Tag: missile test

This statement from North Korea’s ambassador is said in way in which the Kim regime wants to blame the US for them conducting an ICBM test:

North Korea has warned it is ready to send “more gift packages” to the US if it continues to put pressure on the regime.

Han Tae Song, ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the UN in Geneva, was addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament two days after his country detonated its sixth and largest nuclear test.

“I am proud of saying that just two days ago on the 3rd of September, DPRK succcessfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test for intercontinental ballistic rocket under its plan for building a strategic nuclear force,” Mr Han said.

He told the Geneva forum: “The recent self-defence measures by my country, DPRK, are a gift package addressed to none other than the US.

“The US will receive more gift packages from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK,” he added.

It came after South Korean media citing an unidentified intelligence source said North Korea had been observed moving what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards its west coast.  [The Independent]

You can read more at the link.

The next logical thing for the Kim regime to test would be an ICBM over Japan to complete this current provocation period:

North Korea may fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on a standard trajectory toward the North Pacific around its key anniversary following its sixth nuclear test, South Korea’s spy agency said Monday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers in a closed session that Pyongyang may lob the missile around the anniversary of the regime’s foundation slated for Saturday or the establishment of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on Oct. 10.

North Korea fired ballistic missiles, including two ICBMs fired in July, at a lofted angle to prevent them from crossing over other countries including Japan. But Pyongyang lobbed a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan last week.

“There is a possibility that the North would fire an ICBM on a standard trajectory,” the NIS was quoted as saying by lawmakers.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes the launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile in Pyongyang on Aug. 29, 2017, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Aug. 30. The missile flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Like I said before the North Koreans are using the ongoing UFG military exercise as cover for their missile test program:

In the wake of North Korea’s latest missile launch, an official said the country was justified to exercise its right to “self defense,” the Reuters news agency reports.

On Tuesday, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, accused the U.S. of driving the Korean peninsula toward an “extreme level of explosion,” claiming the United States has “openly declared its hostile intentions” toward the country.

Han said in response to the U.S. and South Korea holding “aggressive” joint military exercises in the region, “despite repeated warnings,” his country has “every reason to respond with tough counter-measures.”  [CBS News]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Kim regime wants normalize firing missiles over Japan and use the joint US-ROK military exercises as excuses to do so:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signaled more missile launches into the Pacific Ocean after a successful test of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew over Japan, Tuesday, according to Pyongyang’s state media, Wednesday.

The Hwasong-12 flew about 2,700 kilometers over Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean. This was the first time that North Korea has fired a ballistic missile over Japan.

“The missile firing, which closely resembled actual warfare, is the first step of our military operations in the Pacific and a significant prelude to check the U.S. territory of Guam,” the North’s Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying.

“We need to carry out more ballistic missile tests toward the Pacific, so that we can develop strategic forces more practically.”

His comments showed the North could test-fire missiles toward not only areas around the Korean Peninsula but also those near Japan, Guam and other Pacific regions.

The KCNA said the country chose Aug. 29 for the missile launch to intimidate Japan on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910.

“We carried out a bold operation, which flabbergasted the brutal Japanese islanders, on bloody Aug. 29, the day when the humiliating treaty of annexation was announced 107 year ago,” the KCNA said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it is clear the Kim regime feels there will be no repercussions from firing missiles over Japan and thus why this may become the new normal.  I guess we will see if the Kim regime is right about this assumption.

Japan's foreign minister says what others may be thinking: easier for NK to get away with a missile fired over Japan than towards Guam. pic.twitter.com/iAPP3BPWer

— Alastair Gale (@AlastairGale) August 29, 2017

For North Korea to fully test its intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) it was going to have to fire over Japan and the ongoing UFG exercise gave them the cover to do so:

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled around 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles) and reached a maximum height of 550 kilometers (341 miles) as it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The launch appeared to be the first of a North Korean missile to cross over Japan, though some rockets it said were used to put satellites into space have done so. It also appeared to be the North’s longest-ever missile test, but South Korean officials couldn’t immediately confirm.  [Associated Press]

The North Koreans have now proven that their IRBM works on a nominal trajectory which also proves they have the capability to strike Guam.  However, what I haven’t heard yet in any news articles is whether the reentry vehicle successfully reentered the atmosphere?  We will probably hear more about this in the coming days.

Here is what the Japanese government had to say after the launch:

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the government had a grasp of the situation immediately after the launch. He called it “an unprecedented, grave and serious threat” that damages the peace and security of the region, adding that Tokyo had lodged a firm protest with Pyongyang.

However, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters that the North may have “held back” in its latest launch by not targeting the area around the U.S. territory of Guam. In an earlier threat, the North said it had formulated a plan to send missiles into the waters near the island, home to key U.S. military bases.

Kono also told reporters the government had requested that a United Nations Security Council meeting be convened over the launch. That meeting was expected later Tuesday.  [Japan Times]

Where is Hans Blix when you need him?:

Here was the ROK reaction to the missile launch:

In Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered his country’s military Tuesday to demonstrate its “overwhelming” capabilities, should the North decide to attack, the presidential Blue House was quoted as saying by the South’s Yonhap news agency.

