North Korea tests another ICBM, claims all of U.S. in strike range

[rooster59]

North Korea tests another ICBM, claims all of U.S. in strike range

By Jack Kim and Idrees Ali

 

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made available on April 26, 2017. KCNA/Handout via REUTERS/Files

 

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that proved its ability to strike all of America's mainland, drawing a sharp warning from U.S. President Donald Trump and a rebuke from China.

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the midnight launch of the missile on Friday night and said it was a "stern warning" for the United States that it would not be safe from destruction if it tries to attack, the North's official KCNA news agency said.

 

North Korea's state television broadcast pictures of the launch, showing the missile lifting off in a fiery blast in darkness and Kim cheering with military aides.

 

"The test-fire reconfirmed the reliability of the ICBM system, demonstrated the capability of making a surprise launch of the ICBM in any region and place any time, and clearly proved that the whole U.S. mainland is in the firing range of the DPRK missiles, (Kim) said with pride," KCNA said.

 

DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

 

The launch comes less than a month after the North conducted its first ICBM test in defiance of years of efforts led by the United States, South Korea and Japan to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions.

 

The North conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear test last year and has engaged in an unprecedented pace of missile development that experts said significantly advanced its ability to launch longer-range ballistic missiles.

 

"By threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people," Trump said in a statement. "The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region."

 

China, the North's main ally, said it opposed North Korea's "launch activities that run counter to Security Council resolutions and the common wishes of the international community."

 

A foreign ministry statement added: "At the same time, China hopes all parties act with caution, to prevent tensions from continuing to escalate, to jointly protect regional peace and stability."

 

Early on Saturday, the United States and South Korea conducted a live-fire ballistic missile exercise in a display of firepower in response to the missile launch, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said.

 

The top U.S. military official, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, and Admiral Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, spoke by phone with the top South Korean military official, General Lee Sun-jin, to discuss military response options to the launch.

 

The Trump administration has said that all options are on the table to deal with North Korea. However it has also made clear that diplomacy and sanctions are its preferred course.

 

The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and the United States held separate phone calls and agreed to step up strategic deterrence against the North and push for a stronger U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, the South and Japan said.

 

South Korea has also said it will proceed with the deployment of four additional units of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile defence system that President Moon Jae-in has earlier delayed for an environmental assessment.

 

The missile test came a day after the U.S. Senate approved a package of sanctions on North Korea, Russia and Iran. Trump is ready to sign the bill, the White House said on Friday.

 

The sanctions are likely to include measures aimed at Chinese financial institutions that do business with North Korea. Washington has also proposed a new round of U.N. sanctions on North Korea following its July 4 ICBM test.

 

"RELIABLE ICBM BY YEAR-END"

 

In Friday's test, North Korea's Hwasong-14 missile, named after the Korean word for Mars, reached an altitude of 3,724.9 km and flew 998 km for 47 minutes and 12 seconds before landing in the waters off the Korean peninsula's east coast, KCNA said.

 

Western experts said the flight was an improvement on North Korea's first test of an ICBM.

 

The flight demonstrated successful stage separation, reliability of the vehicle's control and guidance to allow the warhead to make an atmospheric re-entry under conditions harsher than under a normal long-range trajectory, KCNA said.

 

The trajectory was in line with the estimates given by the South Korean, U.S. and Japanese militaries, which said the missile was believed to be an ICBM-class rocket.

 

Independent weapons experts said the launch demonstrated many parts of the United States were within range if the missile had been launched at a flattened trajectory.

 

The U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists said its calculations showed the missile could have been capable of going as far into the United States as Denver and Chicago.

 

David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote in a blog post that if it had flown on a standard trajectory, the missile would have had a range of 10,400 km (6,500 miles).

 

Michael Elleman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated a range of at least 9,500 km and said the window for a diplomatic solution with North Korea "is closing rapidly."

 

"The key here is that North Korea has a second successful test in less than one month," he said. "If this trend holds, they could establish an acceptably reliable ICBM before year's end."

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-29

 

 

[gummy]

W ell it least it shows Kim Jong In is not going to kowtow to the Americans.  He may be a raving  lunatic , but so is Trump, but at least he is proving he has the balls to stand up to the US. At the end of the day the scaremongering that NK will take 5 to 10 years to develop a miniaturised nuclear war head hides the fact that with an ICBM , a chemical warhead , which that nutter probably has, dropped on New York would most probably have the desired effect anyway.

Edited July 29, 2017 by gummy

[how241]

Crazy times we live in...

[phantomfiddler]

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

[SpeakeasyThai]

29 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

By poisoning his fellow patriots minds claiming North Korea is under constant threat it justifies the regime's existence. You have to remember the South and North Korea war never ended. It is in a terminal truce, and therefore in the minds of the North, their 'great' Leader is manufacturing these long range missiles to protect their soverienty. Of course, nobody else does this kind of evil propagana militity build up do they!

[tandor]

3 hours ago, how241 said:

Crazy times we live in...

