North Korea

[JohnnyRico]

Missile launch fears as North Korea declares no-sail zone

No-navigation zones on East and West coast suggest short, mid-range ballistic missile testing could be imminent

April 1st, 2014
Hamish Macdonald

Amid growing speculation that further ballistic missile testing could be imminent, North Korea has declared a no-sail zone off its east coast, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The warning, which came just a day after Pyongyang declared a no-navigation zone off its west coast and conducted widely condemned live-fire drills, suggests that North Korea may launch short or mid-range ballistic missiles in the coming days.

“North Korea has internally set the no-sail zone in waters near Wonsan this week to control its vessels,” a military told Yonhap News on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. “It is highly likely that the North may fire ballistic missiles.”

North Korea, which has been conducting increasingly powerful ballistic missile tests since late February, was condemned last week by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for firing Rodong type ballistic missiles into the East Sea last Tuesday without warning.

That followed a March 4 launch which South Korea said allegedly missed the path of a nearby Chinese passenger jet by just minutes.

Coinciding with Tuesday’s no-sail zone warning, vessel activity monitored by the NK News DPRK ship tracker showed reduced traffic in the coastal areas to the immediate east and west of North Korea.

A comparison of vessel activity last week in the Yellow Sea area with Tuesday shows a significant reduction in what is usually common traffic between the Chinese port of Dandong and North Korea’s port of Nampo:

Vessel traffic in West Sea before and after no-navigation zone set | Source: Marine Traffic

ROAD TO NUCLEAR TEST?

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said that the UN Security Council committed “an illegal provocative act” for denouncing last week’s Rodong missile launches, adding that Pyongyang would “categorically” reject any subsequent UN sanctions as a breach of sovereignty.

That prompted fears in some quarters that North Korea may be engineering a crisis to legitimize a fourth nuclear test, a “new form” of which Pyongyang “would not rule out” on Monday.

On two previous occasions North Korea used United Nations condemnations of ballistic missile launches to justify subsequent drills, exercises and nuclear tests.

Following the failed launch of a Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite on April 5 2009, the UNSC unanimously condemned North Korea for breaching resolutions forbidding Pyongyang from testing ballistic missiles. Just a month later North Korea conducted a second nuclear test to “bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in every way”, according to state media outlet the Korea Central News Agency.

A similar timeline of events occurred when the UN adopted Resolution 2087 in January 2013 to punish a successful December 2012 Unha-3 satellite launch. Within weeks, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February 2013, justified once again as a defensive matter.

But satellite analysis conducted at the John Hopkins U.S. Korea Institute SAIS concluded that while limited activity continues at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, a nuclear test does not appear to be imminent.

Picture: Korea Central TV

 

[JohnnyRico]

South Korea recovers suspected North Korean drone on Baengnyeong island

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 01 April, 2014, 10:31pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 01 April, 2014, 10:31pm

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

The wreckage of a drone on Baengnyeong Island. Photo: AFP

South Korea said yesterday it had recovered an unidentified drone that crashed on one of its border islands the same day that North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire across their disputed maritime boundary.

The wreckage was discovered on Baengnyeong island, which lies just south of the maritime border, fuelling suspicions that it might be North Korean.

"Military authorities retrieved the wreckage for analysis," a defence ministry spokesman said.

He declined to speculate on the drone's provenance, but the Yonhap news agency said military and intelligence officials suspected the drone came from North Korea.

Yonhap quoted a military source as saying the drone crashed less than an hour after North Korea wrapped up a major live fire drill along the border.

During the exercise, the North fired about 500 rounds of artillery shells, 100 of which fell into South Korean waters. The South responded by firing 300 shells into the sea on the North Korean side of the border and scrambling fighter jets.

North Korea had displayed a set of what looked like rudimentary drones during a military parade in Pyongyang last July. In March last year, state media reported leader Kim Jong-un overseeing a military drill using "super-precision drone planes".

Yonhap said the shape and size of the drone found on Baengnyeong island was similar to that recovered last month near the northern city of Paju, close to the land border with the North.

The Paju drone had a triangular wing with a 1.9-metre span, the agency quoted a government source as saying. Its gas-powered engine was made in Japan and other parts were Chinese.

According to the government source, it had a camera that had taken aerial shots of the national highway from Paju to Seoul and the presidential Blue House in the capital.

 

[JohnnyRico]

Drone crashes on South Korean border island

Wreckage of unmanned aerial vehicle recovered on Baengnyeong Island

April 1st, 2014
Leo Byrne

South is Korea is investigating an unidentified drone that crashed landed on the border island of Baengnyeong on Tuesday. The incident occurred on the same day as North and South Korea both fired artillery volleys across the Maritime border between the two countries.

