted, not to force North Korea to stop missile tests or participate in peace talks, but to return the Chinese trains the aid was carried in on. In the last few weeks, the North Koreans have just kept the trains, sending the Chinese crews back across the border. North Korea just ignores Chinese demands that the trains be returned, and insists that the trains are part of the aid program. It's no secret that North Korean railroad stock is falling apart, after decades of poor maintenance and not much new equipment. Stealing Chinese trains is a typical loony-tune North Korean solution to the problem. If the North Koreans appear to make no sense, that's because they don't. Put simply, when their unworkable economic policies don't work, the North Koreans just conjure up new, and equally unworkable, plans. The Chinese have tried to talk the North Koreans out of these pointless fantasies, and for their trouble they have their trains stolen. How do you negotiate under these conditions? No one knows. The South Koreans believe that if they just keep the North Korean leaders from doing anything too destructive (especially to South Korea), eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse. Not much of a plan, but so far, no one's come up with anything better.

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