Patriot Batteries To Go To South Korea
April 30, 2004 :: News
The United States will be adding to its Patriot interceptors in South Korea, with two additional batteries of Patriot Advanced Capability 2 and 3, according to a press release by the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command in Seoul. The batteries will be added at Gwangju Air Base, with the U.S. Eighth Army’s 35th Air Defense Brigade.
Six Patriot batteries were stationed in South Korea’s major bases since 1994. A battery is composed of eight launchers of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles, each having 4 and 16 interceptors, respectively.
In 1998, North Korea fired a Taepo-Dong I missile over Japan. (Article, Link)
» May 6: KCNA news agency, Pyongyang: U.S. to deploy Patriots against North Korea “escalated military threat”
» May 4: EastAsia Intel report on Patriot xfer
» More stories on: Land-Based Systems, North Korea
» Missile details: Taep'o Dong 1
» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2), Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)
New CIA Report on North Korea: “At Least 8” Nuclear Weapons
April 28, 2004 :: Washington Post :: News
An upcoming intelligence report by the CIA will substantially up estimates of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal upwards, – from “possibly two” nuclear weapons to at least eight, reports the Washington Post.
The report will also likely reflect a growing intelligence consensus that a distinct North Korean uranium-enrichment program will be operational by 2007 that will be capable of producing material for an additional six weapons per year. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons
Kadish: U.S. Protected from North Korea by End of Year
April 27, 2004 :: Yahoo News :: News
Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told reporters on Tuesday that by the end of the year, the United States should be able to defend against a North Korean ballistic missile attack, after the activation of ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California.
Two more tests of the interceptors are set for this year, with one expected in late spring or early summer. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, Policy
Kahn Claims to Have Seen North Korean Nuclear Weapons
April 12, 2004 :: New York Times :: News
Abdul Kahn, widely known as the “father of the Pakistani Bomb” who spearheaded that country’s nuclear program and the proliferation of nuclear technology around the world, has now claimed to have seen and inspected three nuclear devices during a visit to North Korea to aid in their nuclear program, according to the New York Times. The report would be the first such verification by a foreigner of North Korea’s long touted possession of such weapons.
The story has the potential to support the exoneration of Pakistan as a sort of willing partner in the war on nuclear and missile proliferation. Khan and Pakistan, like Qaddafi and Libya, might seem to have fully repented and become an reliable informant or ally for the United States. But that which led to Pakistan-Korth Korea nuclear cooperation and which would prompt North Korea to trust Kahn with an inspection in the first place should be the ground for continued suspicion of both now.
Although Kahn may well have ulterior motives to bolster North Korea’s nuclear threat to the West, that North Korea already has had for some time some nuclear weapons is quite plausible. That it would, however, should serve as a reminder of the failure of the 1994 Accord with North Korea negotiated by the Clinton administration—as well as our previous ill-placed trust in the Pakistani government, which despite its fervent denials almost certainly had to be apartied to such high level transfers of technology. The lesson of the failed policy of appeasement with both these countries should perhaps inform the current negotiations as well. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Proliferation
Nuclear Threat from Possible North Korea-Al Qaeda Union
April 1, 2004 :: Washington Times :: News
Military commanders testifying before the House Armed Services Committee warned of possible nuclear transfers from North Korea to terrorist groups, notes Bill Gertz writing in the Washington Times.
Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, leader of the U.S. Pacific Command, said of al Qaeda that “They have the will and the skill, obviously, to carry out a devastating terrorist attack. So that is kind of a nightmare scenario, and that’s why we feel so strongly about a nonnuclear Korean Peninsula.
