North Korea puts rocket units on alert to 'attack US'

North Korea has elevated its artillery and strategic missile forces to "combat-ready posture" and said it is prepared to strike targets in South Korea, Japan, Guam, Hawaii and the continental US. North Korea: Pentagon prepared to respond to 'any contingency' - The announcement, carried by the KCNA state media, was in the name of the Supreme Command, which has attracted attention in South Korea because it is an emergency division of the government that is only operational during time of war. In the announcement, North Korea said it would "show off our army and people's stern reaction to safeguard our sovereignty and the highest dignity through military actions." "The US nuclear war racket has gone beyond the danger line and entered the phase of an actual war, defying the repeated warnings from the army and people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the statement said. Despite the threats, North Korea does not have the capability to carry out its latest threat, according to experts. James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor from IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, said: “From what we know of its existing inventory, North Korea has short and medium range missiles that could complicate a situation on the Korean Peninsula (and perhaps reach Japan), but we have not seen any evidence that it has long-range missiles that could strike the continental US, Guam or Hawaii.”

(Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units have been ordered to be combat ready, targeting U.S. military bases on Guam, Hawaii and mainland America after U.S. bombers flew sorties threatening the North.

The order, issued in a statement from the North's military "supreme command", marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang since the start of joint military drills by U.S. and South Korean forces early this month.

South Korea's defense ministry said it saw no sign of imminent military action by North Korea.

"From this moment, the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army will be putting into combat duty posture No. 1 all field artillery units, including long-range artillery units and strategic rocket units, that will target all enemy objects in U.S. invasionary bases on its mainland, Hawaii and Guam," the North's KCNA news agency said.

The North previously threatened nuclear attack on the United States and South Korea, although it is not believed to have the capability to hit the continental United States with an atomic weapon. But the U.S. military's bases in the Pacific area are in range of its medium-range missiles.

(Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it hopes all sides on the Korean peninsula can exercise restraint, after North Korea ordered its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units to be combat ready to target U.S. military bases on Guam, Hawaii and mainland America. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comments to reporters at a daily briefing.

March 26, 2013 – NORTH KOREA - North Korea stepped up its aggressive rhetoric on Tuesday, ordering its rocket and long-range artillery units to be combat ready and on the “highest alert” and issuing new threats against U.S. bases on Hawaii, Guam and mainland America. Pyongyang warned that U.S. facilities would be “reduced to ashes and flames the moment the first attack is unleashed,” according to a military order issued by the pariah state’s military “supreme command.” It comes in response to joint military drills by U.S. and South Korean forces which began in the area early this month and which have seen U.S. bombers flying sorties threatening the North. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects an army landing exercise on Monday. South Korea’s defense ministry said it saw no sign of imminent military action by North Korea Tuesday, according to Reuters. The announcement marked a further increase in military rhetoric from Pyongyang, and followed a threat last week that it would attack U.S. bases in the Pacific if its “enemies … make even the slightest movement.” It came as South Korea marked the third anniversary of the sinking of one its navy vessels, blamed on North Korea, which left 46 sailors dead. Pyongyang previously threatened nuclear attack on the United States and South Korea, although it is not believed to have the capability to hit the continental United States with an atomic weapon. However, Reuters reported that U.S. military bases in the Pacific area are in range of its medium-range missiles. The isolated nation has threatened to attack American military bases in Japan and Guam in retaliation for the U.S. conducting military exercises with South Korea. On Wednesday, major South Korean banks and media companies were hacked. The military statement, also posted on the KCNA website, said: “From this moment the… supreme command will put on the highest alert all the field artillery units including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units which are assigned to strike bases of the U.S. imperialist aggressor troops in the U.S. mainland and on Hawaii and Guam and other operational zone in the Pacific as well as all the enemy targets in south Korea and its vicinity.” Voice of America’s Northeast Asia bureau chief, Steve Herman, quoted South Korean radio station MND saying Tuesday’s announcement is the first time North Korea has referred to “Il-ho” – its highest level combat readiness posture. –NBC News

North Korea is taking aim at military bases on Hawaii and on the mainland, warning that its rocket forces are ready for combat.

Some say the threat is all talk, while others warn this is serious and our state is within reach of a strike.

North Korea is leveling new threats against South Korea and the U.S. with Hawaii in the mix once again.

"North Koreans have the rhetoric and threatens Hawaii, it's sort of their favorite target for some reason, because it's the closest point to North Korea," said Carl Baker, Pacific Forum Director of Programs.

This time, the rogue nation is putting the states military bases, along with those in Guam and the mainland on alert for an attack.

"We need to take these threats very seriously this is a threat directed specific to us in Hawaii among other places and this kind of intimidation and threats is unacceptable," U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said.

But Hawaii experts are confident people here shouldn't panic.

"We shouldn't expect to see rockets raining from the sky down onto Honolulu," East West Center Senior Fellow Dr. Denny Roy said. "Why would they do it? If North Korea commits an act that creates an all out war, it's the end of their regime, they know this, they are not suicidal."

Both Dr. Roy and Baker study security issues in Asia and believe North Korea is all talk.

"In Hawaii here I honestly don't think we have a lot to be concerned with yet at this point because they haven't demonstrated the capability to launch a missle that would be able to reach Hawaii," Baker said.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard says not so fast.

"Complacency is unacceptable for us here in Hawaii, we recognize this more than others because we lived through this before. When you look back at World War 2. People said the same thing about Japan, that theyare saying about North Korea now, that they would never attack us and yet Pearl Harbor happened," U.S. Rep Gabbard said.

U.S. Pacific Command is prepared in the event North Korea does strike, saying, "The Department of Defense takes all threats to national security seriously... and is confident in its collective ability, both near and abroad, to protect Hawaii from any such attack."

https://2img.net/i/fa/wysiwyg/style.png

"North Korea had satellite tests that they were launching supposed satellite in the air," Gustafson said.

State Civil Defense is constantly monitoring the current situation. If the worst happens, the state would receive an alert from Pacific Command. Sirens would go off across Hawaii.

Residents would be advised to follow a shelter-in-place plan, which is different than going to a shelter in case of a storm.

If you're at home, the office, or at school:

Go to a small room with no or few windows.
Close the windows.
Use duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal cracks around the doors and vents.
Turn off all fans and air conditioning systems.
If you're driving:
Go inside your home, office or public building if you are close by.
If not, pull over and turn off the engine.
Close and seal windows/vents.
Wherever you are, make sure you have a disaster supplies kit and radio with you.

"Sometimes there isn't any protection unless they give us a lot of warning, you know," said John Valdivia, Kaneohe resident.

But the state says if North Korea launches some kind of missile, it would take only half an hour to reach Hawaii.

I've heard that North Korea is in league with Japan. Is there some truth to this? I suspect that the Powers That Be (Human and Otherwise) will do whatever maximizes their bottom-line -- with absolutely no empathy. I'm getting more and more jaded and cynical.

No Oxy, not from what I've read. Although I did purchase some Thyrosave for a just-in-case situation. However, what does one do about the critters outside. Radio active eggs come to mind and that would be a real tragedy.

30 minutes with sirens going off on the islands isn't much time to do anything. I wouldn't even have time to go pick up Briana and bring her back home. We really don't expect problems but one does need to be prepared.

March 28, 2013 – NORTH KOREA – Reclusive North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at “any moment,” it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack. The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to “hostile” military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea. The North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. military that supervises the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Red Cross line that has been used by the governments of both sides. “Under the situation where a war may break out at any moment, there is no need to keep north-south military communications which were laid between the militaries of both sides,” the North’s KCNA news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying. “There do not exist any dialogue channel and communications means between the DPRK and the U.S. and between the north and the south.” The Pentagon condemned the latest escalation in North Korean rhetoric, with spokesman George Little calling Pyongyang’s declaration “yet another provocative and unconstructive step.” The U.S. military announced on March 15 it was bolstering missile defenses in response to threats from the North, including a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. Despite the shrill rhetoric, few believe North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), will risk starting a full-out war. North and South Korea are still technically at war anyway after their 1950-53 civil conflict ended with an armistice, not a treaty, which the North says it has since torn to pieces. The “dialogue channel” is used on a daily basis to process South Koreans who work in the Kaesong industrial project where 123 South Korean firms employ more than 50,000 North Koreans to make household goods. About 120 South Koreans are stationed at Kaesong at any one time on average. It is the last remaining joint project in operation between the two Koreas after South Korea cut off most aid and trade in response to Pyongyang’s shooting of a South Korean tourist and the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel blamed on the North. Kaesong is one of North Korea’s few hard currency earners, producing $2 billion a year in trade with the South, and Pyongyang is unlikely to close it except as a last resort. –Yahoo News

The world economy and markets are at critical levels -- which might've been nefariously manipulated by bankster-bailout money (and who knows what?) -- and now an "Event" might crash the world economy and markets to lower-levels than the last "Economic 9/11". Just my speculation. I fear that we might be at the mercy of those love-less beings at the top of the pyramid -- in all areas of our lives -- including economically. Things can easily be manipulated from the shadows -- to maximize the bottom-line for those in the know -- who hob-nob with the gods. Profuse Excuses and Myths of Innocence Will No Doubt be in Abundance...