..i think the word 'test' has now lost its real meaning.

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

Iraq

Libya

Syria

Afghanistan

 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by sirineou

[Naam]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

Iraq

Libya

Syria

Afghanistan

Viet Nam

[Naam]

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

what do your delusions pertaining to history deserve?

[boomerangutang]

3 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

You answered your own question.  If 5-star general or a Goldman Sachs billionaire, or a hate-all-non-Caucasions nutcase in the Oval Office decided to get Trump all riled up to create mischief, then N.Korea would be the country to get the bottom-smacking.  Iran is a runner-up candidate.   Any place that has (or is planning to build) a Trump Tower is not a possible target for US aggression.   If Kim wants to befriend Trump, all he has to do is agree to build a gold-colored Trump Tower in Pyangyong. 

 

Then there's Scaramucci.  He could come stomping into the Oval Office one day, and start shouting at Trump,  "Mr. Almighty President.  You who have no faults and are infinitely wise.  I just heard North Korea's nutcase Kim called you a slimeball.  You gonna take that sitting down?   You gonna let Kim put dead horses' heads in your bed?  Who knows, next time he may put a giant dead octopus in your bed - smell the whole place up, with bodily fluids coming out of its head.   No way, Jose.  You're gonna do what a real man does.  You're gonna smack him down hard to the ground."

 

Note:  Scaramucci is one of the few people who can go talk directly with the prez, any time, without going through the Chief of Staff.  Others are Ivanka and Jared, and maybe Bannon and Melania.   Ordinarily, a Chief of Staff is the filter for everyone, except maybe a spouse.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by boomerangutang

[sweatalot]

1 hour ago, Naam said:

Viet Nam

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Iraq

Libya

Syria

Afghanistan

 

 

and you think that is reason enough to let this dictator continue playing his nuke games ?

[baboon]

13 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

 

and you think that is reason enough to let this dictator continue playing his nuke games ?

Err, yes?

[sirineou]

19 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

 

and you think that is reason enough to let this dictator continue playing his nuke games ?

Never said anything of the short,  I only suggested reasons for his behaviour

[Naam]

1 hour ago, sweatalot said:

 

and you think that is reason enough to let this dictator continue playing his nuke games ?

why isn't he allowed to play with a fistful of nukes when others play with thousands? any particular reason?

[Naam]

2 hours ago, Naam said:

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

5 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

Iraq

Libya

Syria

Afghanistan

Viet Nam

Grenada

Panama

[boomerangutang]

1 hour ago, sweatalot said:

and you think that is reason enough to let this dictator continue playing his nuke games ?

Thus far, the worst he's done is shoot some missiles into the sea.  He says stupid things, but what dictator doesn't?   He's like a bratty kid.  He wants to create a constant state of tension and paranoia in his country, because that contributes to maintaining his power position.   Trump works a bit differently, but the two share a host of similar characteristics.  

If you had 3 beautiful per-teen daughters, who would you prefer be the babysitter, Kim or Trump?

[saminoz]

Smack the little pr1ck down.  One surgical tactical nuclear missile on one of their facilities should do the trick.

[boomerangutang]

21 minutes ago, saminoz said:

Smack the little pr1ck down.  One surgical tactical nuclear missile on one of their facilities should do the trick.

That's the mistake the US has done repeatedly.   They think one surgical strike will finalize the deal.  It doesn't often work that way, except maybe in Grenada or Kuwait, or Serbia.  More often, Uncle Sam gets his combat boots stuck in mud that he can't get out of for decades.   A few things that the US military has never learned:

 

>>>  superior military might, and/or superior weapons don't = victory.

>>>  right sentiments don't = victory

>>>  a determined populace, even if poor and armed cheaply, can be a formidable and long-lived fighting force.

>>>   the most expensive military force in the history of the world, doesn't necessarily have better leaders/strategy than a rag-tag group of fighters who can barely scrape together one scrappy meal per day.

 

All Americans grow up seeing movies and TV where the good guys always shoot straight, always win, and never die. Those same movies show the bad guys get beaten, either quickly or slowly, and they can't shoot straight. Essentially every movie with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Ken Norton, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Stallone, etc has a similar plot line.

 

Then you look at realities in VN, Afghanistan, Iraq, ....and you see reality is lot grittier than movie making with male stars who have never even broken a fingernail in a fight.

[baboon]

35 minutes ago, saminoz said:

Smack the little pr1ck down.  One surgical tactical nuclear missile on one of their facilities should do the trick.

Just like that, as the Iraqi success story shows.

[hawker9000]

10 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

What makes the twerp think that anyone would want to invade North Korea ? Definitely delusions of grandeur deserving a good bottom smacking !

... or some cyanide on his fruit loops.

[nausea]

Five minutes to midnight on this one.

[metisdead]

A post has been removed:

 

8) You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages, vulgarities, obscenities or profanities.
 

