These Countries That Support North Korea Could Be Prevent A Nuclear War

These Countries That Support North Korea Could Be Prevent A Nuclear War


The half-woken bear that is North Korea was prodded further on Tuesday by none other than President Donald Trump. The president's working vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey, took an unexpected turn when he issued a new level of threat against the notoriously sensitive DPRK regime, prompting questions about who would support North Korea in the event of a war between the two countries.

Trump's statement before the press on Tuesday has been considered a significant amplification of the ongoing rhetoric surrounding the North Korean nuclear situation. "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States... They will be met with fire, fury, and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before," Trump said to reporters. This escalating rhetoric has many around the world concerned about a potential military conflict between the U.S. and North Korea, and which nations would take which side.

China is largely considered North Korea's biggest ally right now. Despite escalating international sanctions in response to North Korea's recent nuclear exploits, China hasn't done much to show austerity to its neighbor. Trade between the two countries was up 10 percent in the first half of this year as compared to the same time last year, indicating that the two countries are still working together economically without much disruption. Chinese president Xi Jinping also celebrated the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army last week According to Harvard international affairs professor Graham Allison, who wrote an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times on the matter, Xi's parade may have been a signal to the United States to back off, not North Korea.


The Russian government has also expressed support for North Korea, although it's difficult to say how far that support goes. Moscow has consistently encouraged the world community to keep positive relations with North Korea, and in 2015, even established a "year of friendship" between the two countries to strengthen ties.

Russian-North Korean trade has also increased this year. Russia has been making up for the deficits in coal trade that China imposed, which is critical since it's North Korea's primary foreign currency. However, Russia has also condemned North Korea's nuclear program, and even though Russian-U.S. relations are at a low point right now, it's difficult to see nuclear escalation getting no response from Vladimir Putin.

A few other countries have expressed support for North Korea in the past, including Bulgaria, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, it's the big superpowers with the potential to challenge the U.S. military that the world needs to be concerned about. China and Russia's influence over the North Korean regime may be what ends up diffusing the tension between the DPRK and the U.S. after all.

Why The North Korean Artillery Factor Makes Military Action Extremely Risky [Infographic]

Why The North Korean Artillery Factor Makes Military Action Extremely Risky [Infographic]

Last month, a poll found that a majority of Americans  now support military action against North Korea if diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis fail. While the United States undoubtedly possesses the military hardware and capabilities to deliver an effective strike on Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities, retaliation by the North is highly likely to occur. While this could of course come in the shape of one of the regime’s much vaunted intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with a nuclear warhead, observers believe the north’s artillery would almost certainly inflict devastating damage against the south, regardless of the missile program.

While a substantial part of North Korea’s military is made up of old antiquated Soviet weaponry, its artillery capabilities remain exceptionally powerful. The North Korean People’s Army Artillery Command has an estimated 12,000 pieces of tube artillery and another 2,300 multiple launch rocket systems. Koksan 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm and 300mm multiple launch rocket batteries are capable of striking Seoul, though it is believed that the capital’s northern outskirts would be under the most threat from the systems with the longest range. While some studies have predicted Seoul’s annihilation, it’s likely that some districts would be heavily damaged with a significant level of civilian casualties.

For North Korea, deciding exactly what to target with all of those heavy guns would prove vital in any conflict. The regime could strike military targets across the demilitarized zone or hit South Korean urban areas in an attempt to inflict a shocking blow through mass civilian casualties and economic damage. The latter strategy would leave North Korean artillery vulnerable to counter barrages and airstrikes, giving the U.S. and South Korea a better chance at containing and eliminating the threat.

The following infographic is based on research conducted by Stratfor and it shows where North Korean artillery fire could be most heavily concentrated in a war with the south. The scenario is based on known and expected positions of conventional artillery as well as a situation where North Korea exposes all of its artillery simultaneously without failures. While the immediate border area could be heavily saturated by explosives, the airport at Incheon and parts of Seoul would also come under threat. The danger posed by artillery was already highlighted in November 2010 when North Korean shells and rockets were fired at Yeonpyeong Island, killing four South Koreans and wounding another 19. If the U.S. and its allies do eventually conduct a strike against Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities, the sheer size of the north’s artillery force means it will always have a devastating card to play in the event of any conflict.

Stunning images of Air France A380 engine destroyed in flight

Stunning images of Air France A380 engine destroyed in flight

Commentary: Passengers on an Air France flight look out the window and see that one of the plane's engines has been mysteriously wrecked.

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.

When planes perform spectacularly, we celebrate them.

Sometimes, though, things go wrong.

On Saturday, for example, passengers on Air France flight 066 from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to Los Angeles looked out of the window and saw something disturbing.

The Airbus A380's No. 4 engine -- that's the one on the outside of the right wing -- had endured an explosion. One passenger, Miguel Amador, speculated this had been caused by a bird strike.

But the front cowling and the fan disc had completely come off.

