NK Military – Page 8

September 3, 2006

Name That Plane

We’ve already seen some of North Korea’s newer warplanes. These aren’t exactly new, but there are dozens of them sitting on a runway five miles northeast of Sinuiju.

Google Earth/NK Military

September 2, 2006

Another Missile Test?

Yonhap reports: South Korean and the U.S. intelligence authorities have detected suspicious vehicle movements in and out of North Korea’s major missile test site, a government source here said Sunday. [….] “Military intelligence officials have spotted movements by several large vehicles in the North’s Gitdaeryeong area,” the source spoke on condition of anonymity. “They don’t rule out the possibility that it is part of preparations for additional missile tests.” Officials at South Korea’s foreign and defense ministries have said that...

NK Military/WMD

September 2, 2006

Name That Boat

Spotted near Sinp’o. Hint: all three boats are about 125 feet long. Can you identify the class?

Google Earth/NK Military

August 31, 2006

TKL Interview with Chuck Downs on the Alliance, Diplomacy, Nukes, and Why Kim Jong Il Tested Those Missiles

[Update 2: Thanks to the reader who pointed out that I had accidentally disabled the comments! That’s fixed now; please submit any questions or comments you have.] [Update: This post will “stick” at the top of the page for a couple of days; scroll down for new entries.] Chuck Downs is an author, independent consultant, and former Pentagon official who frequently appears on television news programs to discuss North Korea policy. He has held a number of important positions in...

An Alliance?/China & Korea/Geopolitics/Japan & Korea/Kim Jong Il/Korean Politics/Kremlinology/NK Military/Six-Party Talks/U.S. & Korea/Washington Views/WMD

August 29, 2006

Be the First One on Your Block to Instigate a Missile Crisis (No, really.)

Update: Scroll down and tell me I didn’t find what I think I found. Yes, I had spent many hours “flying” over North Korea with Google Earth, but it took this article to tip me off to an entire online community of amateur photo intel analysts. The L.A. Times reports: An intrepid German poster named “wonders” has flagged more than 332 sites of interest. Most are military — the vast air defenses ringing Pyongyang, the artillery along the demilitarized zone,...

Famine & Food Aid/Korean Society/NK Military/North Korea/Technology

August 17, 2006

BREAKING NEWS: NK May Be Preparing Nuke Test

Thanks to a reader for forwarding; via ABC News: There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News. “It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility,” said a senior State Department official. A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed “suspicious vehicle movement” at a suspected North Korean test site. The activity...

NK Military/Proliferation/WMD

August 10, 2006

Charles Robert Jenkins Wasn’t Crazy After All …

… if he stumbled on a leaflet that had a picture like this one. Wow. No need to envy the actual lifestyles of North Korean soldiers, however.

Miscellaneous/NK Military

July 13, 2006

A TKL Re-Run: Winning the Information War

Richardson’s writings on the maintenance of the Cult of Kim, and Matt‘s latest comment on my post on recent acts of resistance inside North Korea turn my thoughts back to the question of what the outside world could do to influence events inside North Korea. The answer: at least something, although the impact is hard to guess before we make a concerted effort. I previously posted my thoughts on the subject at NKZone, in October 2004, and republish them here...

Democracy/NK Economics/NK Military

July 2, 2006

Decisions, Decisions: Impose an Arms Embargo on North Korea

“At least since 2000 when we began providing assistance to the North, no one there has been starving to death. ““ UniFiction Minister Lee Jong-Seok, May 2, 2006 This week, the World Food Program is reporting what ought to surprise no one — that after the North Korean government forced it to cut back its feeding operations from one that fed 6.5 million people to one that feeds just 1.2 million — millions are going hungry as a result. We’ve...

Famine & Food Aid/Human Rights/NK Military

June 29, 2006

Remembering the Yonpyoeng Six

This story is too moving and too maddening to do justice in a post, so just read for yourself. You will recall the words and actions of one of the widows, whose own government snubbed the memory of her husband and his five comrades. She announced her intention to leave Korea and go the United States, whose ambassador at least sent her a letter of condolence. .

Appeasement/NK Military/ROK Military

June 26, 2006

Kim Jong Il Becomes a Liability for China

Wasn’t it just yesterday when the United States had finally begun to reduce the U.S. military footprint on Okinawa, after years of local residents’ demands? That was then. Tokyo and Washington will deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday amid concerns North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile. The U.S. and Japan reached an accord on the interceptors this month after reports of the possible test-firing became public, and...

Activism/China/Geopolitics/Japan/NK Military/Taiwan/U.S. Military/WMD

June 25, 2006

Simple, Neat, and Wrong: Lugar and Hagel Go Wobbly on North Korea

[With a tip of my hat to H.L. Mencken.] Now that Democrats are suggesting that we bomb Kim Jong Il’s ballistic showpiece on the launching pad, we only need one more really dumb idea to make the role reversal complete. “It would be advisable to bring about a much greater intensification of diplomacy, and this may involve direct talks between the United States and North Korea,” said [Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard] Lugar, R-Ind. . . . “We need...

Appeasement/Diplomacy/NK Military/Uncategorized/WMD

June 23, 2006

Kim Jong Il Heads Toward the Russian Border

That also happens to be where the Taepodong II launch pad is. The weather, which could explain why they haven’t launched yet, is also improving.

Kim Jong Il/NK Military/WMD

June 23, 2006

Strange Doves (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About This Missile and Worry About Proliferation Instead)

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” — Napoleon Bonaparte The day after Newt Gingrich called for destroying North Korea’s Taepodong II ICBM on the ground, former Clinton-era SecDef William Perry has made a similar call in a Washington Post op-ed. He is joined by Ashton Carter, who turns out to have been Perry’s assistant before he was Demi Moore’s. The latest to support this proposal is … Walter Mondale: “I think it would end the nuclear...

Diplomacy/Geopolitics/NK Economics/NK Military/U.S. Military/WMD

June 21, 2006

The Forked Tongue of Lee Jong-Seok, Part 3

“At least since 2000 when we began providing assistance to the North, no one there has been starving to death. ““ UniFiction Minister Lee Jong-Seok, May 2, 2006 That was then. South Korea’s UniFiction Minister is now saying no more rice if the little man fires the big rocket. I strongly support feeding the people of North Korea — especially those to whom the government has denied food aid. They are also victims; they bear no responsibility for the actions...

Appeasement/Famine & Food Aid/Human Rights/NK Economics/NK Military

June 21, 2006

Newt: Destroy NK Missile on the Ground

[Update: John Bolton has the quote of the week: “You don’t normally engage in conversations by threatening to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles ….”] National Review has two pieces today on North Korea’s satellite ransom theater possible missile test. The editors argue, as I did here, that the United States should shoot down the missile if the North Koreans launch it. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, no doubt motivated by a desire to make me look like a moderate, goes further:...

NK Military/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Military/WMD

June 19, 2006

Please, Please, Please Test It!

Plenty of people have asked me if Kim Jong Il will test a long-range Taepodong II missile, and really, I have no more idea that anyone else this side of the Taedong. On one hand, the North Koreans are desperate for some attention. They’re running out of money and friends, and they’ve added liquid fuel to a rocket, that’s corrosive to the fuel and oxidizer tanks and is thus more than an empty gesture. On the other hand, North Korea...