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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has disappeared from public eye since right after North Korea fired missiles on July 5, and it shows signs that his concealment will be prolonged for the long term. Ever since his father, former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, died on July 8 of 1994 he did not miss a single occasion to visit Geumsusan Memorial Palace on the same day every year, but this year, Chairman Kim even skipped this ceremony. It is seen that Chairman Kim is taking the current situation seriously. There are reports from inside North Korea that they...

RAAD is born – not the long-range missile that Hezbollah is firing at Israel, but a Lebanese baby boy whose mother wants to honor the Shiite militant group's showdown with the Jewish state. After a difficult Caesarean delivery, Kawkab al-Akli gave birth to a boy at the Labib medical hospital in the southern coastal city of Sidon, her husband Mohammed al-Khaled told AFP. "We had sought refuge at a school in Sidon after running away from our village of Marwahine in the south because a lot of people were killed in Israeli attacks," he said. "This morning, my wife gave...

/begin my translationLegislator Chung, "N. Korea to make up to 17 Taepodong's" Supreme Council Member Chung Hyung-geun   National Assemblyman Chung Hyung-geun, a member of Supreme Council of Hannara Party(note: S. Korea's conservative opposition) made a claim on July 14 regarding N. Korean missile launches. He said, "N. Korea intends to make up to 17 (Taepodong-2) missiles." Supreme Councilman Chung added this remark, at the council meeting held in (Hannara) party headquarter at Yom-chang-dong(, Seoul,) while adding, "N. Korea has plenty of black budget." He further explained, "N. Korea has No. 1 budget, which is for the Cabinet, and No. 2 budget, the...

/begin my translation Exclusive: One of Missiles N. Korea Test-fired is SS-22Its range is extended to 1,000 km, and can carry 500 kg nuclear warhead2006-07-10 04:18:47   Of six missiles N. Korea launched on July 5th, which are suspected to be Nodong and Scud missiles, one could be N. Korean version of SS-22 medium range missile(s.) A high-level N. Korean defector I met told me about what Japanese Defense Agency suspects to be 'new type of Scud' as follows: "N. Korean military prefer Scud to Nodong. Nodong requires a lot of time for injecting (liquid) fuel and charge, making easy to be detected. Starting...

Starting on the Fourth of July, North Korea launched a salvo of seven short-, medium- and long-range missiles. Despite the failure of the single long-range missile, the Taepo Dong-2, the launches confirmed that North Korea is seeking to advance its missile arsenal in order to threaten both the United States and its allies in Asia. The short- and medium-range missiles, the Scud and No Dong respectively, all flew in the direction of Japan, so it seems that North Korea is focused on achieving a military capability to threaten Japan in particular. It remains unclear at this point whether North Korea...

China, Pak missiles challenge India -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NDTV Correspondent Sunday, July 9, 2006 (New Delhi): India faces a missile threat from Pakistan on the West and China to the North East. The Pakistani missile programme is a fascinating example of blatant missile proliferation from North Korea and China. Pakistan's nuclear capable missiles have the names of Muslim leaders who invaded India but are in fact, little more than direct imports from Beijing and Pyong Yang. The Shaheen Missile sometimes referred to as the Hatf 3 is in fact the Chinese M-11 missile with a range of 300 kilometres. The Shaheen I...

/begin my summaryN. Korea: Launch Prep Complete for Additional 3 or 4 MissilesGovernment sources said, "In addition to missiles already launched, N. Korea has set up three or four of Nodong and Scud B & C missiles on mobile launcher, with all launch preparation complete. N. Korea declared the prohibited sea-travel zone which is in effect from July 5th to 11th, due to missile launches, and banned fishing boats from leaving port. Theoretically, more launches are possible for next five days. N. Korean missile launches so far./end my summary

/begin my translation N. Korea May Have Fired Up To 12 Missiles Six launches including Taepodong-2 were confirmed...the additional launches were being investigated It is possible that N. Korea launched six additional launches of short-range and shore-to-ship missiles, in addition to six launches of Taepodong-2, Nodong, and Scud surface-to-surface missiles, during dawn and morning hours of July 5th. Senior government sources said, "The confirmed launches so far by N. Koreans are one Taepodong launch and five launches of Nodong and Scud missiles, totaling six. However, we have indications that, between 7am and 8:13am, six additional missiles are launched, which we...

TOKYO - A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat. The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan — and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle. None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed...

