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U.S. officials are on high alert for signs of a possible missile launch from North Korea in the coming days that officials have referred to as a “Christmas gift.” A significant launch or nuclear test would raise the end of North Korea's self-imposed moratorium on missile launches and tests. It would also be a major blow to one of President Trump’s major foreign policy goals to get North Korea back to the negotiating table to eliminate its nuclear weapons. In this Dec. 16, 2019, photo, South Korean army soldiers stand guard at the Unification Bridge, which leads to the Panmunjom...

Reconnaissance of a North Korean launch site indicates that Kim Jong-Un may be preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile, three U.S. intelligence officials who monitor North Korea in different agencies tell TIME. The intelligence comes ahead of a fast-approaching self-declared year-end deadline that Kim set in an April 12 speech for a nuclear deal with the U.S. In recent weeks, North Korea has reopened its Sohae Satellite Launching Station and resumed testing what U.S. intelligence officials and private experts suspect may be a solid fuel rocket engine that could be used in an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching...

On December 7, North Korea claimed to have conducted a “very important test” at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station that “will have an important impact on changing the strategic position of the DPRK.”[1] The North Koreans did not describe what was tested, but prior open-source imagery suggests it was a static (ground) test of a large liquid-propellant rocket engine.[2] It remains to be seen what rocket system the engine was associated with: a previously launched intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), intermediate-range ballistic missile, space launch vehicle, or a new system. In any case, the static test could be the precursor to...

Texas News Studio, is reporting a possible NK launch preparation underway.

Possible date for North Korean shenanigans: December 11 (Wednesday), which is exactly two years on from the 8th Conference of the Munitions Industry. Kim Jong Un set forward the process of “ushering in a heyday of development of the Juche-base defense industry” then

When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material. They used security badge access records to track the reporter’s comings and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained court affidavit. They traced the timing of his calls with a State Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report. They obtained a search warrant for the reporter’s personal e-mails. The case of Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, the government adviser, and James Rosen, the chief...

North Korea's recent test of its super-large multiple rocket launcher has not only proved the weapon system's improved "volley-firing" capabilities but also showed that North Korea's weapons development programs have proceeded steadily for the past two years, experts said Monday. On Nov. 28, North Korea conducted the test-firing of the super-large multiple launch rocket system for the fourth time this year following Aug. 24, Sept. 10 and Oct. 31 launches. All four tests involved two rockets fired from the weapon system, with the North succeeding to narrow down the firing interval from 17 minutes on Aug. 24 and 3 minutes...

“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in April said he would give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible on nuclear talks. Since then, he's launched 12 missiles to back up that warning, including a launch on Thursday. So far, though, there is no evidence the U.S. is changing its stance, meaning the situation could soon get much more volatile, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul”...(sound file at link)

A new book claims to shed light on President Trump's relationship with North Korea and what former President Obama said that Trump could expect when he entered office. Author Doug Wead interviewed Trump on the issue and was able to read some of the personal letters exchanged between the president and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un. "Kim is fascinated by Donald Trump. He sees him as a unique figure on the stage of world history. And he wants to make history with him," Wead claims in his book "Inside Trump's White House: The Real Story of His Presidency."The...

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- The United States deployed an RC-135U reconnaissance plane to one of its air bases in Japan, an aviation tracker said Wednesday, a move seen as aimed at beefing up surveillance of North Korea. One RC-135U Combat Sent arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa on Tuesday from Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska, Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post. The U.S. air force is known to operate two RC-135Us, which collect and analyze electronic radar transmissions. The deployment came amid concern the North could conduct additional missile launches. A military source said that...

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Yoo-chul As nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States remain in a stalemate after no "substantial outcome" from their recent encounter in Sweden, the lack of visible progress in the denuclearization dialogue is raising concerns that the North is "buying time" for its military and nuclear advancement. During an Asan Institute for Policy Studies security forum held in Seoul, Tuesday, Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Washington-based RAND Corporation, claimed that despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's promise to end his nuclear program, Pyongyang has not taken any meaningful measures toward this....

CONCLUSION: "Based on North Korea’s experience developing the KN-02 missile, which underwent at least 20 flight tests, it seems likely that each new missile system currently being developed will require a similar number of test launches. However, one cannot dismiss the possibility that leaders in Pyongyang are already satisfied with the test results achieved to date, as it is highly probable that the current KN-23, -24, and -25 missiles are more accurate that their Scud-based counterparts. In this case, the last remaining hurdle would be missile reliability and the proven knowledge that they perform as designed under a variety of...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan firmly protests North Korea's ballistic missile launches. Abe told reporters on Wednesday morning that North Korea had fired two ballistic missiles earlier in the day. He said Japan firmly protests and condemns the launches, which violate UN Security Council resolutions. Abe said the government will work with the United States and the international community under heightened security to ensure the safety of the Japanese people. After Abe spoke to reporters, the government convened a meeting of the National Security Council, attended by Abe, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and Defense Minister Taro Kono. They are...

SEOUL, South Korea North Korea fired projectiles (Update: Apparently SLBM launch out of Wonsan) toward its eastern sea (Sea of Japan Wednesday) , South Korea's military and Japan's government said, in an apparent display of its expanding military capabilities ahead of planned nuclear negotiations with the United States this weekend. .... excerpt

WASHINGTON: Ousted National Security Advisor John Bolton said Kim Jong Un “will never give up” nuclear weapons voluntarily — an implicit warning to his former boss. Bolton was restating a consensus view of the Intelligence Community, one that runs counter to President Trump’s faith that the North Korean dynast can be wheedled and cajoled. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies today, Bolton attracted a forest of TV cameras hoping for some fireworks. They probably thought they were getting something hot when Bolton made his comment about North Korea but, as Breaking D readers know, the Intelligence Community’s...

US researchers say satellite images suggest North Korea may be preparing to deploy a ballistic missile-capable submarine. Researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and satellite operator Planet Labs have told NHK that they have analyzed images of a shipyard in the eastern port city of Sinpo. On September 3 at least 13 pillar-like objects could be seen along a quay, with some vehicles moving around. Images taken on September 12 show the construction of a large structure straddling the quay and the water. The most recent images from Thursday, show the structure covering almost the entire quay. The...

New photos taken of a North Korean shipyard suggest the country could be building a submarine that could potentially be capable of launching a nuclear missile, a report early Tuesday said. The photos show vessels and cranes that could be used to haul a missile out to sea for launch, according to experts at a Washington-based think tank, NBC News reported. The satellite photos seem to confirm North Korean state media reports from July about a newly built submarine. “There is no conclusive evidence at the moment that this is a near-term certainty,” an expert said of a possible missile test. Once a...

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States has a really good relationship with North Korea and that the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has been "pretty straight" with him. "Kim Jong-un has been ... pretty straight with me," Trump told reporters at the White House after North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, according to the South Korean military. (Reuters) Earlier North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast Saturday in the seventh weapons launch in a month, South Korea's military said, a...

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un wants to meet once again to "start negotiations" after joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises end. He also said Kim apologized for the flurry of recent short-range missile tests that has rattled U.S. allies in the region. Trump is tweeting more details from the "beautiful" three-page letter he told reporters on Friday that he'd received from Kim. Trump, who is on vacation at his golf club in New Jersey, said Kim spent much of his letter complaining about "the ridiculous and expensive exercises," which North...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said this week's missile launches were an "adequate warning" against the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States that kicked off earlier this week, state media reported Wednesday. On Tuesday, North Korea fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the fourth such launch in less than two weeks. They flew about 450 kilometers across the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). "Two tactical guided missiles launched at the operational airfield in the western area of the country flew...