(LEAD) N. Korea stages firing drill marking military anniv.: source
SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) — North Korea staged what appears to be the largest firing drill on Tuesday to mark the 85th founding anniversary of its military, a government source said.
“Signs are detected that North Korea’s military is conducting a large-scale drill around the eastern port city of Wonsan on the anniversary,” the source said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is presumed to have watched the exercise involving some 300-400 long-range artillery pieces that can put Seoul and its adjacent areas within range, it added.
The move is seen as North Korea’s show of military force against Seoul and Washington instead of staging a large-scale provocation on the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army.
Speculation has been rife that Pyongyang may conduct its sixth nuclear test or launch a long-range ballistic missile to mark its military event.
**** Entire U.S. Senate to go to White House for North Korea briefing ****
Top Trump administration officials will hold a rare briefing on Wednesday at the White House for the entire U.S. Senate on the situation in North Korea.
All 100 senators have been asked to the White House for the briefing by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday.
While administration officials routinely travel to Capitol Hill to address members of Congress on foreign policy matters, it is unusual for the entire Senate to go to the White House, and for all four of those officials to be involved.
Wednesday’s briefing was originally scheduled for a secure room at the Capitol, but President Donald Trump suggested a shift to the White House, congressional aides said.
Washington has expressed mounting concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, and its threats to attack the United States and its Asian allies.
Trump, who called the leaders of China and Japan during the weekend, told U.N. Security Council ambassadors on Monday that “the status quo” is not acceptable, and said the council must be ready to impose new sanctions.
North Korea reportedly holds live-fire drill as US nuclear-powered sub approaches
North Korea on Tuesday reportedly conducted a huge live-fire drill that involved up to 400 artillery pieces, which may have been supervised by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, as the U.S. added a nuclear-powered submarine to its fleet of vessels powering toward the region.
Pyongyang apparently deployed long-range artillery units in the coastal region of Wonsan, an unnamed government source told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. South Korea’s military did not confirm the report, but told the news outlet it was “firmly maintaining readiness.”
(The coming actions, whatever they may be, are long overdue, and are largely if not entirely the fault of Obama’s policy of “Strategic Patience”)
[please post any new info on the situation in North Korea today under this post if you would. Most likely tomorrow this site will be dedicated to North Korea as an issue.]
file:///Users/apple/Downloads/C9jQBs4UwAAm1mW.jpg
As the tensions in the Korean peninsula increase I want everyone to continue to watch what is happening in the MIdeast, for a couple of decades or longer Iran and NORK have played vollyball to keep every ones attention swinging from one to the other to keep people from paying attention to what the other is doing. Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project said on a video posted a few days ago Iran and NORK are partners what one has the other has. They want us to think that NORK has nukes but Iran doesn’t and that Iran has working missiles but NORK doesn’t. To remain safe we have to act as if both have both and work from there.
Having said that the regular readers of this site know WWIII has already started it just hasn’t gone kinetic yet and that is what we are waiting for and may be watching in Korea. We can’t know everything the intel groups are telling President Trump and we shouldn’t because telling us what they know also tells Kim how deeply he has been penetrated. The best we can do is read the various reports and pay close attenton to what the defectors are saying, they know the players up there much better then we do.
My take is that Kim is trying to keep our attention away from Iran but in doing this he has pushed so hard he can’t back down without making others in the North decide to remove him from power. Obama and his lack of action that he called Strategic Patience has created the created the situation where we can’t back down without saying we will back down from all dictators who have nuclear weapons or who have enough fire power to make taking them out a long term event.
“ To remain safe we have to act as if both have both and work from there.”
Too right! It’s long overdue for the West to simply start taking these psychos at their word and respond accordingly. As you can tell from my own post on this topic, Mainland China finally seems to be coming out of their opium dream about maintaining a balance of terror on the Korean Peninsula. At the very least, that old saying about “not crapping on your own doorstep” finally may be s
tinking in with Beijing.However, that ship sailed when the NORKs had their first successful nuclear test. Too bad that China’s war-based diplomacy clouded their ability to recognize how sheer proximity means they’ll be second-in-line (right behind South Korea) when the excrement and whirling blades collide.
The only way out that makes any sense is for Red China to gently nudge North Korea’s top brass towards liquidating Fat Boy. If anything, that’s probably why Fat Boy recently assembled his brand new, super-duper bodyguard. Their Plan B probably involves wiping out the families of North Korea’s top brass if anyone so much as farts sideways.
Just for you, Richard: Iran and N. Korea Nuclear Testing: Best Case Scenario.
Fecking lack of preview! Just read through the strike through.
Thank you, I have always said that when someone says they are going to kill you believe them.
Amb. Bolton: The threat from North Korea is real
U.S. Air Force to launch test missile off Central California coast
An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile will be launched Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base to test the weapon’s effectiveness, accuracy and readiness, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.
The Minuteman III missile test launch will occur between 12:01 and 6:01 a.m. from the north end of the base near Lompoc, according to Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing. The 576th Flight Test Squadron, which will help oversee the operational test launch, is responsible for telemetry, tracking and command destruct systems on the missile.
In a statement, Col. Chris Moss, Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing commander, said missile launches are “essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-missile-test-launch-vandenberg-20170425-story.html
Has anyone else besides me been wondering exactly why Communist China has finally begun to make distinct gestures regarding North Korea? After all, Beijing could give a rip about Seoul being bombarded, despite how South Korea has invested some $52 billion in Red China. The Politburo gives an even lesser rip about Pyongyang. So, what gives with the ChiComs finally acting like they care?
Check out these images: Seasonal Prevailing Winds in East Asia
If Fat Boy goes nuclear or gets nuked, guess where a lot of the radioactive fallout is going to land?
These are the Godzilla-sized pigeons that will come home to roost as payment for China’s mendacity about the Korean Peninsula. All it took was one little psychopath who’s just as happy taking everyone down with him when he goes.