Tag: north korea

POTUS v The Rocket Man: A study in Government-sponsored lunacy

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I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man…

Thus goes the song Rocket Man, written by Elton John back in 1972. Itself inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story ‘The Rocket Man’, John’s ballad talks about the conflicting feelings of an astronaut traveling to Mars, as he ponders whether or not is worth to leave his family behind to fulfill his job.

Yet, this well known song was likely not in Donald Trump’s mind when he branded North Korean’s leader Kim Jong-Un a ‘little rocket man’.

The two men, and I’m using the term ‘men’ very loosely here, are engaged in regular name-calling nowadays, a sort of tit for tat routine pitting two bullies who forgot to grow up locking horns in turf wars around the schoolyard.

POTUS v Rocket Man is now a thing, a melodramatic reality with fathomless viewership prowess. It would almost be funny, were it not for the rather sinister overtones that permeate this international tug of war.

So the world watches as these two sycophant-ridden leaders take to the airwaves to pour scorn on each other. POTUS uses tweet to unload his crude verbal vitriol. Half a world away, Kim uses the more traditional approach of televised speech to retort, and his words resonate with the cheap bubble gum quality of Google-translated foreign speech: ‘I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.’

POTUS recently used a perhaps overly-generous time allocation at his maiden UN speech to proclaim that the US would ‘totally destroy North Korea’ if the latter ever dares to attack US soil, or any of the country’s allies. During the same speech, POTUS actually referred to the North Korean leader as ‘Rocket Man’. Well now. Take that, UN protocol and statesmanship.

It is hardly news that world leaders do sometimes get a little hot under the collar while speaking inside the UN chamber. Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev starred in the infamous shoe-banging incident at the UN in 1960, for instance. Krushchev started banging his shows hard against his desk, in angry response to comments uttered by the then Filipino leader Lorenzo Sumulong. And in 2006, inflammatory words spoken by President George W. Bush about Fidel Castro’s ailing health prompted the entire Cuban delegation to storm off the chamber, throwing down their ear pieces as they did so.

All those high-profile shenanigans notwithstanding, no US President had ever used any pejorative term when addressing another head of state. The words ‘rocket’ and ‘man’ had certainly never been used in such derogatory fashion at Chez UN. Say it isn’t so, Kim perhaps thought, but nonetheless took POTUS’ speech as a ‘declaration of war’.

And what’s with ‘dotard’ anyway. Is it perhaps a portmanteau or ‘doting retard’? Or maybe a poor translation of an ancient North Korean insult? Not so. Turns out that such obscure term means ‘an old person with declining mental capabilities’. In the slightly unhinged POTUS v Rocket Man theater of horrors, the dotard is king, it seems.

The latest episode in the POTUS v Rocket Man serial sees the man with the weird black bouffant brand POTUS a ‘mentally deranged megalomaniac’.

The world tunes in, Truman Show style, to watch as both world leader caricatures blast each other with rhetorical salvos.

And all the while, the unspeakable gravity of war smears the men’s cartoonish faces.

 

Tensions rise further in the Korean Peninsula, as South Korea conducts live-fire drills simulating an attack on a North Korean missile launch site

North Korea’s latest nuclear test, which the Government-run official news site KCNA deemed ‘a complete success’, has sparked a new wave of retaliatory military moves in the region.

In response to the test, South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise on Monday, simulating a full-scale attack on one of North Korea’s main nuclear test sites.

The drill took place after North Korea reportedly set off a nuclear device on Sunday last, an act carried out in blatant defiance of UN-imposed sanctions.

The event, which was independently verified, involved a “two-stage thermonuclear weapon” with a yield of about 100 kilotons. North Korea claims that the warhead was small enough to be transported inside an Intercontinenal Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The two-stage weapons signifies a major advancement in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

In the immediate aftermath of the test -the first since Donald Trump took office-, South Korea has authorized the deployment of four additional THAAD launchers at a site some 300 kilometers south of Seoul. THAAD batteries are mobile weapon platforms that target incoming missiles in their terminal approach. THAAD rockets have no warhead, relying on sheer kinetic energy instead to destroy an incoming missile before it reaches its intended target. A kinetic impact minimizes the chances of detonating conventional weaponry, and a nuclear warhead will not explode after a kinetic strike.