The show of force involved the dropping of eight Mark 84, or MK84, multipurpose bombs by four F-15K fighter jets at a shooting range near the inter-Korean border in Taebaek, Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s chief press secretary, said.

Seoul also made public rare footage of its testing of new ballistic missiles. The state-run Agency for Defense Development’s 86-second video clip showed the test-firing of a 500-km-range ballistic missile with “improved warhead power” and that of another one with a range of 800 km. The footage showed the missile accurately hitting mock targets on the ground and in the water. The tests were conducted last week and were the last ones before the deployment of the missiles, it added.  [Japan Times]

Quite possibly the most remarkable development from this launch is the measured response that President Trump has taken:

U.S. President Donald Trump slammed North Korea Tuesday after the communist regime fired another missile in defiance of international warnings, saying “all options are on the table.”

Earlier Tuesday, North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japanese territory.

“The world has received North Korea’s latest message loud and clear: this regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior,” Trump said in a statement.

“Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table,” he added.  [Yonhap]

Considering how measured President Trump has been in his public comments; it leads me to believe there must be something going on diplomatically behind the scenes.  My guess is that sometime after the UFG exercise we will find out what the diplomatic approach is.

The below article makes me wonder why PACOM issued a statement about the missile launches being failures before letting a full analysis be completed?:

North Korea fired three short-range missiles on Saturday — all successful — despite earlier reports suggesting failure, according to the U.S. military.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles fired from the North’s eastern coast flew about 155 miles. It said South Korea and U.S. militaries were analyzing the launch and didn’t immediately provide more details.

According to earlier reports, U.S. Pacific Command spokesman and Cmdr. David Benham suggested two North Korean missiles “failed in flight” while the third one had “blown up almost immediately.”

The U.S. Pacific Command has since revised its evaluation of the missile launch, now reporting no missile failures — in line with the South Korean military assessment.  [Fox News]

You can read more at the link, but this is what PACOM originally put out:

The U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) also said, “Initial assessment indicates three short-range ballistic missile launches.”

“The first and third missiles at 11:49 a.m. (Hawaii time) and 12:19 p.m. failed in flight,” the PACOM’s spokesman Cdr. David Benham said in an emailed statement. “The second missile launch at 12:07 p.m. appears to have blown up almost immediately.”  [Yonhap]

Fortunately it seems like no one is over reacting to this launch.  North Korea conducts test launches during almost every Key Resolve and Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercise.  If anything this test launch is far less provocative than what they have launched in the past considering it is being reported they are either long range rockets or short range missiles:

The office said that the projectiles are believed to be artillery rockets from a multiple-rocket launcher, while the U.S. military reaffirmed its assessment characterizing those as short-range ballistic missiles.

“As of now, the unidentified projectiles fired by the North today are presumed to be improved 300-mm artillery rockets from a multiple-rocket launcher,” Yoon Young-chan, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement issued after the NSC session.

However, the U.S. Pacific Command said the projectiles were apparently ballistic missiles.  [Korea Times]

Whatever they were rockets or missiles it really doesn’t matter because the strategic messaging the Kim regime is sending is that they can attack a South Korean island with missiles or rockets and follow it up with an amphibious invasion:

In a simulated attack on the South Korean border islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, North Korean planes hit targets as its multiple-missile launchers and self-propelled gun howitzers fired in salvo and shells hit unidentified North Korean islands.

Some of the North Korean special forces also parachuted into the islands and others landed by surprise using rubber boats. The simulated South Korean targets were later enveloped in flames, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but this is all situation normal on the Korean peninsula.

This photo, carried by North Korea’s propaganda outlet Uriminjokkiri on July 31, 2017, shows a female band performing in Pyongyang the same day to celebrate its July 28 launch of a second intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)

It is pretty clear that the Kim regime is signaling to the US that they can launch an ICBM at any time and any place of their choosing with the midnight launch of their latest ICBM:

North Korea’s state-run television on Saturday disclosed edited footage of its test-fire of an intercontinental range ballistic missile conducted the previous night.

According to the video footage that runs 2 1/2 minutes, the Hwasong-14 missile was moved on a transport erector launcher, known as a TEL, before being fired from a ground-based launch pad.

The method of launch was similar to one disclosed in separate TV footage released on July 5 following North Korea’s first intercontinental range ballistic missile launch.

Earlier, Pyongyang’s official KCNA claimed that the North successfully launched another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Friday night following its first test in early July, noting that the missile flew 998 kilometers for about 47 minutes into the East Sea after reaching a maximum altitude of 3,724.9 km.

In the footage unveiled by Korean Central Television, a TEL with eight wheels on each side drove slowly to the launch pad in Mupyong-ri in the country’s northern province of Jagang, carrying the Hwasong-14 missile aboard.

The missile was then placed upon the ground-based launcher and erected to an upright position.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link and below is a Youtube video showing the launch of Hwasong 14: