Skip to main content

North Korea's Missiles 'In Upright Position'

Reports that North Korean missiles have been put upright on their launchers come as G8 foreign ministers discuss the crisis.



A North Korean missile launcher has moved into the firing position with rockets facing skyward, Japanese media have said.

The reports in the Kyodo news agency come as North Koreans celebrate the appointment of their leader Kim Jong-Un a year ago, and G8 foreign ministers discuss the crisis during a meeting in London.

The Japanese government has been on high alert ahead of the expected test-firing of a medium-range missile by Pyongyang, deploying Patriot missile batteries in Tokyo as a defence measure.

South Korean and US forces in the territory of Guam have announced an upgrade of their surveillance alert status.

Tokyo is "gathering a variety of information ... with a sense of tension", Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera was quoted as saying by Kyodo.


North Korea celebrates the appointment of Kim Jong-Un

Meawnhile, Sky sources say the UK ambassador in Pyongyang has held a number of meetings with North Korean Foreign Ministry officials – signalling that Britain has a potential role to play in finding out what Pyongyang’s intentions are.

The US does not have an embassy in the North.

At their meeting in London, foreign ministers of G8 countries - United States, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada – are expected to press China to engage with Pyongyang and use its leverage to preserve the peace in that region.

North Korea is believed to have moved at least two Musudan missiles to its eastern coast.

The untested missiles have a range of 3,500km (2,180 miles), and can cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.


US-South Korean joint drills have angered Pyongyang

According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has been moving multiple missiles in and out of a warehouse facility in an apparent bid to confuse foreign intelligence agencies.

At least five mobile launch vehicles have also been spotted swapping places and positions, the intelligence analysis cited by Yonhap news agency said.

Missiles have been spotted at the Musudan-ri launch site and also around the town of Wonsan.

Pyongyang has not announced plans to fire a missile, but has delivered increasingly belligerent rhetoric in recent weeks in anger over joint US-South Korean military exercises being conducted in the South through the end of April.

Citing the tensions, Pyongyang has pulled more than 50,000 workers from the Kaesong industrial park it shares with South Korea - the only remaining symbol of economic cooperation between the nations.


Patriot batteries have been deployed in Japan

It has warned that "thermo-nuclear war" was imminent and urged foreign tourists and diplomats in South Korea to take cover.

However, there has been no sign of diplomats leaving. The European Union said there was no need for member states to evacuate or relocate their diplomatic missions, but it called on North Korea to "refrain from further provocative declarations or action".

Most observers say Pyongyang has no intention of starting a war that could bring its own destruction. But they have warned of the risks of miscalculation on the highly-militarised Korean peninsula.

North Koreans were celebrating Mr Kim's appointment to first secretary of the Workers' Party a year ago.

Mr Kim took up a slew of top titles in the months following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in December 2011 - highlighting his family's grip on power in the reclusive nation.


John Kerry, US, and Fumio Kishida, Japan, at G8 foreign ministers talks

A flower show, art performances and public parties are scheduled over the next few days in the lead-up to the nation's biggest holiday, the April 15 birthday of its founder Kim Il-Sung, grandfather of the current leader.

Sky News' Asia correspondent Mark Stone said that the missiles' upright position on their launchers suggests a test-firing might be imminent, though he points out that in the past missiles have sat on their launchers for some days.

A South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman said: "According to our advising group, North Korea uses red fuming nitric acid as its fuel for ballistic missiles, so they can be on standby up to more than two weeks for a lift-off after it is filled with fuel."

The launch is expected to be a test, aimed at boosting Mr Kim's credentials at home.

Mark Stone said: "There is no way Kim Jong-Un is going to back down now. He's made quite clear he wants to test one of these missiles.

"If he was to back down it would show a huge amount of weakness abroad and more importantly at home. This whole crisis is about him shoring up his own legitimacy."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif