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Even with the growing unrest in the countries surronding North Korea, the country still goes on with its missile testing…
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Posted: 01 July 2009 0803 hrs
North Korean ship, the Kang Nam I, is anchored in Hong Kong waters.
WASHINGTON: A North Korean ship tracked by the US Navy and suspected of transporting weapons or military know-how in violation of UN sanctions has turned around, a Pentagon official said.
The official declined to provide details, including where the Kang Nam 1 ship - reportedly originally bound for Myanmar - could now be headed, but news reports out of South Korea suggested the ship may be returning home two weeks after it set sail June 17.
A diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity told the Korea Herald that the ship was "near our waters," which could suggest that sanctions were having an effect on reclusive North Korea.
"If the ship is on its way back, it would mean that Resolution 1874 is taking effect and causing the North to retreat," Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told the newspaper.
The Kang Nam 1 quickly drew the attention of the US military under new UN sanctions designed to punish Pyongyang over its May 25 underground nuclear test.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, confirmed Sunday that the United States was tracking the cargo ship.
"Obviously we're pursuing and following the progress of that ship very closely," she told the CBS network.
"I'm not going to get into our operational details or what we might actually do on the high seas, if anything, or what allies and partners in the region might do."
UN Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted in response to the May 25 nuclear test, calls for beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea, and an expanded arms embargo.
But a senior US lawmaker, Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, last week said the resolution had "serious limitations" because it rules out the use of military force to back up the searches.
- AFP/yb
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Posted: 01 July 2009 0453 hrs
Ban Ki-Moon
TOKYO: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged communist North Korea to refrain from further steps which may worsen a "very serious situation" after its recent nuclear and missile tests.
"I urge North Korean authorities to refrain from taking any further measures which may deteriorate the already very serious situation," Ban told a joint press event with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
Regional tension spiked after North Korea on May 25 carried out its second nuclear test, followed by missile launches, which resulted in new UN sanctions.
The North has also vowed to build more nuclear bombs and to start a new weapons programme based on uranium enrichment.
Ban called on UN members to implement the resolution passed in response to the nuclear test which authorises tougher inspections of North Korean shipments suspected to contain nuclear- and missile-related materials.
The UN chief urged North Korea "to fully cooperate and fully comply with this resolution" and "member states of the United Nations to fully cooperate so that this resolution should be able to be implemented."
The North's policy has grown notably harder-line this year after leader Kim Jong-Il was widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August.
US and South Korean officials believe the ailing Kim is projecting an image of strength to bolster his authority as he prepares one of his sons for a takeover. - AFP/de
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Posted: 23 June 2009 1017 hrs
People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stand at attention
BEIJING: US defence officials were set for talks in China on Tuesday in which they will seek Beijing's support for world pressure on North Korea over its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
The US military delegation, led by Michele Flournoy, undersecretary for defence, was to meet with officials from the Chinese defence ministry as part of the two-day talks.
"North Korea will factor in very strongly," a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in Washington over the weekend.
Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and missile launches have raised "great concern" in China, he said.
"We would hope that China would use whatever influence they have with North Korea to convince them to change their behaviour," the official said.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on June 12 that includes financial sanctions on North Korea after Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test last month and several missile launches.
North Korea has reacted defiantly to the latest sanctions, vowing to build more nuclear bombs.
Flournoy will also seek to promote better US-China defense cooperation amid concerns in Washington over Beijing's expanding military and a series of stand-offs on the high seas.
Washington would like to see more high-level visits by Chinese defense officials to the United States "so we can understand their continuing buildup and make sure the conditions for stability and peace are maintained," the official said.
- AFP/yt
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Posted: 23 June 2009 0752 hrs
North Korean ship, the Kang Nam I, anchored in Hong Kong waters. (file photo)
WASHINGTON: A North Korean ship being tracked by a US Navy destroyer under new UN sanctions could be headed to Myanmar, a US defense official said Monday.
The Kang Nam 1 is the first North Korean ship to be monitored since the adoption of a UN resolution designed to punish Pyongyang over its underground nuclear test last month.
As the Aegis destroyer USS John S. McCain continued to shadow the cargo ship, US officials said the vessel could be bound for another reclusive state, Myanmar.
It appears "they're trying to go to Burma," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity, using the country's old name.
The official offered no further details but analysts have speculated that the aging ship could be destined for Myanmar, as the two countries have close ties and have agreed arms deals in the past.