Also, the US has entered talks with South Korea about deploying ‘strategic assets’ to the region, in the form of aircraft carriers, long-range bombers, and special ops personnel.

It is also suspected that North Korea may be preparing to conduct yet another missile test on Saturday, which marks one of the country’s major holidays. Pyongyang favors displays of military might during marked ocassions.

Meanwhile, the war of words between the US and North Korea, after US President Donald Trump branded the country a ‘rogue nation and a threat.’

Tensions might reach boiling point in the Korean Peninsula, after North Korea conducts sixth nuclear test despite international condemnation

The situation in the Korean Peninsula may soon reach the point of no return, as North Korea has conducted yet another nuclear test, its sixth.

The device detonated is understood to be a hydrogen warhead, small enough to be fitted into an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The explosion caused a 6.3-magnitude quake in the country’s north-eastern region.

KCNA, North Korea’s official mouthpiece, has deemed the test ‘a complete success’.

This latest test marks a rapid escalation in the region, making an already tense situation that much more unstable.

International reaction has been swift, with Japan, South Korea -countries within reach of North Korea’s military reach- issuing strong statements calling for the ‘complete isolation’ of North Korea.

The US Administration has not yet issued any response to the event.

Tensions mount in the Korean Peninsula, as South Korea conducts bombing drills in response to its northern neighbour’s latest test missile launch

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The drums of war keep getting louder around the Korean Peninsula, as tensions mount between all sides.

The latest missile launch by North Korea has been answered by a simulated bombing raid by its southern foe.

The exercise, ordered by the South Korean president Moon Jae-in, called for a squadron of F15-K to drop MK84 ordnance on practice targets on a shooting range sited near the border.

The -K variant of the F15 series is specifically manufactured for the South Korean Air Force by Boeing. It can carry almost 14 tons worth of weapons, including the MK84 multi-purpose bomb.

Second only in size to the largest Daisy Cutter weapon, the MK84 -deemed ‘the Hammer’ by F-117 pilots who dropped it during the First Gulf War- the MK84 delivers over 400kg of explosive power to the target.

The bombing drill was intended as a show of ‘overwhelming force’ to the Pyongyang regime.

The move comes hours after North Korea conducted another test missile launch. The weapon, believed to be a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, flew over the northern Japanese territory of Hokkaido and triggered a planned response. Air-raid sirens blared, trains stopped, and people received text messages urging them to seek shelter immediately.

The missile is believed to have experienced a mid-flight malfunction and splashed down on Japanese waters.

The move marks a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict involving North Korea and the US’s allies in the area, South Korea and Japan.

 

Trump v Kim: Warmongering rhetoric escalates between the two leaders, as the US President now retorts that North Korea ‘will regret any action it takes on Guam’

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have been playing a high stakes poker game for some time, using world peace as a bargaining chip.

A few days ago, the US President said that North Korea would be met with ‘fire and fury like the world has even seen’, if the Pyongyang regime threatened US soil.

In response to such inflammatory comments, North Korea retorted that it is planning to launch an attack on the Pacific island of Guam, which is both a popular tourist destination and home to Andersen Air Base. The 36th Wing is housed there, providing mission support duties to a large number of civilian and military aircraft. Crucially, a significant portion of the US’ long-range capability (six B-1B bomber aircraft) are based at Andersen.

Trump, incensed at such low blow, today said that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, will ‘truly regret’ any action it takes against Guam.

Against such warmongering background, China stepped up and said that, should military conflict actually break out, the country will remain neutral if North Korea strikes first. However, if the US and/or South Korea are the ones to start the conflict, China will intervene militarily to defend the current socio-political landscape in the region.

Far from shying away from provocative rhetoric, Trump resorted to Twitter to say “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!”

