Tag: North Korea

ROK Troops Fire Shots at Possible Drone Flying Over the DMZ

| May 24, 2017

It looks like the North Koreans have flown another drone over the DMZ:

South Korean troops fired warning shots at an “unidentified object” flying across the heavily fortified border from North Korea Tuesday afternoon, the South’s military announced.

The military detected the object traversing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) southward in the Chorwon area in the eastern province of Gangwon at around 4 p.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

It added the South’s military fired warning shots along with dispatching a warning broadcast.

A defense source said the military fired more than 90 K-3 machine gun rounds, adding it may have been a drone.

The South’s military is analyzing the object and its route and has beefed up its air defense posture, said the JCS.  [Yonhap]

It looks like the ROK military needs to get themselves fielded with these systems to counter the drones North Korea is increasingly using.

Tweet of the Day: US State Sponsor of Terrorism?

| May 23, 2017

Kim Jong-un Brags About Successful Missile Launch

| May 22, 2017

As I expected Kim Jong-un seems pretty pleased with the recent successful ballistic missile launch:

North Korea said on Monday it has successfully tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile to confirm the reliability of the late-stage guidance of the nuclear warhead, indicating further advances in the ability to hit U.S. targets.

The North’s KCNA news agency said leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test which also verified the functioning of the solid-fuel engine for the Pukguksong-2 missile and ordered it for deployment in field action.

North Korea has defied all calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, even from China, its lone major ally, saying the weapons are needed for legitimate self-defense. The North last conducted a ballistic missile test a week ago.

“Saying with pride that the missile’s rate of hits is very accurate and Pukguksong-2 is a successful strategic weapon, he approved the deployment of this weapon system for action,” KCNA said, quoting leader Kim Jong Un.

The launch verified the reliability and accuracy of the solid-fuel engine’s operation and stage separation and the late-stage guidance of the nuclear warhead which was recorded by a device mounted on the warhead, KCNA said.

“Viewing the images of the Earth being sent real-time from the camera mounted on the ballistic missile, Supreme leader Kim Jong Un said it feels grand to look at the Earth from the rocket we launched and the entire world looks so beautiful,” KCNA said.

The missile flew about 500 kilometers (310.69 miles), reaching an altitude of 560 km, and landed in waters off the North’s east coast, South Korea’s military said on Sunday.  [Yahoo News]

You can read more at the link.

North Korea Test Fires Another Long-Range Ballistic Missile

| May 21, 2017

It looks like the North Koreans may have pulled off another successful missile test pending further analysis:

North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew about 500 kilometers, Sunday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This marked the North’s second missile provocation since President Moon Jae-in was sworn in May 10. The first was launched May 14.

President Moon immediately ordered the new chief of the National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, to preside over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC) at Cheong Wa Dae. Chung was appointed to the post earlier in the day.

“North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile in the eastern direction at around 4:59 p.m. from the vicinity of Pukchang in South Pyongan Province,” the JCS said in a release. “Flight distance is about 500 kilometers.”

The JCS noted the characteristics of the missile were presumed to be similar to the “Pukguksong-2” intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) fired in February. At the time, the North’s state media said its IRBM used a high-thrust solid fuel-powered engine, marking the first time it tested a solid-fueled, surface-to-surface missile that has more than a medium range.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

How Long Does It Take for A North Korean Missile to Hit Seoul?

| May 20, 2017

If you live in Seoul and you are wondering how long it would take for North Korea to nuke you, here you go:

The Associated Press(AP) reports that it takes zero to six minutes for a North Korean missile to hit Seoul, around ten minutes to hit Japan and 30 to 39 minutes to reach the capital of the United States.

The AP revealed the data on Wednesday, citing David Wright, scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and missile analyst Markus Schiller at ST Analytics, a space technology and rocketry consulting company in Germany.

