Two North Korean Subs Are Missing

Photo: Yono Class Midget Sub

Two North Korean Submarines Allegedly Missing -- Inquisitr

Two North Korean submarines have reportedly disappeared from port. Although the subs were last seen at a naval base in the Hwanghae Province in early April, the news is just now filtering out to media outlets. While the capability of North Korea to shoot a long-range missile at the United States has largely been nixed during press conference about EMP attack threats, the possibility of a missile attack from a submarine has rarely been mentioned.

The thought of missing North Korean subs aiming a missile at a coastal city is causing concern for some Americans. While any coastal city could become a target, some analysts think California is a very likely location. If North Korea shot a missile along the coast of the state, some feel than an earthquake could occur and allow the attack to go largely undetected – at least for a time.

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My Comment: This story is actually old news. South Korea has been concerned about these missing subs since the beginning of April.

North Korea Threatens To Strike Without Warning

 

North Korea Says It Won't Warn South Korea Before An Attack -- CNN 

(CNN) -- North Korea has upped the temperature on its neighbors, warning in a new threat that it would not give any advance notice before attacking South Korea.

"Our retaliatory action will start without any notice from now," Pyongyang said in a statement published Tuesday by its official news agency, KCNA.

North Korea said it was responding to what it called insults from the "puppet authorities" in the South, claiming that there had been a rally against North Korea in Seoul. It called the rally a "monstrous criminal act."

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Update: North Korea issues new military threats on founder's birthday -- Reuters  

My Comment: North Korea continues to raise tension levels .... and is showing no interest that it is willing to stop.

South Korea Trains For War (Video)

South Korea Holds Counter Terrorism Exercise In Subway In Face Of Threat From The North -- The Telegraph

A counter-terrorism field training exercise took place at a Seoul underground station on Monday as concerns about a possible missile launch by North Korea ensured tensions remained high in the region.

The exercise was hosted by Seoul Metro, firefighters, the military and the police, with about 50 people taking part in a drill to counteract a possible terror alert underground.

"Today's exercise is a joint training carried out by the fire service, the police, the military with our staffs working in the station, to prepare for the effective manoeuvre of possible explosives or gas terrors and conflagration that could happen underground," said the security and emergency management director of Seoul Metro, Joo Choong-guen.

Foreign governments have been struggling to assess how seriously to take North Korea's recent torrent of rhetoric - including warnings of possible nuclear war - as it expresses its anger over continuing US-South Korea military manoeuvres just across the border.

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My Comment: I call this "hoping for the best .... preparing for the worst."

More North Korean Threats

North Korea Renews Threats -- Voice of America

Despite ever increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula, students in the North Korean capital broke out into dance Thursday.

Young people in Pyongyang wore suits and traditional dresses as they performed folk dances to celebrate the anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's appointment to the country's top party post.

But on state-run television, news readers issued new threats of impending war, saying "our arms are ready to fire and the exact coordinates are input to the warheads. Once we push the button, it will be fired, and the strongholds of our enemies will be turned to a sea of flames.''

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More News On More Threats From North Korea

North Korea stokes fear with new round of rhetoric amid speculation over missile test -- Washington Post/AP
North Korea increases war threats on Kim Jong Un's anniversary -- Examiner
North Korea’s threats, campy videos are drawing Internet attention -- Washington Post
North Korea Propaganda Paints Image Of Permanent War -- Giles Hewitt, Huffington Post/AFP
North Korea: Pyongyang's bellicose rhetoric at odds with calm atmosphere -- The Guardian
In the Shadow of North Korean Threats, South Korea Shrugs -- Time

South Korean Nuclear Sites Could Be Targeted By North Korea

South Korean Nuclear Site via Korean Hydro Nuclear Power Company

South Korean Nuclear Sites Could Be Targeted For Devastating Sabotage -- Business Insider

Russian analysts have recently expressed concern about the destruction of South Korean nuclear sites, through either covert sabotage or direct attack.

North Korea is well known for a few military capabilities: missiles, (which the ROK and U.S. say they've got covered with Patriots and Aegis destroyers), artillery, and a 200,000-strong force of Special Purpose operators.

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My Comment: I guess this is what Russian President Putin meant when he said that Chernobyl is 'a fairy tale' next to Korea nuclear war.

How North Korea Would Attack South Korea (Video)

What War On The Korean Peninsula Would Look Like.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Image from News.com.au

Tell Me How This Starts -- Patrick M. Cronin, Foreign Policy

What war on the Korean Peninsula would look like.

