Given the recent warnings Hawaii has endured, and there is some discrepancies where some say that missiles were sent there from North Korea and intercepted and blown up before hitting Oahu, things may happen quickly.
Does the military have a responsibility to report intercepted and blocked attacks to the public?
Would there disclosing it negatively impact any response they plan in the future?
[Edited on 2/6/2018 by gina]
The North Koreans have proven to be very resilient and able to get around prior sanctions, wondering what impact these new "largest ever" sanctions can have. Some believe the mountain of sanctions are effecting them, other evidence shows they just violate them anyway: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/03/asia-pacific/north-korea-earned-200-million-banned-exports-u-n-report-says/#.WpGAu3nauUk
I'm not a big fan of John Bolton, but he put it rather simply, paraphrasing "the US is going to have to decide if we can live with a nuclear North Korea, or we are going to have to forcefully stop it" - it's getting to the point that those are the only two choices. And two very terrible choices those are. A nuclear NK isn't just like a nuclear India or China or some semi-reasonable country. The fact that they would likely sell technology and material to anyone and everyone who wants it is really the bigger concern then them actually launching a missile at the US or one of our allies even though CIA says NK was only "a handful of months away from being able to hit the US mainland with a nuke".
What an epic failure of our leaders in Washington to have let this problem fester. The advancement in NK's recent development has been rather quick, quicker than intelligence agencies predicted. What a mess. So here we are essentially out of time for anything else other than accept it or war - choices nobody wants to accept.
U.S. imposes more North Korea sanctions, Trump warns of 'phase two'
Steve Holland, Christine KimWASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs, and President Donald Trump warned of a “phase two” that could be “very, very unfortunate for the world” if the steps did not work.
In addressing the Trump administration’s biggest national security challenge, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website.
The United States also proposed a list of entities to be blacklisted under separate U.N. sanctions, a move “aimed at shutting down North Korea’s illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.”
North Korea has been developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland and Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged taunts that have raised fears of war.
In August, Trump threatened to go beyond sanctions by bringing “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” although his administration has repeatedly said it prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Speaking at a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump made apparent reference to military options his administration has repeatedly said remain on the table.
“If the sanctions don’t work, we’ll have to go phase two,” Trump said. “Phase two may be a very rough thing, may be very, very unfortunate for the world. But hopefully the sanctions will work.”
The sanctions’ targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from dealing with them.
The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions were designed to disrupt North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels and further isolate Pyongyang. They are also aimed at ships located, registered or flagged in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and the Comoros.
Last month, three Western European intelligence sources told Reuters that North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year and that it was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions.
FRUSTRATED TRUMP
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the new sanctions would help prevent North Korea from skirting restrictions on trade in coal and other fuel through “evasive maritime activities.”
“The president is clearly frustrated and rightly so over the efforts that have failed in the past and also over the uptick in testing and the advances we’ve seen in the North Korean program,” a senior administration official told reporters.
At another briefing, Mnuchin stood next to enlarged photos he said showed December 2017 images that revealed ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other products destined for North Korea in an attempt to evade sanctions.
He said he could not rule out the prospect of the United States boarding and inspecting North Korean ships.
Mnuchin said virtually all shipping currently being used by North Korea was now under sanction and the U.S. government had “issued an advisory alerting the public to the significant sanctions risks to those continuing to enable shipments of goods to and from North Korea.”
Mnuchin said the number of sanctions steps taken by the United States against Pyongyang since 2005 was now 450 with approximately half imposed in the last year.
Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, told reporters sanctions already had affected North Korea’s weapons programs and this was shown by the lengths North Korea was going to try to evade sanctions.
Jonathan Schanzer of the Washington think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said Friday’s move was “the largest tranche of DPRK (North Korea) sanctions” released by the Treasury Department.
“The only thing missing here today is action against Chinese banks,” he said. “We know they continue to undermine our efforts to isolate North Korea.”
Tougher sanctions may jeopardize the latest detente between the two Koreas, illustrated by the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics in the South, amid preparations for talks about a possible summit between North Korea’s Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Nevertheless, South Korea welcomed the U.S. sanctions saying they would “alert those who are illegally trading with North Korea and therefore bolster the international community to carry out resolutions from the U.N. Security Council”.
Japan also supported the new sanctions, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said, according to the Kyodo news agency.
Taiwan said it was in touch with the United States and would investigate its citizens and entities suspected of helping North Korea. It also called on Taiwan firms and citizens not to break U.N. sanctions.
Reuters was unable to locate contact details for the Chinese companies listed in the new U.S. sanctions.
