[NK Missile] Missile Launch Failure Aftermath

North Korea, in the view of a Cartoonist

North Korea's Kim Jong Un Officially Visits DMZ

North Korean Young Leader Kim Jong un officially visited the heavily armed border with rival South Korea, Panmunjon village in the DMZ. During his visit, Kim Jong un ordered troops to "maintain the maximum alertness as they are standing in confrontation with the enemies at all times." Furious about posting threatening slogans beneath portraits of Kim Jong Un and his deceased father by a South Korean military unit near Seoul, 150,000 North Koreans, both its citizens and military officials, rallied in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung square, chanting slogans inciting violence against the South Korean president. We believe that the threats are aimed internally as Kim Jong Un bolsters his power among the elite and military as the third generation of his family to lead the country. However, nothing will change in the future. The ROK will likely ignore Kim Jong Un's official Panmunjom visit as it has no storng impact. Moreover, the international voice against North Korea and the wave of revolution within is irreversible.

7th Fleet commandship, USS Blue Ridge visits Korean navy's First fleet

US Navy 7th Fleet's commandship, USS Blue Ridge visited Korean Navy's First Fleet after participating in the ROK-US Combined forces military exercise. USS Blue Ridge soldiers visited the Donghae(East Sea) emphasize the continued cooperation between the US and The ROK. Blue Ridge Soldiers are scheduled to exchange and experience the culture and history of their allied nations, which broadens the sailors' perspectives. In a 4 day schedule, sailors went on sightseeing tours, participated in community service events with their ROK navy partners, built friendships while attending a cultural art performance and participated in a Korean cultural-heritage tour. The US sailors visited Chon'gok cave, Mooreung valley, Jeongdongjin Security Pavillion, Sokcho Cith museum, Sorak Mountain, and participated in community service for the disabled and elderly by providing haircuts, washing clothes, cleaning, and bathing. The Korean soldiers of First Fleet provided "Art Chamber Orchestra, samulnori, Taekwondo demonstration, and fusion variety performances for the Seventh Fleet sailors. The port visit was an unique occasion and opportunity for sailors of both countires to meet each other and build stronger relationships as allies, and confirm the continued cooperation between the US and the ROK.

Kim Jong-un Joins War of Words Against S.Korea-U.S. Drills

New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has personally joined Pyongyang's rhetorical war against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises that kick off Monday. According to the North's official KCNA news agency, Kim on Sunday visited four units under the 4th Army Corps, which shelled Yeonpyeong Island in October 2010, and was quoted as parroting earlier calls in the official media for "a powerful retaliatory strike" at South Korea, "should the enemy intrude even 0.001 mm" into its waters. On Saturday, the North's powerful National Defense Commission also denounced the exercises. "Nuclear weapons are not an exclusive property of the U.S.," it said. "We have more powerful means of war than the nuclear weapons of the U.S. and state-of-the-art strike equipment that nobody else has."

A South Korean military source said North Korean military units exchanged radio messages during a South Korean firing drill on the northwesternmost islands on Feb. 20 that said, "We're ready to risk a full-scale war." But experts say the chances of an actual attack from the North are slim, since these threats are customary ahead of South Korea-U.S. drlls. The response this time round is more vociferous, however, probably because Kim Jong-un has yet to consolidate his hold on power after his father Kim Jong-il's death in December. The first part of the joint exercises, dubbed "Key Resolve," involves 2,100 U.S. troops and 200,000 South Korean forces from Monday to March 9. The second part, called "Foal Eagle" runs from Thursday until the end of April and involves some 11,000 U.S. troops carrying out aerial, sea and special operations, as well as ground maneuver operations with South Korean forces. http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/27/2012022700654.html

