U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles

[TheLastGreatMan]

U.S. spy agencies are seeing signs that North Korea is constructing new missiles at a factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, according to officials familiar with the intelligence.

Newly obtained evidence, including satellite photos taken in recent weeks, indicates that work is underway on at least one and possibly two liquid-fueled ICBMs at a large research facility in Sanumdong, on the outskirts of Pyongyang, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe classified intelligence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...09212fb69c2_story.html?utm_term=.d1a49077985f

 

[Markhor]

I thought had Trump "solved North Korea" to adopt his phrase after the Singapore summit which turned out to be nothing of substance.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

On average, America's got to have the dumbest population alive to continue to believe this.

 

[sweep_shot]

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of -- North Korea confirmed Friday it conducted its third test-firing of a new "super-large" multiple rocket launcher that it says expands its ability to destroy enemy targets in surprise attacks.

The latest launches extended a monthslong streak of weapons displays by the North, which continues to use a standstill in nuclear negotiations to advance its military capabilities while pressuring Washington for concessions.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency described the tests a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected two projectiles launched from an area near the North Korean capital travelling more than 200 miles cross-country before landing in waters off the North's eastern coast.

Experts say the North could continue to ramp up weapons demonstrations ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un for the U.S. to offer mutually acceptable terms to salvage a fragile diplomacy strained by disagreements over exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament steps.

Thursday's launches followed statements of displeasure by top North Korean officials over the slow pace of nuclear negotiations with the United States and demands that the administration of President Donald Trump ease crippling sanctions and pressure on their country.

KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction over what North Korea described as a successful test of its new rocket artillery system, but it wasn't clear whether the leader observed the launches on site. The North previously tested the system in August and September. The latest test verified the "perfection" of the system's continuous firing ability that allegedly allows it to "totally destroy" enemy targets with "super power," the agency said.

Kim Eun-han, spokesman of Seoul's Unification Ministry, said South Korea has "strong concern" over the North's weapons activity, but avoided a straightforward answer when asked about the possible impact on inter-Korean dialogue.

Earlier this month, the North test-fired an underwater-launched ballistic missile for the first time in three years. The North has also tested new short-range ballistic missile and rocket artillery systems in recent months in what experts saw as an effort to use the standstill in talks to advance its military capabilities while increasing its bargaining power.

Negotiations have faltered after the collapse of a February summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the U.S. rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for piecemeal progress toward partially surrendering its nuclear capabilities.

The North responded with intensified testing activity while Kim said he would "wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision."

Washington and Pyongyang resumed working-level discussion in Sweden earlier this month, but the meeting broke down amid acrimony with the North Koreans calling the talks "sickening" and accusing the Americans of maintaining an "old stance and attitude."

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/north-korea-says-it-test-fired-new-multiple-rocket-launcher-1.4663704.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-northkorea/white-house-says-u-s-has-reached-out-to-north-korea-received-no-response-idUSKBN2B72AV

The Biden administration has reached out to North Korea but has not received a response, the White House said on Monday.

“We have reached out,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, adding the U.S. government had a number of channels through which do so. “Diplomacy is always our goal.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-northkorea-pentagon/u-s-general-says-north-korea-might-flight-test-new-icbm-design-in-the-near-future-idUSKBN2B82KM

North Korea might begin flight testing an improved design for its inter-continental ballistic missiles “in the near future,” the head of the U.S. military’s Northern Command said on Tuesday, a move that would sharply increase tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

The warning by Air Force General Glen VanHerck appeared based on North Korea’s October unveiling at a parade of what would be its largest ICBM yet, and not specific intelligence about an imminent launch.

Still, VanHerck made his remarks a day ahead of a debut trip by President Joe Biden’s top diplomat and defense secretary to South Korea and underscores U.S. concerns that Pyongyang may resume testing of missiles and nuclear weapons after a hiatus of more than three years.