South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source, reported on Sunday the ship was suspected of carrying missiles or related parts and was heading for Myanmar via Singapore.
The 2,000-tonne ship left the North Korean western port of Nampo on June 17, with Myanmar set as its final destination, YTN said.
The cargo ship provides the first possible test of United Nations sanctions that ban arms shipments -- including missile-related cargo -- to and from North Korea. The UN resolution, however, rules out the use of military force to enforce the sanctions.
The ship was one of a group of North Korean vessels previously linked to illicit cargo, according to US officials.
"It's still at sea and we're monitoring it," said another US defense official, who asked not to be named.
So far there has been "no request to query this vessel," he said.
US officials have yet to indicate if or when they might ask to search the vessel under the UN Security Council resolution.
The North Koreans are expected to reject any such request. But at some point, the ship will likely need to stop for refueling, possibly in Singapore, one of the world's largest ports.
It was unclear when and where the ship would stop but the defense official noted that "these type of ships typically don't have a long range."
Under the UN resolution, the country where the ship enters port is obliged to search the vessel if there are grounds for suspicion.
Regional tensions are at their highest for years after the North launched a long-range rocket on April 5 and conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, prompting the tougher UN sanctions.
The United States was also monitoring activity at North Korean missile sites and facilities that suggested the regime was preparing another long-range missile launch.
Although there was continued activity, "there's nothing that indicates an imminent launch," the defense official said.
According to a Japanese media report, North Korea could fire a rocket in the direction of Hawaii on or around US Independence Day on July 4.
The North staged missile launches in 2006 while the United States was marking the holiday.
- AFP/yt
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Posted: 22 June 2009 0948 hrs
WASHINGTON: The United States is "fully prepared for any contingencies" with North Korea, including a potential missile launch toward US territory, President Barack Obama said in an interview to be aired Monday.
"This administration - and our military - is fully prepared for any contingencies," Obama told CBS when asked about the possibility that North Korea could fire a missile toward Hawaii in the coming weeks.
Asked if that meant Washington was "warning of a military response," Obama answered: "No. It's just we are prepared for any contingencies.
"I don't want to speculate on hypotheticals. But I do want to give assurances to the American people that the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted in terms of what might happen," he added, according to excerpts released Sunday.
The US military has beefed up its Hawaii defences over fears Pyongyang may launch a missile at the Pacific island chain, and is tracking a North Korean ship possibly carrying banned cargo, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
"I would just say I think we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory," the Pentagon chief said, adding that he had approved the deployment to Hawaii of Theatre High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) weaponry for "support" in case of a North Korean launch.
South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source, said the United States suspects that the 2,000-tonne Kang Nam 1 is carrying missiles or related parts, and is heading for Myanmar via Singapore.
US defense officials have said a US Navy destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, is tracking the Kang Nam 1, which has been previously linked to illicit missile-related cargo.
It is the first vessel to be monitored under a United Nations resolution imposed a week ago that bans shipments of arms and nuclear or missile technology to and from North Korea.
US officials have yet to indicate if or when they might ask to search the vessel under the UN Security Council resolution.
In the interview, Obama also said there was strong international consensus against Pyongyang, after it detonated its second nuclear device on May 25 - following the first one in 2006 - and went ahead with what Washington called a disguised test of a long-range missile in April.
"More broadly, I think the international community has spoken," Obama said, noting that the UN Security Council has agreed to tighter cargo inspections, a stricter arms embargo and new targeted financial curbs to choke off revenue for the North's nuclear and missile sectors.
"That sends a signal... of a unity in the international community that we haven't seen in quite some time," Obama told CBS.
"And one of the things that we have been very clear about is that North Korea has a path towards rejoining the international community. And we hope they take that path. What we're not going to do is to reward belligerence and provocation in the way that's been done in the past."
Obama on Tuesday called Pyongyang a "grave threat" and vowed to defend South Korea after talks in Washington with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
The North in turn accused Obama and Lee of "trying to ignite a nuclear war."
"The US-touted provision of 'extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella' (for South Korea) is nothing but 'a nuclear war plan,'" the North's state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said.
- AFP/yb
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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Posted: 22 June 2009 0202 hrs
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il inspects the command of 7th Infantry Division of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location.
