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The United States said on Friday that Iran and North Korea were trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to their nuclear programs in violation of UN sanctions. Iran was also sending weapons and ammunition to Syrian government forces despite a ban, said Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. "Both Iran and North Korea have developed channels that enable them to continue to export and continue to procure the items they need for their weapons industry,'' he told a news briefing in Geneva. In comments to Reuters, he made clear he was referring to high-tech materials related to...

April 12, 2013 Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late By JEREMI SURI AUSTIN, Tex. SINCE February, the North Korean government has followed one threatening move with another. The spiral began with an underground nuclear test. Then the North declared the armistice that ended the Korean War invalid. The young dictator Kim Jong-un followed with a flurry of threats to attack civilian targets in South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Friday, April 12, the US raised its nuclear alert status to DEFCON 3, Condition Yellow (out of 5 levels), stating “There are currently no imminent nuclear threats against the United States at this time, however the situation is considered fluid and can change rapidly.” Many believe that North Korea will launch their test missile on or about April 15. Japan has instructed its armed forces to shoot down any North Korean missile that heads toward its territory. Contrary to comments from the White House Thursday, the Pentagon reported that “North Korea probably has nuclear weapons that can be mounted on...

NORTH KOREA has warned Japan that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, as it increased threats of an attack. In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the communist country lashed out at Tokyo's standing orders to destroy any missile heading toward Japan, threatening such actions will result in a nuclear attack against the island nation. If Japan executes its threat to shoot down any North Korean missile, such a “provocative” intervention would see Tokyo — an enormous conurbation of 30 million people — “consumed in nuclear...

The results of a classified Defense Intelligence Agency report indicate that “North Korea now has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.” That was the bombshell out of a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday. It came when Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) of Colorado began quoting from what he said was an unclassified version of the DIA report, which has not yet been made public.

Pyongyang warned that Tokyo would be its primary target if war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, if Japan maintains its "hostile posture." It also threatened a nuclear strike against the island nation if it intercepts any North Korean test missiles. In the comments, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo's standing orders to shoot down any North Korean missile heading towards Japan, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reports.

"While I cannot speak to all the details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage," said George Little, the Pentagon spokesman. The US denial was followed quickly by the South Korean defence ministry, which said the North had still not developed a warhead small enough to place on top of a a missile. "Our military's assessment is that the North has not yet miniaturised," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a news briefing....

A U.S. intelligence report concludes that North Korea has advanced its nuclear knowhow to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, a jarring revelation in the midst of bellicose threats from the unpredictable communist regime. President Barack Obama urged calm, calling on Pyongyang to end its saber-rattling while sternly warning that he would "take all necessary steps" to protect American citizens. The new American intelligence analysis, disclosed Thursday at a hearing on Capitol Hill, says the Pentagon's intelligence wing has "moderate confidence" that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles...

North Korea plans to recall 51,000 workers and temporarily shut down its operations at the Kaesong Industrial Park that it runs jointly with South Korean companies just north of the border. Analysts in South Korea see the move as a leap in Pyongyang's determination to make sacrifices amid its increasingly belligerent rhetoric, including indications of a fourth nuclear test. "This is a big deal," said Yoon Sang-Hyun, the ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker and an expert in foreign policy and inter-Korean relations. "No more words, they're really taking a blow economically and demonstrating that they really mean what they've been crying...

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Friday that the administration wouldn't be surprised if North Korea followed through on threats to launch a missle. "We've obviously seen the reports that North Korea may be making preparations to launch a missile. We're monitoring this situation cclosely, and we would not be surprised to see them take such an action," Carney said during a press briefing. "We have seen them launch missiles in the past and the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly condemned them as violations of the North’s obligations under numerous Security Council resolutions, and it would fit their...

The most probable outcome of all these tensions is a low-level "tactical" strike from North Korea. But don't worry, it'll be "a relatively small attack that won’t leave many people dead," Sue Mi Terry, a Columbia University professor who served as a senior analyst on North Korea at the CIA from 2001 to 2008, told Wired's Spencer Ackermann.