Even during the testing lull, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for continued production of nuclear weapons for his arsenal, launched a series of smaller missiles and unveiled the ICBM.

VanHerck told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pyongyang’s “considerably larger and presumably more capable” ICBM further increased the threat to the United States. Still, he expressed confidence in U.S. missile defenses.

The U.S. general also noted that Kim released himself from a moratorium on testing over a year ago.

“The North Korean regime has also indicated that it is no longer bound by the unilateral nuclear and ICBM testing moratorium announced in 2018, suggesting that Kim Jong Un may begin flight testing an improved ICBM design in the near future,” VanHerck said in his written testimony.

Jenny Town, director of 38 North, a U.S.-based website that tracks North Korea, said that while an ICBM test was possible “I’m not sure how likely it is.”

She speculated that instead North Korea would be more likely to restart test launches with shorter-range missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

“It seems more likely that if North Korea is going to start testing missiles again, it will start with ones where testing has been almost normalized,” Town said.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while there have been indications in recent weeks that North Korea may be preparing for a missile launch, one did not appear imminent.

The White House on Monday confirmed a Reuters report that the Biden administration sought to reach out to North Korea but had received no response, extending a chill in relations that began at the end of Donald Trump’s administration.

After the White House remarks, North Korean state news reported that the sister of the North Korean leader here, Kim Yo Jong, criticized the Biden Administration for ongoing military drills in South Korea.

“If it wants to sleep in peace for coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step,” Kim said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

The joint U.S.-South Korean springtime military drill begun last week was limited to computer simulations because of the coronavirus risk, as well as the efforts to engage with the North.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-asia-southkorea/blinken-says-u-s-weighs-pressure-diplomacy-on-north-korea-over-denuclearisation-and-rights-abuses-idUSKBN2BA08D

Both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for dealing with North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, hours after a senior North Korean diplomat rejected any talks until Washington changed its policies.

Blinken told a joint briefing with South Korean officials in Seoul that the administration of President Joe Biden would complete its review of North Korea policy in the next few weeks in close consultation with its allies.

“President Biden plans to complete a North Korea policy review in the weeks ahead in close cooperation and consultation with the Republic of Korea, with Japan and with other key partners, including resuming pressure options and the potential for future diplomacy,” Blinken said.

He declined to elaborate when asked what approach the United States would take after the review.

But when asked at a separate online roundtable with Korean journalists if Biden would meet Kim, Blinken said Washington is exploring how to convince North Korea to make progress on denuclearisation by considering both “different kinds of pressure points” and diplomacy.

“In a sense, everything is on the table. We have a very open mind about it,” he said.

The comments came hours after North Korean official Choe Son Hui called the Biden administration’s attempts to contact Pyongyang a “cheap trick”, in Pyongyang’s first public statement on the matter.

Blinken was making his first visit to South Korea as secretary of state, alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

They issued a joint statement with their South Korean counterparts, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook, vowing to work together on regional issues from climate change and the coronavirus pandemic to trade and North Korea.

“The ministers and secretaries emphasised that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance, and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address and resolve these issues,” they said in the statement.

While the joint statement largely focused on shared concerns and interests, the briefing showed potential sources of future policy discord on North Korea and China.

Blinken said its North Korea strategy would not only address security concerns but also the “repressive” North Korean government’s “widespread, systematic abuses” on its people.

Activists have accused the administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former U.S. President Donald Trump of overlooking the North Korean human rights issue as they sought to improve ties and pursued summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“The goals of this policy are clear: we’re committed to the denuclearisation of North Korea, reducing the broader threat the DPRK poses to the United States and our allies, and improving the lives of all Koreans,” Blinken said.

Moon has called for Biden to build on progress made by Kim and Trump from their unprecedented summit in Singapore in 2018, which Chung said could provide the groundwork for future talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

“We think the Singapore agreement deserves sufficient consideration as it has basic principles for improving North Korea-U.S. relations, establishing peace and achieving denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula,” Chung told the briefing.

