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North Korea has begun preparing for a rocket launch next month (April) despite international condemnation. Japan, South Korea, and US vowed to shoot down the projectile if it poses a threat. World leaders insist that any lauch will be a violation of anti-missile treaty. But it seems that North Korea is already done with stage 1 of the launch and is preparing according to schedule the launch of the rocket. Pyongyang said the first stage would fall about 140 kilometres (87 miles) off South Korea's west coast, in international waters between China and the South. The second stage was expected to splash down 190 kilometres east of the northern Philippines.
The North has said it will launch the satellite some time in the morning between April 12-16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of founding president Kim Il-Sung. The North agreed to a moratorium on long-range launches as part of the deal with Washington, but it argues that its satellite launches are part of a peaceful space program for scientific and humanitarian purpose that is exempt from any international disarmament agreements. Among the scientific reasons it provided include measuring crop yields, weather data, and sea life for research.
South Korea, which currently has icy relations with its neighbour, says the launch aims to test technology which could one day deliver a nuclear warhead. The North is estimated to have enough plutonium for six to eight weapons, but it is unclear whether it has mastered the technology to create an atomic warhead. The North fired off long-range missiles in 1998, 2006 and 2009. After the two most recent launches it swiftly followed up with an underground nuclear test, and some analysts see a similar scenario unfolding this time.
This is important news to the region as well as the world. US relations in Asia, as well China in particular. Why is China silent on this? And why does North Korea insist despite many violations. This is tense time for everyone.
Main source: http://38north.org/
News on web: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17509349 http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/03/16/north-korea-to-launch-rocket.html http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-27/news/31245010_1_fukushima-daiichi-worst-nuclear-crisis-nuclear-security-summit http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/15/north-korea-announces-plan-to-launch-satellite/
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China is North Korea's ally. They can't condemn anything they do in public.
Hmmmm...
I guess this'll all depend on what they put in the missle....
This sounds like NK trying to troll everyone and just put flowers in the missle while the rest of the world shits their pants.
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I think that this type of stuff is only going to get more and more frequent. The only realistic way to deal with the threat that I can envision would be some sort of missile defense system, like the idea that Reagan proposed. It seems much more practical to spend our resources developing technology to shoot down nukes than to try to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, given the tens of thousands of warheads that exist today.
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just went im about to go to seoul, great!!
TEAM USA please do something! go naniwa & thorzain!!!
On a serious note, i don't understand whats the fixation with north korea always doing stuff like this THEY KNOW will make the other countries angry.
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"Why is China silent on this?"
Cause they like having NK on their border. They don't want US soldiers any closer than they are and so support NK despite the crazy.
The worst part about this is that NK is using its starving population for extortion. Give us aid or they die, oh and never mind the rocket, it's an illusion cause by moonlight refracting through swamp gas >_>
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Japan has announced that they will shoot down any missiles that stray into Japanese airspace.
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I can't imagine this being anything serious, as with the recent talks between US and NK for food in exchange for a scale-back of their nuclear program. Unless of course I've missed something in between, which is entirely possible.
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On March 30 2012 14:38 KhAmun wrote: I can't imagine this being anything serious, as with the recent talks between US and NK for food in exchange for a scale-back of their nuclear program. Unless of course I've missed something in between, which is entirely possible. Yeah, I believe those talks and exchanges occurred before the announcement of the missile launch.
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And the US has suspended that aid because of this announcement. Shit is serious.
Like everything with NK you hope they won't one day just decide to do something stupid. It's like the cold war with a really small and possibly insane nation.
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Honestly does anyone understand North Korea? Nothing they do makes any sense.
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Stand back world as we display our 1950's technology.
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On March 30 2012 14:45 Probulous wrote: And the US has suspended that aid because of this announcement. Shit is serious.
Like everything with NK you hope they won't one day just decide to do something stupid. It's like the cold war with a really small and possibly insane nation.
Sanctions never create serious matters.
NK maybe crazy, but they arn't going to fire off nukes because they would just get wiped off the planet.
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On March 30 2012 14:48 DannyJ wrote: Stand back world as we display our 1950's technology.
This, why are people afraid? We'd know well ahead of time if they actually developed/were developing anything that could actually hurt us, and could destroy it/them before it did anything.
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North Korea has always been too cool for anti-missile treaties.
+ Show Spoiler +please stop trolling the rest of the world -_-
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You guys don't realize how serious the North Koreans get about KIS birthdays...
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See that is a rational position and is precisely why NK concerns me. They have a propensity to do irrational shit. Maybe one day Kim Jong-un has a bad case of constipation due to inferior NK laxatives and just decides he has had enough. Fuck em all so to speak.
I mean they were just about to receive a huge shipment of aid and then they pull this shit? Why not wait till after the aid arrives
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arent the missles north korea are developing like obsolete everywhere else? Couldnt they be shot down pretty easily? i feel like people are acting like they are some crazy superpower with the ability to wipe any country off the map when in reality its just like a child with a lighter that just needs to be disarmed if they try to hurt anyone with it.
edit: and if its really is just a satellite and they just want to send it into space i feel kind of sorry for them haha.
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but it argues that its satellite launches are part of a peaceful space program for scientific and humanitarian purpose that is exempt from any international disarmament agreements. Among the scientific reasons it provided include measuring crop yields, weather data, and sea life for research.
ARE THEY FUCKING SERIOUS? North Korea is the biggest real life troll! We really need to stop them before this escalates into something we can't anymore control.
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On March 30 2012 14:51 killa_robot wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2012 14:48 DannyJ wrote: Stand back world as we display our 1950's technology. This, why are people afraid? We'd know well ahead of time if they actually developed/were developing anything that could actually hurt us, and could destroy it/them before it did anything.
I would suggest a hole where Seoul used to be is probably something worth being concerned about. They have pulled stunts before (their last atomic test for example) which were unexpected. 1950's technology can still do damage. It is highly unlikely they would do anything soon given the untested nature of their delivery system, but that is precisely why this test is unnerving.
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Shootin missiles as their population goes hungry >< GO NK
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