The plane was somewhere over Greenland at the time and was diverted to Goose Bay in Canada, where it landed safely. The A380 has four engines.

Air France didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The airline issued a statement on Sunday, however, in which it said: "The regularly trained pilots and cabin crew handled this serious incident perfectly."

Should America Fear North Korea's 'CIA'?

Should America Fear North Korea's 'CIA'?


North Korean intelligence apparatus is one of Pyongyang’s strong suites. Indeed, Pyongyang’s security services have demonstrated their ability to strike far from home as was shown during the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam—elder half-brother to the North Korean despot—in Malaysia. The Kim regime’s intelligence apparatus is ruthless and effective and could be used to good effect during any conflict on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea maintains an extensive intelligence collection and security apparatus—as might be expected of a totalitarian regime such as the so-called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang maintains two main agencies—one focused on external intelligence collection and clandestine operations and another focused on counterintelligence. There are also two smaller organizations dedicated solely to infiltrating South Korea. “North Korean intelligence and security services collect political, military, economic, and technical information through open-source, human intelligence, cyber, and signals intelligence capabilities,” reads a Pentagon report to Congress about Pyongyang’s expected capabilities in 2015. “North Korea’s primary intelligence collection targets remain South Korea, the United States, and Japan.”

North Korea’s primary external intelligence agency is the Reconnaissance General Bureau—which seems to be modeled on the Soviet/Russian GRU military intelligence agency. “The Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) is North Korea’s primary foreign intelligence service, responsible for collection and clandestine operations,” the Pentagon report reads. “The RGB is comprised of six bureaus with compartmented functions including operations, reconnaissance, technology and cyber, overseas intelligence, interKorean talks, and service support.”

North Korea’s internal security agency—though it might have some foreign intelligence functions too—is the Ministry of State Security. Not coincidentally, it shares the same name as the Soviet Union’s Stalinist-era Ministry of State Security—Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti in Russian—the MGB. Indeed, the North Korean agency was modeled on the Soviet-era organization.

Recommended: The Case for War with North Korea

“The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is North Korea’s primary counterintelligence service and is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to Kim Jong Un,” the Pentagon report states. “The MSS is responsible for operating North Korean prison camps, investigating cases of domestic espionage, repatriating defectors, and conducting overseas counterespionage activities in North Korea’s foreign missions.”

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North Korea also maintains two other units specifically designed to infiltrate the South. One is overt, while the other group is covert. “The United Front Department (UFD) overtly attempts to establish pro-North Korean groups in South Korea such as the Korean Asia-Pacific Committee and the Ethnic Reconciliation Council,” the report states. “The UFD is also the primary department involved in managing inter-Korean dialogue and North Korea’s policy toward South Korea.”

The UFD also has a covert counterpart that trains infiltrators and attempts to sow dissent and chaos in the South. “The 225th Bureau is responsible for training agents to infiltrate South Korea and establishing underground political parties focused on fomenting unrest and revolution,” the Pentagon report states.

North Korean intelligence apparatus is one of Pyongyang’s strong suites. Indeed, Pyongyang’s security services have demonstrated their ability to strike far from home as was shown during the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam—elder half-brother to the North Korean despot—in Malaysia. The Kim regime’s intelligence apparatus is ruthless and effective and could be used to good effect during any conflict on the Korean peninsula.

Image: Reuters.

Russia Sends Navy Ships to Pacific In Show of Strenght

Russia Sends Navy Ships to Pacific In Show of Strenght
Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev (L) and Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov (C), the deputy commander of Flotilla of Pacific Fleet of Russia, answer questions from the members of the media onboard the Russian Navy vessel, Admiral Tributs, a large anti-submarine ship, docked at the south harbor port area in metro Manila, Philippines January 4, 2017.: 10_02_Russian_ships
© Romeo Ranoco/Reuters 10_02_Russian_ships
Russia is sending two anti-submarine warships and a tanker to the Pacific Ocean in a show of strength around the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea, areas where tensions are already high due to ongoing disputes.

The Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev destroyers, as well as the Boris Butoma tanker sailed from Russia’s Vladivostok base and will call at nine foreign ports in the next four months, a naval spokesman told state news agency RIA Novosti on Monday.

According to the Russian Pacific Fleet’s spokesman, Vladimir Matveev, “the main goal of the journey is showcasing the Andreevsky flag in the Asia Pacific Region and to further develop maritime cooperation with Asia Pacific countries.” He did not specify which countries will host the Russian ships.

The Andreevsky flag is the ensign of the Russian Navy—a blue St. Andrew’s cross on a white background. Matveev said the ships prepared for the trip with a combat readiness drill to check their ability to defend themselves should they encounter danger in the next few months. The destroyers trained warding off an aerial attack with missiles and artillery fire against both air and sea targets, at a training range in the Sea of Japan.

Russia military and naval capabilities have been focussed mostly on the West, however Moscow has increasingly appeared to seek to reinforce its post-Cold War capabilities in the far east.

