North Korea May Launch Missile Toward Hawaii in July

North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile toward the U.S. state of Hawaii in early July, Japan’s Yomiuri daily said on Thursday, citing Defense Ministry analysis and U.S. intelligence.

The paper said the Defense Ministry believes the launch is most likely to take place between July 4 and July 8. The ministry has declined to comment on the report.

The paper also said that the missile was likely to fly over Japan’s Aomori Prefecture toward Hawaii, but would not be able to reach the main islands.

The missile, thought to be a long-range Taepodong-2, would be launched from the country’s Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast, said Japan’s best-selling newspaper.

North Korea tested a nuclear weapon on May 25, accusing the U.S. and South Korea of aggressive intentions. Pyongyang said on Wednesday that it would meet any attack with “one thousand-fold retaliation.”

Following the underground test, the United Nations widened an arms embargo and authorized ship searches in an attempt to disrupt the communist state’s nuclear and missile programs.

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Pentagon: NKorea Missiles Could Threaten US

North Korea’s missiles could hit the United States in as few as three years if the reclusive rogue nation continues to ramp up its weapons system, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

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“We think it ultimately could — if taken to its conclusion — it could present a threat to the homeland,” Lynn told McCain during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

“That’s assuming a lot of luck on their part in moving forward,” Cartwright said during questioning by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.

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Obama: N.Korea Nuclear Program Grave Threat

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs posed a grave threat to the region and to the world and called for a sustained effort to enforce international sanctions.

Obama was speaking at a news conference after meeting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the White House. North Korea said at the weekend it would start a uranium enrichment program and weaponize all its uranium in response to new U.N. sanctions.

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N. Korea Warns of Nuclear War Amid Rising Tensions

North Korea’s communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions.

The North’s defiance presents a growing diplomatic headache for President Barack Obama as he prepares for talks Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North’s missile and nuclear programs.

A commentary Sunday in the North’s the main state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, claimed the U.S. has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. Another commentary published Saturday in the state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. has been deploying a vast amount of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.

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North Korea Threatens Response Within 48 Hours

Kim Jong-il’s embattled regime is expected to deliver a tough, belligerent response to Friday’s imposition of a raft of new UN sanctions.

North Korea is expected to launch another long-range test missile over the next 48 hours according to US intelligence, as the region is on a heightened state of alert.

Pyongyang is also planning another underground nuclear test according to leaked briefings given to President Obama, US reports say.

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North Korea Threatens Merciless Nuclear Offensive

North Korea today said it would use nuclear weapons in a “merciless offensive” if provoked — its latest bellicose rhetoric apparently aimed at deterring any international punishment for its recent atomic test blast.

The tensions emanating from Pyongyang are beginning to hit nascent business ties with the South: a Seoul-based fur manufacturer became the first South Korean company to announce Monday it was pulling out of an industrial complex in the North’s border town of Kaesong.

The complex, which opened in 2004, is a key symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas but the goodwill is evaporating quickly in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear test on May 25 and subsequent missile tests.

Pyongyang raised tensions a notch by reviving its rhetoric in a commentary in the state-run Minju Joson newspaper today.

“Our nuclear deterrent will be a strong defensive means…as well as a merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country’s dignity and sovereignty even a bit,” said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

It appeared to be the first time that North Korea referred to its nuclear arsenal as “offensive” in nature. Pyongyang has long claimed that its nuclear weapons program is a deterrent and only for self-defense against what it calls US attempts to invade it.

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U.S. Preps for Possible Showdown With North Korea

The U.S. military is stepping up training and reviewing target sets in case the North Koreans decide to go to war.

As we learned last week, North Korea looks to be prepping for another long-range missile test, and South Korea has reportedly outlined plans to strike back if North Korea targets its warships. The U.S. military is also preparing for the worst; Aviation Week ace reporters Amy Butler and Dave Fulghum have an excellent rundown of stepped-up military preparations in the event North Korea follows through on its belligerent rhetoric.