[quadperfect]

9 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

That's the mistake the US has done repeatedly.   They think one surgical strike will finalize the deal.  It doesn't often work that way, except maybe in Grenada or Kuwait, or Serbia.  More often, Uncle Sam gets his combat boots stuck in mud that he can't get out of for decades.   A few things that the US military has never learned:

 

>>>  superior military might, and/or superior weapons don't = victory.

>>>  right sentiments don't = victory

>>>  a determined populace, even if poor and armed cheaply, can be a formidable and long-lived fighting force.

>>>   the most expensive military force in the history of the world, doesn't necessarily have better leaders/strategy than a rag-tag group of fighters who can barely scrape together one scrappy meal per day.

 

All Americans grow up seeing movies and TV where the good guys always shoot straight, always win, and never die. Those same movies show the bad guys get beaten, either quickly or slowly, and they can't shoot straight. Essentially every movie with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Ken Norton, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Stallone, etc has a similar plot line.

 

Then you look at realities in VN, Afghanistan, Iraq, ....and you see reality is lot grittier than movie making with male stars who have never even broken a fingernail in a fight.

Ok i will bite.

Movies all show boots on the ground warfair. And americans are not all idiots.we understand hollywood vs reality.

Same with the real wars ,its been too many boots on the ground.

What i am talking about would be use everything america has in its arsonal except nukes and gas. Not 1 boot hits the ground.

Americans dont want another war like vietnam,afganistan . There tired of always having to be the good guys and protect civilian life at the expense of american life.

In japan we defeated the evil empire with big bombs and mostly civilian life was lost. If you try to defeat a evil empire like n korea  civilians will die. Just like in japan. But so be it .n koreans before south koreans and americans.

And why does n korea need to be denied nukes. Well if i need to explain this to anyone we have nothing to talk about.

 

[stevenl]

9 minutes ago, quadperfect said:

Ok i will bite.

Movies all show boots on the ground warfair. And americans are not all idiots.we understand hollywood vs reality.

Same with the real wars ,its been too many boots on the ground.

What i am talking about would be use everything america has in its arsonal except nukes and gas. Not 1 boot hits the ground.

Americans dont want another war like vietnam,afganistan . There tired of always having to be the good guys and protect civilian life at the expense of american life.

In japan we defeated the evil empire with big bombs and mostly civilian life was lost. If you try to defeat a evil empire like n korea  civilians will die. Just like in japan. But so be it .n koreans before south koreans and americans.

And why does n korea need to be denied nukes. Well if i need to explain this to anyone we have nothing to talk about.

 

Solution seems easy: stay out of it.

[tonray]

10 hours ago, saminoz said:

Smack the little pr1ck down.  One surgical tactical nuclear missile on one of their facilities should do the trick.

I understand the Pentagon has that planned but only waiting on you to relocate to a suburb of Seoul first, that way they can get firsthand reports of how effective it was.

[sweatalot]

11 hours ago, Naam said:

why isn't he allowed to play with a fistful of nukes when others play with thousands? any particular reason?

may be those others have shown responsibility and are moire trustworthy

 

and btw. do you think because some have them (which is not easily reversible) now everybody should have nukes ?

Edited July 30, 2017 by sweatalot

[baboon]

42 minutes ago, quadperfect said:

Ok i will bite.

Movies all show boots on the ground warfair. And americans are not all idiots.we understand hollywood vs reality.

Same with the real wars ,its been too many boots on the ground.

What i am talking about would be use everything america has in its arsonal except nukes and gas. Not 1 boot hits the ground.

Americans dont want another war like vietnam,afganistan . There tired of always having to be the good guys and protect civilian life at the expense of american life.

In japan we defeated the evil empire with big bombs and mostly civilian life was lost. If you try to defeat a evil empire like n korea  civilians will die. Just like in japan. But so be it .n koreans before south koreans and americans.

And why does n korea need to be denied nukes. Well if i need to explain this to anyone we have nothing to talk about.

 

You could start out by explaining how you are calling a small isolationist state approximately the size of England an "evil empire". Rather ironic, given they have never in their history attacked / colonised a foreign country...

[baboon]

3 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

may be those others have shown responsibility and are moire trustworthy

 

and btw. do you think because some have them (which is not easy reversible) now everybody should have nukes ?

Now I am willing to stand corrected on this, but I believe that the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty was based on smaller countries being protected by and never threatened with, nuclear weapons. Also the existing nuclear states were supposed to get rid of all their nuclear weapons by the year 2000, which clearly has not happened. Therefore the answer to your question would be 'Yes', and the blame not placed at the DPRK's door...

[Stargeezr]

So you supporters of NK and its Nuke program, will Sh*t your pants when the first nuke tipped missiles does launch from Mr Crazy's country.  What snide comment will you all say then.    Oops,  or  Duh  what was he thinking?

Geezer

 

[baboon]

22 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

So you supporters of NK and its Nuke program, will Sh*t your pants when the first nuke tipped missles does launch from Mr Crazys country. What snide comment will you all say then.    Oops,  or  Duh  what was he thinking?

Geezer

 

'I knew they should have been left alone...'