Wreckage of the drone was found on the island, which lies very close to the Northern Limit Line (NLL). Yonhap news reported that the South Korean authorities suspected that the drone originated from the DPRK.

“Military authorities retrieved the wreckage for analysis,” a defence ministry spokesman said.

Yonhap also quoted an anonymous government source as saying that the drone crashed at around 4pm, less than an hour after North Korea finished firing artillery into South Korean waters.

The source also claimed that a similar drone had been recovered on March 24 near the northern city of Paju and that it was constructed from parts sourced from Japan and China. The unmanned vehicle was said to have been taking photos of the highway between Seoul and Paju.

In March last year NK News reported that Kim Jong Un has visited an artillery range in Taewon-ri numerous times. During his third visit the North Korean leader observed the first known demonstration of the DPRK’s “super precision drone planes”. The capabilities of these drones remains largely a mystery since the still shots and edited video released at the time by KCNA, did not reveal much information as to their firepower or technical capabilities.

The most detailed images, available online, of the DPRK’s UAVs were taken by the Associated Press (AP) at the military parade honoring the 100th birthday of Kim Il-sung on April 15th, 2012.

Featured Image: North Korean drone at 7/27 parade, 2013

 

[JohnnyRico]

2 Koreas Trade Fire Across West Sea

chosun.com / Apr. 01, 2014 09:27 KST

North Korea fired around 500 artillery rounds toward the maritime border with South Korea in the West Sea on Monday as part of a training exercise, and around 100 of them fell south of the sea boundary.

The South responded by lobbing some 300 artillery rounds from K-9 self-propelled howitzers that fell north of the Northern Limit Line and scrambled fighter jets to patrol airspace around the West Sea islands.

It was the first time since the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010 that North Korea fired artillery rounds south of the NLL and the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War that the North and South fired at each other across the sea border.

But the North in a rare move notified South Korea through a naval hotline on Monday morning that it would conduct artillery drills along its western coast. The North fired coastal artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems from 12:15 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

The North also deployed gunboats armed with 122 mm multiple-launch rocket systems while larger 240 mm caliber MLRS as well as 100 mm and 130 mm coastal artillery fired rounds into the West Sea.

A North Korean artillery position at Jangsan Cape in South Hwanghae Province. /News 1 A North Korean artillery position at Jangsan Cape in South Hwanghae Province. /News 1

Seoul responded by firing around 300 shells from K-9 self-propelled howitzers.

A military officer here said, "We followed our rule of engagement to mount a three-fold response against a North Korean provocation," which was adopted after the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010. The officer added South Korea "did not strike North Korean coastal artillery positions since the North did not fire rounds at South Korean land."

The Air Force scrambled F-15K fighter jets equipped with SLAM-ER air-to-surface missiles to fly around the West Sea islands.

The North fired the artillery rounds in eight separate bursts, though the last six after the South Korean response were aimed at the northern side of the NLL, according to the Defense Ministry.

This shows that the other two bursts were aimed precisely at the southern side.

On March 27, the Navy seized a North Korean fishing boat in the same waters after it crossed over the NLL near Baeknyeong Island. The Navy returned the North Korean fishing boat six hours later but North Korea protested noisily. The North Korean military threatened to retaliate against what it called "barbaric acts" by South Korea, while the official KCNA news agency on Sunday quoted a military spokesman as threatening to "blow up" Baeknyeong Island.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said, "The latest artillery drills were planned provocations and appear to be aimed at testing the South's willingness to protect the NLL."

The military here has raised the alert for all troops and increased monitoring for further provocations like missile launches and infiltration attempts across the heavily-fortified border.

The UN Command in a telephone message to North Korea on Monday afternoon proposed talks between senior officers from both sides.
Read this article in Korean

 

[steffychun]

2 Koreas Trade Fire Across West Sea

chosun.com / Apr. 01, 2014 09:27 KST

North Korea fired around 500 artillery rounds toward the maritime border with South Korea in the West Sea on Monday as part of a training exercise, and around 100 of them fell south of the sea boundary.

The South responded by lobbing some 300 artillery rounds from K-9 self-propelled howitzers that fell north of the Northern Limit Line and scrambled fighter jets to patrol airspace around the West Sea islands.

It was the first time since the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010 that North Korea fired artillery rounds south of the NLL and the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War that the North and South fired at each other across the sea border.

But the North in a rare move notified South Korea through a naval hotline on Monday morning that it would conduct artillery drills along its western coast. The North fired coastal artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems from 12:15 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

The North also deployed gunboats armed with 122 mm multiple-launch rocket systems while larger 240 mm caliber MLRS as well as 100 mm and 130 mm coastal artillery fired rounds into the West Sea.

A North Korean artillery position at Jangsan Cape in South Hwanghae Province. /News 1 A North Korean artillery position at Jangsan Cape in South Hwanghae Province. /News 1

Seoul responded by firing around 300 shells from K-9 self-propelled howitzers.