Fulghum, reporting from Osan Air Base, South Korea, notes that the U.S. Air Force is identifying critical training fixes for close air support and air-to-air combat — two missions that would be critical in the first 72 hours of the fight. He also takes a close look at a first-day-of-the-war mission for joint tactical air controllers: XATK (pronounced “ex-attack”), the mission to destroy long-range, North Korean artillery.

Pyongyang has a lot of artillery tubes and rocket launchers parked north of the DMZ that could wreak havoc on Seoul. Col. Rick Forster, commander of the 607th Air Support Operations Group, tells Fulghum: “We’ve got a very good idea of where most of their pieces are … We’ve had 60 years to watch [the emplacement of North Korean artillery] and they can only put them in so many places.”

Forster would be the chief air liaison officer in the event of war; it would be his job to help coordinate air strikes before North Korean artillery can concentrating fire on South Korea’s capital.

via U.S. Preps for Possible Showdown with Pyongyang | Danger Room | Wired.com.

33 Minutes – Protecting America In The New Missile Age

A ballistic missile from a foreign enemy would take 33 minutes to reach the United States. With each passing day, this becomes a growing danger to America, yet our government has failed to build the missile defense systems capable of defending us against such attacks.

Our enemies are attempting to stockpile arsenals that threaten our freedom and prosperity. North Korea and Iran are the most prominent, but this also includes Russia, China and other nations that have missiles capable of killing Americans in very large numbers and threatening our allies.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to rogue states such as Iran and North Korea pose a grave danger to the lives of all Americans.

North Korea is currently developing a long-range ballistic missile that could soon carry a nuclear warhead all the way to Alaska or California. Iran already has missiles that can reach Europe, and could soon acquire nuclear weapons. These countries could share their missile and nuclear technologies with terrorists, who would in turn be able to directly threaten New York City and other American cities with short-range missiles.

Once terrorist-supporting states get their hands on a nuclear missile, they would be free to attack us and our allies with impunity, knowing full well we would think twice before sending our armed forces into a country that could retaliate with nuclear missiles. They would be emboldened to threaten their neighbors, assert dominance in their region, and further destabilize dangerous situations. Thus, they would gain sanctuary from which to export more terrorism.

via Missile Defense – 33 Minutes Overview.

Israeli Troops Mobilize For Possible Gaza Ground Assault

Israel widened its deadliest-ever air offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, targeting a house next to the Hamas premier’s home early Monday after pounding smuggling tunnels and a central prison, sending more tanks and artillery toward the Gaza border and calling up thousands of reserve soldiers for a possible ground invasion.

Israeli leaders said they would press ahead with the Gaza campaign, despite enraged protests across the Arab world and Syria’s decision to break off indirect peace talks with the Jewish state. Israel’s foreign minister said the goal was to halt Gaza rocket fire on Israel for good, but not to reoccupy the territory.

Early Monday, Israeli aircraft bombed the Islamic University and government compound in Gaza City, centers of Hamas power. Witnesses saw fire and smoke at the university, counting six separate airstrikes there just after midnight.

Other targets were a guest palace used by the Hamas government and the house next to Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s home in a refugee camp next to Gaza City. He was not home, as Hamas leaders have gone into hiding.

Click here for photos (WARNING: Graphic)

Hamas, whose charter specifically calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdon and the European Union and is banned in Jordan.

From 2000 to 2004, Hamas was responsible for killing nearly 400 Israelis and wounding more than 2,000 in 425 attacks, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 2001 through May 2008, Hamas launched more than 3,000 Qassam rockets and 2,500 mortar attacks against Israeli targets.

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Russia Ratchets Up Tensions With Arms Sales To Iran And Venezuela

Russia defied the United States yesterday by announcing plans to sell military hardware to Iran and Venezuela.

The head of the state arms exporter said that he was negotiating to sell antiaircraft systems to Iran despite American objections. Russia has already delivered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems under a $700 million (£386 million) deal with Iran in 2005. Read more

Intel Shows Iran Fitting Missiles With Nuclear-capable Warheads

Intelligence obtained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that Iran has been modifying its Shihab-3 ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads.

IAEA agents presented the intelligence on Tuesday after Iran rejected their requests to formally examine its ballistic missile program alongside an ongoing investigation into the intents of its nuclear program. Read more