US strike on North Korea - Scenario question (1 Viewer)

[IvanKaramazov]

Sony Hackers posted a few funny email transcripts and released a few movies on the internet(which happens all the time, btw)

What the NSA did and continues to do is far worse.

I don't agree with this at all. I have no philosophical problems with the NSA and their counterparts in NK spying on one another to advance their nation's agendas. That's what countries do. Hacking a private firm because it dissed you, on the other hand, is juvenile and runs counter to our commitment to free speech.

 

[General Malaise]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

 

[TheIronSheik]

An invasion of NK is a non starter. They could wipe out Seoul in minutes with their artillery. They would kill millions. There will be no attack unless the threat from NK is bigger than what they would do to SK before we could stop them.

But that was my question. Say Sony didn't halt the movie. And a bomb went off in a theater killing a couple dozen Americans. Then what happens?

This was more of a "what would it take" thread, not a "should we" thread.

It would take a lot more than that. The simple reality is any attack on NK is going to result in millions dead. SK would be devastated in minutes. It would be horrific and bloody. Non starter barring NK launching a nuke or something similar.

You're missing the point. Merry Christmas.

I thought the bolded is the point.

Maybe I read what he wrote wrong. If so, my bad.

 

[[icon]]

[redacted]

 

[TheIronSheik]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

 

[popsecret]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

It was a bluff, Sony was more concerned about their private emails getting out. Hollywood phonies have a lot of skeletons in their closet.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

Do you think North Korea was going to start a war with the US over a Seth Rogan movie? They seem to know what line not to cross, and killing a bunch of American civilians on US soil is way the hell over that line.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

It was a bluff, Sony was more concerned about their private emails getting out, Hollywood phonies have a lot of skeletons in their closet.

OK

 

[kentric]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

So? It's an empty threat. The North Korean government is a fat blowhard.

While I agree, their threats had to be taken seriously, and that caused damages. Therefore, it actually was more than a threat.

I don't think I agree with this premise.

Regardless, let's not overblow what happened here. NK caused some damage and embarrassment to a large company. Yes, that's bad. But the costs of launching any kind of a serious or semi-serious strike on NK just make things that much worse, not better.

If there's something our own cyberwarfare people can do to make life more difficult for Kim, great, but we should be doing that stuff anyway.

Stop broadcasting Gilligan's Island re-runs to NK. That's frost Kim's nuts for sure.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

Do you think North Korea was going to start a war with the US over a Seth Rogan movie? They seem to know what line not to cross, and killing a bunch of American civilians on US soil is way the hell over that line.

If you're asking me, I don't think they would. But who knows.

 

[popsecret]

Sony Hackers posted a few funny email transcripts and released a few movies on the internet(which happens all the time, btw)

What the NSA did and continues to do is far worse.

I don't agree with this at all. I have no philosophical problems with the NSA and their counterparts in NK spying on one another to advance their nation's agendas. That's what countries do. Hacking a private firm because it dissed you, on the other hand, is juvenile and runs counter to our commitment to free speech.

You have no problems with the NSA violating your constitutional rights? Wow

 

[General Malaise]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

So we are more afraid of them attacking our movie theaters than dropping a nuke on us?

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Sony Hackers posted a few funny email transcripts and released a few movies on the internet(which happens all the time, btw)

What the NSA did and continues to do is far worse.

I don't agree with this at all. I have no philosophical problems with the NSA and their counterparts in NK spying on one another to advance their nation's agendas. That's what countries do. Hacking a private firm because it dissed you, on the other hand, is juvenile and runs counter to our commitment to free speech.

You have no problems with the NSA violating your constitutional rights? Wow

I don't think the NSA should be spying on Americans. That doesn't have anything to do with the original silly question about whether North Korea has the right to "retaliate" for the NSA spying on it.

Edit: Also, see the bolded part. I don't know how you managed to get from that to your "wow" post, but I'm sure it involved some truly breathtaking stupidity.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

So we are more afraid of them attacking our movie theaters than dropping a nuke on us?

They don't have the ability to drop a nuke on us. They have already drawn up plans in the 90's to send commandos into the US in hopes of attacking US nuclear sites. So, yeah, I'd think the first is more probable.

 

[General Malaise]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

Hasn't NK threatened to drop nuclear weapons on the US before too?