A military officer here said, "We followed our rule of engagement to mount a three-fold response against a North Korean provocation," which was adopted after the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010. The officer added South Korea "did not strike North Korean coastal artillery positions since the North did not fire rounds at South Korean land."

The Air Force scrambled F-15K fighter jets equipped with SLAM-ER air-to-surface missiles to fly around the West Sea islands.

The North fired the artillery rounds in eight separate bursts, though the last six after the South Korean response were aimed at the northern side of the NLL, according to the Defense Ministry.

This shows that the other two bursts were aimed precisely at the southern side.

On March 27, the Navy seized a North Korean fishing boat in the same waters after it crossed over the NLL near Baeknyeong Island. The Navy returned the North Korean fishing boat six hours later but North Korea protested noisily. The North Korean military threatened to retaliate against what it called "barbaric acts" by South Korea, while the official KCNA news agency on Sunday quoted a military spokesman as threatening to "blow up" Baeknyeong Island.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said, "The latest artillery drills were planned provocations and appear to be aimed at testing the South's willingness to protect the NLL."

The military here has raised the alert for all troops and increased monitoring for further provocations like missile launches and infiltration attempts across the heavily-fortified border.

The UN Command in a telephone message to North Korea on Monday afternoon proposed talks between senior officers from both sides.
Read this article in Korean

South Korean artillery can shoot further than SG Primus.

 

[JohnnyRico]

Much ado about nothing for North Korean space agency Nada

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 02 April, 2014, 9:54pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 03 April, 2014, 2:41am

The Guardian

The agency has a Nasa-like logo and an unfortunate acronym.

The choice of a globe as the emblem for North Korea's space agency expresses the country's ideal of peaceful exploration, explains the Korean Central News Agency.

The blue rings, it adds, represent satellites, and the constellation of stars shows the desire to "glorify Kim Il-sung's and Kim Jong-il's Korea as a space power".

The state news agency neglects to mention one glaring fact: the new logo looks a lot like that of Nasa, the space agency of Pyongyang's foe the US, right down to the blue globe, lettering and swooshed ring.

The agency said that the logo was released to mark the first anniversary of North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration.

The name is shortened on the emblem to Nada, the Spanish word for "nothing", arguably also an unfortunate coincidence, given that this seems to be precisely what the country's only successfully launched satellite is transmitting to earth, leading foreign scientists to assume that it has malfunctioned.

North Korea's space programme is a source of pride to the hermetic and repressive state.

The orbiting satellite was launched in December 2012 on a three-stage Unha rocket. Unha is Korean for "galaxy".

It was the country's fifth attempt to put a satellite in orbit. North Korean scientists said it would study crops and weather patterns.

While it appeared the satellite was initially orbiting normally, US astronomers said soon afterwards that it was not transmitting and was probably tumbling in its orbit.

North Korea insists its space programme is purely peaceful. But the US and Japan, among others, say North Korea could use the ballistic-missile technology to develop long-range weapons.

The Korean news agency said the nation had "pushed ahead with space-development projects to turn the country into a space power, fully exercising its right to peaceful development of space on a legal basis".

The law establishing Nada calls for co-operation with other nations on space programmes, while rejecting "selectivity and double-standards in space activities and the weaponisation of outer space".

 

[Sakon Shima]

Russia signs economic development protocol with North Korea

Moscow also says future trade with North Korea will also be conducted in Rubles

April 3rd, 2014 Kang Tae-jun

North Korea and Russia on Friday strengthened ties by signing an economic development protocol agreement with the aim of increasing annual bilateral trade to $1 billion by the year 2020.

The protocol was co-signed by the Minister for Development of the Russian Far East Alexander Galushka and the North Korean Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Ryong Nam following a five day Russian delegation visit to the Rason Sonbong area.

The protocol agreement outlined mutual economic interests between the two countries that include cooperation in trade, investment, transport, energy and natural resources, employment and interregional cooperation.

Russian officials in March stated an intention to explore new markets following the introduction of sanctions by the west over Russian action in Crimea, Russian news agency RIA Novosti said on Friday.

That, one expert said, may be why Russia is currently seeking to warm ties with North Korea.

“North Korea and Russia now have something in common; they are under international sanctions. They both share anti-Americanism, contempt to international laws, and pose military threat to neighbors,” said Leonid Petrov, a North Korea researcher at the Australia National University.

The Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East also announced Friday that following the protocal, all payments between the two countries would be settled in Roubles.

“It seems perfectly logical that international pariah states should use their own currencies for bilateral trade and investment projects rather than the currency of the state they both loathe,” Petrov said..

In addition to the protocol agreement Russia also discussed trilateral trade projects with North Korea.

The Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East said that it is eager to complete a trans-Siberian railway connection to South Korea that could allow Russian gas and electricity to be delivered through North Korea.

The Russian delegation, which comprised members of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Economic Development Ministry and individuals from Russian banking institutions and private companies, also announced their intentions to invest in the inter-Korean industrial park of Kaesong, currently only a joint venture between North and South Korea.

Minister for Development of the Russian Far East Alexander Galushka stressed that Moscow’s economic and development goals could only be achieved in military and political stability on the Peninsula could be maintained.

A further meeting between Russa and the DPRK was scheduled to take place in Vladivostok in June.

Hamish MacDonald contributed to this report from London

Picture: NK News

 

[Sakon Shima]

“10,000 soldiers” working at North Korea’s May Day Stadium

Highest capacity stadium in world being remodelled by North Korean military

April 3rd, 2014 Chad O'Carroll

At least 10,000 soldiers are working on a project to refurbish North Korea’s May Day Stadium, the largest capacity venue in the world, a source in Pyongyang has told NK News.

The soldiers, who the source said may be among the same to have recently built North Korea’s controversial Masik-ryong ski resort, are working and living in temporary accommodation at the stadium, with scores of “primitive barracks” visible around the circumference of the venue.

Although it is unclear when the renovation program will be complete, it is thought that North Korea’s Arirrang Mass Games – which usually take place at the stadium – were cancelled in 2014 for reasons related to the construction work.

Kim Jong Un visited the May Day stadium in September 2013 and instructed that it be refurbished to include more comfortable seats and to bring its artificial turf up to “international standard.” Weeks before, the United Nations urgently appealed for $98 million to meet “critical humanitarian needs” for the remainder of 2013.

Barracks for soldiers working on construction at May Day Stadium | Picture: NK News

“Over the last few years, the DPRK has spent millions of dollars and countless man hours renovating facilities that date as far back as the 1950s. Though Kim Jong Il launched the program as part of the 2012 Kangsong taeguk policy, Kim Jong Un has continued the effort, focusing primarily on sports and entertainment facilities,” North Korea satellite imagery expert Curtis Melvin told NK News on Wednesday.

North Korean military personnel are often called to work on major state construction projects, though little is known about their working conditions.

“This stadium remodelling is another misspend –and slavery work by all these soldiers,” the source who provided the photos said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Barracks visible around perimeter of May Day Stadium | Picture: NK News

The establishing of new facilities or renovation of existing ones in Pyongyang has been a theme in many of Kim Jong Un’s public appearances over the past year. Other projects have included the Masik Ryong Ski resort, Munsu water-park, Mirim horse riding club, 3-D Rythmic Cinema and Video Games Room, Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, and Sinphyong Kumgang Scenic Beauty Resort.

“Defectors are invariably negative about their former homeland spending absurd sums on vanity projects. They remember the 90s all too well, when the routinization of charisma called upon the state to spend an estimated $500 million on extending and expanding the Kumsusan Palace,” Chris Green, International Affairs Editor at the Daily NK told NK News in September, when the refurbishment of the May Day stadium was ordered.

Long-time North Korea watcher Andrei Lankov in September told NK News that the May Day stadium reconstruction program showed that Kim was out of touch with the country’s “far more pressing needs,” such as food shortages.

The May Day stadium was completed in May 1989, shortly after South Korea hosted the 1988 Olympic Games.

Main picture: NK News

 

[Sakon Shima]

Kim Jong Un flies to Mt. Paekdu on Soviet-era plane banned from Chinese airspace

North Korea's IL-62s are reserved for VIP purposes only, expert says

April 2nd, 2014 Hamish Macdonald

Kim Jong Un flew to the northern Mt. Paekdu region on a Soviet-era state owned airliner currently banned from Chinese airspace, pictures published by national daily the Rodong Sinmun suggested on Wednesday.

The photographs, which indicate that Kim Jong Un does not share the same fear of flying that reportedly afflicted the late Kim Jong Il, appear to show a North Korea leader using a state owned aircraft for domestic travel for the first time in decades.

Kim Jong Un was shown appearing to disembark from one of North Korea’s only four working Ilyushin-62 aircraft, Soviet-era airliners that were banned from making commercial flights through Chinese airspace in 2013.

Although Chinese authorities never issued an official reason for the restriction, North Korean IL-62s were banned from landing in Europe in 2006 due to concerns that the jets did not have adequate security systems installed.

But while the IL-62 is banned from making passenger services in Chinese airspace, it is still allowed to enter for state and strictly diplomatic purposes. Of the four IL-62s in service, two are for passenger services and two, including the aircraft pictured, are for VIP’s and diplomats.

North Korean aviation expert David Thompson, who runs a travel company specializing in aviation themed trips to the DPRK, told NK News that the two “VIP” IL-62s are rarely seen in use.

