Nerdy glasses guy
How would they even get sleeper agents into South Korea in the first place?
Slipping through either the DMZ or dropped via submarine. They've done this before.
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
They have also made use of infiltration tunnels in the past. It would dangerous to assume they have found all of them or can reliably track them.
Who watches the watchmen?
New low-visibility corvette spotted in North Korea
Two sets of photos taken during different periods in 2016 show a heavily armed, 77-meter long vessel with radar cross-section (RCS) reducing features docked adjacent to a helicopter-capable but minimally armed support ship.
Equipped with two Kumsong-3 anti-ship cruise missile launchers, a short-range surface-to-air missile system, torpedo launchers and rotary canons, the reduced-RCS corvette also includes capacity for large caliber naval cannon, the NK Pro analysis reveals.
Together, the two vessels – combined with two similar types docked near North Korea’s west coast port of Nampo – offer more evidence of a wider North Korean effort to build new naval assets in ways that could pose new threats to the U.S. and South Korea.
“These ships are the culmination of over two decades of experimentation with new naval warfare concepts, and a clear indication of the direction that North Korean shipbuilding is headed in,” said Joost Oliemans and Stijn Mitzer, the NK Pro contributors said in their analysis of the vessels’ capabilities.
Alongside recently publicized ballistic missile submarines, stealthy surface effect ships, and a number of other smaller modern ship designs, the corvettes could bring “new capabilities to the table that represent a tangible threat to opposing navies in the region,” the analysts said.
NK PRO ANALYSIS: A Navy reborn: New warships spotted in North Korea
But that will only be the case if the reduced-RCS corvettes are confirmed to be equipped with modern anti-ship cruise missiles, Joe Bermudez, a long-time North Korea watcher with expertise in Korean People’s Army military capabilities, told NK News.
With them, they “would present (the U.S. and South Korea) a…different threat altogether,” he said.
MYANMAR CONNECTION?
Kim Min Seok, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF), described the photos of the low-observable corvette as “unprecedented and untold to the outside world…(a) new type of battleship that is similar to the Myanmar Navy’s frigate UMS Tabinshwehti.”
“Myanmar has built this ship, and equipped it with weapons from Italy, China, Russia, and North Korea,” he continued about the Tabinshwehti, which, unlike the DPRK version, includes a helicopter hangar.
“The fact that (the North Korean vessel) does not have a helicopter hanger tells us two things,” Kim continued. “One is that this is not built to host an antisubmarine helicopter, and is only aimed at temporary landing and takeoff, in the case of VIP’s visit to the ship.”
But while the photos present evidence that North Korea’s naval capabilities are increasing, Bermudez told NK News that two potential issues undermine their combat effectiveness.
“The challenge though is when you operate corvettes like this, even if they’re cruise missile-armed, you have to operate them in cooperation with other vessels. North Korea hasn’t had much experience in doing that – in fact, I’d say virtually none – and that presents a problem. It also requires a different level of officer training than they’ve done so far. “
Overall, though, the development of the reduced-RCS corvette is notable, said John Grisafi, NK News Director of Intelligence.
“Despite continuing and new sanctions and presumptions of economic weakness by the outside world, North Korea has continued to make demonstrable progress in recent years at developing new and diverse weapons systems and platforms, showing capabilities – or steps toward them – previously thought to be many years away for North Korea, if not beyond its reach,” he said.
In love with an Uptown Girl
So, first question: what happens if North Korea ends up in a civil war?
Please allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of wealth and taste. Nice to meet you, hope you can guess my name.
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South Korea will fortify its borders in case of refugees, while a US led invasion will probably attempt to render safe their nukes. China will almost certainly take control of the immediate areas beyond their borders to create a buffer zone and to manage the refugees they get. Kim family will have moved to China.
This is followed by a ridiculously loud and long negotiation of who gets what.
edited 12th Nov '16 2:10:21 AM by TerminusEst
Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele
Don't forget Russia, their border and the refugees they get.
edited 12th Nov '16 2:17:29 AM by Bat178
Isn't the Russian/North Korean border basically the middle of nowhere as far as Russia is concerned? The refugees would probably have to walk a long way to reach Russian resources/cities of note.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Vladivostok is a ways, sure, but there are still a couple of towns there. Not to mention the forced labor camps NK quietly operates in the region on the Russian side of the border.
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
KCNA is claiming that North Korea can test-launch their ICBM design at "any time".
What is going to happen if their latest battle with the Sea of Japan happens before January 20th?
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
A big kaboom happens, Trump says something stupid, and life goes on as usual.
Hopefully.
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
The head of North Korea's secret police got sacked. The list of accusations against him sounds like standard purge stuff. "Human rights abuses"? In North Korea?
... isn't "human rights abuse" basically the job description for somebody working in a secret police?
edited 3rd Feb '17 10:39:19 AM by DrunkenNordmann
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.
Isn't that how governments work there? The charges are not made up, it's the prosecution that is selective.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
I do wonder why oppressive regimes even bother with digging up actual charges, like finding corruption in political enemies.
Honestly, it seems like the only reasons China and Russia keep North Korea around is because they act as a buffer zone/deterrence to the nearby US-allied South Korea and Japan and they are worried about the refugee crisis that would occur if Kim were to be toppled. China has compared them to a spoiled brat and refuses to help them if they start a war, Russia don't give two shits about them, and they have been nothing but trouble to everyone else in the region.
edited 13th Feb '17 9:37:06 PM by Bat178
There's a good reason why China won't join North Korea if the latter restarts the Korean War that I don't think was ever addressed in this topic. If China invades South Korea alongside North and gets into a direct war with the ROK and the US, they can retaliate by revoking recognition of PRC as a nation and reinstating Taiwan as the legitimate government of China. And if the US does that it could start a chain reaction; other countries wary of China (such as Japan) would immediately follow suit. If enough countries do that, it could even affect PRC's standing in international organizations such as the UN.
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
Bat: Welcome to the club, I guess?
South Korean media is reporting that Kim Jong-nam has been murdered by North Korean agents on Malaysian soil. Given how buddy-buddy the Malaysian government is with that of North Korea (someone has to fill the "the employer wants to use slave labor and doesn’t give a shit about what it looks like" niche), I'm not surprised that they were able to slip in. Or that they are still at large.
Well thats hell of a piece of news to see first thing in the morning...
First NK does all these missile tests, then the leader's own brother gets executed? Time to pay close attention to Pyongyang again...
...I hope his son is being protected though. He's in France right now last I heard.
edited 14th Feb '17 5:27:14 AM by FFShinra
Considering how sickly the Kims seems to be in general, isn't pruning the family just shooting themselves in the foot long-term?
EDIT: Okay, nevermind. The Kims couldn't probably give less of a shit about dissenters in their own ranks. :/
edited 14th Feb '17 5:37:10 AM by DrunkenNordmann
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.
Not to mention it allegedly happened in KLIA, no less. Seriously, an international airport? What are the airport security crews are doing?
Spending several hundred dollar bills they found in the toilet at the gift shop?
Those who probably assassinated Jong-nam are sent by authorities in Pyongyang as a warning to others.
Will be interesting to see if his uncle, the NK ambassador to Prague, will do anything....
We all know the North Korean invasion will halt once the North Korean soldiers enter a 7/11 and see its shelves filled with food.
Inter arma enim silent leges