Posted on 09/28/2017 7:59:52 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N. Korea relocated warplanes after B-1B flight: spy agency
By Kim Rahn
North Korea has moved its warplanes toward its east coast and strengthened coastal defenses following the U.S. strategic bombers' flight near there, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Tuesday.
Pyongyang did not take any immediate military action in response to the flight of B-1B Lancer bombers, probably because it failed to detect them, the NIS said.
The spy agency briefed members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on the movement of North Korea's military following the flight.
Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the committee's head, said after the briefing that North Korea repositioned its aircraft as a follow-up to the bombers' flight late Saturday night.
The U.S. Air Force flew the bombers and F-15C Eagle fighters in international airspace over waters east of North Korea. It was the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that any U.S. warplane has flown this century.
"After the U.S. show of force, North Korea repositioned its warplanes and strengthened defenses in the eastern coastal area," Lee told reporters.
Another committee member said planes in Hwanghae Province on the west coast were moved to the east coast and some flew on patrol.
The moves come amid North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho's remark late Monday that the North "holds the rights to self-defense, including the right to shoot down U.S. strategic bombers even if they don't fly into the country's airspace."
However, contrary to the follow-up measures and the strong threats, Pyongyang seems to have failed to detect the bombers and that is why it did not have an immediate military response, according to the spy agency.
"It seems North Korea could not take measures because it had not anticipated such a show of force would take place around midnight and its radars were unable to detect the bombers clearly," Lee said. "In short, the North did not take any action when the B-1Bs were flying."
There has been speculation that the impoverished state was unable to keep its radar system fully operational due to an electricity shortage.
Saying North Korea may have been surprised, the U.S. military told the NIS that the North was unable to respond quickly, such as issuing a condemnation or more threats, probably because it had to check the bombers' flight through China and Russia's anti-aircraft networks.
The spy agency said South Korea and the U.S. had an agreement on the show of force involving the B-1B bombers, but did not explain in detail what they agreed on, Lee said.
Regarding North Korea's military situation around the DMZ, Lee said the North is also trying to prevent any accidental clash.
P!
25 million people. No food. No electricity for defensive radars. And these clowns are building nukes and ICBMs?
Too funny. Playing the Norks to telegraph their response. Simpletons.
Every time they paint us with their radar, we target the point for destruction. We will blind them in under 20 minutes.
A few dozen operational Cold War mig 23s and 29s.
Their pilots get a few dozen flying hours per year.
Everything else is even more ancient.
Nuclear blackmail.
They (NK) have a few Mig-29s that might prove a little interesting. Anything else of theirs they put up against an F-15C ... Just making it easy for US pilots to accumulate silhouettes...
“Too funny. Playing the Norks to telegraph their response. Simpletons.”
It would cause KJU to evacuate his bowels if we just buzzed Pyongyang at night with a couple of B-2s.
They can’t detect stealth. Move all the chit hole
equipment you want. Hilarious.
All two of them???
China could supply them with electrical generators if they wished.
The article doesn't quite make it clear whether NK radars were operating but failed to detect the Lancers, or if they were simply not operational at the time.
I hope we probe them on their west coast next time.
So this is why Chia Pet has ramped up the rhetoric. We could have wiped him out, and he would have only known it happened when Lucifer stuck his fork in him. Also very telling that neither China nor Russia warned him in real time.
But what about the escorting F 15’s ?
I say it is a the direct result of America's appeasement "strategy." We have taught them to make a threat to get money. Imagine what the Norks thought when Øbama sent pallets of money to Iran! They didn't count on us having a new sheriff in town. Kim says "I shoot missile, it not rain money. WTF? Shoot another."
I have always wondered how the North Koreans instrument their missile tests. I suppose they track the missiles as best they can until they leave ground coverage and extrapolate the trajectories as best they can. These extrapolations are then embellished and magnified and broadcast as masterful feats of engineering. They probably depend on leaks to the Western press to give them down range information.
Sounds like a flight up the West coast is in order today.
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.