“They are very rarely seen either inside or outside of the DPRK and a recent rumor was that they had been scrapped for parts.

“However, our aviation tours were lucky enough to spot both aircraft last year… and both aircraft looked absolutely immaculate and in full working order,” Thompson said.

Despite being painted in the livery of state airline Air Koryo, North Korea’s two VIP IL-62s lack any airline branding on the fuselage exterior, making it difficult to determine whether they are airline or air force owned.

The IL-62 is also used by Cuban flag carrier Air Cubana, which transferred an old model – since dismantled for parts – to North Korea in 2013.

Kim shown disembarking aircraft | Picture: Rodong Sinmun

CHECKERED HISTORY

The IL-62 model has been involved in 12 fatal incidents since its creation in 1963 and in 1982 a North Korean IL-62M jet, departing from Pyongyang, crashed into the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea – killing all 23 people onboard.

The jet, which had been bound for the Conakry International Airport in Guinea, was being operated by the Civil Aviation Administration of Korea (CAAK), which was the former name of Air Koryo.

Despite being the only major incident involving an Air Koryo plane, former leader Kim Jong Il was widely reported to travel only by land, due to a fear of flying stemming from a helicopter accident in 1976.

Kim Jong Il was only captured travelling by plane once, during a broadcast by Korea Central TV as he was scouting locations for film sets.

Kim Jong Un was in the Mt. Paekdu area on Wednesday to deliver a speech to commanding officers of the Korean People’s Army and to observe an “oath making meeting” at the base of a statue of grandfather Kim Il Sung at the Samjiyon Grand Monument.


Picture: Rodong Sinmun

 

[Sakon Shima]

N.Korean Drone Snapped Photos of Cheong Wa Dae

chosun.com / Apr. 03, 2014 12:02 KST

An aerial shot obtained from the drone that crashed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on March 24 shows Cheong Wa Dae (in dotted circle) and the surrounding areas.

A drone that crashed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 24 hovered above Cheong Wa Dae and took close-range photos of the facility, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Based on several photos the Chosun Ilbo obtained on Wednesday, the drone started taking photos near Paju along a pre-set route. It flew right above Cheong Wa Dae and Gyeongbok Palace at an altitude of 1.3 km.

Analysis of digital information contained in these photos shows that the drone photographed the Cheong Wa Dae compound and its vicinity while flying from northwest over the area.

"The drone is believed to have flown at a speed of about 100 km/h and hovered over Cheong Wa Dae for some 20 seconds," photography experts speculated.

"The drone flew at a constant altitude. The camera's zoom function wasn't used. But the photos don't show if it was possible to remote-control the function," they added.

Until recently, military authorities unofficially argued that the drone did not come close to Cheong Wa Dae. But the possibility of the North having worked out reconnaissance and operational plans to reconnoiter Cheong Wa Dae with the drone can no longer be ruled out.

After a full investigation, military and intelligence authorities concluded that the aircraft was a rudimentary-level reconnaissance drone manufactured in the North. "It carried a Japanese-made camera but it seems impossible for the drone to transmit images in real time."

However, some experts claimed the North might have already received the photos through an image-transmission device inside the drone's tail.

The drone could have been turned into an unmanned "suicide" attack aircraft if some modifications were made, military authorities warn. They also found a two-digit number believed to be a serial number on its fuselage, meaning that scores of such drones may have been manufactured.

One of the investigators said, "We found indications that the drone's parachute had been re-folded eight times. It seems highly likely that it had been test-flown, or carried out operations several times."

The Defense Ministry said that the fuselage was made of polycarbonate at least three to four years ago with the aim of avoiding radar detection. "In all probability, North Korea must have sent drones to reconnoiter major military and security installations in South Korea for the last few years," a government official said.

Meanwhile, quoting North Korea experts, U.S. media downplayed the drone as merely a "model airplane fitted with a camera" or more like an "antique."

 

[Sakon Shima]

Cheong Wa Dae Caught Off Guard by N.Korean Drone

chosun.com / Apr. 03, 2014 12:45 KST

The presidential office is apparently stunned following the discovery that a surveillance drone believed to be North Korean snapped photos of it before it crashed into a mountain in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on March 24.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "We have been infiltrated by North Korea in a totally unexpected way."

The aircraft was equipped with a Japanese-made Canon camera that took some 100 photos, including aerial shots of Cheong Wa Dae.

Cheong Wa Dae officials were unaware of the drone until it was reported to police by a hiker. This raises serious concerns over the government's lax security since the incident shows that the closed airspace above Cheong Wa Dae is vulnerable to infiltration.

One security expert said, "If a bomb had been mounted on the aircraft instead of a camera, a terror attack on the presidential compound could have been possible. This is an extremely serious matter."