The two experts said if North Korea launches a strike against South Korea using its conventional artillery north of the Demilitarized Zone, the first wave of shells could land with essentially no warning.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

President Moon Wants North Korea to Answer the Phone

| May 18, 2017

I am sure if the South Koreans pay the North Koreans enough in “aid” someone will pick up the phone:

South Korea urged the North to pick up the phone, saying it’s time for the rivals to reopen communication channels that have been suspended for more than a year amid rising tensions.

The top U.S. commander in the Pacific, meanwhile, warned that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is “a recipe for disaster,” three days after the communist state test-fired what some said was its most successful missile.

The hotline at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula has been dormant since North Korea severed the channels after Seoul closed a joint industrial complex in the border city of Kaesong.

A unification ministry spokesman in Seoul said Wednesday that the lines haven’t technically been cut, but North Korean officials have not responded to near daily calls from their counterparts in the South.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: Holding Back the Crowd

| May 17, 2017

Analysts Believe North Korea May Have Been Behind WannaCry Cyberattack

| May 16, 2017

Via a reader link comes speculation that the recent massive global cyberattack may have been a North Korean operation:

The WannaCry ransomware that attacked computers in 150 countries has lines of code that are identical to work by hackers known as the Lazarus Group, according to security experts. The Lazarus hackers have been linked to North Korea, raising suspicions that the nation could be responsible for the attack.

The connection was made by Google security researcher Neel Mehta, who pointed out similarities between WannaCry and malware used by Lazarus, the group that’s been blamed for the Sony Pictures hack of 2014 and for stealing millions of dollars from a Bangladeshi bank in 2016.

After Mehta highlighted the elements in the code, other researchers confirmed similarities that early versions of WannaCry (also called WannaCrypt, Wana Decryptor or WCry) shared with malware tools used by Lazarus.  [NPR]

You can read more at the link, but I can easily see this cyberattack as something the Kim regime would do.  With that said when I read about the cyberattack the first thing I thought was I was glad I use an Apple computer.  😉

Russia Warns the United States Against Intimidating North Korea After Missile Test

| May 16, 2017

Like I said before I did not think Putin would care much about the North Korean missile test:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned North Korea’s latest missile launch as “dangerous” but warned against “intimidating” Pyongyang.

Speaking in China, Putin called for a peaceful solution to the ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported.
“I would like to confirm that we are categorically against the expansion of the club of nuclear states, including through the Korean Peninsula,” Putin told reporters. “We are against it and consider it counterproductive, damaging, dangerous,” he said.
But in comments that appeared aimed at the US, he said that “intimidating (North Korea) is unacceptable.”  [CNN]
You can read more at the link, but Russia could see the North Korea issue as a potential bargaining chip with the US and thus the current mixed signals being sent after this latest missile test.

Americans that Can’t Find North Korea On A Map Are More Likely to Recommend Military Action

| May 16, 2017

Here is an interesting experiment put together by the New York Times:

An experiment led by Kyle Dropp of Morning Consult from April 27-29, conducted at the request of The New York Times, shows that respondents who could correctly identify North Korea tended to view diplomatic and nonmilitary strategies more favorably than those who could not. These strategies included imposing further economic sanctions, increasing pressure on China to influence North Korea and conducting cyberattacks against military targets in North Korea.

They also viewed direct military engagement – in particular, sending ground troops – much less favorably than those who failed to locate North Korea.

The largest difference between the groups was the simplest: Those who could find North Korea were much more likely to disagree with the proposition that the United States should do nothing about North Korea.  [New York Times]

What I am wondering is who were the people who thought North Korea was in Australia?

Here is something that many people may find surprising, the stupidest of the stupid people who could not find North Korea on a map were Democrats:

What drives these differences? Simple partisanship is one possibility. On average, Republicans – and Republican men in particular – were more likely to correctly locate North Korea than Democratic men. And Republicans were more likely to be in favor of almost all the diplomatic solutions posed by the researchers. (Women tended to find North Korea at similar rates, regardless of party.)

Who would have thought the warmongers were uneducated Democrats?