Russia's Pacific Fleet will be bolstered by the arrival of two new Varshavyanka-class diesel-powered submarines: the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will arrive first in late 2019, followed by the Volkhov. Since 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken of a desire to rebuild Russia’s trade and military presence in the Asia Pacific.

The Russian navy wrapped up a war game with China off the coast of Vladivostok last month, a year after they staged a similar event in the South China Sea.

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Why North Korea Might Do the Unthinkable: Test a Nuclear Weapon in the Pacific Ocean

Why North Korea Might Do the Unthinkable: Test a Nuclear Weapon in the Pacific Ocean


The Trump Administration may inadvertently be provoking North Korea into conducting a live-fire test of a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile.

While it is clear that North Korea has both ballistic missile technology and a working hydrogen bomb, the U.S. State Department recently suggested in a tweet that Pyongyang does not have such capabilities. While many prominent international relations experts and former U.S. government officials immediately derided the State Department’s tweet, similar statements in previous decades prompted China to conduct a risky live-five nuclear missile test on October 27, 1966. Pyongyang—feeling the pressure to prove its capabilities—might do the same.

“#DPRK will not obtain a nuclear capability. Whether through diplomacy or force is up to the regime @StateDept,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert tweeted on October 1 to much derision.

Prominent detractors immediately noted that Nauert seems to have missed the fact that North Korea already possesses nuclear capability. Indeed, some arms control experts are convinced that such statements are actually provoking the North Koreans, especially when taken together with President Donald Trump’s own bellicose statements. Trump recently sent out a tweet on October 1 that effectively undercut Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s efforts at diplomacy with Pyongyang.

Such statements only embolden North Korea to attempt a so-called Juche Bird live-fire nuclear missile test. “Oh, yes,” Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told The National Interest.

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“The more we say they we're going to attack them before they have a nuclear deterrent, the more sense it makes to demonstrate that it’s too late and that they are already nuclear armed.”

Indeed, in previous weeks, as tensions have ratcheted up, North Korean officials have threatened to conduct such a live-fire nuclear test. "It could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific," North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency on September 21.

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"We have no idea about what actions could be taken as it will be ordered by leader Kim Jong-un."

Joshua H. Pollack, editor of the The Nonproliferation Review and a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, noted however that Pyongyang might not be playing close attention to the State Department. They are, however, paying attention to Trump’s own statements and tweets—which often contradict those of his underlings.

“I don’t think they’re attuned to State in North Korea. They’re watching what Trump says and does!” Pollack told The National Interest.

“Two observations. First, have a look at KJU's [Kim Jong-un] reply to Trump's U.N. speech. He expressed surprise to hear remarks of this sort in a planned speech, as opposed to off-the-cuff remarks (an apparent reference to ‘fire and fury’). That's when he basically said that all options are on the table, in not so many words. Later, Ri Yong Ho gave public remarks in response to a Trump tweet - the first time they have overtly done so. I think they've decided that they now have to take Trump both seriously and literally, to coin a phrase.”

Thus far, there are no indications that North Korea will conduct a live-fire nuclear test in the Pacific—such an act would be extraordinarily provocative. But then there might not be any indication of such a test until the weapon explodes in a nuclear fireball somewhere over the ocean.

“I am not sure what indications one would expect — it will probably look like any other missile test until it explodes,” Lewis said.

“In the past, I have seen concerns expressed about suspicious movements between the site that assembles nuclear weapons and missile launch sites, but those have all been false alarms.  So, any indicators used by the U.S. intelligence community will just have the inherent problem of false positives.”

If the North Koreans do test such a live nuclear-tipped ballistic missile, it will likely be an intermediate range weapon, but it is possible that Pyongyang would test an intercontinental range weapon just so that Washington understands that the Kim regime can reach out and touch the American homeland.

“Probably a Hwasong-12, but I wouldn’t rule out a -14,” Lewis said.

There is no concrete evidence that North Korea will really attempt a live-fire weapons test, but the United States, Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China have all conduct such end-to-end nuclear tests to demonstrate that their strategic deterrent works. Given that North Korea hopes to deter the United States from attempting a regime change, there is a certain logic to conducting a live-fire nuclear test.

“All we have are—one—the fact that the U.S., USSR and China each concluded that such a test was necessary and—two—that the North Koreans have threatened to follow suit,” Lewis said.

Time will tell.

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Trump decries diplomacy with North Korea; Does that mean war's the only option left?

Trump decries diplomacy with North Korea; Does that mean war's the only option left?


Although President Trump has repeatedly stated that going to war with North Korea is not his preferred option, his statements on Sunday would seem to indicate that it’s the only outcome he’s now open to pursuing.

Donald Trump once again took to the social media platform Twitter to convey his foreign policy stance, claiming that American Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, was wasting his time by pursuing talks with Kim Jong un’s despotic regime.