US detects 'highly unusual' North Korean submarine activity

[bathroommonkey76]

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)The US military has detected "highly unusual and unprecedented levels" of North Korean submarine activity and evidence of an "ejection test" in the days following Pyongyang's second intercontinental ballistic missile launch this month, a defense official told CNN on Monday.

An ejection test examines a missile's "cold-launch system," which uses high pressure steam to propel a missile out of the launch canister into the air before its engines ignite, preventing damage to the submarine or submersible barge that would launch the missile.

Carried out on land at Sinpo Naval Shipyard, Sunday's ejection test is the third time this month -- and fourth this year -- that North Korea has conducted a trial of the missile component that is critical to developing submarine launch capabilities, according to the US defense official.

Coupled with reports of increased submarine activity, news of another ejection test comes amid concerns over North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have the range to hit major US cities on Friday.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/politics/north-korea-ejection-test-submarine-activity/index.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. At least we know it's on the way

" ... appears to have the range to hit major US cities on Friday."

[bathroommonkey76]

2. This scares the ever-loving shhhhh out of me.

Wait till they park one off the coast of VA and hit us with one of those missiles- Trump's going to take us into a war in the next few months.

[KeepItReal]

5. So you assume the NK regime is suicidal?

I'm old enough to remember the principles of Mutually Assured Destruction.

One launch in anger by NK of an actual nuke at us or Japan or ROK ends them as a nation.

I'm more worried about non-state actors terrorizing the general populous....and Trump's sabre rattling.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Unfortunately South Korea is most at risk of mutual assured destruction. . . . nt

[RussBLib]

21. NK probably thinks Trump is crazy enough to launch a first-strike

can you say for certainty that Trump isn't crazy enough to launch a first-strike?

[CentralMass]

6. Some mood music..

[politicat]

10. This is how Lil Kim gets the seat at the grownups table.

He's taking SK and Japan (at least) hostages to get his place, but he's not stupid. Impulsive, single-minded, thoroughly indoctrinated, convinced he's an incarnation of godhead... but he's not stupid.

I keep thinking about the NK chapter in World War Z, which uses the fictional idea of zombies as a lens to look at real world issues (in fictional form.) I won't spoil it if you haven't read it (but seriously, do, and read it as serious lit; look for the resonances) but that chapter changed the way I think about the real world DPRK and how they're developing weapons.

Their submarines, fortunately, are not nearly so sneaky as they think they are (and if the open source data is correct, they know they aren't as sneaky as they need to be). They don't have much water in which to play, which is good for the rest of the planet.

[adigal]

19. North Korea doesnt want to start a war

You think they havent seen what we did to Iraq, who had no nukes? They are telling us, "Don't you dare!" And as crazy as they are, our Orange 🍊 Idiot isnt any saner.

[ClusterFreak]

4. Holy crap what bad grammar.

Hey CNN staffer... try this instead: "North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday", and then the rest of the sentence. See if that makes a little more sense.

[relayerbob]

22. Well, they could be ready to launch on Friday

[bathroommonkey76]

23. bad grammar wont matter if nuclear war happens. js

[7962]

11. HA!! Good catch. nt

[Doug the Dem]

3. 'highly unusual' North Korean submarine activity

Translation: They didn't sink within five minutes of leaving port.

[Best_man23]

16. I saw an ad for a North Korean Sub

It said it had never been submerged and only ran aground once.

[hunter]

24. I imagine serving aboard North Korean subs makes Das Boot look like a luxury cruise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot

North Korea's larger boats are Chinese copies of Soviet copies of Second World War German Type XX1 U-Boats.

Their smaller indigenously-built submarines are less comfortable than that.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sang-O-class_submarine

The submarine experimenting with missile launchers is a different beast, possibly derived from ten Soviet Golf class submarines built in the 'fifties and sold to North Korea in the 'nineties as scrap metal.

[Old Vet]

8. Hope Iam dead wrong but it looks like its about to get real.............

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Why are we reporting this?

I don't mean, why is DU reporting this, but why is "a defense official" reporting this?

Shouldn't we shut up about our capabilities?

[Lurks Often]

12. They aren't reporting anything secret

The underwater listening devices, satellites that can detect missile launches and signal intelligence that can hear everything North Korean says by radio or other forms of electronic communication is all relatively old technology, at least a decade old if not older.

[cstanleytech]

13. Uh huh I remember an administration that claimed a certain country had WMDs

and we all know how that clusterfuck turned out.

[EX500rider]

14. Except this isn't a claim, NK has already conducted 5 nuclear tests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests_of_North_Korea

[cstanleytech]

15. Yes I am aware of those "tests" but testing something and being able to actually launch them is one

thing.
Besides I would not wager money on those tests being weapons that they were supplied rather than built.
In other words I think we are being played by either China or Russia and they are using or trying to use N Korea as a distraction.
From what?
For China mainly their attempted expansion into the South China Sea.
For Russia? Their attempted conquest of their varies neighbors mainly the Ukraine right now.

[EX500rider]

18. If they were supplied working weapons I doubt they would need that many tests..

....or that one of the tests would have been a fizzle as it was.

I also doubt China or Russia would be too excited to hand over nukes to the crazy leader of the hermit kingdom that they share a border with.

[cstanleytech]

20. They don't need to hand them over all they need is to place them and detonate them

making the U.S. and other countries in the region at risk nervous.

[RainCaster]

17. Meanwhile, 45 is warming up his weapons grade Twitter thumb

He will tweet that guy into oblivion.