The Korean Peninsula is on a knife's edge, one fateful step from war. While Koreans are accustomed to periodic spikes in tensions, the risk of renewed hostilities appears higher than at any time in the past 60 years, when American, North Korean, and Chinese generals signed an armistice agreement. Far more than 1 million people died in the Korean War, with at least that many troops and civilians injured over the course of the three-year campaign.

The exact leadership dynamics at play in Pyongyang remain mysterious, but the domestic survival of the Kim family dynasty appears to hinge on maintaining a credible nuclear and missile threat -- backed up by a local great power, China. To achieve the former, Kim Jong Un appears willing to risk the latter. His regime's unrelenting verbal threats are intended to rally domestic support, and its reckless brinksmanship is aimed at forcing the outside world to back down and back off.

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My Comment: A sobering analysis on what is very possible.

A Breakdown Of Military Forces Between North Korea, South Korea, And The U.S.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

My Comment: On paper .... North Korea appears to have the advantage. In reality .... I have to wonder if they have enough food to eat.

What Happens If Kim Jong-un Acts On His Threat Of War?

North Korea: What Happens If Kim Jong-un Acts On His Threats? -- Christian Science Monitor

In the event that the 'bellicose rhetoric' of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un turns into something more serious, the opening hours of conflict could be 'pretty ugly,' defense analysts warn.

Veteran North Korea watchers, citing what they see as increasingly troubling signs coming from the dictatorial regime, are voicing concerns that its new young leader, Kim Jong-un, could do something ill-advised, even start a war.

On Friday North Korea renewed what the U.S. has condemned as its “bellicose rhetoric,” saying Kim had ordered the nation’s missile forces to prepare to strike the United States and South Korea.

In response to the prospect of North Korea following through on this and other marginally less dire threats, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the US military “will unequivocally defend, and [is] unequivocally committed to the alliance with, South Korea.”

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My Comment: Bottom line .... such a conflict would make the Afghan and Iraq wars puny in comparison.

The Story Behind The Current Rise In Tensions On The Korean Peninsula (Video)

Breaking News From Reuters: Increased North Korean Military Activity Detected

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (L) watches soldiers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) taking part in the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, in the eastern sector of the front and the east coastal area on March 25, 2013, in this picture released by the North's KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 26, 2013. REUTERS/KCNA

WNU Editor: Reuters via through Yonhap News Agency (South Korea) is reporting these disturbing developments ....

.... Increased activities involving vehicles and troops at North Korea's mid- and long-range missile units have been detected by South Korea's military, Yonhap news agency said on Friday, just hours after the North's leader ordered rocket units to be ready to attack U.S. bases.

Is North Korea thinking the unthinkable .... positioning itself to start a major war on the Korean peninsula?

The Reuters live feed on North Korea is here.

Update: What is my take on this crisis .... if the White House puts U.S. forces on Defcon 3 (or lower) .... that is when we start to worry. (The current status is at Defcon 4).

New Threats From North Korea To Attack America And South Korea

Threat: A large number U.S. military bases are within range of the new missiles - shown here

North Korea Threatens To Fire Long-Range Rockets At AMERICA As It Carries Out Live-Fire Drills To Prepare Coastal Defences -- Daily Mail

* State TV announces this morning the country has entered combat mode
* Rockets and long-range artillery aimed at Guam, Hawaii and U.S. mainland
* South Korea say they haven't noticed 'unusual' military activity over border

North Korea has warned that it is close to attacking U.S. military bases - including on mainland America - as the rogue state accused their 'enemy' of intimidation and threats.

The communist country's state media has said its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units have been ordered to enter the highest level of combat mode and are trained on three targets.

Kim Jong-Un's dictatorship said on television it would be looking to hit Guam, Hawaii and mainland America after U.S. bombers flew more sorties threatening the North.

