I don't know why, but I picture plankton when I think of the evil Kim Jong Il.
Posted on 09/22/2004 9:09:16 PM PDT by HAL9000
TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have detected signs that North Korea is preparing to launch a ballistic missile with a range capable of hitting almost all of Japan, Japanese government sources said on Thursday.Tokyo and Washington had detected the signs after analyzing data from reconnaissance satellites and radio traffic, the government sources said.
North Korean military vehicles, soldiers and possibly missile engineers were converging on several Rodong missile bases in the northeastern part of the isolated communist state, they said.
The signs were first detected on Tuesday, the sources said.
"At this stage we don't think North Korea's missile launch is imminent," one source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "But we still don't know whether North Korea is serious about missile launches."
North Korea shocked the world when it fired a missile over Japan in 1998. Pyongyang test-fired a Taepodong ballistic missile that passed over Japan, demonstrating that major population areas, including Tokyo, were within the estimated 600 mile range of the missile.
China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States are trying to persuade the North to ditch its suspected nuclear programs in exchange for security guarantees and energy aid. Pyongyang said last weekend it would never give up its nuclear deterrent.
A fourth round of talks had originally been scheduled for this month but North Korea has said it sees no point in more negotiations because of what it describes as Washington's "hostile" policy.
South Korea's Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo said on Thursday he could not rule out the possibility of North Korea test-firing a missile.
"Activities related to North Korea's missiles have been detected recently," Rhee told reporters in Seoul.
"But our assessment is that they are likely part of an annual exercise by a North Korean missile unit," he said. "We cannot rule out the possibility of a test firing, so South Korean and U.S. authorities are following the indications."
Japan's defense ministry on Tuesday sent two destroyers -- one equipped with an Aegis radar system -- and an EP-3 electronic surveillance aircraft to the Sea of Japan to boost its early warning and surveillance abilities in the area, the Japanese government sources said.
Many of the Rodong missies are stored underground, but there were no signs that liquid fuel had been injected into any of the missiles, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper quoted government sources as saying.
Yomiuri quoted missile experts as saying it could take up to two weeks to prepare for a launch.
North Korea is thought to have one or two nuclear bombs, and experts believe that as many as 200 Rodong missiles, which have a range of about 810 miles and are capable of hitting Japan, have been deployed.
dong is that a bad word?
THis would balance out the power and give China a worry or two.
They could do that with bottle rockets. NK has nodongs that can reach our west coast.
Sounds innocent enough. Why not send over Jimmy Carter for a look-see?
< /sarcasm > < wipe PC display now >
Kim Jung IL has NoDong.
thats why he's called Little Kimmy
Would be a good idea - but as with any nation - you would have to worry from then on out - who took over power in those nations -
It's not thinking ahead that has led to many of the problems we face today - in my opinion -
I'm sure the Socialist Democrats saw nothing wrong with Clinton letting out all that advanced technology - bite -
they claimed it had the range, but I think it was mostly smoke... and their control was VERY poor - that is, if "west coast" includes the ocean between Hawaii and Alaska, then they could probably hit it... IMHO
They've concentrated a lot more recently on things they were more sure about hitting - like Japan...
You are correct sir. :)
using kerosene and gasoline as fuel.
The Guidance has prob come a long way recently. Heck we have GPS access as civilians, and its cheap
Yes it was until 1994/95 when Clinton sold technology to them to get re-election money. After they got it, their rockets went off like a charm, their guidance systems worked and their rockets went longer and farther. Thank you Bill Clinton.
Agreed much is under dispute, but I believe the 3 stage version (2 stage NoDong with a Scud topper) is actually referred to as the Taepo-Dong - and it's still not really getting past the Ocean north of Hawaii, even with reduced payload. I reviewed the FAS link you posted (and they are almost always dead on, btw) and that seems to be consistent. Nodong maxed out at 2, then they started calling it Taepo-Dong, with two variants manufactured. They still have Nodongs, but they are the short range versions, I believe. Serious shortage of good intel, though, I think a couple of Vandenburg specials (or even a nice off-coast test to our "extended land impact range" on the Korean peninsula) might be the best bet. Not that I'm suggesting the annihilation of such a lovely people as the North Koreans, or anything like that...
On another thread, I recall one of the Islamic nutjobs
in Iran being quoted to the effect that
Iran has already chosen the top 29 sites in the US,
and that we will be devastated when the missiles fly
from a direction we don't expect.
Given that NK and Iran are on opposite sides of the globe
and given that Hillary predicted an October surprise
what if this is the convergence of anti-Bush,
anti-Western effort?
[Tin-foil hat OFF. Kerry SUCKS! button back ON.]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.