The most probable outcome of all these tensions is a low-level "tactical" strike from North Korea. But don't worry, it'll be " a relatively small attack that won’t leave many people dead," Sue Mi Terry, a Columbia University professor who served as a senior analyst on North Korea at the CIA from 2001 to 2008, told Wired's Spencer Ackermann. Analysts in the military, political, and intelligence fields have all pretty much said the same thing: Kim Jong-Un has painted himself into a corner, and the only way out is a gunfight. Luckily they also say it won't be World War...

HH: We begin every Thursday when we are lucky with Columnist To the World, Mark Steyn. You can read everything that Mark writes at www.steynonline.com. You can follow him on Twitter @marksteynonline. Mark, one of my favorite Steyn books is The Passing Parade. And I begin today with the sad news, because I liked him, Roger Ebert. He was a left winger, but he was a pretty good movie critic. If you were writing an obit about Roger Ebert, how would it begin? MS: Well, as you say, he was a left winger, but he was a great movie critic...

National Security: The administration moves an advanced missile defense system to Guam because it knows a single low-yield nuke detonated at high altitude could send America back in time a hundred years. The announcement Wednesday by the Defense Department that it would soon deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), a missile defense system inherited from the Bush administration, to Guam underscores the seriousness of the threat from North Korea, whose actions, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel rightly said, "present a real and clear danger." This move comes after the Obama administration reversed its previous scuttling of Bush administration...

AUSTIN, Texas (CBS Houston) – In response to perceived threats against the city from the North Korean government, officials in Austin have said they are willing to do whatever federal officials feel may be necessary to protect civilians. -- Austin city officials are keeping an eye on the situation. “Our regional intelligence center has been staying apprised of the current situation,” City Manager Marc A. Ott told CBS Houston in a statement.

SEOUL — The North Korean army said Thursday it had final approval to launch "merciless" military strikes on the United States, involving the possible use of "cutting-edge" nuclear weapons. In a statement published by the official KCNA news agency, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) said it was formally informing Washington that reckless US threats would be "smashed by... cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means". "The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified," the statement said.

The US is moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam as a precaution following threats by North Korea, the Pentagon has said.The Department of Defence said it would deploy the ballistic Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (Thaad) in the coming weeks.Pyongyang has threatened to target South Korea and the US in recent weeks.The state's warlike rhetoric follows new UN sanctions and joint military drills by the US and South Korea.

U.S. to Send Missile-Defense Battery to Guam By JULIAN E. BARNES And ADAM ENTOUS WASHINGTON—The U.S. is preparing to deploy an advanced missile-defense system to defend American military bases in the Pacific, a defensive signal indicating the Pentagon doesn't believe the threat of a possible North Korean attack is likely to fade quickly. The U.S. will deploy the system, known as a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery, or THAAD, to Guam to protect against short- and medium-range missiles from North Korea. It will be the first global deployment of the system. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said North Korea has threatened...

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the United States had the right to take preemptive military action against North Korea if there was "solid evidence" that Kim Jon Un planned to attack the U.S. or South Korea. "If we have good reason to believe there's going to be an attack, I believe we have the right to take preemptive action," King said on CNN's "Erin Burnett Outfront.""I don't think we have to wait until Americans are killed or wounded or injured in any way," he continued. "I'm not saying we should be rushing into war, don't get me wrong,...

President Obama has a situation on his hands where charisma and media support do him no good. He is dealing with a nuclear-armed regime with a history of military attacks, provocations as a means of extortion, and brutality. Now they have announced they are restarting a reactor that produces enough plutonium to make a bomb a year -- a reactor that had been shut down before as part of a previous deal in which the North Koreans got things of value in exchange for shuttering it. Worse yet, the dictatorship is now in the midst of a possible power struggle....