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http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070704/kyodo/d8q5o9b00.html

Wednesday July 4, 7:28 PM
N. Korea agrees to supply 4 mini-submarines to Iran: source
(Kyodo)

(excerpted)

North Korea has agreed to supply four mini-submarines to Iran by mid-July, raising the level of alert in neighboring countries, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.

The agreement was reached when North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il made a visit to Iran in May, the source familiar with relations between Tehran and Pyongyang told Kyodo News. . .

“During the visit of Kim Yong Il in Iran, it was agreed that North Korea would deliver 4 mini-submarines to Iran within the next two months, not later than July 15 this year,” the source said.

The source raised concerns that Iran may mobilize the North Korean-made submarines near the Strait of Hormuz and may pose threats to naval vessels deployed by the United States. . .

FBI investigates letter to several newspapers

By Barbara Ramirez
Originally published 01:00 a.m., July 4, 2007
Updated 04:26 a.m., July 4, 2007

A letter sent to several newspapers nationwide, including the Caller-Times, has prompted a federal investigation.

The letter, received by the Caller-Times on Tuesday, contained four lines handwritten in red ink and was postmarked Queens, N.Y.

The letter mentions Goldman Sachs, a New York-based investment banking and securities firm, and includes the line “Hundreds will die.” It was signed “A.Q.U.S.A.”

The Caller-Times turned the letter over to the Corpus Christi Police Department, which notified the FBI.

“We believed it was our responsibility to immediately give the letter to law enforcement authorities, which is what we did,” said Caller-Times Editor Libby Averyt.

“We have no idea whether it’s a hoax or a legitimate threat. Regardless, we did the right thing in notifying police about the letter.”

Corpus Christi Police Chief Bryan Smith said he did not believe there was a local threat, but the department notified the FBI because all threats are taken seriously.

“I do not feel there is any specific threat of local concern,” Smith said.

Shauna Dunlap, special agent and spokeswoman for the Houston division of the FBI, which handles investigations in the Corpus Christi area, said similar letters have been received in several states.

Dunlap did not know how many letters had been received or which states were involved, but said the New York division of the FBI is leading the investigation.

Editors with the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Idaho Statesman and the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind., confirmed Tuesday they had received a similar letter.

“No specific threat has been identified to any specific area, or areas in the Houston division of the FBI,” Dunlap said. “However, we recommend everyone continue their vigilance, especially around the holiday.”

http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jul/04/fbi-investigates-letter-to-several-newspapers/

http://www.janes.com/news/security/jid/jid070704_1_n.shtml

Non-Subscriber Extract
North Korea - going ballistic again?
04 July 07 (excerpt)

Several recent reports emanating from East Asia have suggested that North Korea is preparing for a ballistic missile test exercise. These reports further speculate that the upcoming test may occur on 4 July, the anniversary of its wide-ranging July 2006 missile test. However, these reports have not been confirmed by sources within Japan, South Korea or the US.

The most significant ballistic missile development since the 1998 launch of the Paektusan space launch vehicle has been the July 2006 test. On 5 July (4 July and Independence Day in the US), North Korea conducted its largest and most comprehensive ballistic missile test to date, launching seven ballistic missiles - one Taepodong-2 and six Scud C/ER and Nodong missiles. While the majority of the systems were launched from transporter erector launchers in the Kittaeryong area of Kangwon Province, the long-awaited Taepodong-2 was launched from the Musudanni Missile Launch Facility on the northeast coast. Shortly after a successful lift-off there was a catastrophic failure of the first stage, which resulted in the system’s destruction.

While the 2006 test demonstrated the viability and reliability of North Korea’s Scud- and Nodong-class systems, it left open the status of the three ballistic missile systems that the Korean People’s Army (KPA) recently placed, or is placing, into service. These are the KN-02 short range ballistic missile (a variant of the Soviet 9K79 Tochka/SS-21 SCARAB); the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) (a variant of the Soviet R-27/SS-N-6 SERB); and the Taepodong-2 intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM)/SLV. All three systems require, even by KPA standards, further developmental testing to validate their designs.