The standoff carries dark and ominous undertones not seen since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, and the escalation of the Cold War after the Able Archer European wargames of 1983.

North Korea is profoundly resentful of the latest raft of sanctions set against the country, over its ongoing testing of missiles, and both it and the US remain locked in a high-risk game of nuclear intentions, after US intelligence sources claimed that North Korea had developed a nuclear warhead small enough to fit into a missile that could theoretically reach US soil.

Still, despite the highly charged rhetoric, there has been no discernible change in the state of readiness of US military assets, so the next steps remain unclear.

US will bolster its military presence in South Korea with the deployment of 16 additional F-16 fighter jets and 200 troops

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The US is set to reinforce its military deployment in South Korea, as it plans to send 16 extra F-16 fighter jets and 200 military personnel to Kunsan Air Base, some 180km south of Seoul.

The four-month long deployment comes in the wake of heightened tensions in the area, prompted by a string of missile tests by North Korea.

South Korea and the US have been conducting joined military exercises in recent days, in a clear show of force to the Pyongyang regime.

The exercises called for two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers to fly over South Korean airspace.

The Rockwell B-1B is a heavy, long-range bomber, and one of the cornerstones of the US’ strategic bombing fleet, along with the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress.

The aircraft carries the largest payload in the entire US Air Force, and first saw action in 1998.

Two minutes to midnight: The specter of nuclear war awakens

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The Doomsday Clock almost stopped in 1962. At the height of the Cold War, and with Soviet ballistic missiles close to being deployed on Cuban soil, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation during a tense 13-day stand-off between the two superpowers.

Diplomatic solutions ultimately ended the stalemate, and sanity prevailed. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief as the nuclear weapons were stood down.

In the intervening years, a number of armed conflicts have erupted in the Middle East and elsewhere, but the very localized nature of these bloody struggles never reached the potentially Armageddon-esque consequences of the missile crisis in 1962.

Fast forward to 2017, and enter Kim Jong-Un, supreme leader of th DPRK, and Donald Trump, President of the United States.

These two guys talk tough, sizing each other up, engaging in a perilous game of international stakes, juggling the fate of the world in their hands.

And it so happens that the countries that these two oversized school bullies represent are highly militaristic in nature. The US’ military might is unrivalled, yet the North Koreans are not short of a gun or two, and could certainly give the US a run for their dollar.

North Korea, a secretive, reclusive, and by Western standards at least, very much ‘poor’, justifies its disproportionate spending on army matters by purporting a constant threat of invasion by ‘foreign’ forces. And the country has a particular bone to pick against the United States.

Background

The seeds for the current tensions in the region were sown almost seven decades ago, when North Korea invaded its southern neighbour, firing the first shots of the Korean War.

Aided by China and the Soviet Union, North Korean troops pushed ahead and brought South Korea to almost defeat. In light of the dire situation, the US came to the assistance of South Korea and helped stabilize the situation with an amphibious assault at Inchon, which effectively cut off the north’s supply lines.

From then on, fighting on the ground continued on a more or less equal footing, with the struggle concentrating around Parallel 38, the ‘unofficial border’ between the two Koreas.

War in the air was a totally different matter, however. The US Air Force mercilessly pounded North Korea from above, turning many of the country’s villages and towns into rubble. The country’s capital, Pyongyang, saw about 75% of its surface pulverized, for instance. The sustained bombing campaign resulted in as much as 400,000 victims.

After signing an armistice in 1953, the two Koreas remained technically at war, with regular acts of aggression by the north over the course of the decades.

Kim Jong-Un, the current ruler, has not forgotten the savage bombardment that his country was subjected to, and in a way, he seeks retribution.

Nuclear deterrence

Kim knows recent history well. He is fully aware that the ultimate fate of most dictators is swift popular justice backed by the US from the shadows, as was the case with Muammar Gaddafi in Lybia, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. His main goal is the
preservation of the regime, and the only real means to do so is the possession of nuclear weapons, something that both Lybia and Iraq lacked, with dire consequences for their leaders.

