Posted on 09/18/2008 1:04:32 AM PDT by neverdem
TOKYO, Sept. 16 -- North Korea has tested the engine mechanism for an intercontinental missile that might be able to hit major cities on the U.S. West Coast, according to an account published Tuesday in the South Korean press.
A previously unknown missile launch site on the west coast of North Korea was identified last week by Jane's Defense Weekly, which cited commercial satellite images. The facility has a mobile launch pad and a 10-story tower that would support the North's largest ballistic missiles, Jane's reported.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee in Seoul on Thursday, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said the launch site is about 80 percent complete. His remarks added to the growing body of information about the site in recent media reports.
If accurate, the reports indicate that while North Korea has pursued on-again, off-again negotiations with the United States and four other countries on abandoning its nuclear weapons program, it has continued to work on developing a long-range ballistic missile and is diverting scarce resources from a collapsing economy that has brought about chronic food shortages.
A 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution demands that North Korea "suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program." The North must abandon its program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," the resolution says.
The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that a U.S. reconnaissance satellite had detected a test earlier this year at the launch site of a long-range missile, presumably an updated version of the Taepodong-2 missile, which failed in a 2006...
--snip--
An "improved version" of the Taepodong missile might have a range of more than 6,200 miles, the Chosun Ilbo reported, putting Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles within reach. A previous version had a range of about 4,150 miles, which could reach Alaska...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Thanks Russia!
West coast of North Korea perhaps. East coast and all in between too.
Unfortunately, they used up the rest of this year’s fuel ration, so there will be no launches this year.
It's like robbing Peter to kill Paul.
Obama is sooooo forward thinking.
Their bomb test was pretty much a fizzle; I wouldn’t lose sleep over DPRK capabilities to threaten the U.S. I would, however, worry that political instability there leads to some DMZ dust-ups. They’re quite overdue for that.
... is this NK’s ‘long dong?’ ...
more like crazy Kim’s Nodong..
But I thought Madeleine said the North Koreans could be trusted. I’m sure there’s no risk, if she said so.
True, their test was less than spectacular. Additionally, their long range missile reportedly broke up in their famous July 4th display. What concerns me, however, is the reported cooperation with the Iranians. Data analysis of the failures, plus information Iran acquired in the ill-conceived Operation Merlin could have them on the road to a very capable warhead sooner than we realize.
With Obama’s attacks on McCain driving his (McCain’s), poll numbers down, you’d think voters would understand that the bottom line is US security. If NK missiles hit Seattle, NY, and points in between, nothing else matters because we won’t be around to complain. Unless Obama plans to print money in the WH basement, he has no way to pay for socialist policies except to gut military and defense. The Presidential debates will be all important...McCain has to explain in plain language that we live in a dangerous world, one in which Obama would get us all killed.
the “Kims” are resorting to their usual “nuclear” blackmail, again
the six-way negotiations are stalled
they must want something from us
let’s see how many days it is before Condi tries to give the Kims what they want
WE NEED TO END THE NORTH KOREAN BLACKMAIL
tell them the negotiations are here and now,
and here they are
DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT ABOUT NUKES
WE WILL TAKE COUNTER MEASURES TO MAKE WORTHLESS ANY NUCLEAR STEP YOU TAKE. WE WILL PLACE ALL OF NORTH KOREA WITHIN A FIVE SECOND WINDOW OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION - END OF DISCUSSION
You are on to something. The North Koreans are broke, the Iranians, while not flush, have cash. The Iranians probably can’t match North Korean technology, so they’ll fund North Korean development and share in the results.
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