Free Republic

The Turkish government is still in talks with Washington about the possible sale of Patriot missile defense systems, a senior Turkish official said Friday. Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Öztürk Yılmaz, who visited Washington last week, told a group of Turkish journalists on Friday that Turkey contacted Americans about the Patriot systems two to three weeks ago. The Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Yılmaz's remarks and said that Turkey was routinely conducting this kind of talks and Turkish expectations on the deal has not changed. "For us, technology transfer and joint production...

North Korea claims it has a missile that could reach the West Coast of the United States and plans to test it in the very near future, according to Russian lawmakers who visited the reclusive nation this week.  “They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the West Coast of the United States,” Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian Duma’s international affairs committee, told the RIA news agency, Reuters reports.  “In general, [North Korea’s] mood is rather belligerent,” Morozov added. “The situation, of course, demands...

North Korea seen moving missiles from development center: South Korean broadcaster SEOUL (Reuters) - Several North Korean missiles were recently spotted moved from a rocket facility in the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) reported late Friday amid speculation that the North was preparing to take more provocative actions. The report cited an unnamed intelligence source saying South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials detected missiles being transported away from North Korea’s Missile Research and Development Facility at Sanum-dong in the northern part of Pyongyang. The report did not say when or where they had been moved. The missiles...

US officials have determined that the launch of a new medium range ICBM by Iran on Friday was a fake. Experts say that the video released by Iran depicting the launch was from a failed test last January Fox News: The video released by the Iranians was more than seven months old – dating back to a failed launch in late January, which resulted in the missile exploding shortly after liftoff, according to two U.S. officials. President Trump had originally responded to the reported launch in a late-Saturday tweet, saying, “Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching...

HIGHLIGHTS o The short-range weapons meant to be used early in a conventional conflict with India are at a risk of landing up with terrorists. o According to the report, Pakistan has stored its nuclear forces at nine different locations across the country. o The report adds that Pakistan has a rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal of 130-140 warheads. o Pakistani military personnel stand beside a Shaheen III surface-to-surface ballistic missile. (Representative image/Reuters) NEW DELHI: Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last week yet again flaunted+ his country's tactical or nonstrategic nuclear weapons, saying they were meant to deter the Indian Army's...

Iran tested a new ballistic missile that is reportedly capable of carrying multiple warheads, the nation's state-run broadcaster announced Saturday. Iran unveiled the ballistic missile Friday at a military parade in Tehran and successfully tested it the same day, Press TV reported. It said Iran released footage of the test-launch. Called the Khorramshahr missile, the weapon has a range of 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) and can carry multiple warheads, according to Press TV. "The Khorramshahr missile has become smaller in size and more tactical and it will be operational in the near future," the broadcaster said. The missile was launched...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Friday unveiled its latest ballistic missile capable of reaching much of the Middle East, including Israel, while the country’s president vowed that Tehran would press ahead with its missile program in defiance of U.S. demands to the contrary. The unveiling came during a military parade in Tehran that commemorated the 1980s Iraq-Iran war. The move was a direct challenge to President Donald Trump, who in August signed a bill imposing mandatory penalties on those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. Though Iran has long boasted of having missiles in...

Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries after a helicopter accidentally fired on bystanders at the Zapad 2017 military exercises, the online news portal 66.ru cited a source as saying on Tuesday. The week-long drills in Western Russia and neighboring Belarus kicked off last week, with around 13,000 troops, hundreds of tanks, aircraft, warships and other military hardware participating. The incident reportedly took place at the Luzhsky range near St. Petersburg either on Monday or Sunday. President Vladimir Putin visited the range on Monday. The unnamed source told 66.ru that there appeared to have been a technical glitch on board...

Published September 14, 2017 Fox News Now Playing Report: North Korea fires missile North Korea launched another missile Friday, the rogue nation's first missile launch since its massive nuclear test more than a week ago, prompting U.S. officials to issue a sharp round of condemnation. The missile was launched eastward early Friday from Sunan, the site of Pyongyang's international airport. It flew over northern Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Pacific Command. President Donald Trump, who last month vowed "fire and fury" if North Korea ramped up its nuclear threats, didn't immediately comment. However, Defense Secretary...

PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE - Beijing's caution risks undermining its growing reputation as a global player. But seeming weakness is a price it appears willing to pay now, in the interests of a long-term leadership goal: to take over America's old mantle as the dominant power in Asia. PARIS AND BEIJING—Is China’s courage failing? Exasperated and embarrassed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, Beijing is nonetheless shrinking from using all the influence it has to stop them. China reportedly refused to back US proposals for an oil embargo against Pyongyang, for example, forcing Washington to soften the UN Security...

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea marked its government’s 69th anniversary not with another missile test, as many had feared, but with a gala party for the scientists involved in carrying out the country’s most powerful nuclear test yet last week, the state-run news media reported on Sunday. The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, celebrated the national holiday on Saturday by bringing his nuclear scientists and engineers to Pyongyang, the capital, and holding a banquet. On their way from the country’s underground nuclear test site in northeast North Korea to Pyongyang, the technicians had been cheered by people who poured out...

/begin my translation N. Korea Remodeling Underground Missile Launch Facilities in Ryanggang Province Shin Jun-shik Suspected underground missile launchers in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province N. Korea is reportedly remodeling suspected underground missile launch facilities in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province. According to sources, this is done in order to replace ‘Baekdusan-1’ missiles with ‘Hwasong-14’, the new ICBM’s. N. Korea is reportedly remodeling suspected underground missile launchers in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province, according to local sources. The First Military Engineering Bureau (fmr. First Brigade of Military Engineering Bureau) which is now moved under Guard Bureau, is in charge of the work, RFA...

South Korea says it has seen indications that the North is preparing more missile launches, possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile. It said it was strengthening its controversial US-made Thaad missile defence system after the North's test of a nuclear bomb at the weekend. The South has carried out live-fire exercises in response to the test. The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss its response. It last imposed sanctions in August, targeting North Korean exports. Speaking before the meeting, the British ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, told reporters there were "further sectors of the...

The South Korean military has reportedly conducted live-fire drills in response to recent provocations from North Korea. Officials say multiple ballistic missiles struck ‘designated targets’ in the East Sea.

Emergency being broadcast on NHK

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that a “projectile” had been fired into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Saturday morning. It was not immediately clear what kind of missile it was. The launch comes during joint exercises between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, exercises that North Korea always strongly protests, considering them preparation for an invasion. This is a developing story. It will be updated.

North Korea Rebukes Russia’s Denial of Its ICBM Launch Russia called North Korea’s missile fired on July 4 an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) rather than an ICBM By Charlotte Gao August 11, 2017 As The Diplomat asked earlier: why is Russia denying that North Korea successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 4, 2017? North Korea is also asking the same question, and is apparently furious about Russia’s denial. On July 4, North Korea successfully flew an ICBM, the Hwasong-14. The ICBM launch was acknowledged around the world including United States, Japan, and South Korea — but not...

Pakistan has built a 'hardened, secure, underground' complex in a remote mountainous region in the restive Balochistan province that could serve as a storage site for nuclear warheads, an American think tank said on Wednesday. The Institute for Science and International Security, a nonprofit and non-governmental institution, said its observation is based on satellite imagery and investigation. It said in a report that the underground complex in the southwestern province 'could serve as a ballistic missile and nuclear warhead storage site'. The purpose of the complex is not yet available publicly. But, the report authored by David Albright, Sarah Burkhard,...

Why couldn't they sneak one or several into various shipping containers bound for various ports in the US and elsewhere?

The Minuteman III launch by U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command is scheduled to take place between midnight and 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from Vandenberg. ... Vandenberg has done several Minuteman test launches in the past, the latest coming on April 26 and May 3. Those two missiles traveled about 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands. The Minuteman III ICBM launch is designed to “validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.”