SEOUL: North Korea has accused US President Barack Obama of plotting a nuclear war on the communist nation by reaffirming a US assurance of security for South Korea, the North's state media said.
In a first official response to last week's US-South Korean summit, the state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said in its Saturday edition Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak "are trying to ignite a nuclear war".
"The US-touted provision of 'extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella' (for South Korea) is nothing but 'a nuclear war plan,'" Tongil Sinbo said.
It said it wasn't a coincidence that the United States has brought "nuclear equipment into South Korea and its surroundings and staged massive war drills every day to look for a chance to invade North Korea."
Pyongyang has created weeks of tension by conducting a second nuclear test and test-firing missiles.
At a summit with Lee in Washington Wednesday, Obama warned that North Korea is a "grave threat" and vowed to defend South Korea.
A Seoul presidential official told Yonhap news agency Lee would seek a written US commitment to provide a nuclear "umbrella" for Seoul as part of "extended deterrence" against Pyongyang.
North Korea detonated its second nuclear device on May 25, following the first one in 2006. It also went ahead with what Washington said was a disguised test of a long-range missile in April.
The United Nations Security Council in response agreed to tighter cargo inspections, a stricter arms embargo and new targeted financial curbs to choke off revenue for the North's nuclear and missile sectors.
In response Pyongyang has vowed to build more nuclear bombs and start enriching uranium for a new atomic weapons program.
Some analysts say the sabre-rattling is part of an attempt by 67-year-old ailing North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, to bolster a succession plan involving his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. - AFP/de
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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06/19/2009 | 10:51 AM
SEOUL, South Korea — The United States has deployed anti-missile defenses around Hawaii amid reports that North Korea may fire its most advanced ballistic missile toward the US islands early next month, adding to already high tensions in the region.
A report in a Japanese newspaper said Pyongyang might test-fire its Taepodong-2 toward Hawaii around the US holiday of Independence Day. North Korea test-fired a similar long-range missile on July 4 three years ago, but it failed seconds after liftoff.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the additional defenses around Hawaii consist of a ground-based mobile missile system and a radar system nearby. Together they could shoot an incoming missile in mid air.
"Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say ... we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect Americans and American territory," Gates told reporters in Washington on Thursday.
A new missile launch — though not expected to reach US territory — would be a brazen slap in the face of the international community, which punished North Korea with new UN sanctions for conducting a second nuclear test on May 25 in defiance of a UN ban.
North Korea spurned the UN Security Council resolution with threats of war and pledges to expand its nuclear bomb-making program.
The Security Council resolution calls on all 192 UN member states to inspect vessels on the high seas — with the owner country's approval — if they believe the cargo contains banned weapons.
In what would be the first test case for the sanctions, the US military has begun tracking a North Korean-flagged ship, Kang Nam, which left a port in North Korea on Wednesday, two US officials said.
The ship, which may be carrying illicit weapons, was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China on Thursday, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence.
It was uncertain what the Kang Nam was carrying, but it has been involved in weapons proliferation before, one of the officials said.
The missile now being readied in the North is believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers), and would be launched from North Korea's Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast sometime around July 4, the Yomiuri newspaper said.
It cited an analysis by Japan's Defense Ministry and intelligence gathered by US reconnaissance satellites.
It speculated the missile could fly over Japan and toward Hawaii, but would not be able to hit Hawaii's main islands, which are about 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) from the Korean peninsula.
A spokesman for the Japanese Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report. South Korea's Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service — the country's main spy agency — said they could not confirm it.
Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs are centerpieces of the regime's catalog of weapons of mass destruction.
But the impoverished nation, which has put most of its scarce resources into boosting its military capabilities under its "army-first" policy, also has a large chemical arsenal, as well as capabilities to produce biological weapons.
On Thursday, an international security think tank warned that North Korea's chemical weapons are no less serious a threat to the region than its nuclear arsenal.
The independent International Crisis Group said the North is believed to have between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, phosgene, blood agents and sarin. These weapons can be delivered with ballistic missiles and long-range artillery and are "sufficient to inflict massive civilian casualties on South Korea."
"If progress is made on rolling back Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, there could be opportunities to construct a cooperative diplomatic solution for chemical weapons and the suspected biological weapons program," the think tank said in a report.
