ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Today, North Korea urged a number of foreign embassies in Pyongyang to evacuate their staffs because the country would, according to the U.K.’s reading of the warning it received, “be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organizations in the country in the event of conflict from April 10.” In other words, North Korea is telling foreign diplomats, including that of nominally friendly Russia, “war might be coming, so you better skip town.” North Korea is known for issuing threats it doesn’t see through and warning about wars that never come. Still, this move, potentially a first for North Korea, came as a big surprise. But it wouldn’t have been so surprising if you’re a regular reader of the JoongAng Daily, a major South Korean broadsheet newspaper with a sizable readership and a reputation for leaning a touch to the right. Three weeks ago, JoongAng ran a story, citing a single, anonymous official with South Korean intelligence, predicting that this is exact

The U.S. Geological Service has detected a magnitude 6.2 seismic event just on the Russian side of the country’s border with North Korea. The closest North Korean town, Aoji Ri, is only 25 miles miles from the epicenter, which is also very close to China. The event occurred at exactly two seconds after midnight, local time. The event was almost certainly an earthquake, but it comes at an inauspicious moment: North Korea is severely ratcheting up its talk of nuclear war today, urging foreign embassies in Pyongyang to evacuate their staff. The move is ostensibly because war is imminent, although North Korea is known to often issue such alarms and provocations without actually following through. Still, seismic activity within North Korea is sometimes a sign of a nuclear weapons test. The epicenter is far enough from the border, and thankfully not within North Korea itself, that the world can safely conclude that this was not a nuclear event. The danger, though, is that the region is alre

By Peter Hart April 04, 2013 "Information Clearing House" -" FAIR " -  It's not easy to figure out what's going on with North Korea. We hear that new leader Kim Jong-Un is making threats to attack the United States, South Korea or both–and that's leading to some rather alarming, and alarmist, coverage. As ABC World News reporter Martha Raddatz put it (3/31/13): "The threats have been coming almost every day, and each day become more menacing, the threat of missile strikes on the U.S., invading armies into South Korea and nuclear attacks." The dominant narrative would have you believe that the United States was basically minding its own business when North Korea began lashing out. On CBS Evening News (3/29/13), Major Garrett explained: North Korean saber-rattling is common every spring when the United States and South Korea engage in military exercises. So there are "exercises" right next door, conducted by the world's

Pyongyang, April 3 (KCNA) -- The U.S. navy sent SBX-1 to waters around south Korea, south Korean KBS reported on April 2. It also sent latest destroyer capable of intercepting missiles in waters around south Korea. The U.S. imperialist warmongers took this step next day when they introduced F-22s into south Korea, blustering that these are aimed to closely monitor the movement of the DPRK and cope with missile launch. The U.S. is increasing the danger of war, ceaselessly introducing lots of nuclear war hardware into south Korea and in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula in a bid to bring dark clouds of a nuclear war to hang over Korea.

"I believe we have the right to take preemptive action," he said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y, says that the U.S. could preemptively launch a strike on North Korea, if provoked. “If we have good reason to believe there’s going to be an attack, I believe we have the right to take preemptive action to protect ourselves,” he said on CNN. “I don’t think we have to wait until Americans are killed or wounded or injured in any way,” King continued. “I’m not saying we should be rushing into war, don’t get me wrong, but if we have solid evidence that North Korea’s going to take action, then I think we have a moral obligation and an absolute right to defend ourselves.”

By Scott Stewart, Vice President of Analysis , and Sidney Brown On March 26, the Belgian federal police's counterterrorism force, or Special Units, conducted a felony car stop on Hakim Benladghem, a 39-year-old French citizen of Algerian extraction. When Benladghem reacted aggressively, he was shot and killed by the police attempting to arrest him. The Special Units chose to take Benladghem down in a car stop rather than arrest him at his home because it had intelligence indicating that he was heavily armed. The authorities also knew from their French counterparts that Benladghem had been trained as a paratrooper in the French Foreign Legion. Additional intelligence showed that Benladghem had traveled extensively and that, through his travels and email and cellphone communications, he appeared to be connected to the international jihadist movement. Rather than risk a confrontation at Benladghem's apartment, where he had access to an arsenal of weapons as well as a ballistic

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's defense minister says North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, but says it is not capable of hitting the United States. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Thursday dismissed reports in Japanese and South Korean media that the missile could be a KN-08, which is believed to be a long-range missile that if operable could hit the United States. Kim told lawmakers at a hearing that the missile's range is considerable but not far enough to hit the U.S. mainland. He said he did not know the reasons behind the missile movement, saying it "could be for testing or drills." Experts say North Korea has not demonstrated that it has missiles capable of long range or accuracy. Some suspect that long-range missiles unveiled by Pyongyang at a parade last year were actually mockups.

PAJU, South Korea (AP) — North Korea warned Thursday that its military has been cleared to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons, while the U.S. said it will strengthen regional protection by deploying a missile defense system to Guam. Despite the intense rhetoric, analysts do not expect a nuclear attack by North Korea, which knows the move could trigger a destructive, suicidal war. Experts believe Pyongyang does not yet have the ability to launch nuclear-tipped missiles, but its other nuclear capabilities aren't fully known. The strident warning from Pyongyang is the latest in a series of escalating threats from North Korea, which has railed against joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises taking place in South Korea and has expressed anger over tightened sanctions for its February nuclear test. For a second day Thursday, North Korean border authorities denied entry to South Koreans who manage jointly run factories in the North Ko