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North Korea fires missile towards Japanese Waters

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cameron

Member
Transcript via AFP: N.Korea fires 'intercontinental ballistic missile'
The "landmark" test of a Hwasong-14 missile was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, an emotional female announcer said on state Korean Central Television.

It reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometres and flew 933 kilometres, she added.

The North was "a strong nuclear power state" and had "a very powerful ICBM that can strike any place in the world" she said.




NYT: North Korea Says It Has Successfully Tested ICBM
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Tuesday that it had successfully conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, claiming a milestone in its efforts to build nuclear weapons capable of hitting the mainland United States.

Tuesday's launch was the first missile test since President Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, agreed to put more pressure on the country to come to the negotiating table.

The missile took off from the Banghyon airfield in the northwestern town of Kusong and flew 578 miles before landing in the sea between North Korea and Japan, the South Korean military said in a statement. Military officials were still analyzing flight data to determine what type of missile had been used.
After their initial assessment that the North Korean projectile was an intermediate-range missile, the United States and South Korean authorities were continuing to analyze the data ”with the possibility that it was actually an ICBM-class missile," said Mr. Moon, the South Korean president.

If the missile took 37 minutes to fly 580 miles, as the South Korean and United States military analysts said, that would mean that it had a highly lofted trajectory, probably reaching an altitude of more than 1,700 miles, said David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Such a missile would have a maximum range of roughly 4,160 miles, or 6,700 kilometers, on a standard trajectory, he said.
But analysts also cautioned that although they have been impressed by the rapid and steady progress in the North's missile programs, the long flight time itself did not suggest that North Korea had mastered the complex technologies needed to build a reliable nuclear-tipped ICBM, such as the know-how to separate the nuclear warhead and guide it to its target.
 

Zolo

Member
Trump seemed to have more criticism of China this past week, so I wonder if they knew this test was going to happen.
 

An altitude of 1,700 miles? Wow. It basically reached way up into the Exosphere and Kim could easily shoot down the International Space Station if he wanted to. I didn't realize that launching an ICBM is basically sending a missile into space and then re-entering earth's atmosphere arching toward the target.

It's a shame we waste so much manpower and resources on tools of destruction instead of using them to colonize the Moon or explore space.

Edit: And oh yeah, Trump tweets like a 6th grader. I'm sure these tweets strike terror among all our enemies allies round the world.
 
Out of sheer curiousity, why is NK not allowed to develop ICBMs, a country which signed the Paris agreement btw, while a clown like Trump has access to the biggest nuclear arsenal on earth? Is there an international law which forbids this?

Don't get me wrong here, I do of course realize the threat resulting from this, especially for Japan, but seriously, for all I know NK is making all that fuzz for a very single reason: Show that attacking them will come at a huge cost, not only for SK. Everyone who thinks they develop ICBMs to (first) attack other states needs a reality check.
 
Jesus Christ! Trump just talks like he's a random guy that nobody will pay attention to. I know he says some crazy stuff but should the president be saying stuff like this? What if China, SK or Japan had plans to make moves on NK?
 
China's pitbull terrier all mad that it's master has had sanctions placed on it.

It's Chinas alter ego country, they won't do shit.
 

Ecotic

Member
Starting a conflict wouldn't likely boost Trump's approval numbers. First he doesn't have the benefit of the doubt that he will do the right thing like Bush enjoyed after 9/11. Secondly even a mild conflict that doesn't go as badly as the worst predictions would create an immense global supply chain disruption, likely as bad or much worse as the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Real people would feel that.

Issues of what to do with a defeated North Korea would consume years and would likely necessitate huge and continuing U.S. aid. People who expected an American first agenda would tire of Korea consuming all the political oxygen in the room.
 

StayDead

Member
Yes, Kim Jong Un is just bored and is firing missiles for shits and giggles. There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about here at all.

What a great display of leadership from the POTUS.

There isn't anything to be concerned about.

They're firing them purely to annoy people and especially to anger the US. They know that even Donald Trump isn't stupid enough to fire a Nuke, because any retaliation will lead to the destruction of the SK capital.

If they really wanted to do something they could've rained artillery down on Seoul at any time. These missiles are more used for propaganda internally than they are internationally.
 
I'm really worried about Trump being the one to handle this crisis. Basically anything can happen with that buffoon in charge.

Also, "anything better to do?" says the guy who couldn't even remember which country he launched a barrage of missiles at.

Thank every one of his predecessors for essentially praying nothing happens to force their hand while in office. North Korea should've been taken seriously a long time ago.
 
If I were South Korea, I would have moved the capital and industrial complex from Seoul to a more southern city a long time ago.
 

acm2000

Member
pretty sure if NK actually tried anything of any real seriousness it would be shot straight out of the sky and the retaliation would flatten NK before they even knew what happened
 

watershed

Banned
If I were South Korea, I would have moved the capital and industrial complex from Seoul to a more southern city a long time ago.

It has been planned for years at different points and is hotly debated. Either way though, Seoul is always going to be NK's first target in a potential conflict and Seoul will always be a hugely populated and important city. Capital or not, Seoul will forever be the face of SK.
 

kvn

Member
If I were South Korea, I would have moved the capital and industrial complex from Seoul to a more southern city a long time ago.

You DO know that basically half the population lives in Seoul? You also DO know that basically most of the industry is already located in the south?

pretty sure if NK actually tried anything of any real seriousness it would be shot straight out of the sky and the retaliation would flatten NK before they even knew what happened

Yes, this is how war works and how you handle 20+ million civilians.
 
China's pitbull terrier all mad that it's master has had sanctions placed on it.

It's Chinas alter ego country, they won't do shit.

Considering all the sanctions hitting South from Chinese business, China is fully aware it can do shit. Obama has put South in a bad position.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Maybe the threat of hitting the US will cause powers to do something finally. Enough tri-monthly launches towards Japan.
 
meanwhile on Japanese tv there are commercials from the government on what to do in case of nuclear strike (go in a windowless room). Japan is taking this threat seriously.

Here is the commercial as reported in a news cast.

https://youtu.be/0EmsnaN3wqE

If you think its funny, imagine seeing this before heading to work that day.
 
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