Cheong Wa Dae has reportedly scrambled to come up with response measures in conjunction with the presidential security team, National Security Office, Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is considering purchasing anti-aircraft weapons and radar capable of detecting low-flying aircraft. Current technology can only detect North Korean helicopters and gliders.

 

[Sakon Shima]

N.Korea 'to Execute 200 Jang Song-taek Loyalists'

chosun.com / Apr. 02, 2014 11:18 KST

Jang Song-taek

North Korea is poised to execute 200 high-ranking officials loyal to ousted eminence grise Jang Song-taek, a source said Tuesday. Some 1,000 members of their families could be sent to concentration camps under the North's barbaric system of guilt by association.

The source said the State Security Department has conducted a sweep to ferret out Jang's supporters after his execution in December last year and identified 200 core supporters and another 1,000 followers.

The department has authorization from the North's highest court to hold closed-door trials to deliver death sentences, the source added. This apparently aims to make it look as if proper procedure, to the extent that it exists at all, has been followed.

The families of those who have been sentenced to death are likely to be sent to concentration camps without trial.

The source said, "Among those who have been sentenced to death are 200 officials in the Workers Party, the government and military who received orders directly from Jang Song-taek. The executions will take place at the shooting range at Kang Kon Military Academy under the eyes of high-ranking party, government and military officials."

The public executions are designed to set an example to waverers what will happen to them if they fail to show blind obedience to Kim Jong-un, who marks his third year in power this year.

 

[JohnnyRico]

North Korea launches unprecedented personal attack on South Korea leader

SEOUL Fri Apr 4, 2014 5:13am EDT

South Korean President Park Geun-hye looks at the exhibition 'DMZ-Gruenes Band' during a visit to the East Side Gallery in Berlin March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

(Reuters) - North Korea published comments on Friday attacking South Korean President Park Geun-hye, descending to unprecedented levels of personal insult by describing her as a "repulsive wench" who had failed to marry or bear children.

The brutal denunciation, going far beyond previous criticism in the reclusive authoritarian state's media, was certain to deepen animosity amid growing tensions on the world's most militarized border.

The KCNA news agency carried what it said were comments by a private citizen criticizing Park's offer last week to help the impoverished North's women and children as "foul-smelling vituperation uttered by human scum.

"Park Geun-hye is but an unseemly wench who has never had a chance to marry or bear a child," the citizen, Kim Un Kyong, was quoted as saying by KCNA.

Park, the citizen said, had no right to talk about the children of North Korea.

"A repulsive wench such as Park Geun-hye is an incoherent existence who has long given up trying to be a woman of Korea and who makes a mockery of sacred motherhood, mad with the pursuit of national confrontation."

North Korea tightly controls the content of its media, frequently dominated by articles lionizing past and present leaders. Dispatches often quote people said to be private citizens or obscure foreign groups to attack the South and the United States.

North Korea has steadily raised the level of insult against Park in recent weeks, after accusing the South of breaking an agreement to work to improve ties by stopping statements slandering of each others' leaders.

In late March, a North Korean agency that handles ties with the South criticized Park's comments at a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

North Korea accused the South of "gangster-like" behavior after the South returned a fishing boat that had strayed into its waters last week near a tense disputed naval border.

It then fired more than 500 artillery rounds off its shore on Monday, landing more than 100 in South Korea's waters. The South responded by firing back 300 rounds into the North's waters.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ron Popeski)

 

[JohnnyRico]

North Korea tells world 'wait and see' on new nuclear test

By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS Fri Apr 4, 2014 2:03pm EDT

(Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday that the world would have to "wait and see" when asked for details of "a new form" of nuclear test it threatened to carry out after the United Nations Security Council condemned Pyongyang's recent ballistic missile launch.

North Korea (DPRK) fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles into the sea on March 26. Its first firing in four years of mid-range missiles that can hit Japan followed a series of short-range rocket launches over the past two months.

Members of the Security Council on March 27 condemned the move as a violation of U.N. resolutions and that it would continue discussions on an "appropriate response.

Pyongyang reacted on Sunday with a threat to conduct what it called "a new form of nuclear test.

"The DPRK made it very clear, we will carry out a new form of nuclear test. But I recommend you to wait and see what it is," North Korea's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ri Tong Il said on Friday during the normally reclusive state's third U.N. news conference this year.

Ballistic missile launches are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions adopted in response to North Korea's multiple nuclear tests and rocket firings. The council expanded its existing sanctions after Pyongyang's February 2013 atomic test, its third nuclear detonation since 2006.

The Security Council's sanctions on Pyongyang target the country's missile and nuclear programs and attempt to punish North Korea's reclusive leadership through a ban on the export of luxury goods to the country.

