North Korea says missiles were drill to strike US forces in Japan

[TomCADem]

Source: Financial Times

North Korea’s latest missile tests were a rehearsal for an attack on US forces in Japan, Pyongyang has revealed, ratcheting up tensions with two of its sworn enemies even as relations with erstwhile ally Malaysia took a nosedive.

The increasingly isolated nation on Monday launched a barrage of ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, prompting widespread international condemnation.

The tests were conducted by an artillery unit under Pyongyang’s nuclear command that had been “tasked to strike the bases of the US imperialist aggression forces in Japan”, the country’s state-run KCNA news agency said.

The remarks came as North Korea announced that Malaysians currently inside the country would be prevented from leaving amid an escalating diplomatic dispute over the assassination last month in Kuala Lumpur of Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un.



Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/5e1345d4-02de-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9

[cos dem]

1. OK, so our so-called "president" isn't the craziest leader in the world

But I'm guessing he's in the Top Ten.

[MedusaX]

3. Even worse...

We have the temper-tantrum 5 yr old that has to prove that he really is a big boy by trying to out-do any other leader....

So it is only a matter of time before Kim Jong Un successfully baits Drumpf*ck into a military pissing contest......

[cstanleytech]

6. Oh Trumps in the top 5, not the 10. nt

[Renew Deal]

2. North Korea would get flattened if they tried

[Mendocino]

4. We should take this seriously

because NK always follows through with their threats.

[ColemanMaskell]

5. What a movie! DT vs KJ Uno! shades of Godzilla vs King Kong

Thanks for the update. Wow.

[Nitram]

7. I doubt KJU wants to commit suicide. He doesn't care about his country, but

he cares about himself. Nuking US troops in Japan would be certain suicide.

[Lurks Often]

8. I doubt that too, but we are betting millions of lives that he will react like a sane person

And if KJU feels, correctly or not, that he is about to be deposed or assassinated, he has nothing to lose by starting a war.

In an ideal world China would have someone kill KJU and put in someone a bit more acceptable to the rest of the world. However I suspect KJU has been killing off anyone he suspects might be in bed with China.

[Nitram]

12. We are not betting any lives he will behave sanely. The alternative is to kill millions of North...

Koreans, and risk the lives of millions of south Koreans. If you have a better solution than cyber-sabotage, negotiation, containment and preparedness, I'd love to hear it.

[Lurks Often]

14. I'm not advocating war

We need to work with China to find ways to reduce tensions and see if we can contain NK better. Ideally China assassinates KJU, but as I stated before, I think KJU has had most of the people friendly with China killed already.

We also need a worst case contingency plan to at least try and kill him if becomes highly probable he is going to launch nuclear weapons against Japan, South Korea or Guam. We've probably had a contingency plan to remove a NK leader for decades now.

[Nitram]

15. Haven't we been working on China for years now?

Putting anti-missile batteries in place is for South Korea and Japan's protection.

[Lurks Often]

16. NK seems to be getting more belligerent, not less

I also question whether any of us can truly grasp is going on KJU's mind since we didn't grow up in NK or have a maniac for a father and grandfather.

Hopefully the Chinese will get tired of his crap and do all of us a favor and remove him from power

[Nitram]

17. Exactly. That's why I suggested that we have no other recourse besides the uinthinkable military

option. We have to continue doing what we've been doing and be ready for an attack if one does come. We are not betting lives on KJU being sane.

[OliverQ]

9. The problem is..

Trump and his team are completely ill equipped to deal with a crisis like this. He still doesn't have most staff in place. The State Department is essentially non-functioning. There isn't even a deputy secretary of defense.

[Turbineguy]

10. He has a huge Army

Being in the Army means you get a decent meal. His Army looks good in parades. They march beautifully in formation. I wonder if they have bullets.

[EX500rider]

18. Being in the army used to mean you got fed...

....not so much any more.....the Pretorian Guard, yes....the prvt. in a far off province? Not so much, and spends a lot of time bringing in harvests and being subbed out for contract labor rather then soldiering. Not much fuel or bullets for practice either.
Underweight and 2 inches shorter avg then his brethren in S Korea also.

[heaven05]

11. ratchet, ratchet, ratchet

our crazy "leaders" meet another crazy leader....what's the outcome, baby-potus is let off the hook, I bet, when the shooting starts.

[Buckeyeblue]

13. Why do we allow N. Korea to continue

At some point they are going to either intentionally or accidentally hurt people with their demonstrations. In the mean time the people of N. Korea live in horrible conditions and extreme oppression. I can't imagine this benefits the Chinese. Why not take out the NK regime, allow SK to move in. Of course, China would have to approve. But again, why wouldn't they?