Nuclear weapons are a powerful bargaining chip in the international game of war. If you have them, you are in the Big League, on a level playing field with the US and some of the other big boys.

Kim has been steadily ramping up his country’s nuclear development program despite continuous sanctions by the UN. Past US administrations toyed with the idea of military action against North Korea, but all thought better of it.

Chemical weapons

North Korea’s arsenal, while it may lack nuclear warheads -for now, at least-, is mighty indeed. Its long range artillery is well within striking distance of hitting the South Korean capital, Seoul, just short of 40 miles away from the border. It is now also known that Kim’s regime owns, or is capable of producing, chemical weaponry. And it’s not afraid to use it, it seems. North Korea is widely suspected to be behind the assassination of
the leader’s half brother in Kuala Lumpur airport earlier this year, using the nerve agent VX.

President Trump’s administration is aware that any military intervention will trigger hard retaliation. North Korean officers have recently made very public remarks to say that the US faces ‘all out war’ if it engages in ‘reckless’ military actions against their country.

Nuclear war

President Trump recently ordered an ‘armada’ to steam towards North Korean waters. The Carl Vinson (CSG-1) carrier group is now on station just off the Peninsula.

North Korea regarded this move as an act of overt provocation, and responded with a tirade of bellicose rhetoric. The recent US’ Tomahawk strike in Syria was likely done as a way of showing that the US means business. US Vice President Mike Pence said that the era of ‘strategic patience‘ sported by previous administrations is now at an end.
During a press conference held at a very symbolic location near Parallel 38, Mr. Pence added that “President Trump has made it clear that the patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out and we want to see change.

“We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons, and also its continual use and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable.”

In other words, the US is ready and willing to engage militarily in the region.

The nuclear specter, remote and largely theoretical for many years, is now back in the public domain as a palpable possibility.

The nuclear giants have been sleeping in their silos for far too long.

World on the brink: Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs warns that war could break out in North Korea ‘at any moment’

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Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, issued the stark warning while talking to reporters earlier today.

Yi’s words come amidst a heightened state of military readiness around the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier this week, the Chinese Army moved 150,000 troops close to the country’s border with North Korea as a large US naval fleet steamed towards the area.

A carrier group, led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Carl Vinson (CVN-70) was diverted from training operations off the Australian coast and dispatched to North Korean water earlier this week. Such move caused considerable upset to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, who said that the regime will counter any “reckless acts of aggression” with “whatever methods the US wants to take.” Kim referred to the deployment as a “grim situation.”

Beijing has been pushing for a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but the US appears bent on sparking a military confrontation.

Meanwhile, Moscow sources also advocate a “politic-diplomatic reconciliation” between the opposing sides, and warn against any act that may be perceived as a provocation.

North Korea has no love lost for the US. During the Korean War in 1950-1953, the American army bombed its foe mercilessly, killing at least 400,000 North Korean soldiers.

Analysts believe that the military buildup in the region may very well be a precursor to war. Apart from the mighty Carl Vinson strike group, two US destroyers equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles are also on their way, and long-range B1 Lancer and B2 Spirit bombers are on stand-by on Andersen Air Force Base in the Pacific island of Guam.

Speaking about the tense geopolitical situation in the region, the North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister issued the following statement during an interview with AP last Tuesday:

“If the US dares opt for a military action, crying out for ‘pre-emptive attack’, [Pyongyang] is ready to react. We will hold the US wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions.”

The world is now closely watching the events unfolding in the region, with many seeing war as ‘inevitable.’

The Carl Vinson Strike Group (CSG-1): All you need to know

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The Carrier Group

The US Navy has ordered the deployment of a strike group led by the flagship Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Carl Vinson (CVN-70) to North Korean waters, as a show of force to the secretive regime of Kim Jong Un.

The naval strike force will be stationed near the Korean Peninsula, due to rising concerns that North Korea may conduct a nuclear test in the coming days to mark the April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung (Jong’s grandfather).

