Noord-Korea dreigt Zuid-Korea met oorlog...

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CBS) Tensions between the United States and North Korea are ratcheting up again tonight.

The North may be preparing to test-fire another long-range missile - possibly toward Hawaii. And American warships are tracking a North Korean cargo vessel that could be carrying banned weapons, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin at the Pentagon.

The cargo ship Kang Nam may not look like much, but it is suddenly attracting a lot of attention from the U.S. military.

It is the first North Korean ship to set sail since the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on the U.S. and other navies to intercept North Korean vessels believed to be carrying arms.

That means a U.S. warship could request permission to search the Kang Nam, but it could not use force to board her if North Korea refuses, which it almost certainly will.

North Korea has threatened to retaliate if its ships are interfered with - and is preparing a new launch pad to fire off a long range missile capable of reaching Hawaii. Two previous long-range missile tests have failed, but the Pentagon is taking no chances.

It's positioning a giant radar at sea to track any North Korea launch and sending interceptor missiles to Hawaii as a back up to interceptors based in California and Alaska.

"I think we are in a good position, should it become necessary to protect the … American territory," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters.

The Kang Nam was halted for safety violations entering the port of Hong Kong two years ago. That such a seemingly unassuming vessel could become a key player in such a high-tech standoff is almost laughable.

Except that that is exactly what's happening.

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De Verenigde Staten houden rekening met een raketaanval van Noord-Korea op Hawaï. Volgens minister Gates van Defensie zijn daarom raketten naar de Amerikaanse eilandengroep overgebracht.

De afgelopen maanden is de spanning tussen Noord-Korea en het westen hoog opgelopen. Aanleiding is de lancering van een testraket door Noord-Korea en een ondergrondse kernproef die het land eind mei deed. De VN-Veiligheidsraad legde Noord-Korea daarna sancties op.

De Amerikaanse marine volgt nu een Noord-Koreaans schip omdat het mogelijk wapens aan boord heeft. Noord-Korea mag van de VN geen wapens meer exporteren.

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Op donderdag 11 juni 2009 04:00 schreef F04 het volgende:


Typisch gevalletje van blaffende honden bijten niet.

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Op donderdag 11 juni 2009 04:00 schreef F04 het volgende:


Typisch gevalletje van blaffende honden bijten niet.

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VS houdt Noord Koreaans schip in de gaten
Het Amerikaanse leger houdt een Noord-Koreaans schip in het oog dat mogelijk een vracht vervoert voor zijn nucleaire en rakettenprogramma. Dat zei een verantwoordelijke van Defensie in de Verenigde Staten.

Het gaat om het eerste Noord-Koreaanse schip dat gevolgd wordt nadat afgelopen week de Verenigde Naties nieuwe sancties nam tegen Pyongyang. Die kwamen er na een ondergrondse Noord-Koreaanse nucleaire test op 25 mei. "Er is een schip, de Kang Nam, die we nu al enkele dagen in het oog houden", zei de verantwoordelijke, die anoniem wou blijven.

Resolutie 1874 van de Veiligheidsraad van de VN voorziet een versterkt inspectiesysteem voor vracht via de lucht, zee en over land, met bestemming Noord-Korea, open zee inbegrepen. Ook werd een wapenembargo uitgebreid. "We hebben de bedoeling om resolutie 1874 met heftigheid te doen respecteren", zei admiraal Michael Mullen, de Amerikaanse stafchef. (afp/adv)

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Official: Russia monitors possible DPRK missile launch
MOSCOW, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia is monitoring a possible missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), news agencies reported on Friday, citing a deputy chief of the Russian armed forces.

"It is too early to say when North Korea could launch a missile -- this could happen any time," Lt. Gen. Alexander Burutin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. "Our monitoring facilities are on permanent alert, and we will trace the missile seconds after it is launched," he said.

Burutin warned that his country will intercept the DPRK ballistic missile if it flies in the direction of Russia. "Our air defense, missile defense system and tracking system are fully equipped for this," Interfax quoted him as saying. The United States and South Korea claimed that the DPRK has moved a long-range ballistic missile to a west coast launch site in preparation for a possible test launch within days.

The DPRK conducted a series of short-range missile launches after its May 25 nuclear test, threatening to beef up its deterrence potential to counter what it calls hostile U.S. policies.

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Op vrijdag 19 juni 2009 20:40 schreef Sensation89 het volgende:
Ben benieuwd hoe dit zich gaat ontwikkelen.

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North Korea: US faces Nuclear Shower

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea condemned a recent U.S. pledge to provide nuclear defense of South Korea, saying Thursday that the move boosts its justification to have atomic bombs and invites a potential "fire shower of nuclear retaliation."