ANALYSIS: North Korean Photo Reveals ‘U.S. Mainland Strike Plan’

http://www.nknews.org/2013/03/breaking-north-korean-photo-reveals-u-s-mainland-strike-plan/

SEOUL – Kim Jong Un signed off on a plan to ready his forces to target the U.S. mainland and American bases in East Asia following yesterday’s U.S.-led B-2 stealth bomber runs, the KCNA reported after the North Korean military conveyed an “emergency meeting” in the early hours of this morning.

In a photo published in the Korea Worker’s Party (KWP) paper the Rodong, plans for a strike on the U.S. mainland are clearly –and therefore probably deliberately– visible. The newspaper is widely distributed in cities, and often displayed in public places for easy viewing.

“He finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets, ordering them to be on standby to fire so that they may strike any time the U.S. mainland, its military bases in the operational theaters in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in south Korea,” a KCNA report in English said.

In the below photos, Kim Jong Un can be seen in what appears to be a military command room, signing the ready order.


https://i.servimg.com/u/f75/17/80/30/86/kim-jo10.jpg

In the version enlarged by NK NEWS (below), the text reads “U.S. Mainland Strike Plan” [미본토타격계획], and a larger map towards the back of the command centre appears to show the Western coast of the United States.



A composite overlay appears to show San Diego, Washington D.C., Hawaii and possibly Austin as being primary targets in a North Korean attack plan:

The U.S. Navy is moving at least one warship closer to the North Korean coastline and more may be on the way, CNN has learned. The SBX-1 radar, a sea-based platform with a radar on top, is also on the move. http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/01/u-s-navy-warship-moving-closer-to-north-korea/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

March 31st, 2013
03:21 PM ET
House Homeland Security chair: North Korea not bluffing
By: CNN's Gregory Wallace

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King said Sunday that the recent provocative, warmongering rhetoric out of North Korea is no "empty threat."

He qualified that by explaining he does not fear the North launching a successful attack on the U.S. mainland, but is concerned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "is trying to establish himself ... trying to be the tough guy," and may "box himself in" and need to display some level of military might.

"My concern would be that he may feel to save face he has to launch some sort of attack on South Korea, or some base in the Pacific," King, R-New York, said on ABC's "This Week." http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/31/house-homeland-security-chair-north-korea-not-bluffing/

This whole thing is like parents trying to figure out what to do with their bratty kid who is having a temper tantrum.

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials quietly are expressing concern that North Korea could use its “space launch vehicle” to explode a high-altitude nuclear device over the United States, creating an electromagnetic pulse that would destroy major portions of the U.S. electrical grid system as well as the nation’s critical infrastructures. The concern is so great that U.S. officials who watch North Korea closely are continually monitoring the status of the North Korean “space launch vehicle,” whose status could suggest a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States. They are aware of the three-stage missile North Korea launched last December that also orbited a “package,” which experts say could be a test to orbit a nuclear weapon that then would be deorbited on command anywhere over the U.S. and exploded at a high altitude, creating an EMP effect.

This concern is in addition to North Korea’s latest threat to strike targets in Hawaii and the continental U.S., as well as possible attacks against U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan.

The 28-year-old North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has signed an order for North Korea’s strategic rocket forces to be on standby to fire at U.S. targets.

The signing was against a photo backdrop following an emergency meeting of his senior military leaders showing large maps that were labeled “U.S. mainland strike plan, specifically at Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.”

One WND reader who traced the targeting to Texas said that it really was aimed at the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

THIS is how an EMP event could bring the world’s remaining superpower to its knees. Read it in “A Nation Forsaken”.

The latest North Korean threats occurred after the U.S. sent two B-2 stealth bombers to strike targets with inert bombs during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which Kim considered a major provocation.

The officials said the Chinese military activities appear to be based on concerns about a new outbreak of conflict between North Korea and South Korea and the United States.