Yes. They have. But that was nonsense. They have no way of doing so. But saying they could 9/11 our movie theaters to the point that actions had to be taken to safeguard the American people is quite different.

So we are more afraid of them attacking our movie theaters than dropping a nuke on us?

They don't have the ability to drop a nuke on us. They have already drawn up plans in the 90's to send commandos into the US in hopes of attacking US nuclear sites. So, yeah, I'd think the first is more probable.

Have you seen them play soccer? I don't think these guys are capable of taking out a bee hive, let alone a string of movie theaters.

 

[popsecret]

Sony Hackers posted a few funny email transcripts and released a few movies on the internet(which happens all the time, btw)

What the NSA did and continues to do is far worse.

I don't agree with this at all. I have no philosophical problems with the NSA and their counterparts in NK spying on one another to advance their nation's agendas. That's what countries do. Hacking a private firm because it dissed you, on the other hand, is juvenile and runs counter to our commitment to free speech.

You have no problems with the NSA violating your constitutional rights? Wow

I don't think the NSA should be spying on Americans. That doesn't have anything to do with the original silly question about whether North Korea has the right to "retaliate" for the NSA spying on it.

Edit: Also, see the bolded part. I don't know how you managed to get from that to your "wow" post, but I'm sure it involved some truly breathtaking stupidity.

See the bolded here.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Have you seen them play soccer? I don't think these guys are capable of taking out a bee hive, let alone a string of movie theaters.

Look, GB, I'm not saying it was going to happen. But the threat was credible enough that movie theaters pulled the movie. Crazier things have happened. On 9/10, I bet a lot of people would have never imagined those stone age towel heads taking down both of the Twin Towers. But here we are.

 

[CowboysFromHell]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

So? It's an empty threat. The North Korean government is a fat blowhard.

So, we should be OK with another country making a specific threat of violence against civilians, on a specific date, at specific locations in the U.S.?

 

[CowboysFromHell]

I'd say drop a million copies of The Interview on DVD or VHS over the capital, but there are flaws with that plan:

1) They'd just kill anyone who touched one

2) Nobody has VHS or DVD players... or electricity.

Comic books anyone?

My understanding is that many do have DVD players in NK, and they love to watch American movies, despite the risk involved with possessing such contraband. So, agree with #1, not with #2.

 

[Fennis]

[redacted]

 

[[icon]]

Looks like activists plan on dropping DVD's with the film in North Korea via Balloons

 

[NCCommish]

Here's the thing. There is no proof the people making these threats have the operational capacity to carry them out. None. Not one expert I have seen interviewed thinks they could cause any real trouble. But Sony and the theaters gave them power now by pulling this movie. And in fact they have given every loser power. Oh if you do X I'll go 9/11 on you. There is a difference between a threat and a credible threat. This one doesn't get over the credible bar. Not even close. Hacking Sony hardly even counts as hacking as far as that goes. So that doesn't add any real credibility. I mean who hasn't hacked them?

 

[NCCommish]

An invasion of NK is a non starter. They could wipe out Seoul in minutes with their artillery. They would kill millions. There will be no attack unless the threat from NK is bigger than what they would do to SK before we could stop them.

But that was my question. Say Sony didn't halt the movie. And a bomb went off in a theater killing a couple dozen Americans. Then what happens?

This was more of a "what would it take" thread, not a "should we" thread.

It would take a lot more than that. The simple reality is any attack on NK is going to result in millions dead. SK would be devastated in minutes. It would be horrific and bloody. Non starter barring NK launching a nuke or something similar.

You're missing the point. Merry Christmas.

I thought the bolded is the point.

Maybe I read what he wrote wrong. If so, my bad.

Yes what I said was NK would have to be able to cause more destruction than what they would do to South Korea if we attacked to garner a military response. Tangentially being connected to a theater massacre doesn't get us there. That's just the ugly truth.

 

[T Bell]

The intention of this thread isn't to drum up support or anything like that. I'm just wondering what people's opinions are. No right or wrong answers, really. Although, I'm sure we'll all argue like there are right and wrong answers.

Anyway, if this was an attack by NK on an American company, that seems pretty bad. At what point, would the US have to take retaliatory action against NK? What if they hacked into the government or military? Do attempts warrant action? Or do we have to wait until they actually do something that causes casualties?

Just something to talk about on a slow Friday work day before vacation.

