North Korea launches two suspected missiles after warnings to Washington

[webfact]

North Korea launches two suspected missiles after warnings to Washington

By Josh Smith

 

People watch a TV broadcast showing a file footage for a news report on North Korea firing two projectiles, possibly missiles, into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, in Seoul, South Korea, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Heo Ran

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two suspected missiles into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Thursday, according to military officials in Japan and South Korea, ending nearly a month-long lull in testing after denuclearisation talks stalled.

 

The launches, which Japanese authorities identified as likely ballistic missiles, were the first since one day of talks between the United States and North Korea ended without an agreement on Oct. 5 in Sweden.

 

American officials have played down previous missile launches this year, saying they were short-range weapons.

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has set an end-of-the-year deadline for denuclearisation talks with Washington, however, and in a statement on Sunday North Korea said it would be a mistake for the United States to ignore that deadline.

 

A U.S. State Department spokesman said: "We are aware of reports of a North Korean missile launch. We are continuing to monitor the situation and consulting closely with our allies in Japan and South Korea."

 

Analysts said the launches underscore how tense the situation has become after three meetings between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump - unprecedented top-level contact between the countries - failed to lead to any agreement over North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

 

"Make no mistake, if there is no change in the current trajectory of U.S.-North Korea relations there is only one possible outcome: a long-range missile or nuclear weapons test by Pyongyang that will spark a crisis just like in 2017," said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington.

 

TWO PROJECTILES FIRED

The first of two "unidentified projectiles" was fired on Thursday at 4:35 p.m. local time (0735 GMT) from South Phyongan Province, in the centre of North Korea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a series of statements. A second projectile was detected at 4:38 p.m. (0738 GMT).

 

The projectiles travelled an estimated 370 kilometres (230 miles) and reached an altitude of 90 km (56 miles), the JCS said, calling them "short range".

 

"Objects that appeared to be ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement. "They did not land within our territory."

 

North Korea has fired what appear to be two ballistic missiles, according to Japan and South Korea. They landed in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan. Lucy Fielder reports.

 

An American air base at Misawa, 1,130 km (700 miles) north of Tokyo, posted a "real world missile alert" and urged personnel to seek shelter, before later issuing an "all clear".

 

The afternoon launch timing was a departure from this year's string of tests, which usually took place around dawn.

 

On Wednesday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unnamed military source as saying that movements of transporter erector launchers (TEL), used to fire missiles, had been detected in North Korea.

 

South Korea's National Security Council held an emergency meeting after the launch on Thursday, and expressed its concern about what it called "short-range projectiles".

 

"Our military is maintaining a readiness posture while tracking and monitoring related developments in preparation for another launch," the JCS said in a statement after the launches on Thursday.

 

The JCS called on North Korea to stop the launches because they were "unhelpful" for reducing tensions on the peninsula.

 

Kim Dong-yup, a former navy officer who teaches at Seoul's Kyungnam University, said the launches could be a so-called "running test fire" of a recently developed multiple-rocket system, with the aim of fine-tuning the system for full production.

 

RISING TENSIONS

The launches occurred on the day that South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the funeral of his mother, who died on Tuesday.

 

In a message delivered via the border village of Panmunjom late on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim had expressed "deep condolences" and "consolation" over Moon's loss, Moon's office said on Thursday.

 

Relations between the two Koreas have cooled since a flurry of personal meetings between Moon and Kim last year, and denuclearisation negotiations between North Korea and the United States appear stalled.

 

On Sunday, North Korea said there had been no progress in North Korea-United States relations.

 

North Korea has tested several new missile designs this year, including a new submarine-launched ballistic missile fired from a platform in the sea on Oct. 2.

 

It says the missiles are necessary to defend against new warplanes and weapons acquired by South Korea, including the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet.

 

North Korea has also accused the United States and South Korea of continuing hostile policies, including military drills.

 

On Monday, South Korea began its annual Hoguk military exercises, which it says are for self defence.

 

North Korean state media, however, strongly criticised the drill as practice for invading the North, and said "South Korean military warmongers are driving the situation into an extreme one."

 

Experts have said several of the new missiles tested this year by North Korea are designed to potentially evade missile defence systems deployed in South Korea and Japan.

 

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin, Joyce Lee, and Josh Smith in Seoul, Ritsuko Ando and Tim Kelly in Tokyo, and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Catherine Evans and Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-01

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[quadperfect]

Black swan

[sirineou]

Trump will still get the Nobel prize, but it will be for literary fiction based on the love letters he wrote to Kim. 

[Sujo]

Why are they 'suspected missiles'?

[Tug]

Tired of winning yet?what an incompetent old fool our policy towards n Korea is pathetic 

[Longcut]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"Make no mistake, if there is no change in the current trajectory of U.S.-North Korea relations there is only one possible outcome: a long-range missile

Possibly from the U.S.  That one is sure to hit it's target without falling into the sea.

[jany123]

3 hours ago, Longcut said:

Possibly from the U.S.  That one is sure to hit it's target without falling into the sea.

Yes... well... Im pretty sure that the North Koreans target was the sea.

[Tayaout]

4 hours ago, Sujo said:

Why are they 'suspected missiles'?

They are careful with their wording. If it was Iran it would definitely be intercontinental ballistic missile. 