Ri accused the United States of being "hell bent on regime change" in North Korea by blaming its leaders for human rights violations. He also said Washington was blocking a bid for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula by ignoring Pyongyang proposals, so it can maintain military presence in the region.

U.S. 'GOING AROUND CRAZY'

"The U.S. is hell bent on eliminating the DPRK politically, isolating DPRK economically and annihilating the DPRK militarily," Ri told reporters. "There is a great question mark why the U.S. is hell bent on increasing the tension, ignoring the DPRK proposals, very important for peace and security."

The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ri's accusations.

U.N. rights investigators said in February that North Korean security chiefs and possibly Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un himself should be tried for ordering systematic torture, starvation and killings, saying the crimes were "strikingly similar" to those committed in World War Two.

"There is no human rights situation existing in the DPRK," Ri said. "The DPRK has the best social system in the world, it is based on one family as a country, fully united around our leadership, the people and the party."

"The U.S. is behaving as if it is a human rights judge while it should be subjected to the International Criminal Court more than anybody else. They made a lot of crimes," he said, citing U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ri criticized military drills by the United States and South Korea, called Foal Eagle and due to end on April 18. North Korea has traditionally called for the joint exercises to be called off, seeing them as a prelude to invasion.

"The U.S. is now going around crazy with these joint military drills without caring about peace and security on the Korean peninsula," Ri said.

The annual drills have been conducted for decades without a major incident. The United States and South Korea stress that the exercises are purely defensive and aimed at testing readiness against any possible North Korean aggression.

(Editing by Grant McCool)

 

[JohnnyRico]

Japan orders military to strike any new North Korea missile launches

TOKYO Fri Apr 4, 2014 11:54pm EDT

Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera (C) reviews troops from the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force 1st Airborne Brigade during an annual new year military exercise at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, east of Tokyo January 12, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato

(Reuters) - Japan has ordered a destroyer in the Sea of Japan to strike any ballistic missiles that may be launched by North Korea in the coming weeks after Pyongyang fired a Rodong medium-range missile over the sea, a government source said on Saturday.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera issued the order on Thursday, but did not make it public in order to avoid putting a chill on renewed talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang, the first in more than a year, local media reported earlier.

"The defense minister made the order from April 3rd through to the 25th to prepare for any additional missile launches," the source said.

Onodera, the source said, did not deploy Patriot missile batteries that would be the last line of defense against incoming warheads.

Media reports said the North Korean-Japanese talks in Beijing this week broke no new ground, but ended with an agreement for further meetings.

The firing of the Rodong coincided with a meeting in The Hague between U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of South Korea and Japan and followed a series of short-range rocket launches.

The launch appeared to be a show of defiance by North Korea.

The missile fell into the sea after flying 650 km (400 miles), short of a maximum range thought to be some 1,300 km.

Japanese Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan are equipped with advanced radar equipment able to track multiple targets and carry missiles designed to take out targets at the edge of space.

(Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo, writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ron Popeski)

 

[JohnnyRico]

Fingerprints, lettering on drone point to N. Korean origin

Use of UAV technology, though unsophisticated, indicates Pyongyang's hunger for intelligence on South

April 4th, 2014 Rob York

The South Korean government said the fingerprints found on the unmanned aerial vehicle that crashed in Paju a week and a half ago indicate that it is of foreign or North Korean origin.

An analysis of the prints found on the UAV, commonly referred to as a drone, detected no match among South Koreans, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said on Friday. Lettering on the drone is also consistent with the North Korean vocabulary rather than South Korean.

Still, despite Seoul’s tentative conclusion that the drone is of North Korean origin, this will have to be confirmed through a joint investigation with the police, Kim said. If North Korean involvement is confirmed, Kim told reporters that the South Korean government “take action of some sort through international organizations.”

The drone had taken 193 photos, apparently from “a very long distance,” Kim said, but was not equipped to transmit photos to Pyongyang.

Another UAV was detected on Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Monday, the same day that North and South Korea had a limited exchange in artillery fire.

A source told the JoongAng Ilbo that the drone in Paju crashed due to engine trouble, while the one discovered earlier this week went down after running out of fuel.

Analysts have pointed out the unsophisticated nature of these drones’ technology, particularly relative to models used by both the U.S. and South Korea.

Still, their discovery has led to speculation that the North is eager to gather more intelligence on the South.

A senior military official told the Hankyoreh that the South does not send its UAVs to the North, preferring to gather intelligence via satellite or manned aircraft.

“If North Korea is sending drones, that suggests that it‘s that hungry for intelligence about the South Korean military,” the official told the Korean daily.

Picture: North Korean drone at 7/27 parade, 2013

 

[JohnnyRico]

N.Korean Drones 'Used in Previous Attacks'

chosun.com / Apr. 04, 2014 12:14 KST

The recent crash of a North Korean unmanned aerial vehicle in Paju north of Seoul has increased worries that the North habitually uses surveillance drones over South Korea. It has also raised suspicions that the North deployed UAVs when it shelled Yeonpyeong Island and sank the Navy corvette Cheonan in 2010.

