The Intel Hub – by Shepard Ambellas
SEOUL — The South is now on alert “military readiness posture”, said Kim Jang-soo, South Korea’s Chief of Security. This comes after an assessment made by Jang-soo, concluding that North Korea had told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang to flee the region.
South Korean officials also stated that the North might be planning a test missile launch from the East coast of North Korea as early as Wednesday possibly firing a missile over Japan.
Some say that the young leader Kim Jung-un wants to express his power to avoid yet even more UN security council sanctions.
A recent excerpt from a Gordon Chang report shows how, “North Korea last week moved two missiles, which were subsequently loaded onto mobile launchers, to its east coast. Many expect the missiles, which have been subsequently moved to hidden locations, will be fired in trajectories arcing over Japan.
The Pentagon is not at the moment especially concerned about Pyongyang’s longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2, a variant of the successfully tested Unha-3 rocket. It takes weeks to transport, assemble, fuel, and prepare the Taepodong-2, giving U.S. forces many opportunities to destroy the missile on its large launch pad.
The Pentagon, however, is worried about Pyongyang’s mobile missiles, even though they have shorter ranges. It is telling that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on March 15 cited the North’s newest launcher, the KN-08, as a reason for the administration’s decision to deploy 14 additional interceptor missiles in Alaska.
The KN-08 sits on an eight-axle mobile vehicle—a transporter-erector-launcher in military lingo—that can hide and shoot, so America’s costly missile defense system is considered necessary because of the hard-to-find KN-08s. China transferred to North Korea at least six of those mobile launchers, a clear violation of Security Council sanctions.”
Other signs that tensions are heating up include how a top US commander plans to remain in the region. According to a report by CNN, “Gen. James Thurman, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, is canceling a trip to Washington this week due to the rising tensions.
“Given the current situation, Gen. Thurman will remain in Seoul next week as a prudent measure,” a spokesman said.
Thurman was to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee.
Gen. Jung Seung-jo, South Korea’s top military officer, also delayed a trip to Washington, national news agency Yonhap reported.”
The United States has also delayed a ballistic missile test that was set for later this week to focus on the Korean Peninsula issue and show no provocation. NBC reported how the, ”test was “long planned and was never associated with North Korea to begin with,” the official said, but added that “given recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula, it’s prudent and wise to take steps that avoid any misperception or chance of manipulation, so the test has been postponed.”
The test was planned for next week at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It would have tested the Minuteman 3 ICBM missile.”
Some believe that China holds the key in this situation and could put a stop to all of this, telling North Korea to stand down.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jung-un appears to be following in his fathers footsteps as odd maneuvers have been made on a world scale that could provoke or even accidentally trigger a war.
Sources:
^http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/world/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html
^http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2013/04/07/china-helped-north-korea-target-american-cities/
^http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Rocket_Forces_(North_Korea)
*****
Shepard Ambellas is the founder & director of Intellihub.com (a popular alternative news website), researcher, investigative journalist, radio talk show host, and filmmaker.
http://intellihub.com/2013/04/07/north-korea-provocation-continues-as-pentagon-suits-up/