China’s military maintains a long-standing defense treaty with the North that obligates China to defend North Korea in the event it is attacked. The last time Chinese forces backed Pyongyang was during the Korean War when tens of thousands of Chinese “volunteers” drove south into the peninsula.

Chinese military spokesmen frequently refer to their relations with the Korean People’s Army, as the North Korean military is called, as ties “as close as lips and teeth.”

Other reports from China indicate that the heightened tensions have led to a disruption of trade between China and North Korea along the border between the two countries.




Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/u-s-on-alert-for-overhead-nuclear-blast/#vVdbQut4Vbqww160.99

April 1, 2013 2:30 pm - China has placed military forces on heightened alert in the northeastern part of the country as tensions mount on the Korean peninsula following recent threats by Pyongyang to attack, U.S. officials said. Reports from the region reveal the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently increased its military posture in response to the heightened tensions, specifically North Korea’s declaration of a “state of war” and threats to conduct missile attacks against the United States and South Korea. According to the officials, the PLA has stepped up military mobilization in the border region with North Korea since mid-March, including troop movements and warplane activity.

China’s navy also conducted live-firing naval drills by warships in the Yellow Sea that were set to end Monday near the Korean peninsula, in apparent support of North Korea, which was angered by ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that are set to continue throughout April.

North Korea, meanwhile, is mobilizing missile forces, including road-mobile short- and medium-range missiles, according to officials familiar with satellite imagery of missile bases.

The missile activity is believed to be North Korea’s response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises that last week included highly publicized flights by two B-2 strategic nuclear bombers near North Korean territory as part of annual military exercises.

North Korea’s government announced last week that since March 26 its missile and artillery forces have been placed on the highest alert status.

Specifically, Nodong medium-range missiles and their mobile launchers were spotted in satellite imagery, the officials said. read more at link above...

I try to be neutral toward Sherry Shriner -- and I use her show to help create a frame of mind -- which might help me to figure out various galactic puzzles. Anyway, this weeks (04-01) show seems particularly relevant to this thread. Go to the blogtalk section near the top-left of this site. http://www.sherrytalkradio.com/

Well I guess its a "toss-up" on whether the national electrical grid infrastructure goes down from an EMP with that baby faced 28 year old leader in North Korea or whether its a "global affair" due to the "solar kill shot" forecast from Major Ed Dames which time frame has not been determined except for the relative precursor events.
Personally though I've been getting indications that I should get to work doing a "backup recovery disc" for my computer system. Procrastination is rather an endemic affair.
________________________________________
As below so above; As above so below

ANALYST: US Military Expects North Korean Missile Launch
Enough bluster: Apparently Kim Jong-Un intends to walk the walk. A prominent arms analyst has told an Australian think-tank that U.S. troop movements west of the peninsula indicate that a North Korean missile launch is imminent.

From the Lowy Institute for International Policy:
"The United States, Australia and other allies appear to be taking important policy decisions on the basis of the imminent deployment of the KN-08. If this is the case, they should say so directly and provide the basis for asserting the imminent deployment of the KN-08," said Jeffrey Lewis, founding editor of Arms Control Wonk.

The impending launch comes on the heels of intelligence about missile movements on the western side of the peninsula. Pentagon Press Secretary told reporters yesterday that "test flights" of certain missile systems were possible.

The surest sign of intent occurred Wednesday morning when North Korea delayed the passage of and then blocked hundreds of South Korean workers from the shared Kaesong market. If the market remains closed on Thursday, it would be another strong indicator of intent.
This measure from Kim Jong-Un follows significant troop movements on behalf of both the U.S. and China. Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon recently reported that troops have begun staging in two of China's northeast provinces.
Those provinces both align with known nuclear sites inside North Korea.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has moved an advanced radar and two Aegis class destroyers off the west coast. The $900 million SBX radar array has been compared to the Iron Dome in Israel, only much more accurate — and the Aegis-class destroyers are particularly adept at knocking missiles out of the sky.
The kicker, though, is that until recently, analysts thought these particular North Korean missiles were just a prop. Little is known about KN-08 road-mobile missile, other than from what was seen at a parade in April 2012.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/expect-north-korean-missile-launch-soon-2013-4#ixzz2PQObbOzt