At the time of the shelling, 122 mm North Korean multiple rocket launchers struck South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzer positions with relative accuracy. One military source said, "There was even talk at the time that a North Korean spy stole classified information, but now it seems more likely that the North already knew the positions from surveillance photos taken by UAVs."

Yoon Yeon, a former commander of naval operations, said before North Korea torpedoed the Cheonan, North Korea probably tracked the ship's route on the West Sea by radar, and it's possible that it flew drones over the Cheonan afterward check the result of its attack.

 

[JohnnyRico]

Roof of Kim Jong-un's Jerry-Built Luxury Villa Caves In

chosun.com / Apr. 04, 2014 12:37 KST

The roof of a luxury villa in Wonsan belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has collapsed, apparently due to faulty construction.

A comparison of a photo of the villa taken by South Korea's Arirang 3 satellite and an earlier image of the area on Google Earth shows a building in the compound with a collapsed roof.

One U.S. satellite image expert who analyzes photos of the luxury villas and government buildings used by the North Korean elite said the building appears to be an aquarium that was built in 2011.

A satellite photo (left) on Google Earth in 2012 shows a building with a complete roof in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s villa compound in Wonsan, while in another taken by South Koreas Arirang 3 in March this year the roof has gone.

Kim had the aquarium built with materials imported from Italy and Germany and filled with US$3.3 million worth of marine life, including dolphins brought in from China.

According to North Korean defectors, military engineers are responsible for building Kim's villas. Experts say that Kim has engaged in massive construction drive since coming to power, and the push for speed is leading to faulty construction.

One source said, "Once Kim Jong-un sets a completion date, there is no arguing. This frantic push to meet deadlines is everywhere causing problems with quality."

 

[JohnnyRico]

S.Korea Rescues N.Korean Sailors After Cargo Ship Sinks

VOA News / Apr. 05, 2014 09:09 KST

The South Korean coast guard launched rescue operations April 4 after a Mongolian-flagged cargo ship with 16 North Korean crew members sank off the southern coast of South Korea.

At least two crew members died, three have been rescued and a search for the 11 crew members still missing is ongoing, the South Korean Unification Ministry said on Friday.

"Our coast guard has sent patrol ships and aircraft and rescued three crew [members] and found two bodies. We will continue to find missing people," said the South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do, citing the South Korean coast guard.

"The damaged ship is a Mongolian-flagged cargo ship and sixteen people were on board, and all were North Koreans," Kim added.

The ship was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast and was headed for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, a South Korean coast guard official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

 

[Captain America]

South Korea finds ‘drone’ suspected from North Korea

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 06 April, 2014, 5:44pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 06 April, 2014, 5:44pm

Agence France-Presse in Seoul, South Korea

An unmanned drone lies on a mountain in Samcheok, South Korea. Photo: AP

South Korean military said Sunday it had found an unidentified “drone” suspected to have flown from North Korea, following the discovery of two similar objects near the border in recent weeks.

The South earlier found two unsophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles -- about one metre long, two metres wide and painted pale blue -- that had crashed near the border with the North.

The two camera-equipped vehicles took hundreds of pictures -- albeit of low quality -- of border areas and the capital Seoul, including the presidential palace, according to the South’s defence ministry.

The military found Sunday another drone of similar design and size in the eastern county of Jeongseon, about 130 kilometres (80.7 miles) south of the heavily fortified border, Seoul’s defence ministry spokesman said.

“We ... will conduct investigations on the object on the suspicion that the North may be behind it,” Kim told reporters.

Seoul’s military saw the drones as “substantial threats” and would come up with ways to detect them, Kim said without elabourating further.

The first drone was discovered in the border city of Paju on March 24 and the other one was found in the border island of Baengnyeong on March 31, when the two Koreas traded fire across the tense sea border.

The North dropped 100 shells across the maritime border during a live-fire drill, prompting Seoul to fire back about 300 volleys into North Korean waters.

The military said Wednesday it had evidence suggesting the vehicle found in Paju was of North Korean origin, citing unique North Korean words typed on its batteries.

North Korea displayed a set of very basic-looking drones during a huge military parade held in Pyongyang last July to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

And in March last year, state media reported leader Kim Jong-Un overseeing a military drill using “super-precision drone planes.”

The North on Saturday jeered at the discovery of drones that apparently flew freely over key areas in Seoul -- but offered no clear denial or confirmation as to its involvement.

The drone cases “occurred all of a sudden, more badly tarnishing the image of the (South’s) forces which had fallen to the ground,” state-run KCNA quoted the North’s army spokesman as saying.