[Longcut]

34 minutes ago, jany123 said:

Yes... well... Im pretty sure that the North Koreans target was the sea.

Me too!

But, it surprises me. How a country that is always screaming they have no money to feed its people. Always seem to have plenty of money to build missiles just to fire them into the sea trying to make a point. Not a very good way to gain any sympathy. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Longcut

[jany123]

30 minutes ago, Longcut said:

Me too!

But, it surprises me. How a country that is always screaming they have no money to feed its people. Always seem to have plenty of money to build missiles just to fire them into the sea trying to make a point. Not a very good way to gain any sympathy. 

Perhaps they are spending their money on defense because the nation is still at war, and needs a significant deterrence from attack by its enemies. Civilian populations routinely sacrifice when at or on a war footing.

 

the point, I believe, is to improve and demonstrate their capability of deterrence, vs garner sympathy.

[billd766]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

Trump will still get the Nobel prize, but it will be for literary fiction based on the love letters he wrote to Kim. 

There was a film called Pulp Fiction back in 1984. Perhaps Trump gets his ideas from old movies and books.

[johnnybangkok]

I promised months ago when all the Trump fans were extolling Trumps virtues over N. Korea that if the talks amounted to anything I would come on Thai Visa and publicly apologise.

My public humiliation seems to be further away than ever.

N.K. is a (well documented) master at this and is schooling Trump. Nothing will happen apart from more concessions and more hot air. 

 

 

[howbri]

1 hour ago, johnnybangkok said:

I promised months ago when all the Trump fans were extolling Trumps virtues over N. Korea that if the talks amounted to anything I would come on Thai Visa and publicly apologise.

My public humiliation seems to be further away than ever.

N.K. is a (well documented) master at this and is schooling Trump. Nothing will happen apart from more concessions and more hot air. 

 

 

MAGA

[Puchaiyank]

North Korea doesn't do anything without first getting permission from their Chinese overlords...

[Longcut]

4 hours ago, jany123 said:

Perhaps they are spending their money on defense because the nation is still at war, and needs a significant deterrence from attack by its enemies. Civilian populations routinely sacrifice when at or on a war footing.

 

the point, I believe, is to improve and demonstrate their capability of deterrence, vs garner sympathy.

OK, you keep thinking that. ????????

[Redline]

9 hours ago, Sujo said:

Why are they 'suspected missiles'?

They were looking like witches on broomsticks

[Redline]

I’m so tired of winning ????

[Tug]

2 hours ago, Redline said:

They were looking like witches on broomsticks

We’re they hunting Donald?

[Redline]

20 hours ago, Tug said:

We’re they hunting Donald?

He thinks they were, but I t was for Halloween 

[Crazy Alex]

This is another area in which Trump disappoints me. There is nothing to be gained by playing the saber-rattling game with fat boy. He's nothing. Navel lint. We can end him easily. Ignore him until it comes time to carpet bomb Pyongyang.

[sirineou]

30 minutes ago, Crazy Alex said:

This is another area in which Trump disappoints me. There is nothing to be gained by playing the saber-rattling game with fat boy. He's nothing. Navel lint. We can end him easily. Ignore him until it comes time to carpet bomb Pyongyang.

IMO the aber-rattling is not directed towards "fat boy" but is intended for local consumption.

He desperately needs a win.. 

As for "fat boy" I think you mean Kim, 'cause' trump is no slouch in that department either. LOL

[Crazy Alex]

On 11/1/2019 at 5:37 AM, Redline said:

They were looking like witches on broomsticks

I see no reason to bring Hillary and Warren into this.

[tifino]

On 11/1/2019 at 11:35 AM, Sujo said:

Why are they 'suspected missiles'?

ummm... they could not eliminate they were not the heads of two more eliminated officials?

 

 

 - can see it now; "two head(less) honchos go ballistic"

Edited November 2, 2019 by tifino

[metisdead]

An off topic post and the replies have been removed. 

[neeray]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 5:55 PM, webfact said:

Analysts said the launches underscore how tense the situation has become after three meetings between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump - unprecedented top-level contact between the countries - failed to lead to any agreement over North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

"... failed to lead to an agreement ..." !

Exactly as many of us on this forum, who ARE NOT die hard Trump supporters, predicted.

 

Remember all that silly talk about a Nobel price? Silly then and even sillier now.

[Tug]

What a foreign policy fiasco 

[billd766]

5 hours ago, Crazy Alex said:

This is another area in which Trump disappoints me. There is nothing to be gained by playing the saber-rattling game with fat boy. He's nothing. Navel lint. We can end him easily. Ignore him until it comes time to carpet bomb Pyongyang.

Another keyboard warrior.

 

"We can end him easily. Ignore him until it comes time to carpet bomb Pyongyang."

 

And you believe that NK will just sit there, let it happen and not retaliate?

 

IMHO NK has missiles and nuclear war heads that they can and will use if they have to. In addition they also have the 4th largest standing army in the world.

 

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities

 

They will be over the DMZ and invade S Korea. They most probably fire missiles at Japan and any US base that they can reach. Whilst China most probably not assist NJ I doubt that they will be able to stop them either.

 

This has all been brought about by President Trump who is full of bombast and zero ideas on how to handle people and countries.