I'm sorry for saying the same things over and over -- in different ways -- but I will probably continue doing so -- just to represent a contrarian alternative viewpoint in this forum. Anyway, I continue to be interested in the Archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer -- in the context of an Ancient and Ongoing Star War in Heaven. Are Archangels really Solar System Lords aka Sun Gods??? Once again, I am NOT a Bible-Thumper -- but still -- take a close look at Genesis, the Book of Enoch, and Revelation. This is anything but a fun study. I am highly idealistic -- yet what if the universe is anything but idealistic??? I keep wondering how good or how bad the souls in this solar system really are -- regardless of present physicality?? I like the theory of Human Physicality and Responsible Freedom -- but what if the souls that inhabit human bodies are really bad to the bone?? What if the horrors of history were inflicted for legitimate reasons?? What if the horrors of the future will be inflicted for legitimate reasons?? If one were briefed by the best and brightest on the Dark-Side of the Moon -- what would they think about the madness then?? Again, I am using this website and 'my' threads as a home-base. This site really isn't where I feel most comfortable -- but I continue to think that I need the challenge it presents me with. Current events might have EVERYTHING to do with all of the above. A Regime-Change might simply be the exchange of one Star War Lord for another. Who knows, I might be an Ancient Star Lord with Amnesia. How should this universe define and deal-with sin?? Is Sin the Transgression of the Written Law of God?? Is Sin Insubordination to the Spoken Commandments of God?? What if False-Gods rule this world, solar system, and galaxy?? What if the Best God is too nice and too weak to defeat the Nasty False-Gods?? Does it take one to beat one?? Does Might Make Right?? What if Gabriel rules Sirius and This Solar System from Battlestar Nibiru?? What if Lucifer is the God of This World (Subservient to Gabriel)?? What if Gabriel = Mary?? What if Lucifer = Jesus?? Before you stone me to death -- remember that I'm a big fan of the Red-Letter Teachings of Jesus -- but who really created them?? Anyway, it might be necessary to think through all of this esoteric-theology to properly understand what might be happening with North Korea...

Fuse lit? North Korea ratifies nuclear attack protocol on U.S. – moves missile to East Coast to reach South
April 4, 2012 – NORTH KOREA – North Korea said it had “ratified” a merciless attack against the United States, potentially involving a “diversified nuclear strike. We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK (North Korea) and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by the English language service of the state news agency KCNA. -HP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWDAJHOOcow&feature=player_embedded
Missile movement? North Korea appears to have moved a missile capable of hitting targets in South Korea and Japan to its east coast, as tensions escalate. The movement of the mid-range missile was detected by both South Korean and US intelligence, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing military and government sources. “It appeared that the object was a Musudan mid-range missile,” it quoted one South Korean official as saying. “We are closely monitoring whether the North moved it with a view to actual launch or just as a show of force against the US.” The Musudan missile was first unveiled at a military parade in October 2010 and is believed to have an intended range of around 3000km. However, it is not known to have been tested. Yonhap cited intelligence sources as saying the North might launch the missile on April 15, the birth anniversary of founding leader Kim Il-sung. The South Korean Defense Ministry declined to confirm the report, but stressed that it kept a “24-hour watch” for any potential North Korean missile launches. “We believe there is always an open possibility for a missile launch and related measures have been prepared,” ministry spokesman Wi Yong-Seop told reporters without elaborating. The United States has said it is sending ground-based missile interceptors to Guam in response to North Korean threats to strike the Pacific island and other US targets, which Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel described as a “real and clear danger.” Tensions also continued between the two Koreas over a joint industrial park, with North Korea asking companies in the Kaesong zone for a list of all South Korean personnel who wish to leave the complex in the coming days. Pyongyang told Seoul yesterday it was stopping the daily movement of South Koreans to Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometers inside North Korea and which is the last real surviving point of contact between the two countries. The North said the South Koreans in the complex could leave when they wanted, but hundreds opted to stay to keep their plants running. The potential crisis on the Korean peninsula comes after the North’s move to restart operations at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to produce more weapons. Early this morning, in a move apparently timed to hit evening news bulletins in the US, the rogue state issued a statement saying its military had ratified plans for a nuclear strike on the US. The statement, while provocative, repeats its earlier threats and contains the usual smattering of conditional clauses and bombast. However, it was issued in the name of the Korean People’s Army’s general staff, giving it added weight in the eyes of observers. “We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating US hostile policy toward the DPRK and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” the statement said. Overnight, the Pentagon said it would deploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Guam in the coming weeks. The THAAD system includes a truck-mounted launcher, interceptor missiles, an AN/TPY-2 tracking radar and an integrated fire control system. –The Australian

