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Showing posts with the label North Korea Missiles

North Korea- The path to nowhere

Image credits- KCNA North Korea is at it again. Today they again they test fired another missile, this time speculated to be their  ICBM Hwasong-15 .  The said missile flew above Japan and fell into the Japanese exclusive economic zone. What is different about this test is the fact that the missile seems to have a range of more than 13,000/- kilometres which is enough to cover most of continental United States.  North Korea seems to to be improving on it's missile and nuclear weapon technology. The above test comes soon after a nuclear test by North Korea of a weapon that is seen to be by far their largest to date. What the world especially the USA should worry is the unpredictable nature of the North Korean regime. The North Korean regime has a declared policy of seeing the USA as their principal enemy. That is imprinted in their psyche. North Korea has sene what has happened to Libya and Iraq and how their rulers were disposed by the USA and see nuclear weapons as the o

The pariah called North Korea

Image credits- VOA As North Korea tests a thermonuclear weapon and make rapid advances in Missile technology, it is time to analyse what can be done about this country that has become a head ache for the rest of the world.  North Korea has always has been an enigma and a security nightmare for the International Community.  It all began with the demise of the USSR which was North Korea's biggest benefactor and one of it's only ally. After 1991 when the Soviet Union seized to exist, North Korea was in one sweep left with out a guardian. It's economy which was hugely reliant on the Soviet Union was in the verge of crashing. It was also the time when Kim II Sung passed away and his son Kim Jong-il took over the reins of power of this reclusive country. In his regime, North Korea suffered it's worst famine that North Korea has ever faced. His military first doctrine also isolated North Korea from the rest of the world. The economy was also on the verge of collapse

What next after North Korea's third failed missile test?

Credits- VOA A missile fired by North Korea has yet again failed. The Diplomat in it's latest article delve deep into what will be North Korea's next move. ( To read the entire article, click here .........)

Did North Korea Just Launch a Chinese Missile? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Gordon G. Chang)

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest Author- Gordon G. Chang On Sunday morning, North Korea launched an intermediate-range missile high into the atmosphere. It fell into the Sea of Japan about five hundred kilometers downrange. Pyongyang identified the missile as a Pukguksong-2, and claimed it was developed by North Korean technicians, but it may have been Chinese in origin. President Trump on Monday said the U.S. has “a big, big problem” with North Korea. In fact, America may have a big, big problem with China. So before his administration crafts a policy, he needs to know where the Pukguksong-2 came from. The consensus view is that the missile tested Sunday is the land-based version of the KN-11. A KN-11 was launched August 24 from below the surface of the Sea of Japan. Video released by Pyongyang shows Sunday’s missile igniting in midair after leaving its mobile launcher, mimicking a submarine-launched missile. ( To read the entire article, cl

Why an Iran Deal for North Korea Won’t Happen ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Robert E. Kelly)

Credits- You Tube Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert E. Kelly In July, world powers and Iran finally struck a deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. This set off speculation that perhaps the Iran deal might be a template for a deal with North Korea. Although the Iran agreement remains contentious in the United States, much of the world finds it a broadly acceptable compromise. Maximalist demands on Iran were never going to work unless the U.S. was prepared for major military action and a potential regional meltdown. Some of kind of diplomacy was ultimately necessary. North Korea is similar. At this point, almost any kind of deal seems preferably to the status quo: a spiraling nuclear and missile program with no oversight. As I have argued elsewhere, it is increasingly hard to see how North Korean nuclearization ends well. In March, when it became clear just how many nuclear weapons North Korea might build in the next decade, I argued in this space that Sou

How to Demolish the North Korean Submarine Missile Threat ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin)

Image credits- Internet Pic Source- The National Interest Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin The recent reported test of North Korea’s KN-11, dubbed Pukgeukseong-1 (Polaris-1) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) has created quite a buzz. In fact, not long before the test took place, the South Korean defense ministry remarked that there were no signs that Pyongyang would launch missiles in the near future despite the visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to the country’s satellite command and control center, operated by the National Aerospace Development Administration. Washington took the recent development seriously, accusing Pyongyang of contravening existing United Nations Security Council resolutions by staging the test. South Korean government authorities sought to downplay the test, pointing out that it was no more than an ejector test and the missile was assumed to have flown only 100 meters upon lift-off. This appears to correspond with the subsequent ass

A First: North Korea Tests 'Polaris-1' SLBM ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Image credits- Internet Image Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Kim Jong-un couldn't head to Moscow to celebrate Russia’s Second World War Victory Day so he settled for the next best thing: overseeing the first-ever test-firing of a North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The regime’s mouthpiece, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), noted that Kim watched as North Korea’s Bukkeukseong-1 (“Polaris-1”) SLBM “soared to the skies.” The physical design of the missile, as seen in a few clear images released by KCNA, resembles the Soviet Union’s R-27/SS-N-6 Serb SLBMs, which suggest a single-stage, storable liquid-propellant design. KCNA’s images, upon preliminary analysis, appear to be authentic and presented without any manipulation. Neither KCNA nor any secondary sources have verified the location of the missile launch. KCNA noted that the launch was carried out far away from the land. In images shared by the agency, Kim Jong-un is seen obse

US Officials Believe North Korea Has SLBMs ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- J.A De Roo Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda The Washington Free Beacon reports that North Korea is making progress toward operationalizing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The report, by the Beacon‘s Bill Gertz, cites comments made by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Admiral Cecil D. Haney, in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee disclosed on Thursday. As The Diplomat covered last fall, North Korea’s SLBM development has been under the watchful eye of observers for some time now. A satellite imagery study by 38 North strongly hinted at an ongoing SLBM development process at North Korea’s Sinpo South Shipyard. Gertz’s report confirms that U.S. officials now believe that a North Korean SLBM is a safe assumption. A robust SLBM capability would be a major step for North Korea, particularly if it manages to successfully miniaturize a nuclear device for delivery from a submarine (a consider

Why North Korea Won't Have Its ICBM Anytime Soon ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- 38 North / John Schilling)

North Korean KN-08 Missile ( Credits- Internet Image) Source- The Diplomat Author- 38 North / John Schilling This article was first published at  38 North , a blog of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS. It is republished with kind permission. The past year might seem to have been one of conspicuous inactivity in North Korea’s long-range rocket program. The last flight test was the December 2012 launch of an Unha-3 carrying North Korea’s first successful satellite. Since then we have seen only the usual Scuds and Nodongs and possibly an improved variant of the short-range, solid-fueled KN-02 “Toksa.” The Musudan and KN-08 missiles so proudly displayed in July 2013 have not been seen since, and neither has been flight tested. In short, one might be tempted to conclude that the regime has given up its pursuit of long-range weapons. But conspicuous inactivity can mask quiet activity, visible mainly to the sort of people who spend their hours scrutinizing satel