N.Korean Missile Train on the Move

Chosun Ilbo ^ | Jun. 17, 2009 07:37 KST

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274602/posts

Analysts: NKorea’s chemical arms as grave as nukes
AP/Yahoo News ^ | 6/18/09 | JAE-SOON CHANG
Posted on June 18, 2009 12:14:52 PM PDT by Kartographer

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea’s massive stockpile of chemical weapons is as threatening as its nuclear program, analysts said Thursday, highlighting an aspect of the secretive regime’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction that is rarely talked about.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Cindy]

http://inatoday.com/moscowdouble20090618.htm

“IS MOSCOW DOUBLE-DEALING ON
NORTH KOREA?”

International News Analysis Today
June 18, 2009
By Toby Westerman

SNIPPET: “Despite its condemnation of North Korean nuclear and missile testing, and its overt support of sanctions against North Korea, Moscow continues to aid the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang, maintaining a policy that began with the establishment by Soviet authorities of a communist government in northern part of the Korean peninsula in 1948.

In late April 2009, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, for a two-day visit. Lavrov’s activities were in line with Moscow’s stated position on North Korea, which is that Russia will assist North Korea to develop in a peaceful manner, but will discourage nuclear and ballistic missile experimentation.

The two nations signed a series of agreements which covered “the entire spectrum of humanitarian interaction,” according to one Russian language report.

But the entire Lavrov visit, as well as Moscow’s true relationship with North Korea, can be framed within written remarks Lavov left at the mausoleum dedicated to the first dictator of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, who died 1994 but is still referred to as the “perpetual president” of North Korea.

In the commemorative book for honored guests at the mausoleum, or Memorial Palace, Lavrov wrote that Kim Il Sung “will be forever in the memory of the Russians” and that Kim “was a consistent supporter of the friendship and cooperation between our nations and peoples.”

Lavrov’s comments were charming reminiscences for a monster.”

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274565/posts

North Korea in global insurance scam: report
AFP ^
Posted on June 18, 2009 11:06:31 AM PDT by Chet 99

WASHINGTON (AFP) — North Korea has been perpetrating a global system of insurance fraud to earn its communist regime hard currency and finance a weapons programs, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

“The North Korean government has collected hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the world’s largest insurance companies on large and suspicious claims for transportation accidents, factory fires, flood damage and other alleged disasters,” the Post wrote.

The funds also facilitate the lavish lifestyle of Pyongyang’s “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong-Il, according to the Post.

...

According to court documents cited by the Post, the companies claimed that North Korea had faked the crash, that a North Korean court’s decision to uphold the claim was rigged and that Pyongyang often used funds from insurance fraud for Kim’s personal use.

But in December, the plaintiffs agreed to a 58-million-dollar settlement — 95 percent of the North Korean claim. According to an analysis by London-based Law-Now, the reinsurers settled because they had tied their hands, having agreed to be subject to North Korean law for the matter.

(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

#

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274386/posts

‘India blocked its airspace for North Korean plane at US request’
PTI ^ | 18 Jun 2009, 1711 hrs IST | PTI
Posted on June 18, 2009 7:21:54 AM PDT by MyTwoCopperCoins

WASHINGTON: India at the request of the United States had blocked its air space to a North Korean plane allegedly delivering illicit cargo to Iran last year forcing it to turn back,” a US lawmaker has said.

“Last August, India responded to a US request and blocked its airspace to a North Korean plane delivering illicit cargo to Iran. That plane had to turn back,” Congressman Ed Royce said during a Congressional hearing on North Korea.

The Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Subcommittee and the Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a joint hearing on “North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Tests and the Six Party Talks: Where do we go from here?”

Royce said North Korean proliferation to Middle East certainly heightens concerns. Pyongyang’s cooperation with states such as Iran and Syria is very, very well documented, he said.

“North Korean proliferation makes proposals to cap its nuclear programme a non-starter. While diplomacy dithers, we need to be bolstering our defenses against North Korean proliferation,” he said.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54833

U.S. Prepares Missile Defense, Continues Shipping Interdictions

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 – The United States has deployed missile defense equipment to the Pacific amid reports alleging that North Korea has threatened to fire a ballistic missile toward Hawaii, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

“We’re obviously watching the situation in the north, with respect to missile launches, very closely,” Gates said at a Pentagon news conference with Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “And we do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile to the west, in the direction of Hawaii.”

Gates has ordered the deployment of Theater High Altitude Area Defense missiles to Hawaii and the sea-based SBX Radar near the island state to provide support. “Based on my visit to Fort Greely, the ground-based interceptors are clearly in a position to take action,” he added, referring to the Army launch site for anti-ballistic missiles near Fairbanks, Alaska.

“Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say I think we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory,” the secretary said.

Meanwhile, Mullen reiterated the U.S. intent to adhere to a United Nations resolution allowing Americans to conduct permissive searches of North Korean vessels.

“We intend to vigorously enforce the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874,” Mullen said, noting that the United States has “hail and query” authority under Security Council guidelines, meaning American authorities can seek permission from the ship’s crew to board and search its contents.

“If a vessel like this is queried and doesn’t allow a permissive search, [the United States] can direct it to go into a port, and the country of that port would…inspect the vessel,” Mullen said, noting that the resolution does not allow for an opposed or noncompliant boarding. The U.N. would be alerted in instances of North Korean vessels refusing searches or possessing weaponry in violation of resolution.

Asked about Pyongyang’s stated stance that it would consider an interdiction of its vessels an act of war, Mullen underscored that the U.N. resolution represents an international commitment.

“It’s not just the United States, it’s a lot of other countries as well,” he said. “And the north’s steps to further isolate itself, to further noncomply with international guidance and regulations, in the long-run, puts them in a more difficult position.”

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274984/posts

US tracking suspicious ship from NKorea
Associated Press ^ | 6/19/2009 | Associated Press
Posted on June 19, 2009 1:53:24 AM PDT by sonofstrangelove

The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that may be carrying illicit weapons, the first vessel monitored under tougher new United Nations rules meant to rein in and punish the communist government following a nuclear test, officials said Thursday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has ordered additional protections for Hawaii just in case North Korea launches a long-range missile over the Pacific Ocean.

The suspect ship could become a test case for interception of the North’s ships at sea, something the North has said it would consider an act of war.

Officials said the U.S. is monitoring the voyage of the North Korean-flagged Kang Nam, which left port in North Korea on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was traveling in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China, two officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

What the Kang Nam was carrying was not known, but the ship has been involved in weapons proliferation, one of the officials said.

The ship is among a group that is watched regularly but is the only one believed to have cargo that could potentially violate the U.N. resolution, the official said.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen did not specifically confirm that the U.S. was monitoring the ship when he was asked about it at a Pentagon news conference Thursday.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Cindy]

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276172/posts

N Korean ship tracked by US ‘heading for Myanmar’
Gulfnews ^
Posted on June 21, 2009 2:23:18 AM PDT by maquiladora

Seoul: A North Korean ship being tracked by the US is believed to be sailing toward Myanmar, South Korea’s television network YTN has quoted an unidentified South Korean intelligence source as saying.

In what would be the first test case for new UN Security Council agreed sanctions, US officials said on Thursday the American Navy had begun tracking a North Korean-flagged ship which may be carrying illicit weapons.

The officials said the ship left a port in North Korea on Wednesday and was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China on Thursday.

Seoul’s Defence Ministry and Unification Ministry said Sunday they could not confirm the report.

[Cindy]

NOTE: NEW THREAD.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278796/posts

North Korea Ratchets Up Its Threats
IBD Editorials ^ | June 24, 2009
Posted on June 24, 2009 5:21:53 PM PDT by Kaslin

Nuclear Terror: North Korea’s threats have escalated to new levels in recent days. Ordinarily, this might not be a big concern. But it’s an unstable regime with nuclear weapons, so we have to be ready to act — and fast.

President Obama doesn’t seemed too concerned about the North Korean threat, saying the U.S. has “dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s” on a potential response to the country’s increasingly hysteric provocations. On Wednesday, for example, it threatened to “wipe out” the U.S. “once and for all.”
It sounds laughable, since North Korea’s military doesn’t match up too well with ours. And yes, it could just be routine saber-rattling as we near the 59th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, which ended in a truce.

Still, there are signs of growing desperation in North Korea as family members and the military jockey to succeed the country’s ailing totalitarian despot, Kim Jong-Il. This raises the risks for us.

In April, North Korea tested a new long-range Taepodong-2 missile capable of hitting Hawaii and parts of the continental U.S. In late May, it conducted an underground test of an atomic bomb. After both the U.S. and U.N. condemned its moves, the North Koreans stalked out of nuclear disarmament talks and — what else? — again threatened the U.S.

Earlier this month, North Korea suspended its truce with the U.S. — in effect, saying the Korean War has restarted.

Just a week ago, the U.S. detected a ship leaving the North Korean port of Nampo. The Kang Nam is thought to be carrying illicit nuclear material and is being shadowed by the USS John S. McCain, a U.S. naval destroyer.

(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...