April 3, 2013 – NORTH KOREA - Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the United States had the right to take preemptive military action against North Korea if there was “solid evidence” that Kim Jon Un planned to attack the U.S. or South Korea. “If we have good reason to believe there’s going to be an attack, I believe we have the right to take preemptive action,” King said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett Outfront. I don’t think we have to wait until Americans are killed or wounded or injured in any way,” he continued. “I’m not saying we should be rushing into war, don’t get me wrong, but if we have solid evidence that North Korea’s going to take action, then I think we have a moral obligation and an absolute right to defend ourselves.” Tensions in the region have deteriorated in recent weeks, with Pyongyang announcing Wednesday that it had barred South Korean workers from a jointly run industrial zone on the border between the two countries. That announcement came just a day after officials declared their intention to restart a shuttered nuclear reactor. North Korea has escalated tensions in recent weeks, declaring a “state of war” against South Korea and threatening to attack the United States. North Korea’s actions are thought to be driven by additional United Nations sanctions that resulted from its recent nuclear test. The United States has responded to Pyongyang’s posturing with a series of military drills in the region, as well as a repositioning of naval ships in waters off the Korean peninsula. –The Hill

The Dangers of War: What is Behind the US-North Korea Conflict?

(excerpt) ANSWER Coalition leader Brian Becker:
<blockquote>“The Pentagon and the South Korean military today —and throughout the past year — have been staging massive war games that simulate the invasion and bombing of North Korea. Few people in the United States know the real situation. The work of the war propaganda machine is designed to make sure that the American people do not join together to demand an end to the dangerous and threatening actions of the Pentagon on the Korean Peninsula.
“The propaganda campaign is in full swing now as the Pentagon climbs the escalation ladder in the most militarized part of the planet. North Korea is depicted as the provocateur and aggressor whenever it asserts that they have the right and capability to defend their country. Even as the Pentagon simulates the nuclear destruction of a country that it had already tried to bomb into the Stone Age, the corporate-owned media characterizes this extremely provocative act as a sign of resolve and a measure of self-defense.”


By Jack A. Smith
April 1st, 2013


What’s happening between the U.S. and North Korea to produce such headlines this week as “Korean Tensions Escalate,” and “North Korea Threatens U.S.”?
The New York Times reported March 30:

<blockquote>“This week, North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jung-un, ordered his underlings to prepare for a missile attack on the United States. He appeared at a command center in front of a wall map with the bold, unlikely title, ‘Plans to Attack the Mainland U.S.’ Earlier in the month, his generals boasted of developing a ‘Korean-style’ nuclear warhead that could be fitted atop a long-range missile.”
</blockquote>The U.S. is well aware North Korea’s statements are not backed up by sufficient military power to implement its rhetorical threats, but appears to be escalating tensions all the same. What’s up? I’ll have to go back a bit to explain the situation.
Since the end of the Korean War 60 years ago, the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has repeatedly put forward virtually the same four proposals to the United States. They are:

1. A peace treaty to end the Korean War.

2. The reunification of Korea, which has been “temporarily” divided into North and South since 1945.

3. An end to the U.S. occupation of South Korea and a discontinuation of annual month-long U.S-South Korean war games.

4. Bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang to end tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The U.S. and its South Korean protectorate have rejected each proposal over the years. As a consequence, the peninsula has remained extremely unstable since the 1950s. It has now reached the point where Washington has used this year’s war games, which began in early March, as a vehicle for staging a mock nuclear attack on North Korea by flying two nuclear-capable B-2 Stealth bombers over the region March 28. Three days later, the White House ordered F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets to South Korea, a further escalation of tensions.

Here is what is behind the four proposals.

1. The U.S. refuses to sign a peace treaty to end the Korean War. It has only agreed to an armistice. An armistice is a temporary cessation of fighting by mutual consent. The armistice signed July 27, 1953, was supposed to transform into a peace treaty when “a final peaceful settlement is achieved.” The lack of a treaty means war could resume at any moment. North Korea does not want a war with the U.S., history’s most powerful military state. It wants a peace treaty.