Army Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of U.S. forces in Korea, observed that a nuclear-armed North Korea
threatens the entire Northeast Asia region as well as other nations in the Pacific…In addition, they’re a known proliferator of missiles, missiles technology, narcotics and other illegal activities. What’s to prevent North Korea from deciding to sell to other nations or terrorist organizations nuclear-grade — weapons-grade material? That’s a significant concern to all of us. …I agree totally with Admiral Fargo that a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist organization is one of our greatest concerns. And given the history of North Korea relative to selling missiles and missile technology, it’s a concern we must address.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, Terrorism
North Korea Slams US BMD
March 30, 2004 :: Financial Times :: News
Responding in part to recent announcement of plans to deploy Aegis sea-based missile interceptors in the Sea of Japan, North Korea is complaining vigorously of U.S. missile defense efforts. This should come as no surprise, since they among many potential missile threats have the most to lose from the system to be deployed in 2004.
The state-run Minju Joson newspaper reported that the “frantic” American efforts for missile defense are part of an invariable ambition for world domination, which will forces North Korea to increase its “self-defense” forces—i.e, offensive ballistic missiles.
That North Korea talks the talk of an arms race against the United States shows something of the absurdity of mutually assured destruction. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea
North Korea Offering Missiles to Myanmar (Burma)
March 25, 2004 :: Bloomberg :: News
North Korea’s marketing of its ballistic missiles is certainly an ambitious one, and in addition to its many mideastern clients, has recently included Myanmar, previously called Burma.
Matthew Daley, deputy assistant secretary in the bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the State Department, testified before the House International Relations Committee, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights, that North Korea has offered to sell missiles to Myanmar:
Of particular concern, we also have reason to believe that the D.P.R.K. has offered surface-to-surface missiles. We have raised this issue of possible missile transfers with senior Burmese officials and registered our concerns in unambiguous language. Although Burmese officials have indicated that they have not accepted offers of such weapons systems, we will continue to monitor the situation and will deal with it vigorously and rapidly.
Myanmar, or Burma, is among the countries listed by the department of the Treasury as having restrictions placed upon them under US law. (Article, Link)
» State Dept. Transcript of Daley’s Testimony
» Dept. of Treasury overview of country sanctions
» More stories on: North Korea, Proliferation
Sec. of Navy: U.S. to Deploy Aegis Destroyer in Sea of Japan This Year
March 23, 2004 :: Reuters :: News
In addition to the land-based interceptors at Fort Greeley, Alaska, the United States will also be deploying an Aegis cruiser as part of the missile defense deployment scheduled to take place by September 30, according to Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy, speaking in commemoration of the 21st anniversary of Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
The announcement comes as good news, indicating that deployment is on schedule, and that the land-based system will be supplemented and expanded. (More »»»)
» Text of Secretary England’s remarks on missile defense
» Japan pleased with US plans to deploy Aegis
» Sec. England outlines plan through 2006
» More stories on: China, North Korea, Policy, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
China and Pakistan Surpassing North Korea as Chief Missile Proliferators to Mideast
March 17, 2004 :: East Asia Intel :: News
When it comes to missile proliferation, its no easy to task to better North Korea. But China and its ally, Pakistan, seem intent on doing so.
As North Korea’s proliferation has slowed due to international pressure, the mideast missile market, countries such as Iran and Syria, are seeking out other standbys, reports East-Asia-Intel.com. North Korea has been said to have sold $580 million worth of missiles to the mideast in 2001. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, North Korea, Pakistan, Proliferation
Tenet Testimony: North Korea Continues Ballistic Missile Advances
February 24, 2004 :: CIA :: News
Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as to the nature and extent of terrorism and the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. In general, he noted that the “picture is changing before our eyes—-changing at a rate I have not seen since the end of the Cold War.” After noting the continued efforts of terrorists such as Al Qaeda to acquire ballistic missiles and WMDs, Tenet went on to roughly outline the major capabilities and proliferation activities of India, Pakistan, Syria, and Iran, but devoted particular attention to three “pivotal states” of concern: China, Russia, and North Korea. (More »»»)
» More stories on: China, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Proliferation, Russia, Syria, Terrorism