It also called on the US to engage the North in dialogue to defuse the nuclear crisis, saying "diplomacy is the least bad option." It said Washington should be prepared to send a high-level special envoy to Pyongyang to resolve the tension. - AP
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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Some display of power, eh? To 'threaten' US, and deter further plans of interfering with other countries' business, internal or external? Whatever, the implication may be far-reaching than planned or expected.
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06/18/2009 | 12:46 PM
TOKYO — North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday, amid escalating tensions between the communist country and the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
The missile, believed to be a long-range Taepodong-2, would be launched from North Korea's Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast, said the Yomiuri daily, Japan's top-selling newspaper. It cited an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry and intelligence gathered by US reconnaissance satellites.
The missile launch could come between July 4 and 8, the paper said. It noted North Korea had fired the Taepodong-2 missile on July 4, 1996. Also July 8 is the anniversary of the 1994 death of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.
The Yomiuri report is the latest in mounting media speculation that the communist country could launch a long-range missile soon following its underground nuclear test on May 25.
A spokesman for the Japanese Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report. Officials from South Korea's Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service — the country's main spy agency — said they could not confirm it.
While the Yomiuri speculated the Taepodong-2 could fly over Japan and toward Hawaii, it said the missile would not be able to hit the main islands of Hawaii.
In Washington on Tuesday, Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would take at least three to five years for North Korea to pose a real threat to the West Coast of the United States.
North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs. The regime revealed last week that it is also producing enriched uranium. The two materials are key ingredients for making atomic bombs.
North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on May 25 following its first underground atomic blast in October 2006.
The United Nations last week punished North Korea over the May nuclear test by expanding an arms embargo and authorizing ship searches on the high seas in a bid to derail its nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea has claimed its nuclear bombs are a deterrent against the United States and accuses Washington of plotting with Seoul to topple its secretive regime — led by the unpredictable dictator Kim Jong Il who is reportedly preparing to hand over power to his 26-year-old youngest son, Jong Un. - AP
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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WASHINGTON - With the United States looking to cut defence costs and rethinking the way it fights wars, many American defence contractors are looking for international buyers for the big, pricey weapons the Pentagon no longer wants or needs.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin are competing to sell fighter planes to countries such as India and Brazil. Boeing is trying to spark international interest in its C-17 cargo plane. Middle Eastern nations fearful of threats from Iran are bulking up on missile defence equipment from Lockheed and Raytheon.
"This is a world market right now,'' said Boeing's president of military aircraft, Chris Chadwick.
Globalisation is nothing new for many US industries, which often use overseas operations and sales to tap into fast-growing areas like China and as a hedge against domestic downturns. But the defence industry is closely tethered to one primary buyer, the American government.
It has been a lucrative relationship. Defence spending is up more than 40 per cent over the past eight years, fuelled in part by spending on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the US military is cutting back on weapon spending. Last year, the US military spent US$164 billion ($237 billion) to buy weapons. For the 2010 fiscal year, the Pentagon proposes spending only US$131 billion.
Overseas arms sales represent a relatively small segment of defence contractor sales. But many are turning to the global markets for growth now that the appetite for big and expensive weapons is waning in the US.
The push is helped by countries worried about security threats from nations such as North Korea and Iran. Many European allies need to upgrade their ageing equipment, and are turning to American firms as likely suppliers.
New markets have also emerged. Iraq was the second largest potential buyer of US military equipment last year, behind Israel, according to a March report by the Arms Control Association, a Washington think-tank. AP
From TODAY, World –Monday, 15-Jun-2009
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Posted: 27 May 2009 0544 hrs
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
NEW YORK - Wall Street powered higher Tuesday as a surprisingly strong reading on US consumer confidence buoyed hopes of economic recovery, offsetting jitters over North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 196.17 points (2.37 percent) to end at 8,473.49 while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 58.42 points (3.45 percent) to 1,750.43, its best percentage advance since early April.
The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 23.33 points (2.63 percent) to 910.33, clawing its way back above the psychologically significant 900 level for the first time since May 20.
As traders returned to business following the Memorial Day holiday Monday, stocks came under early pressure amid geopolitical concerns stemming from North Korea's second illegal nuclear test on Monday.
But markets shook off the news after the release of a Conference Board survey showing an unexpected surge in US consumer confidence, a key to ramping up spending and lifting the economy out of its prolonged recession.
The business research group's consumer confidence index spiked to 54.9 in May from 40.8 in April, the highest since last September.
