No One Is Taking The North Korean Nuclear Threat Seriously: “Could Easily Drag A Half Dozen Nations Into The Conflict”
Jeremiah Johnson
March 13th, 2017
SHTFplan.com
As of this writing, North Korea has test-launched another four (4) intermediate-range ballistic missiles that traveled about 600 miles before splashing into the Sea of Japan. The test has been claimed to be a response to military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea. That evening, the U.S. landed launching pads (two of them) for the THAAD missile defense system that has been planned on being deployed to the region to help defend Japan and South Korea. The Secretary of Defense, James “Mad Dog” Mattis just telephoned the Secretary of Defense of South Korea, promising that THAAD would be sent in its entirety “ASAP” for deployment.
Japan is considering a first-strike against North Korea to prevent further launches and/or the possibility of a North Korean attack. South Korea is pleased with the deployment; the pads were sent to South Korea and will be followed by the rest of the systems. Meanwhile Russia and China condemned the actions taken by the U.S. to send THAAD, stating that it will only further provoke the North Koreans and could also destabilize the region’s balance of power.
The Russian Deputy Defense Minister condemned the deployment by the U.S. last October after the missile defense system was promised to South Korea. Reuters reported a short blurb of the Russian view of this per Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin. In an article entitled “Kremlin says seriously worried about North Korea missile drills,” Peskov stated the following on March 6:
“Definitely, we are seriously worried. These are the sort of actions that lead to a rise in tension in the region and of course in this situation, traditionally, Moscow calls for restraint from all sides.”
Japan is considering pursuing a first-strike against North Korea, but does not yet have that capability. That being mentioned, there are also serious factors that may have to be considered when China’s protests are taken into account. According to an article entitled As North Korea Missile Threat Grows, Japan Lawmakers Argue for First Strike Options, by Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo of Reuters, here is the problem to be considered:
“For decades, Japan has been stretching the limits of its post-war, pacifist constitution. Successive governments have said Tokyo has the right to attack enemy bases overseas when the enemy’s intention to attack Japan is evident, the threat is imminent and there are no other defense options. But while previous administrations shied away from acquiring the hardware to do so, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s LDP has been urging him to consider the step.
“It is time we acquired the capability,” said Hiroshi Imazu, the chairman of the LDP’s policy council on security. “I don’t know whether that would be with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or even the F-35 (fighter bomber), but without a deterrence North Korea will see us as weak.”
Any weapon Japan acquired with the reach to hit North Korea would also put parts of China’s eastern seaboard within range of Japanese munitions for the first time. That would likely anger Beijing, which is strongly protesting the deployment of the advanced U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea.”
The Rest…HERE