Blinken also blamed China at the briefing for undermining regional stability and security with its “aggressive and authoritarian behaviour,” and stressed its role in convincing North Korea to denuclearise.

Beijing has rebuked Blinken’s similar remarks in Tokyo, and his renewed criticism came ahead of his first in-person meetings with Chinese counterparts in Alaska on Thursday.

Blinken called for unity among allies, despite Seoul’s hesitance to provoke China, its largest economic partner and an ally of North Korea.

“It is more important than ever that we stand together for the values for the interest that unite us,” he said.

 

[James]

<b>BBC — North Korea fires second suspected missile in six days</b>

North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile, less than a week after it launched what it claimed was a hypersonic missile.

South Korea said it detected the launch at 07:27 local time on Tuesday (22:27 GMT on Monday).

Japan's coast guard also reported the launch, saying North Korea had fired a "ballistic missile-like object".

It comes shortly after six countries issued a statement urging the North to cease its "destabilising actions".

"Our military detected a suspected ballistic missile fired by North Korea from land towards the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) said, adding that intelligence authorities from South Korea and the US were in the process of conducting a detailed analysis.

The latest launch underscores North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's pledge to bolster the country's defences as part of its policy priorities for 2022, which were outlined during a key meeting in December.

On Monday, the US mission to the United Nations, joined by France, the Irish Republic, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Albania, issued a joint statement condemning last week's apparent test.

"These actions increase the risk of miscalculation and escalation and pose a significant threat to regional stability," said US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

The group called for North Korea "to refrain from further destabilising actions... and engage in meaningful dialogue towards our shared goal of complete denuclearisation."

The latest tests come as Pyongyang struggles with food shortages due to a coronavirus blockade that has severely affected its economy.

At the end-of-year meeting of the ruling party, Mr Kim said the country was facing a "great life-and-death struggle", adding that increasing development and improving people's living standards were among this year's goals.

UN officials had earlier warned that vulnerable children and elderly people in North Korea were at risk of starvation.

The US has been calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, and Pyongyang's relationship with President Joe Biden's administration has so far been fraught with tension.

North Korea has also repeatedly accused South Korea of double standards over its military activities.

South Korea recently tested its first submarine-launched ballistic missile, which it said was needed as deterrence against North Korea's "provocations".

 

[James]

<b>North Korea missile ends in failure as it ‘explodes in mid-air’, South Korea says</b>

<I>North Korea has carried out a record number of weapons tests this year, amid concerns it plans to launch a ballistic missile in defiance of a United Nations ban.</I>

North Korea’s neighbours claim that the nuclear-armed country launched an “unidentified projectile” which appeared to fail, exploding immediately after launch.

The suspected missile was fired from an airfield outside the capital Pyongyang, over reports that the North was looking to test-fire its largest missile yet.

Witnesses claim to have heard loud "blowing" sounds, followed by a loud "crash".

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff official said it's presumed to be a ballistic missile and seemed to explode in mid-air while still in its booster phase, at an altitude of below 20 kilometres.

Despite North Korea saying that two of the launches were a "reconnaissance satellite", South Korea and the United States believe those tests were related to a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.

An ICBM system is a missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres designed primarily for nuclear weapons delivery.

A US Department of State spokesperson declined to comment on the reported failure, however condemned the launch as a violation of UNSC resolutions and urged Pyongyang to "refrain from further destabilizing acts".

UN Security Council's resolution 1695, which was passed in 2006, calls on North Korea to suspend activities related to its ballistic missile programme.

North Korea has so far carried out nine weapons tests this year, including what the US claims were tests of a new ICBM system.

The US believes they were likely to have been experimental launches before a probable full-range ICBM launch.

In January, a meeting chaired by leader Kim Jong Un, said it would consider resuming "all temporarily suspended" nuclear and ICBM tests as part of an effort to boost the country's military against a "hostile" United States.

SKY