North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan - Abe

[webfact]

North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan - Abe

By Ju-min Park and Kaori Kaneko

REUTERS

 

A unit of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles is seen at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

 

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea fired four ballistic missiles early on Monday, three of which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, the latest in a series of provocative tests by the reclusive state.

 

"Multiple ballistic missiles" were launched from the Tongchang-ri region near the North's border with China and flew about 1,000 km (620 miles), South Korean military officials said, without providing the number of missiles.

 

"South Korea and the United States are conducting a close-up analysis, regarding further information," South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn convened a national security meeting, South Korea's presidential office said in a text message.

 

Japanese officials described the launches as a grave threat and said they lodged "strong protests" with nuclear-armed North Korea.

"The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions. It is an extremely dangerous action," Abe said during lawmaker questions in parliament.

 

No reports of damage to shipping or aircraft had been received since the launches, Japanese officials said.

 

The U.S. military did not immediately comment. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States also detected apparent launch activity in North Korea but declined to offer details.

 

North Korea had threatened to take "strong retaliatory measures" after South Korea and the United States began annual joint military drills on Wednesday that test their defensive readiness against possible aggression from the North.

 

North Korea criticizes the annual drills calling them preparation for war against it.

 

Last year, North Korea fired a long-range rocket from Tongchang-ri that put an object into orbit. The launch was condemned by the United Nations for violating resolutions that ban the use of missile technology.

 

North Korea test fired a new type of missile, known as the Pukguksong-2, into the sea early last month, and has said it will continue to launch new strategic weapons.

 

"Not only Pukguksong-2 but newer independent strategic weapons will fly high vigorously in the sky off the ground as long as the United States and the puppet regime are going ahead with their nuclear threat to us and an exercise for invasion war against the North," North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party said in a commentary last week.

Last month's test was the first since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected.

 

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in SEOUL and Phil Stewart in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-06

[Hayduke]

In a show of supreme defiance, North Korea will break it's toys, hold it's collective breath and refuse to eat its vegetables until Malaysia surrenders the dead Kim. That will teach those rude, disrespectful, Malaysians a lesson. Then they'll be sorry.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Hayduke

[klauskunkel]

Quote

Not only Pukguksong-2 but newer independent strategic weapons will fly high vigorously in the sky off the ground

"fly high in the sky off the ground" - yep, got that right, missiles tend to do that... personally I would change the order around a bit "fly off the ground high in the sky" makes more sense to me..., but, good effort.

Now about "vigorously", that doesn't really apply to missiles (it's more the Dear Leader's wishful thinking I suppose), I think "erratically" is the proper adverb in this case.

[Sydebolle]

Please inform the Geneva hospitality industry to prepare hotel rooms and a big meeting facility. The Six-Nations-Conference will be congregating anytime soon with the following outcome:
- Kim Jong Un, the "fat leader" will be stopping sending his crippled warfare into international waters
- the South Koreans will turn down their loudspeaker walls and air music instead of Anti-Kim-Propaganda
- the Malays will be releasing the body of fatties brother, close the file and get on with more important stuff
- Kim Jong Un and his cronies will be granted some few hundert million dollars again for their fight against famine

Then a quiet summer will be on the cards on the North Korean desk in Geneva (the Syrians will pour in some business, no worries) in order to prepare for the next Six-Nation-Conference in a year or so, depending on how long the cash lasts. 

You want to seriously rid Northasia of this nuisance? Get the Americans packing and tell them that the 38th latitude is not an American problem. This will result in North Korea not having its arch enemy on the doorstep which will result in China pulling the financial plug. Result is = North Korea implodes, possibly with the help of some non-Western assistance. 

[Sydebolle]

Alternatively just take out Kim Jong Un, there is nobody in the pipeline to take over from him; a headless chicken then ! 

[Srikcir]

In July last year the US in response to North Korea missile launches deployed THAAD missile defense into South Korea.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-thaad-idUSKCN0ZO084

Although China complained, recently it did react positively by stopping imports of coal from North Korea.

US should do the same for Japan. Maybe China will stop more imports from North Korea.

[ddavidovsky]

My usual comment is to stop provoking these idiots, but now I know what it's all about.

 

Clearly the provocation by the US & S.Korea is deliberate. They want to keep threatening the N.Koreans and bring them to a state of near apoplexy in the hope that the being on the brink of crisis shakes something up in their internal system that causes the whole house of cards to fall.

 

Everyone may agree with that. However, the alternative is to just leave them alone. Then we wouldn't hear a peep out of them. We ought at least to be aware that the perceived  'threat to world peace'  is chimerical, created by our own politicians.