"An unexpectedly large jump in consumer confidence is pushing markets higher, negating early weakness from geopolitical concerns regarding North Korea's nuclear program," analysts at Charles Schwab & Co wrote.
The consumer confidence data "gave participants some anecdotal evidence that economic conditions may be improving, which brought about broad-based gains for the major indices," said analysts at Briefing.com.
Retail stocks responded to the increase in the consumer confidence by advancing "though higher consumer confidence has yet to translate into higher consumer spending," the analysts cautioned.
"The (consumer confidence) report had a positive effect on retailers and technology companies," said Wachovia Securities senior equity market strategist Scott Marcouiller.
Large-cap tech stocks like Apple, which was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley, helped give the Nasdaq a major lift.
Apple closed 6.76 percent higher to 130.78 dollars.
General Motors, widely expected to file for bankruptcy protection ahead of a June 1 deadline imposed by the Obama administration, rose 0.7 percent to 1.44 dollars after recovering from a loss of more than 10 percent.
Reports had said the government will provide more massive financial aid to the country's number one carmaker, which reached a deal with the UAW union on cost-saving concessions that still must be ratified by rank-and-file workers.
The largest increase in the Dow Jones index came from JPMorgan Chase, rising 6.19 percent to 36.54 dollars.
Bonds, which plunged last week amid US credit rating worries, ended lower after an opening bounce.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 3.493 percent from 3.448 percent on Friday and that on the 30-year bond climbed to 4.446 percent from 4.392 percent.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
- AFP /ls
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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NEWS COMMENT
Kim’s regime must believe treaty offers better security than nuclear weapons
Hans Blix
IT HAPPENS that desperadoes hold groups of people hostage — for instance, in planes or banks. Sometimes the police or military take quick action or try some ruse to remove the danger. Sometimes they refrain from moving an inch for fear that hostages will be killed or an explosion set off.
They may seek to talk the desperado out of his corner, perhaps offer to fly a plane hijacker to another destination after releasing his hostages. In many cases, they simply wait. Often — but not always — tiredness and exhaustion bring an end without drama. Are we in a similar situation with North Korea?
The big powers recognise that the threat or use of military power is not an option. Action against key targets in North Korea could hardly be quick enough to prevent the regime inflicting horrible damage on South Korea and perhaps Japan.
Seoul is within artillery range from the North. A sudden collapse of North Korea would also be a nightmare.
So, what about talking? It has been done with varying success for many years and will no doubt be continued. The United States has sometimes voiced threats and increased pressure, and usually thereby made the situation more dangerous.
However, the US seems to have concluded that to talk North Korea out of its nuclear programme, the regime must be offered something that is more useful to it than nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
Conversely, the regime knows that for doing away with these programmes, it can demand a great deal.
For Pyongyang, the question may be what offers the best security — nuclear weapons of their own or a piece of paper.
Perhaps a piece of paper could be made more attractive if it were signed by all the relevant great powers and combined with a peace treaty. While allowing civilian nuclear power and guaranteeing access to uranium fuel, it would have to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons, enrichment of uranium, and reprocessing on the whole Korean peninsula.
The North Korean regime has often been isolated and ostracised. Although there have been good reasons for this, the country may well have felt humiliated.
Against that background, the offer of diplomatic relations with the US and Japan, and normal relations with the world at large, may have considerable value as a part of a quid pro quo.
Many other offers can and are already part of the sweet talk: Food, economic assistance, oil and perhaps a resumption of the construction of the two light-water reactors.
There may be limits to the persuasive power of the Chinese government, but it is significant — and there can be no doubt that Beijing has an enormous interest in using it.
A nuclear-capable North Korea shooting missiles over Japan could push Tokyo in a direction that would sharply increase tensions with China.
So, while the security council and everybody else condemn the latest North Korean missile tests, it should be a resumption of talks that is sought rather than more sanctions.
Perhaps former US President Carter will go again to Pyongyang, reminding Kim Jong Il and the regime of the wishes of Kim Il Sung.
And what if nothing is enough to persuade the North Korean regime? If it fears that nothing but a continued demonstration of its nuclear weapons and missile power will guarantee its existence? Then we shall have to be patient, seek to prevent proliferation, and wait for another day.
Hans Blix is chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission and former head of the United Nations weapons inspection team in Iraq. This is an edited version of his commentary that was first published in The Guardian.
From TODAY, World
Tuesday, 07-April-2009