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More News On Threats From North Korea

Fresh North Korean Threat To Attack America, South Korea -- Voice of America
North Korea Calls Hawaii and U.S. Mainland Targets -- New York Times
North Korea orders artillery to be combat ready, targeting U.S. bases -- Reuters
N. Korea claims long-range missiles aimed at bases on U.S. mainland, Hawaii -- CBS/AP
N Korea 'combat posture to hit US' -- BBC
N. Korea puts artillery forces at top combat posture in latest threat on S. Korea, US -- FOX News
North Korea threatens to strike US mainland -- Sydney Morning Herald
North Korea issues new threat to U.S. bases -- CNN
North Korea puts rocket units on 'highest alert,' issues new threats against US -- NBC
North Korea Puts Artillery Forces on High Alert, Threatens US -- ABC News
N. Korea Puts Artillery Forces on Highest Combat Alert -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Pyongyang Announces Rockets 'Target' U.S. Bases -- Radio Free Europe
North Korea Is Now Pointing Artillery At 'Guam, Hawaii And Mainland America' -- Business Insider
North Korea orders military to prepare for possible strikes on U.S. bases (report) -- al.com
‘Combat-Ready’ N. Korea Threatens U.S. Mainland, Hawaii -- Defense News

South Korea Marks Cheonan Sinking

South Korea Remembers Cheonan Sinking -- Wall Street Journal

Memorial events are being held on Tuesday in South Korea to mark the 3rd anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan.

In the night of March 26, 2010, the ship exploded into two parts and sank in the Yellow Sea, leaving 40 sailors dead and 6 missing, presumed dead. An international investigation found North Korea responsible for torpedoing the ship, something that Pyongyang still denies.

On Tuesday morning, President Park Geun-hye visited the National Cemetery in Daejeon and urged the North to end its provocative behavior.

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Update #1:  South Korea marks Cheonan sinking -- UPI
Update #2: Cheonan sinking-third anniversary -- Global Post/Yonhap News
Update #3: Eighth Army remembers fallen Cheonan heroes -- Army.mil

My Comment: If such an event today .... with U.S. and South Korean forces on a constant state of high alert .... I suspect that we would be at war right now.

More Threats From North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at the long-range artillery sub-unit of the Korean People's Army Unit 641, whose mission is to strike Baengnyeong Island of South Korea. Photo: Reuters

NKorea Threatens To 'Wipe Out' SKorean Island -- Sydney Morning Herald

SEOUL: North Korea leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to "wipe out" a South Korean island as Pyongyang came under new economic and diplomatic fire from US sanctions and UN charges of gross rights abuses.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen to their highest level for years, with the communist state under the youthful Mr Kim threatening nuclear war in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test last month.

It has also announced its unilateral shredding of the 60-year-old Korean War armistice and non-aggression pacts with Seoul in protest at a joint South Korean-US military exercise that began on Monday.

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Update: North Korea's leader oversees artillery fire near disputed islands -- Reuters

My Comment: These bombast threats are becoming very boring .... and that is the problem. If nothing happens or if Kim Jong Un does nothing .... he will "lose face" .... hence guaranteeing that to not "lose face" he will try to provoke a border skirmish or something worse.

U.S. And South Korean Troops Begin War games Amid High Tensions With North Korea

S. Korea, U.S. Conduct Drills As North Threatens War -- USA Today

South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S.

After the start of the drills, South Korean officials said their northern counterparts didn't answer two calls on a hotline between the sides, apparently following through on an earlier vow to cut the communication channel because of the drills.

CNN reported that the supreme command of North Korea's army has already declared the 1953 armistice invalid. The media organization picked up on comments made by the army chief in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

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More News On U.S. And South Korean Troops Beginning War Games

SKorea, US Begin Drills as NKorea Threatens War -- ABC News/AP
U.S., South Korea begin military exercises as North ends armistice -- CNN
S. Korea-US drill starts as North rejects armistice -- AFP
U.S. Begins War Games With S.Korea as North Threatens Battle -- SFGate/Bloomberg
US and South Korea begin joint military exercises -- Euronews
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21738115 -- BBC
US-S.Korea Drill Begins Amid Heightened Tension In Korean Peninsula -- RTT News
South Korea, US drill kicks off as tensions with North escalate -- Business Recorder
US-South Korea Military Drills Begin; North Korea Cuts Off Hotline With Seoul, Prepares To Launch Massive Exercise In Eastern Front -- International Business Times
S. Korea, U.S. start annual drill amid DPRK threats -- Xinhuanet (China)

North Korean Has Declared Invalid The 1953 Armistice Agreement

North Korea Declares 1953 Armistice Invalid -- CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) -- The North Korean army has declared invalid the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, the official newspaper of the country's ruling Workers' Party said Monday.

Since last week, North Korea had been threatening to scrap the armistice after the U.N. Security Council passed tougher sanctions against it in response to its February 12 nuclear test.

On Monday, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that the Supreme Command of North Korea's army had done so.

"The U.S. has reduced the armistice agreement to a dead paper," the newspaper said.

