On the Korean Peninsula

That ever-restive part of the world ...




How is that Singapore thing working out?:

North Korea fired two short-range missiles into the East Sea from Hodo Peninsula, northeast of Wonsan, Seoul’s military said Thursday.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched two projectiles from the peninsula in South Hamgyong Province at 5:34 a.m. and 5:57 a.m.

The first missile traveled about 430 kilometers, and the second flew about 690 kilometers, the JCS said, adding that both reached an altitude of between 50 to 60 kilometers. 


“The joint evaluation of South Korea and the United States revealed that the second missile flew about 690 kilometers. Further analysis is needed, as there appears to be a new form of launch,” a JCS official told reporters.

Both missiles are believed to have been launched from a transporter erector launcher and they are assumed to have hit the East Sea, the official added.

The JCS officials did not confirm whether they were ballistic or cruise missiles, saying more time is needed to analyze the data. UN resolutions ban North Korea from launching any kind of ballistic missile.  

One can see how effective the UN is here.




Says the country that shot down two hundred and sixty-nine people:

Russia on Wednesday denied that one of its warplanes violated Korean airspace and accused Seoul of threatening the safety of its air crew. 

The Russian Defense Ministry said, "The Korean pilots did not establish communications with the crews of Tu-95MS, fired flares and then the [Korean] F-16s conducted another maneuver, retreating away from the Russian planes." 

"If the Russian pilots felt a security threat, the response would follow quickly," it warned.

I'll just leave this right here:

Kamenski: “We must find out, maybe it is some civilian craft or God knows who.” Kornukov: “What civilian? [It] has flown over Kamchatka! It [came] from the ocean without identification. I am giving the order to attack if it crosses the State border.” ...

 
Kornukov: “Destroy it, use the 23 to destroy it, I said!”
Gerasimenko: “Roger, destroy it.”
Kornukov: “Well, where is the fighter, how far from the target?”
Gerasimenko: “Comrade General, they cannot see the target.”
Kornukov: “They cannot see the target?”
Titovnin: “They lost the target, Comrade Colonel, in the area of Moneron.”
Novoseltsky: “In the area of Moneron?”
Titovnin: “The pilots do not see it, neither the one nor the other. The radio forces have reported…that after the launch, the target entered a right turn over Moneron.”
Novoseltsky: “Uh-huh.”
Titovnin: “Descending. And lost over Moneron””

Yes, the Russians often feel threatened by anything that flies and prove to be utterly co-operative afterwards.

Oh, wait ...




Once again, Kim controls his people through food:
 

North Korea has refused to accept 50,000 tons of food aid Seoul wants to send through the World Food Programme amid posturing over joint South Korea-U.S. military drills next month.

A Unification Ministry official here on Wednesday said North Korean Foreign Ministry officials told WFP staff in a meeting that they do not want the aid and cited the joint drills. "We're trying to find out from the WFP what the North's official position is," the official added.

Seoul has been somewhat overeager to provide the food aid in order to bring the North back to the negotiating table.

In May, Pyongyang with characteristic gracelessness called the South Korean donation "condescending" despite holding out a begging bowl to the UN in February. By refusing to engage with Seoul, Pyongyang ensures that its only negotiating channel is with the U.S.

On July 16, the North Korean Foreign Ministry threatened to boycott working-level denuclearization talks with the U.S. and break the moratorium on nuclear and missile tests because of the planned joint drills.

On Wednesday, the North duly lobbed two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea. 

Once again, North Korea is playing the game it has always played. It pretends to be co-operative unless it does not get what it wants.




Uh, North Korea, a word of advice - Russian subs can't be trusted:

A new North Korean ballistic-missile submarine unveiled Tuesday looks like a remodeled old Soviet Golf-class sub.

Judging from photos and video clips released by state media, they have similar bridges and bows.

The Soviet Union deployed the Golf from the late 1950s until the early 90s. It was 98.9 m long with a submerged displacement of 3,500 tons and was capable of carrying three ballistic missiles.

In the mid-1990s the North imported one Golf from Russia that hardly more than scrap but did not dismantle it. At the time, the fire control system was missing but the missile launch tube was intact.
 
The Golf had a range of 17,600 km, long enough for the new North Korean sub to sail out and launch Pukguksong-1 missiles with a range of 1,500 to 2,000 km close enough to the U.S. mainland.

State media showed blurred or pixelated images of the back of the bridge where the ballistic missiles could be loaded.