N. Korea's continued defiance of the UN Security Council

[hardlock]

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US fears North Korea missile launch






WASHINGTON (AFP) - – The US military beefed up defenses in Hawaii on Friday over fears that North Korea could launch a missile toward the Pacific island chain.

The US military also tracked a North Korean ship possibly carrying banned cargo -- the first vessel to be monitored under UN sanctions imposed last week after the Stalinist state carried out an underground nuclear test on May 25.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that there were concerns that North Korea might "launch a missile... in the direction of Hawaii."

He said he had approved the deployment of THAAD missile defense weapons to Hawaii and a radar system nearby "to provide support" in case of a North Korean launch. Ground-based defenses in Alaska were also at the ready, Gates added.

"I would just say I think we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory," he said.

The Theatre High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapons, coupled with the radar system, are designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.

US and South Korean officials have said North Korea might be readying another ballistic missile test after three launches in 1998, 2006 and this year.

Pyongyang said its latest April 5 launch put a satellite into orbit. The United States and its allies labeled it a disguised test of a Taepodong-2 missile theoretically capable of reaching Alaska.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper this week quoted Japanese defense ministry sources as saying any new test of North Korea's two or three stage Taepodong-2 missile would probably be fired toward Hawaii even if it could not hit the island chain.

It quoted the ministry as saying the Taepodong-2 has a range of 4,000-6,500 kilometres (2,500-4,000 miles), but that Hawaii is more than 7,000 kilometers from the Korean peninsula.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been running high since Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test last month.

A US defense official confirmed that the military has been monitoring a North Korean ship, the Kang Nam, that might be carrying nuclear or missile-related cargo in violation of new UN sanctions.
"There is a particular ship that we are closely monitoring," the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The ship could provide the first test of a UN Security Council resolution adopted a week ago that bans shipments of arms and nuclear and missile technology to and from North Korea.

The US military has long kept a close watch on ships heading in and out of North Korea, but the new UN resolution means "we have newfound authorities and responsibilities," the official said.

The UN resolution calls for inspections of ships but rules out the use of military force to back up the searches.

The sanctions allow for the US Navy and others to ask to inspect North Korean vessels and ships flagged from other countries suspected of carrying banned cargo.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military officer said the United States would "vigorously enforce" Security Council resolution 1874.

If the ship refuses the search, then the vessel would be directed to a nearby port, Mullen told a news conference with Gates.

Mullen would not confirm whether the military was tracking a particular North Korean vessel.
The United Nations resolution calls on member states to inspect ships if there are "reasonable grounds" that a vessel may be carrying illicit cargo.

Analysts say however that North Korea could get around the shipping measures by transporting banned cargo by air and exploiting provisions that prohibit the use of military force.
However, experts say the financial sanctions in the UN resolution could prove more effective against the isolated Stalinist state.

On June 13, the North vowed to build more nuclear bombs and start enriching uranium for a new atomic weapons program, in response to the new UN sanctions. It has not yet demonstrated the ability to put a nuclear warhead on one of its ballistic missiles.

The United States said Thursday it is looking into five-way talks with China, Russia, Japan and South Korea about pressuring North Korea to change tack on its nuclear and missile programs.

The idea was raised, a US official said, when Obama hosted South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak this week.

[hardlock]

Epekto siguro ni sa cgeg kaon ug Kimchi!

[NapoleonBlownapart]

tan-awn nato bi kung naa ba ngipon ang UN

[PentiumPoor]

hehehehe. Kana, puro lng US ang super power kuno? Hadlok mani cla sa N. Korea ang US.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

@ GIKAPOY ... uynsay connection sa BIN = SON OF ?

@ PENTIUMPOOR .... actually its not KUNO but it REALLY is . Hadlok ? Hmm not in this lifetime ... sa binisaya pa bai ... NOKOR , marami ka pang bigas kakainin .

[leonell]

tan-awn nato bi kung naa ba ngipon ang UN

Kung muhimo ug military move ang UN, apil jud sa mga contingents ang Pinas ani ky the Philippines is one of the Middle Powers that have a moderate influence on different aspects of the world......... just like before the Philippines sent a lot of contingents especially sa Korean War so anad na ta kung sa Korea ta away ky sauna rman nakiggubat ang Pinas didto sa Cold War. Na-elect paman gani ang Pilipinas nga temporary member and leader sa UN Security Council.

[NapoleonBlownapart]

Kung muhimo ug military move ang UN, apil jud sa mga contingents ang Pinas ani ky the Philippines is one of the Middle Powers that have a moderate influence on different aspects of the world......... just like before the Philippines sent a lot of contingents especially sa Korean War so anad na ta kung sa Korea ta away ky sauna rman nakiggubat ang Pinas didto sa Cold War. Na-elect paman gani ang Pilipinas nga temporary member and leader sa UN Security Council.

sauna man to.. power man ang AFP sauna karon murag wa na jud..


epektib ba nang barang? ipabarang nalang na si Kim.. ahahaha

[leonell]

sauna man to.. power man ang AFP sauna karon murag wa na jud..


epektib ba nang barang? ipabarang nalang na si Kim.. ahahaha

Naa ra na sa Government......... kung seryosohon nla ang Militar, mayta General or Commander ang madaog krong eleksyon oi aron munindot ato military................... puydi btaw no! Muhire ta ug mamarangay somewhere down the road unya ipabarang nato si Kim. Mao na power sa Pinas brad................... sauna military, kron Majic nsad. heheheheheh

[jun2x]

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.




Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship, accused of transporting banned goods in the past, is believed bound for Myanmar, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

The new U.N. Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to provoke another Korean War.

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in state of war.

The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities.

Tensions have been high since North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April and then conducted its second underground atomic test on May 25.

Reacting to U.N. condemnation of that test, North Korea walked away from nuclear disarmament talks and warned it would fire a long-range missile.

North Korea has banned ships from the waters off its east coast starting Thursday through July 10 for military exercises, Japan's Coast Guard said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday that the North may fire a Scud missile with a range of up to 310 miles (500 kilometers) or a short-range ground-to-ship missile with a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers) during the no-sail period.

A senior South Korean government official said the no-sail ban is believed connected to North Korean plans to fire short- or mid-range missiles. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

U.S. defense and counterproliferation officials in Washington said they also expected the North to launch short- to medium-range missiles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

South Korea will expedite the introduction of high-tech unmanned aerial surveillance systems and "bunker-buster" bombs in response to North Korea's provocations, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified ruling party members.

Meanwhile, a flurry of diplomatic efforts were under way to try getting North Korea to return to disarmament talks.

Russia's top nuclear envoy, Alexei Borodavkin, said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart that Moscow is open to other formats for discussion since Pyongyang has pulled out of formal six-nation negotiations.

In Beijing, top U.S. and Chinese defense officials also discussed North Korea. U.S. Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy was heading next to Tokyo and Seoul for talks.

South Korea has proposed high-level "consultations" to discuss North Korea with the U.S., Russia, China and Japan.

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Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang in Seoul; Pauline Jelinek, Pamela Hess and Lolita Baldor in Washington and Min Lee in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

[Eiso]

patay.. unsa-on nalang f mag gubat.. huhuh...