In a commentary carried by Korean Central News Agency on Saturday, North Korea said it never intended to aim its nuclear weapons at South Korea, adding the weapons will only be aimed at the United States.
‘WARM CLIMATE’
North Korea last year conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. It defends the weapons programs as essential to deter U.S. aggression. It has been more than two months since North Korea’s last missile test.
Kim said he wants to boost the “warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue” with South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, after a high-level delegation, including his sister, returned from the Olympics.
In an extension of that rapprochement, the North agreed on Friday to hold working-level talks on Tuesday for the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics on the North’s side of the border village of Panmunjom.
In December, the United Nations approved a U.S.-drafted measure limiting North Korea’s access to refined petroleum products and crude oil, which North Korea said amounted to an act of war.
In January, Washington announced a round of sanctions and urged China and Russia to expel North Koreans raising funds for the programs.
The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal on Aug. 5 under sanctions intended to cut off an important source of the foreign currency Pyongyang needs to fund its weapons programs.
The new U.S. sanctions were announced while Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is visiting South Korea. At a dinner with Moon at Seoul’s presidential Blue House, Ivanka Trump said the United States wanted to “reaffirm our commitment to our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized.”
Moon said North Korea’s participation in the Olympics had “led to lowering of tensions on the peninsula and an improvement in inter-Korean relations” and were thanks to President Trump’s “strong support for inter-Korean dialogue.”
Ivanka Trump’s visit to South Korea coincides with that of a sanctioned North Korean official, Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee blamed for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors. His delegation will attend the closing ceremony and also meet Moon.
The Blue House has said there are no official opportunities for U.S. and North Korean officials to meet.
They want to talk? US response? We'll see.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement on Sunday that he'd met with the North Korean delegation in Pyeongchang before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, and told them that North Korea-US talks should happen "as soon as possible."
Moon said the North Koreans indicated they were willing to talk with the US, and agreed that "the inter-Korean relationship and North Korea-US relationship should develop together."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/25/asia/north-korea-us-talks-intl/index.html
Pretty stunning developments the last several weeks, the latest with Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un's meeting.
If North Korea is sincere, a big if, but the extent of their actions and words definitely feels different this time, I wonder what their angle is? Perhaps they think they can create an economy like China did.
I think there are 3 possible reasons for the change in North Korea's tune.
1 - China for the first time has tightened the screws and is enforcing the UN embargo. Without the food and energy they previously received from China, they simply can't function as a country anymore.
2 - North Korea has always played the crazy card. The unpredictable country with nukes. It is possible that they now view Trump as the unpredictable crazy leader with nukes. It's hard to play chess with somebody when what they do may make no sense whatsoever.
3 - They may have hit a wall. They may not have any further uranium to spare for further testing, and maybe they can't expect further positive developments with their missile program. Fear depends on your foe believing you can deliver a nuclear weapon to their shores. The Hawaii false warning proved their point and maybe they don't see further testing as necessary. The longer you go without testing the less fear they can generate. Maybe they think this is the optimal time to play their cards.
Anyway, I hope this all works out. The tone does seem different this time.
[Edited on 4/27/2018 by 2112]
The mountain above North Korea’s main nuclear test site Punggye-ri has likely collapsed following a nuclear test last fall, sparking concerns about radioactive fallout and environmental catastrophes, according to geologists at the University of Science and Technology of China.
It comes less than a week after North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un announced the reclusive nation would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests and scrap its testing site ahead of meetings with the United States and South Korea, now suggesting an alternative reason behind the site’s closure.
“The onsite collapse calls for continued close monitoring of radioactive materials from the nuclear test site,” the geologists wrote in a study that will appear in an upcoming issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
I heard the Norks released 3 remaining American hostages. Another victory for President Trump. Obama the Disaster would have continued to forget about them.
Who cares about them? We like soldiers who DON’T get caught. If they get caught, are they really worth freeing? Obama did the right thing by ignoring them and focusing on a bigger issue - securing wiretaps and indictments against scum. Great job Obama!
hostages
They aren't "hostages" they are prisoners, same as the thousands of U.S. citizens in foreign prisons.
Don’t forget to add make-up jokes to the list of things that offend the alt-right. It’s up there now with SNL and broadway plays.
Maybe they will help us with the invasion of Canada.
I honestly hope for the best and that they can come up with an agreement. I'm all for giving credit where credit is due if he can make an agreement that will make the world a safer place. It might even partially make up for his blowing it on the Iran deal.