The commentary in Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper was the North's latest reaction to last week's summit between President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The allies issued a joint statement committing the U.S. to defend the South with nuclear weapons.

It also came as an American destroyer trailed a North Korean ship suspected of shipping weapons in violation of a U.N. resolution punishing Pyongyang's May 25 nuclear test, and as anticipation mounted that the North might test-fire short- or mid-range missiles in the coming days.

The North's newspaper claimed that the "nuclear umbrella" commitment made it more likely for the U.S. to mount a nuclear attack on the communist North, and only "provides us with a stronger justification to have nuclear deterrent."

It also amounts to "asking for the calamitous situation of having a fire shower of nuclear retaliation all over South Korea" in case of a conflict, the paper said.

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Op donderdag 25 juni 2009 09:29 schreef indahnesia.com het volgende:
Aah, het gaat weer spannend worden de komende dagen. Doet ie het of doet ie het niet.

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Op donderdag 25 juni 2009 09:33 schreef Shoombak het volgende:

[..]

Wordt een hete zomer

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Obama extends N. Korea sanctions
On the eve of North Korean naval exercises, President Obama has extended economic sanctions against Pyongyang for another year, heightening tensions over the communist state's nuclear and missile programs. The announcement came hours after Pyongyang accused the United States today of trying to "provoke a second Korean War," and said it would "wipe out the aggressor."

The military drills begin tomorrow and run through July 10. North Korea has indicated it might launch a long-range missile in the direction of Hawaii on July 4, so the Pentagon and Japan's military are monitoring closely. The threatened launch is Pyongyang's response to being condemned in April by the U.N. Security Council. The Security Council's resolution attempts to thwart suspected trading in banned weapons or materials by asking countries to search North Korean ships, if the crews allow. A U.S. destroyer is trailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying weapons and headed for Burma.

CNN reports that U.S. officials are downplaying North Korea's threats. Fox News quotes a Pentagon spokesman dismissing Pyongyang's latest threat as "silliness."

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Singapore says no notice on tracked NKorean ship
Singapore's maritime and port authority said Thursday it has not received any information that a North Korean ship being tracked by the US military had requested to dock in the city-state.

Since it left the western North Korean port of Nampo on June 17, the Kang Nam 1 has been shadowed by a US Navy destroyer under UN sanctions on suspicion of carrying missiles or related parts. South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source, has said the 2,000-tonne ship was heading for Myanmar via Singapore.

"The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has not been informed of any intention by Kang Nam 1 to call at the Port of Singapore," the authority said in a statement. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last week that the government will take action if it is true that the vessel is carrying materials banned under UN sanctions.

"Singapore takes seriously the non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), their means of delivery and related materials," the foreign ministry said. "If the allegation is true, Singapore will act appropriately."

Media reports had said the ship might make a stop in Singapore to refuel.

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North Korea threatens to shoot down Japanese planes

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea threatened Saturday to shoot down any Japanese planes that intrude into its airspace, accusing Tokyo of spying near one of its missile launch sites.

The North has designated a no-sail zone off its eastern coast from June 25 to July 10 for military drills, raising concerns that it might test-fire short- or mid-range missiles in the coming days, in violation of a U.N. resolution.

North Korea's air force said Japan's E-767 surveillance aircraft conducted aerial espionage near the Musudan-ri missile site on its northeast coast Wednesday and Thursday.

The country's official Korean Central News Agency said the air force "will not tolerate even a bit the aerial espionage by the warmongers of the Japanese aggression forces but mercilessly shoot down any plane intruding into the territorial air of the (North) even 0.001 mm."

Officials of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force were not immediately available for comment Saturday.

The threat against alleged Japanese aerial espionage is rare, though the North has regularly complained of U.S. spy missions in its airspace.

Japan is very sensitive to North Korea's missile programs, as its islands lie within easy range. In 1998, a North Korean missile flew over Japan's main island. Tokyo has since spent billions of dollars on developing a missile shield with the United States and has launched a series of spy satellites primarily to watch developments in North Korea.

But in April, another rocket flew over Japan's main island, drawing a strong protest from Tokyo. Pyongyang claims it put a satellite into orbit, while the U.S. and its allies say it was really a test of the country's long-range missile technology.

The launch was one of a series of missile tests in recent months, and the communist regime has further raised tensions by conducting a second underground nuclear test. Its actions have drawn harsh international condemnation and new U.N. sanctions

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Op donderdag 2 juli 2009 11:28 schreef Frutsel het volgende:
Noord Korea heeft zojuist 2 korte afstandsraketten gelanceerd