2. Two Koreas exist as the product of an agreement between the USSR (which borderd Korea and helped to liberate the northern part of country from Japan in World War II) and the U.S., which occupied the southern half. Although socialism prevailed in the north and capitalism in the south, it was not to be a permanent split. The two big powers were to withdraw after a couple of years, allowing the country to reunify. Russia did so; the U.S. didn’t. Then came the devastating three-year war in 1950. Since then, North Korea has made several different proposals to end the separation that has lasted since 1945. The most recent proposal, I believe, is “one country two systems.” This means that while both halves unify, the south remains capitalist and the north remains socialist. It will be difficult but not impossible. Washington does not want this. It seeks the whole peninsula, bringing its military apparatus directly to the border with China, and Russia as well.

3. Washington has kept between 25,000 and over 40,000 troops in South Korea since the end of the war. They remain — along with America’s fleets, nuclear bomber bases and troop installations in close proximity to the peninsula — a reminder of two things. One is that “We can crush the north.” The other is “We own South Korea.” Pyongyang sees it that way — all the more so since President Obama decided to “pivot” to Asia. While the pivot contains an economic and trade aspect, its primary purpose is to increase America’s already substantial military power in the region in order to intensify the threat to China and North Korea.

4. The Korean War was basically a conflict between the DPRK and the U.S. That is, while a number of UN countries fought in the war, the U.S. was in charge, dominated the fighting against North Korea and was responsible for the deaths of millions of Koreans north of the 38^th parallel dividing line. It is entirely logical that Pyongyang seeks talks directly with Washington to resolve differences and reach a peaceful settlement leading toward a treaty. The U.S. has consistently refused.


http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-dangers-of-war-what-is-behind-the-us-north-korea-conflict/5329307

Complete article at link

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As above so below

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WND's Washington senior reporter, Michael Maloof, talked about North Korea and possible EMP threats. By making threats of a nuclear attack, leader Kim Jong Un may be trying to prove himself and gain more support from the North Korean army, Maloof suggested. North Korea has been angered over UN sanctions against them for nuclear testing, he added. Kim Jong Un fired a test missile back in December, which was assessed to be able to reach the West Coast. Such a missile could potentially orbit a nuclear weapon, which might then be "de-orbited upon command anywhere across the United States, and exploded at a high altitude," creating an EMP attack, he cautioned. North Korea says it has approval to use its 'cutting edge' nuclear weapons against America in a 'merciless' attack hours after U.S. warns of 'clear and present danger' The statement came from North Korean army and said it was a warning to the U.S. that it would be 'smashed by... cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means"

Earlier, U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the secretive state's rhetoric was a growing concern
He issued the statement after U.S. stealth bomber were seen patrolling
Chinese soldiers and weaponry massing on border with Korean Peninsula
John Kerry warns that North is 'provocative, dangerous and reckless'
Yongbyon nuclear site set to be restarted after being closed for six months

China has warned troops stationed in its north-east that they should be ready for mobilisation in case conflict breaks out between the Koreas, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Unusual numbers of soldiers and armoured vehicles have been reported in the region, and commanders have apparently been ordered to be on the highest degree of readiness.

The top American commander in South Korea has described the situation as 'volatile' and 'dangerous', saying he fears a 'miscalculation' could lead to full-blown military conflict.

General James Thurman told ABC News that Kim was trying to 'intimidate the South Koreans and intimidate the region', but said the Americans were 'calm' and 'confident' at the possibility of confrontation. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the isolated Asian nation appears to be 'on a collision course with the international community' amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said today in Andorra 'the current crisis has already gone too far' because of escalating tensions raised by North Korea's threats of war almost daily against the United States and South Korea.

He said international negotiations are urgently needed but he is 'convinced that no one intends to attack' North Korea.

South Korea's new president yesterday told her troops to strike the North if it appeared likely to attack.

'If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations,' Park Geun-hye told the defence minister and senior officials.

The South has changed its rules of engagement to allow local units to respond immediately to attacks, rather than waiting for permission from Seoul.
Stung by criticism that its response to the shelling of a South Korean island in 2010 was weak, Seoul has also threatened to target North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and to destroy statues of the ruling Kim dynasty in the event of any new attack, a plan that has outraged Pyongyang.

Park's intervention came on the heels of a meeting of the North's ruling Workers Party Central Committee where Kim rejected the notion that Pyongyang was going to use its nuclear arms development as a bargaining chip.

'The nuclear weapons of Songun Korea are not goods for getting U.S. dollars,' KCNA news agency quoted him as saying.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303227/North-Korea-nuclear-weapons-attack-US-approved-Kim-Jong-Un-Chuck-Hagel-warns-clear-present-danger.html#ixzz2PVuLSZOJ