NK deploys upgraded long-range rocket launchers: source

North Korea has developed and deployed improved long-range multiple rocket launchers in time to celebrate the centennial of its founder's birth this spring, a source here said Monday. According to the source, North Korea recently completed upgrading the previous model of its 240-millimeter rocket launchers, and named them 'Juche 100 Guns,' after the North's primary ideology of self-reliance. The source said the new launchers have more than doubled the range of the earlier version, which could fire up to 60 kilometers, and that they have been deployed to some artillery units. North Korea is known to have been operating two types of 240-mm rocket launchers: the 12-round M-1985 and the 22-round M-1991. The Juche 100 is based on the M-1991, according to the source. North Korea reportedly imported 300-mm ammunitions from Russia and test-fired them for years off the west coast. Intelligence officials here believe the North is expected to unveil the Juche 100 to the public during a massive military parade on April 15 this year, the 100th birthday of the North's founder Kim Il-sung. Experts say South Korea can counter with its own precision-guided land missile capable of hitting Pyongyang. The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), the surface-to-surface missiles, can be fired from multiple rocket launchers with an effective range of 165 kilometers. Equipped with a global positioning system and inertial guidance technology, these missiles were positioned near the Demilitarized Zone last year. (Yonhap)

South Korea wins Royal Navy tanker deal

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering won bids to build four 35,000-ton next-generation support tankers for the British Royal Navy worth a total of US$700 million on Wednesday. This is third-largest order ever recorded in Korea's defense-related exports, following an order for $1.08 billion worth of submarines from Indonesia, and another for K-9 self-propelled artillery from Turkey worth $1 billion. It is also significant in that it was an export deal to Britain, which built the world's first modern warships. The British government announced that DSME had been chosen as the preferred bidder to build the new support tankers, which are tasked with supplying fuel, ammunition and food to warships. Three firms, including Daewoo, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Italy's Fincantieri competed for the bid. The two Korean companies reportedly gained the upper hand due to their technological prowess and price competitiveness. British officials inspected them both in April and May last year, and also visited supply tankers of the Korean Navy. An official at Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, "We have secured a stepping stone to make inroads into the European market for military vessels."

S. Korea carries out military drill despite threats from N.Korea

South Korea fired live artillery on Monday in a military drill near the country's heavily armed border with North Korea, which has described the exercise as a provocation.The drill Monday involved howitzers, mortars and attack helicopters, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. It took place on islands off the west coast of the Korean peninsula where tensions have flared in the past. Seoul notified the North on Sunday of the drill, a regular live-fire exercise that lasts an hour. About 1,000 island residents were moved to safe areas during the drill, Yonhap reported, citing military officials. "This is a very dangerous play with fire to ignite a war against the North as it is a clear declaration of war against it," Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday, citing a bulletin from the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea. In late 2010, North Korea responded to a South Korean military exercise in the same area by firing artillery at Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians. "If the puppet warmongers preempt reckless firing despite our warning, they will not escape punishment thousands-fold severer" than the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the bulletin said. It identified "the puppet warmongers" as being South Korea and the United States, which has tens of thousands of troops in South Korea. The death in December of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the subsequent anointment of his son and chosen successor, Kim Jong Un, has created uncertainty about the future direction of the secretive regime in Pyongyang. Further tensions over military maneuvers on the Korean peninsula are expected in the coming weeks. There are two joint exercises planned involving thousands of U.S. and South Korean forces scheduled between February and April.

North Korea threatens to attack SKorean leader's office

North Korea threatened Thursday to turn Seoul's presidential office into a "sea of fire," one day after South Korea conducted large-scale military drills near a front-line island attacked by North Korea last year.
The exercises marked the first anniversary of North Korea's artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong that killed two marines and two civilians.

The North's military warned in a statement Thursday that "a similar sea of fire" may engulf Seoul's presidential Blue House if South Korean forces ever fire a single shot into North Korea's territory. The warning was carried by North Korean state media.

Pyongyang blamed Seoul for provoking the attack last year, saying it struck after warning the South not to carry out live-fire drills in waters that both Koreas claim as their territory.

South Korea's drills this week involved aircraft, rocket launchers and artillery guns and took place off Baengnyeong Island, another front-line territory near the disputed maritime border. Officials said they were meant to send a strong message to North Korean rivals stationed within sight just miles (kilometers) away. No live-fire activities took place.

The North Korean military threat comes despite recent signs that animosities between the rival Koreas are easing, with diplomats seeking to resume North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that he was sorry North Korea has not yet apologized for the shelling, according to his office. He also said he expects Pyongyang to apologize if North Korea wants to improve relations between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war because their 1950s conflict ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

Source : http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-11-23/North-Korea-South-Korea-military/51377434/1