We are a long way from congratulatory comments or criticism I think even though it has already started for some. Nothing of substance has happened yet. We need results. I am happy this door is open. I posted here during the Iraq war that I wish Bush and Hussein could've had a face to face. But protocol, ego and image prevent these type of meetings. It is better to have meetings than war. It is just unbelievable that we've reached this point from where we were. Now what happens from here is what really matters.
Wow, did Trump get played.
All the Kims ever wanted was for NK to be a recognized, respected force on the world stage.
They’ve certainly achieved that goal.
We now love North Korea and hate Canada. Wonder what the rest of this week will bring?
It's fun to Google North Korea + Obama for time period 2008-2016. Obama wouldn't give Kim the time of day (even at Ambassador Rodman's request) and yet the word "appeasement" was used often.
Now shaking hands with rogue dictators is a good thing.
The ever-shifting principles of conservative politics.
Good luck trying to get a sound explanation from one of these types. If they could explain it, I guess they would?
I have never gotten the "giving legitimacy" point. North Korea exists. Kim Jong Un is their leader. What has ignoring them gotten us? Should we wait until one of their missiles hit an ally to respond to them?
The point of any meeting is to work towards goals understood and desired by both sides. Whether at the lowest level or Presidential level, if we can get positive improvements out of it that we want...who cares if they get what they want as long as there is mutual benefit.
I'm not happy about a murderous dictator being elevated and promoted, but if it leads to the safety and security of our country and the allies in the Asian region we are treaty bound to protect then whatever happens in North Korea will be for them to figure out.
Lots of work to do. Let's hope North Korea is sincere, let's hope the US is sincere and mutual actions of goodwill will be repaid. And let's hope that that this nagging global cancer is tamed and can at some point be taken off the threat list.
So now it appears that Trump had agreed to halt joint war games with South Korea and that the US will withdrawal our forces from South Korea. Hey, I'm all for reducing our military footprint around the world, but this seems once again like we are throwing one of our best allies under the bus (like we have all week) to appease our enemies. What a crazy world we live in these days. I can't even begin to imagine how the Republicans would react to this if Obama proposed it.
I have never gotten the "giving legitimacy" point. North Korea exists.
The point is that there's no going back. North Korea is a despotic cult of personality that exercises horrific, murderous and inhumane actions on its own people. We're giving hugs to a guy who kills family members with a missile.
Anyone who is good with that, fine. Just don't ever talk about the Kim regime again.
Dennis Rodman blasts Obama’s failures, proud of President Trump:
Dennis Rodman Slams Obama for Missed Opportunity With North Korea’s Kim Jong Un
https://www.thewrap.com/dennis-rodman-slams-obama-missed-opportunity-north-koreas-kim-jong-un/
Weeping Dennis Rodman praises Trump's meeting with friend Kim Jong Un, blasts Obama for ignoring him
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/11/weeping-dennis-rodman-praises-trumps-meeting-with-friend-kim-jong-un-blasts-obama-for-ignoring-him.html
LOL, only Muleman would brag about Dennis Rodman. This is when I feel bad for Mule.
Just when you think that the Nazis couldn't become more clownish, they use Dennis Rodman's opinion as an attack.
DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.
Ha ha.
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
He agreed to stop joint military exercises with South Korea and got nothing in return. Even Republicans are saying he got played.
But hey, Dennis Rodman and you love him. What more does he need?
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
He agreed to stop joint military exercises with South Korea and got nothing in return. Even Republicans are saying he got played.
But hey, Dennis Rodman and you love him. What more does he need?
We see you still cannot read.
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
You mean Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat, embarrasses America - as did toddler Trump himself.
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
You mean Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat, embarrasses America - as did toddler Trump himself.
Still crying that President Trump got the job done where Obama failed?
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
You mean Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat, embarrasses America - as did toddler Trump himself.
Still crying that President Trump got the job done where Obama failed?
What job did trump get done?, mental midget??.
What is the matter pops, fake news not reported the facts again?
Seriously. After mocking people like Kathy Griffin and Robert DiNiro, we are supposed to care about the opinion of DENNIS FREAKIN' RODMAN.
I don't know how our resident Trumpsters can top this, but they will try.
DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!
Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat embarrasses Obama and exposes Obama's failure.
The lefties here can't handle the fact that President Trump is getting the job done.Ha ha.
You mean Dennis Rodman, wearing his MAGA hat, embarrasses America - as did toddler Trump himself.
Still crying that President Trump got the job done where Obama failed?
What job did trump get done?, mental midget??.
The job of praising a dictator. I haven't seen anything showing that North Korea has given us anything, only that we are giving up a lot.
Of course getting nothing will still impress the likes of Dennis Rodman, Kim Kardasian, Kanye West, Scott Baio, and Muleski - you know, the bottom of the barrel scrapings.