[ilostmypassword]

4 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Please inform the Geneva hospitality industry to prepare hotel rooms and a big meeting facility. The Six-Nations-Conference will be congregating anytime soon with the following outcome:
- Kim Jong Un, the "fat leader" will be stopping sending his crippled warfare into international waters
- the South Koreans will turn down their loudspeaker walls and air music instead of Anti-Kim-Propaganda
- the Malays will be releasing the body of fatties brother, close the file and get on with more important stuff
- Kim Jong Un and his cronies will be granted some few hundert million dollars again for their fight against famine

Then a quiet summer will be on the cards on the North Korean desk in Geneva (the Syrians will pour in some business, no worries) in order to prepare for the next Six-Nation-Conference in a year or so, depending on how long the cash lasts. 

You want to seriously rid Northasia of this nuisance? Get the Americans packing and tell them that the 38th latitude is not an American problem. This will result in North Korea not having its arch enemy on the doorstep which will result in China pulling the financial plug. Result is = North Korea implodes, possibly with the help of some non-Western assistance. 

I don't understand why we have troops in South Korea. Given that North Korea now has nuclear weapons, they are potential hostages. South Korean conventional forces are vastly superior to North Korea's.  I agree that if the US got out of South Korea, China would be much more likely to pull the plug on its support of the North.

[ableguy]

2 hours ago, ddavidovsky said:

My usual comment is to stop provoking these idiots, but now I know what it's all about.

 

Clearly the provocation by the US & S.Korea is deliberate. They want to keep threatening the N.Koreans and bring them to a state of near apoplexy in the hope that the being on the brink of crisis shakes something up in their internal system that causes the whole house of cards to fall.

 

Everyone may agree with that. However, the alternative is to just leave them alone. Then we wouldn't hear a peep out of them. We ought at least to be aware that the perceived  'threat to world peace'  is chimerical, created by our own politicians.

Total rubbish, never read such dribble.

obviously you are out of touch with reality, I urge you to get back on your medication.

[Guest]

Stupid timing from North Korea to do their missile tests.  

 

The US government is currently in such turmoil, that they might soon use the 'external threat' card and start an larger scale offence against North Korea.

 

China wouldn't like a potential nuclear war at their backyard.

 

[Basil B]

I think they need to work on the guidance system more if they were trying to put the wind up Malaysia... 

[anon4546543]

It came as a surprise to me that the Malaysians grant free visas to North Korea. I also have no idea what the US is doing in Korea. Lets face facts, they are doing nothing except costing the US heaps of dollars for 65 years to display some military force to a bunch of neanderthol govt agencies and make Nth Korea starve its population in order to spend all its money on weapons. If the US pulled out of Korea, China would no longer need to worry about the "enemy" near its border. Then China may start to "influence" Nth Korea. But it is a pipe dream, too many US weapon manufacturers depend on the US public to throw their taxes at these companies in order to remain on a total war footing. The sheriff of the world. When the world wants them to holster the guns, stop posturing and let most countries settle their own differences without the US overlord syndrome. Go back to the US and defend your own country.  

[Credo]

If the US pulls out of South Korea there is a good chance that N. Korea would waste no time in invading the south.   North Korea is a hugely militarized country.    

 

If China pulls its support, then there is a good chance Russia will step in.   NK is only a puppet, but it is a very dangerous puppet.   

[milesinnz]

Why would Japan worry about a nuclear weapon from North Korea ? The Japanese are doing a very nice job of nuking themselves...

[JAG]

11 hours ago, Basil B said:

I think they need to work on the guidance system more if they were trying to put the wind up Malaysia... 

No, the glorious fraternal flying rockets were very accurate.

 

They fired them into the sea, they hit the sea, thanks to the inspired leadership of the slightly chubby one with the haircut.designed to entertain the heroic revolutionary masses.

 

Slink back to your kennel you lickspittle running dog of capitalist fascism!

[JAG]

I've heard it suggested that if the North Koreans did invade they would get as far as the first shopping mall with its shops and restaurants, and stop, realising how wrong they had been for so long...

[alocacoc]

Kim got a new kitchen

 

[hawker9000]

What a lunatic.  There's gotta' be some scientist or engineer that can be bribed into sabotaging one of those missiles so that it just turns around and detonates at the point of origin (or wherever KJU and his entourage are hanging out).

 

'Course that's not really a very permanent solution.  Some new sociopathic nutjob with an even worse haircut will inevitably spring up to take his place.   It's just something N. Korea seems to excel at.