This photo, carried by North Korea’s propaganda outlet Uriminjokkiri on July 31, 2017, shows a female band performing in Pyongyang the same day to celebrate its July 28 launch of a second intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)
A submarine launched ICBM would really be the holy grail of North Korea strategic deterrence strategy if successfully developed:
The United States has detected evidence that North Korea conducted yet another ejection test for a submarine-launched ballistic missile just a couple of days after carrying out its second intercontinental ballistic missile test, CNN reported.
The ejection test, carried out Sunday, is the third this month and fourth this year, CNN reported, citing an unidentified defense official. That shows the communist nation is working hard to make progress in its SLBM development.
An ejection test is designed to see whether a missile can be ejected by high pressure steam out of the launch canister in a submarine and into the air before its engine ignites and takes flight. Sunday’s test took place at the Sinpo shipyard, the North’s main submarine development center, CNN said. [Yonhap]
I think President Trump is going to continue to be disappointed by China because nothing has changed that has made it in their interest to do anything about North Korea:
In a pair of tweets Saturday evening, President Trump said he is “disappointed” in China after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.
“I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk,” Trump wrote, adding, “We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!” [ABC News]
It seems like people in South Korea may finally be seeing how two faced China is, it just took a change in the ROK Presidential administration to confirm it:
Residents of Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, protest President Moon Jae-in’s order to consult with the U.S. over the temporary deployment of four more launchers of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to a golf course in the country where two launchers have already been installed, during a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
China is remaining low key over North Korea’s purported successful test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Friday, while criticizing South Korea for its decision to deploy additional U.S. anti-missile launchers to deter Pyongyang’s military threats.
This is part of China’s “two-faced” policy of embracing North Korea as a buffer zone against U.S. military power and bullying South Korea to bring discord to the Seoul-Washington alliance, analysts said Monday.
China apparently toned down its rhetoric, turning a deaf ear to the international community’s condemnation of Pyongyang’s missile launch late Friday night.
It only asked North Korea to “observe the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and suspend activities that can heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula.” (……..)
On the contrary, Beijing has intensified its protest against the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, after Seoul decided to install four additional launchers of the system temporarily in addition to the two that are in operation.
On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry expressed “grave concerns” over the Moon Jae-in administration’s decision to deploy the additional THAAD launchers.
Saying it “firmly opposes” THAAD, the ministry said the U.S. missile shield “seriously” damages the balance of power in the region while violating China’s national interest. It has urged both Seoul and Washington to suspend the THAAD deployment and withdraw related equipment. (…..)
“China’s long-term goal is to weaken the U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region, and North Korea’s progress in ICBM technology serves its purpose,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum. “This is because Washington, jointly with Seoul and Tokyo, will have to spend extra time and money against Pyongyang’s ICBMs while Beijing can go ahead with its plan to flex its muscles in the region. It’s no wonder China did not criticize Pyongyang as harshly as it did Seoul.”
“Under these circumstances, I must say China is colluding with North Korea and is being negligent in its duty as a permanent member of the UNSC,” a researcher at the Sejong Institute said on condition of anonymity. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but you have to love the claim from China that THAAD harms their national interests. North Korean ICBMs do much more to harm the ROK and the United States’ national interests which China clearly does not care about.
I wonder how much time by President Moon’s staff used thinking of a term to call the deployment of the four remaining THAAD launchers that would still appease their left wing political base?:
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a National Security Council session at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 29, 2017, in this photo provided by his office. (Yonhap)
On the liberal Moon Jae-in government’s countermeasures against the latest North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test, the ruling party voiced its consent, but opposition parties called for tougher ones, criticizing the president’s Berlin peace initiative that puts more weight on dialogue with the North than pressure on it.
In an emergency National Security Council meeting convened right after the North’s new ICBM test Friday night, Moon proposed a set of countermeasures, including the temporary deployment of four additional THAAD interceptor launchers, and ordered consultation with the United States on ways to bolster strategic deterrence against the recalcitrant North. The presidential office said later that the provisional deployment does not mean the retraction of a declared environmental impact assessment on the deployment site. [Yonhap]
So basically the Moon administration is doing what the Park administration planned to do with the remaining THAAD launchers without calling it that. What is ironic about this is that the Korea left is supporting President Moon’s decision despite their prior opposition to THAAD.
At this point does anyone think these shows of force make any difference in the decision making process of the Kim regime or this just the US military showing we are doing something?:
A U.S. B-1B bomber (L) flies over Korea along with a South Korean F-15K fighter on July 30, 2017 in this photo provided by the Air Force. (Yonhap)
Two B1-B U.S. bombers flew over South Korea on Sunday in a show of force against North Korea after its launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the allies’ armed forces announced.
The strategic bombers from Guam conducted a joint “air interdiction operation” with four F-15K fighter jets, said South Korea’s Air Force.
It came in response to North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches and nuclear weapons development.
“Our Air Force maintains the precision-strike capability and readiness to burn the enemy’s missile base and its key facilities, including its leadership stronghold to the ground,” South Korea’s Air Force Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Won In-cheol said in a statement. “If the enemy provokes, we will respond immediately and retaliate powerfully.” [Yonhap]
It is pretty clear that the Kim regime is signaling to the US that they can launch an ICBM at any time and any place of their choosing with the midnight launch of their latest ICBM:
Korean Central Television’s footage of North Korea’s Hwasong-14 ballistic missile on July 28, 2017
North Korea’s state-run television on Saturday disclosed edited footage of its test-fire of an intercontinental range ballistic missile conducted the previous night.
According to the video footage that runs 2 1/2 minutes, the Hwasong-14 missile was moved on a transport erector launcher, known as a TEL, before being fired from a ground-based launch pad.
The method of launch was similar to one disclosed in separate TV footage released on July 5 following North Korea’s first intercontinental range ballistic missile launch.
Earlier, Pyongyang’s official KCNA claimed that the North successfully launched another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Friday night following its first test in early July, noting that the missile flew 998 kilometers for about 47 minutes into the East Sea after reaching a maximum altitude of 3,724.9 km.
In the footage unveiled by Korean Central Television, a TEL with eight wheels on each side drove slowly to the launch pad in Mupyong-ri in the country’s northern province of Jagang, carrying the Hwasong-14 missile aboard.
The missile was then placed upon the ground-based launcher and erected to an upright position. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link and below is a Youtube video showing the launch of Hwasong 14:
I tend to slightly disagree with the USFK commander here. I think the Kim regime wants to create a wedge in the US-ROK alliance which in turn creates a wedge between the ROK and Japan. These are both goals I think Russia and China are fully supportive of and why they continue to support the Kim regime:
USFK Commander, General Vincent Brooks
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is attempting to deter unity between South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan with a string of belligerent acts, the top American military commander here said Thursday.
Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, who commands U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), pointed out that the communist regime’s nearly weekly missile tests have become “the new normal.”
The North test-fired 28 ballistic missiles in 2016 alone, followed by 10 others this year, including what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
It’s also reportedly preparing for another missile launch in the coming days, although there was no report of a launch on Thursday, the 64th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
“His actions intend to sow friction and fissures among the five in order to prevent them from coming together as a cohesive block,” Brooks said, addressing a forum under way in Nebraska, a U.S. state, according to the USFK’s website.
The two-day symposium on deterrence is being hosted by the U.S. Strategic Command.
“He’s trying to prevent the creation of a closed fist against him,” the commander said, showing the five fingers of his hand to refer to the five countries involved in the now-suspended denuclearization talks with Pyongyang. [Yonhap]