North Korea fires series of missiles By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat. The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan — and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle. None of the...

most things about North Korea, little is known for certain about the Taepodong 2 missile. But there is no doubt North Korea does have a very long standing and pretty sophisticated missile programme. North Korea's intentions are under the global spotlight In 1998, before it began observing a moratorium on tests, North Korea launched a Taepodong 1 missile which passed over northern Japan and surprised Western intelligence agencies by the use of three stages in the missile's propulsion system. What is striking about the Taepodong 2 is that it could well be North Korea's first genuine intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)...

The long reach of North Korea's missiles By Bertil Lintner BANGKOK - North Korea may be a poor country, but it has some of the most developed missile systems in the world. Not even years of near-economic collapse, famine and hunger have hampered the country's missile-development programs, which are meant both as a preemptive defense - to scare off potential attackers - and for export.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Clouds and storms closed in on Tuesday over a site where North Korea may be preparing to test a long-range missile, potentially delaying a flight that regional powers have warned the reclusive state not to launch. A commercial satellite photo of North Korea's Nodong missile launch site taken on by a Digital Globe satellite and annotated and released by analysts at GlobalSecurity.org on May 24, 2006. The United States and Japan warned North Korea on Monday against a missile launch that experts say could reach as far as Alaska and threatened harsh action if the test flight...

More than a year ago two able political-military analysts, former general officers Paul Vallely and Tom McInerney, wrote about a “web of terror” that crossed the artificial boundaries of nation, movement, organization, ideology, or geographical area. This concept of a vast network of deadly connections was outlined in their excellent work, Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror. It was a startling concept in large measure because the notion of such a deadly global network is contrary to America’s cultural, organizational, and political stereotypes. We Americans are accustomed to labeling and categorizing: we like to say “a...

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is shown (obviously alive) on North Korean last night, (Korean time), on 17 November 2004, recently inspecting (date unclear) the North Korean Peoples Army "Unit 754".However, as South Korean TV reporters from YTN-TV in the voice-over in this clip note, the traditional Korean-language title of "Great Leader" is absent from the usual script. This is the first time that such an honorific title is missing, when describing Kim Jong-il, in their national press.The video clip starts with the South Korean TV female announcer for 30 seconds who introduces a very short file clip showing...

<p>Report from Sankei (Japanese) newspaper (conservative) coming in today (per link).</p> <p>Said that a number of hand made circulars have been circulating widely around North Korea (Pyongyang, Nampo, Chonjin, Sinuiju), etc. The flyers are by an underground anti-Kim Jong-il group active in North Korea.</p>

WASHINGTON - Weapons-hunters in Iraq have found evidence that experts from Russia and other countries helped with Iraq's missile programs, but it is unclear whether those countries' governments played any role, U.S. officials said Friday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Bush administration will compile information it has obtained and eventually present it to those countries. In addition to Russia, officials found signs that experts from Ukraine, Serbia and Belarus may have been involved. It may be that the alleged assistance came from companies or individuals who came to Iraq without the knowledge or sanction of...

A U.S. investigation has disclosed that Iraq concluded an intermediate-range missile deal with North Korea in 2001. David Kay, who headed a Bush administration team in the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, disclosed the agreement last week. Kay said the report of an Iraqi-North Korean deal emerged in Iraqi government documents as well as in interviews with captured Iraqi officials. Iraq signed a $10 million contract to buy technology and equipment from North Korea for the production of ballistic missiles based on the No-Dong intermediate-range missile.U.S. officials said the deal was completed in June 2001. The No-Dong has...

THE US government has warned Tokyo that North Korea has positioned 200 medium-range Rodong missiles to target Japan, a report said today, quoting a foreign ministry official here. Washington had earlier told Tokyo that Pyongyang already possessed small nuclear warheads that could be mounted in ballistic missiles, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. The Rodong has an estimated range of 1300 kilometres, which makes it capable of hitting anywhere in Japan. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported today that North Korea had told the United States it had completed reprocessing spent fuel rods to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons.

7:20 p.m. Eastern Time, Wednesday NiteBy ticker, with specific news to follow. Ticker: "USA Warns of Possible Nodong Missile Test Launch by North Korea" ("Kita chosen no missairu no nodong shisha wo keikai, bei seifu")It is unclear who was warned but most certainly must be Japan and South Korea. It does not say when the Nodong test launch may occur. Other interpretations of the operational verb are: "on guard against, worried, warning, keeping an eye on." Just appeared briefly and is still up on the Japanese Kyodo website (link above). More details should come in soon. It might point to...