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More News On North Korea Officially Annulling The 1953 Armistice Agreement

N. Korea Says It Has Scrapped Armistice That Ended Korean War -- Washington Post
North Korea nulls armistice; South, U.S. go forth with war games -- Washington Times
N. Korea reiterates will to invalidate armistice pact -- Yonhap News (South Korea)
N. Korea threatens all-out war ahead of S. Korea-U.S. military drill -- Yonhap News
S. Korea's Yun: Situation becoming 'grave' -- UPI
S. Korea's new cabinet meets as North tensions rise -- Global Post/AFP
Pressure Rises on Korean Peninsula -- Wall Street Journal
Anxiety in South as N Korea rhetoric escalates -- BBC

North Korea Cuts The 'Hotline' To South Korea. Ends All Non-Aggression Pacts

North Korea Ends Non-Aggression Pacts With South, Cuts Hotline -- RT

Pyongyang announced Friday that it is nullifying non-aggression pacts with South Korea and cutting the hotline with its neighbor. It comes after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution expanding sanctions against North Korea.

North Korea "abrogates all agreements on non-aggression reached between the North and the South," the state-run Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement.

"It notifies the South side that it will immediately cut off the North-South hotline," said the statement, carried by the official KCNA news agency.

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Update #1: North Korea to end peace pacts with South -- Al Jazeera
Update #2: North Korea says it ends peace pacts with South -- BBC

My Comment: The South Koreans are getting nervous.

South Korea Threatens Retaliation If North Korea Attacks

South Korea Vows Retaliation If Pyongyang Makes Good On Military Threat -- NPR

South Korea upped the ante Wednesday after Pyongyang threatened to scrap the armistice that ended a brutal war between the rival neighbors in 1953, promising retaliation for any North Korean attack.

"If North Korea carries out provocations that threaten the lives and safety of South Koreans, our military will carry out strong and resolute retaliations," South Korea's Gen. Kim Yong-hyun told reporters in Seoul.

Kim's remarks came in direct response to a North Korean threat to attack South Korea and the United States if the two countries continue joint military exercises in the region that began March 1.

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Update #1: S. Korea says it will strike against North's top leadership if provoked -- Washington Post
Update #2: Seoul Warns That North Korea’s Leadership Could Be Target -- New York Times
Update #3: S. Korea monitoring N. Korea more closely -- UPI

My Comment: I am surprised by the South Korean response to North Korea's threats. They usually just ignore them

North Korea Vows To Cancel 60 Year Ceasefire Agreement With The South

Control: The new draft sanctions by U.S. and China are set to punish North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un over the nuclear missile launches

N.Korea Threatens To Disregard Truce with South -- Voice of America

North Korea has threatened to disregard the armistice that ended its 1950 to 1953 war with South Korea, if Seoul goes ahead with plans to conduct war exercises with the United States.

The threat made by Pyongyang's supreme military command was published Tuesday in the official Korean Central News Agency.

A separate report in China's official Xinhua news agency said Pyongyang has also decided to halt the work of its delegates at Panmunjom, an abandoned village along the de facto border where Seoul and Pyongyang meet for negotiations.

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More News On North Korea Vowing To Cancel It's Truce Agreement With The South

North Korea to scrap armistice if South and U.S. continue drills -- Reuters
North Korea vows to cancel Korean War cease-fire amid talk of new sanctions, continued U.S. military drills -- CBS/AP
Report: NKorea threatens to end armistice -- CNN
North Korea vows to cancel ceasefire -- Herald Sun
N. Korea vows to scrap ceasefire if South, US continue military drill -- RT

Departing South Korean President Issues Warning On North Korea

President Lee Myung-bak, center, with aides during a meeting last week after North Korea’s detonation of a nuclear explosive. Reuters

S. Korean President Issues Warning To North -- Voice of America

SEOUL — In a farewell speech to the nation six days before leaving office, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday warned Pyongyang its missiles and weapons are taking the North “closer and closer to a dead-end.”

Lee alerted his compatriots to hastily prepare for reunification of the Korean peninsula. The president asserted that “even though the North Korean regime is refusing to change, its citizens are quickly changing and nobody can block that.

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Update: Departing South Korean president warns of isolation for North Korea over recent nuclear test -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: He is the departing South Korea President .... so his comments are that of a leader about to retire .... but his revelation that South Korea pushed for a 2009 summit with North Korea and how it unfolded is news .... with money being the main condition (and obstacle) from North Korea for a meet.