The carrier group is indeed a force to be reckoned with. It includes the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG-57). Nuclear submarines are normally part of the deployment, and closely shadow the surface fleet.

The fleet’s air strike capabilities are provided by Carrier Wing 2, which includes the “Black Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4, the “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, the “Bounty Hunters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2, the “Blue Blasters” of VFA-34, the “Kestrels” of VFA-137, the “Golden Dragons” of VFA-192, the “Black Eagles” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the “Gauntlets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136, and the “Providers” of Fleet Logistic Support Squadron (VRC) 30.

This is a mighty force indeed, capable of all-weather, day-or-night strike capabilities.

As the fleet steams ahead towards its deployment area, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has issued a stark warning to the US.

Using traditionally tough rhetoric, Pyongyang said that the regime will counter any “reckless acts of aggression” with “whatever methods the US wants to take.” The regime referred to the deployment as a “grim situation.”

A statement released by North Korean officials read “We will make the US fully accountable for the catastrophic consequences that may be brought about by its high-handed and outrageous acts.”

Target options

US military top brass are said to be considering a range of targets around North Korea.

The country has been under close scrutiny over its nuclear weapons development program, particularly after a number of test rocket launches in recent months. Some of the rockets splashed down less than 200nmi from Japan’s northern shores. The US, a close ally of Japan, deemed this an unacceptable risk, prompting calls for action on North Korea.

According to US sources, a limited preemptive strike on a North Korean nuclear site may be carried out. This poses a problem, however, as the Carl Vinson air wing, powerful as it is, may just be short of the required might to destroy nuclear bunkers sited deep underground. Such task is normally performed via heavy ‘bunker buster’ weapons delivered by B1 or B2 bombers.

The US is also aware of the retaliation capabilities of the North Korean army, plus the fact that North Korea’s ally, China, may become involved in an armed confrontation. Up to 150,000 Chinese troops have been deployed to the North Korean border over the last few days, for example, a move that is widely regarded as a precursor to war in the region.

Decapitation strike

One option said to be considered by US strategists is a so-called ‘decapitation strike’, aimed at removing the North Korean leader and a number of key officials in one swift move. This would likely be conducted via missile or drone means, though the insertion of special forces on the ground may also be on the cards.

US Navy carrier group heading towards North Korean waters in response to the reclusive state’s nuclear threat

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A US Navy task force, led by the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, has been directed to initiate operations in North Korean waters as a response to the country’s increasingly concerning missile launch tests.

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has authorized the launch of up to six test missiles in the last few weeks. This perceived provocation has spooked Japan and South Korea in particular, a country that has long since been in a state of tense stand-off with its northern neighbour.

A statement released by Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, confirmed the deployment of the fleet:

“Carl Vinson Strike Group, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), will operate in the Western Pacific rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia.”

The strike group was supposed to participate in military exercises off the coast of Australia, but has now been redirected to North Korea.

It is understood that the Trump security team is weighing a number of options to deal with the perceived threat stemming from North Korea after up to half a dozen test missiles splashed down in Japanese territorial waters. Military analysts believe that the deployment of the mighty Carl Vinson strike group in the region is designed to send a clear message to Kim Jong Un.

Surgical strikes against North Korea have not been ruled out, as observers are increasingly convinced that the regime is close to producing a long-range missile with nuclear capabilities, able to reach US soil.

While US top brass may favor a targeted strike against North Korea’s nuclear sites, China is instead pushing for a diplomatic solution to the impasse.

If the US were to launch an unilateral attack, however, this may trigger the invasion of South Korea by the north’s army of over a million men. Seoul is within striking distance of the north’s long range artillery, for instance.

In this scenario, a region-wide conflict may ensue, with China likely to support its interests in North Korea, lending military aid to Kim Jong Un.

The development follows the decision of the Trump administration to use a Tomahawk missile barrage to obliterate Sharyat Airfield in Syria, after the country’s president Bashar al-Assad authorized the use of chemical weapons on civilians last Tuesday.