I think it would take either a physical attack upon an American citizen or citizens, a thwarted attack on American soil that was nearly carried off, or severe persistent cyber-attacks that endangered some key infrastructure.

The problem here isn't just that NK has a military, but also that this is in China's back yard and a close ally in the region, South Korea, would inevitably be blamed/attacked in retaliation by NK. As a result, the provocation would have to be high, and perhaps even higher than what I outlined.

 

[[icon]]

Here's the thing. There is no proof the people making these threats have the operational capacity to carry them out. None. Not one expert I have seen interviewed thinks they could cause any real trouble. But Sony and the theaters gave them power now by pulling this movie. And in fact they have given every loser power. Oh if you do X I'll go 9/11 on you. There is a difference between a threat and a credible threat. This one doesn't get over the credible bar. Not even close. Hacking Sony hardly even counts as hacking as far as that goes. So that doesn't add any real credibility. I mean who hasn't hacked them?

Agreed 100%

 

[NCCommish]

North Korea experts Victor Cha and David Kang posted on the website of Foreign Policy magazine late last month that the North can fire 500,000 rounds of artillery on Seoul in the first hour of a conflict.

Hundreds of thousands dead in minutes. Oh and if they add chemical weapons to it even a higher casualty rate. NK knows they can't win a war with us. But they can sure make it a costly win.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

So? It's an empty threat. The North Korean government is a fat blowhard.

So, we should be OK with another country making a specific threat of violence against civilians, on a specific date, at specific locations in the U.S.?

No, but you can't start sending out bombers every time some nutjob acts a little nutty.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Sony Hackers posted a few funny email transcripts and released a few movies on the internet(which happens all the time, btw)

What the NSA did and continues to do is far worse.

I don't agree with this at all. I have no philosophical problems with the NSA and their counterparts in NK spying on one another to advance their nation's agendas. That's what countries do. Hacking a private firm because it dissed you, on the other hand, is juvenile and runs counter to our commitment to free speech.

You have no problems with the NSA violating your constitutional rights? Wow

I don't think the NSA should be spying on Americans. That doesn't have anything to do with the original silly question about whether North Korea has the right to "retaliate" for the NSA spying on it.

Edit: Also, see the bolded part. I don't know how you managed to get from that to your "wow" post, but I'm sure it involved some truly breathtaking stupidity.

See the bolded here.

That's nice and it has nothing to do with I posted. If you wanted to hijack the thread about the NSA's domestic spying (which truly has nothing to do with the topic at hand), you could at least say so explicitly instead of making some vague allusion the NSA's espionage activities in general.

 

[CowboysFromHell]

Its a Japanese company, no?

This was my first thought....why is this a threat to the USA?

Sony Pictures is an American subsidiary. But, regardless, the more important part is that they threatened violence against American citizens.

So? It's an empty threat. The North Korean government is a fat blowhard.

So, we should be OK with another country making a specific threat of violence against civilians, on a specific date, at specific locations in the U.S.?

No, but you can't start sending out bombers every time some nutjob acts a little nutty.

Agree. And I certainly wasn't calling for us to send out bombers. Just that the threat raised the stakes. The U.S. is going to have to be very careful with a response here. This could easily escalate. I think the best response would be to retaliate in some way against the NK infrastructure that was used in the hack, if that's even possible, and, more importantly, release the damn movie!

 

[lod01]

We knocked their internet down. Take that fat little toad.

:the problems were discovered over the weekend and grew progressively worse to the point that "North Korea's totally down." He said one benign explanation for the problem was that a router suffered a software glitch, though a cyber-attack involving North Korea's Internet service was also a possibility.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

We knocked their internet down. Take that fat little toad.

:the problems were discovered over the weekend and grew progressively worse to the point that "North Korea's totally down." He said one benign explanation for the problem was that a router suffered a software glitch, though a cyber-attack involving North Korea's Internet service was also a possibility.

NK runs their internet on roosters, not routers.

 

[Wingnut]

We knocked their internet down. Take that fat little toad.

:the problems were discovered over the weekend and grew progressively worse to the point that "North Korea's totally down." He said one benign explanation for the problem was that a router suffered a software glitch, though a cyber-attack involving North Korea's Internet service was also a possibility.

He lets them have internet? What does it consist of, 4 sites about Un?

 

[T Bell]

We knocked their internet down. Take that fat little toad.

:the problems were discovered over the weekend and grew progressively worse to the point that "North Korea's totally down." He said one benign explanation for the problem was that a router suffered a software glitch, though a cyber-attack involving North Korea's Internet service was also a possibility.

Never forget

 

[Courtjester]

Here's the thing. There is no proof the people making these threats have the operational capacity to carry them out. None. Not one expert I have seen interviewed thinks they could cause any real trouble. But Sony and the theaters gave them power now by pulling this movie. And in fact they have given every loser power. Oh if you do X I'll go 9/11 on you. There is a difference between a threat and a credible threat. This one doesn't get over the credible bar. Not even close. Hacking Sony hardly even counts as hacking as far as that goes. So that doesn't add any real credibility. I mean who hasn't hacked them?

Agreed 100%

This is spot on. The problem is we live in such a sue happy world, that is the primary reason the theaters pulled the movie. It would just take one person to do one stupid act and the whole theater chain would be sued.

I mean we have the Aurora Cinemark victims having previously filed a lawsuit. We have the Bushmaster lawsuit. The movie chains were in a no-win situation--they run the movie, something happens--they are blamed. The don't run the movie, they are in the situation they are in now and blamed.

But back to the NK situation, if this came down to a war, we would literally have to have every artillery battery mapped and targeted. I am not a military guy, but I doubt that is physically possible.

 

[NCCommish]

Here's the thing. There is no proof the people making these threats have the operational capacity to carry them out. None. Not one expert I have seen interviewed thinks they could cause any real trouble. But Sony and the theaters gave them power now by pulling this movie. And in fact they have given every loser power. Oh if you do X I'll go 9/11 on you. There is a difference between a threat and a credible threat. This one doesn't get over the credible bar. Not even close. Hacking Sony hardly even counts as hacking as far as that goes. So that doesn't add any real credibility. I mean who hasn't hacked them?

Agreed 100%

This is spot on. The problem is we live in such a sue happy world, that is the primary reason the theaters pulled the movie. It would just take one person to do one stupid act and the whole theater chain would be sued.

I mean we have the Aurora Cinemark victims having previously filed a lawsuit. We have the Bushmaster lawsuit. The movie chains were in a no-win situation--they run the movie, something happens--they are blamed. The don't run the movie, they are in the situation they are in now and blamed.

But back to the NK situation, if this came down to a war, we would literally have to have every artillery battery mapped and targeted. I am not a military guy, but I doubt that is physically possible.

We absolutely do not have them all mapped. And a lot of them are dug into seriously hardened positions. There is no way to stop them from making hash of Seoul before we could stop them short of mass desertion by NK troops.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I'll see your corporation, and raise you a country.

 

[Otis]

Another Five Star FFA Thread!!!

 

[NCCommish]

I'll see your corporation, and raise you a country.

Anonymous could do this. An awful lot of people at Sony have the ability to do this.I doubt seriously this is really the US. We may be looking the other way but we aren't active in it.

 

[T Bell]

I'll see your corporation, and raise you a country.

Anonymous could do this. An awful lot of people at Sony have the ability to do this.I doubt seriously this is really the US. We may be looking the other way but we aren't active in it.

I'm not so sure that we aren't capable (in the moral sense; we certainly are technologically) of doing this. It's remarkably timely if we're not behind it, and it's very much in line with the idea that we aren't treating the Sony business as an act of war but that it does warrant a response. And of course we get the same sort of plausible deniability (to the average onlooker) that NK had with their (alleged) attack on Sony.

 

[HellToupee]

Seems like the perfect time to bump this thread

 

[HellToupee]

Another Five Star FFA Thread!!!

This #### is about to get real. We are about a  c hair away from nuclear war

 

[HellToupee]

Expert: Watch to see if Kim Jong-Un goes into hiding after Syria strike


Alyssa MadrugaPublished April 08, 2017
The U.S. bombardment of a Syrian airbase just outside of Homs Friday was likely seen by North Korea as a clear warning that President Trump will use his military if United States interests are at risk.

The immediate focus after the strikes was on Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s reaction. Russia was not happy with the U.S., it spoke in defense of Syria and moved warships. But now the attention is on the next move by another world leader: Kim Jong-Un.

Gordon Chang, a Daily Beast columnist and author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On The World,” said in an emailed statement to Fox News Friday that the U.S. strike on the Syrian airfield “tells North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he must now heed American military power, something that he probably dismissed before.”

“Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, disappeared from public view for about six weeks in 2003 at the time of the Iraq war. Kim Jong-Un loves the public spotlight, and it will be telling if he similarly goes into hiding,” the author said.

The airstrikes are “a warning to China’s People’s Liberation Army, which had grown dismissive of the U.S. Navy and Air Force.  Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader visiting Mar-a-Lago, almost certainly interpreted the strike as a sign of disrespect to him,” Chang said.




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How is China perceiving the strikes on Syria?




Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News on Wednesday that the U.S. is "rapidly and dangerously heading towards the reality that the military option is the only one left when it comes to getting North Korea to denuclearize and not weaponized [intercontinental ballistic missiles]."

Trump made it a point to address the media about the Syria strike at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida just moments after dining with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping.

The strike was a culmination of a rapid, three-day transformation for Trump, who has long opposed deeper U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war. Advisers said he was outraged by heartbreaking images of young children who were among the dozens killed in the chemical attack and ordered his national security team to swiftly prepare military options. The Los Angeles Times reported up to 15 dead in the strikes. A Syrian official said six were killed at the base and nine others in surrounding areas. The death toll could not be independently confirmed. 

“This is Trump saying, ‘No, I am a man of my words,’” Reva Goujon, the vice president of Stratfor, told CNBC. “’When I make a threat, I will follow through.’ That’s certainly something the Chinese and North Koreans will be thinking about.”

Trump has said that if China doesn't exert more pressure on North Korea, the U.S. will act alone. The missile strikes on Syria bring more weight to that statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

 

[HellToupee]

U.S. Navy strike group to move toward Korean peninsula: U.S. official


Sat Apr 8, 2017 | 9:46 PM EDT
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON

A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea's advancing weapons program.

Earlier this month North Korea tested a liquid-fueled Scud missile which only traveled a fraction of its range.

The strike group, called Carl Vinson, includes an aircraft carrier and will make its way from Singapore toward the Korean peninsula, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.

"We feel the increased presence is necessary," the official said, citing North Korea's worrisome behavior.

The news was first reported by Reuters.

In a statement late Saturday, the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet said the strike group had been directed to sail north, but it did not specify the destination. The military vessels will operate in the Western Pacific rather than making previously planned port visits to Australia, it added.

This year North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, have repeatedly indicated an intercontinental ballistic missile test or something similar could be coming, possibly as soon as April 15, the 105th birthday of North Korea's founding president and celebrated annually as "the Day of the Sun."

Earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida, where Trump pressed his counterpart to do more to curb North Korea's nuclear program.

Trump's national security aides have completed a review of U.S. options to try to curb North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. These include economic and military measures but lean more toward sanctions and increased pressure on Beijing to rein in its reclusive neighbor.

Although the option of pre-emptive military strikes on North Korea is not off the table, the review prioritizes less-risky steps and de-emphasizes direct military action.

Trump spoke with South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday, the White House said on Saturday in a statement which did not mention the strike group.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Richard Chang)

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

We are about a  c hair away from nuclear war

Didn't you support Trump? You're not happy about this ,right?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

This #### is about to get real. We are about a  c hair away from nuclear war

Thanks for voting this ######## into office . moron 

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

U.S. Navy strike group to move toward Korean peninsula: U.S. official


Sat Apr 8, 2017 | 9:46 PM EDT
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON

A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea's advancing weapons program.

Earlier this month North Korea tested a liquid-fueled Scud missile which only traveled a fraction of its range.

The strike group, called Carl Vinson, includes an aircraft carrier and will make its way from Singapore toward the Korean peninsula, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.

"We feel the increased presence is necessary," the official said, citing North Korea's worrisome behavior.

The news was first reported by Reuters.

In a statement late Saturday, the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet said the strike group had been directed to sail north, but it did not specify the destination. The military vessels will operate in the Western Pacific rather than making previously planned port visits to Australia, it added.

This year North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, have repeatedly indicated an intercontinental ballistic missile test or something similar could be coming, possibly as soon as April 15, the 105th birthday of North Korea's founding president and celebrated annually as "the Day of the Sun."

Earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida, where Trump pressed his counterpart to do more to curb North Korea's nuclear program.

Trump's national security aides have completed a review of U.S. options to try to curb North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. These include economic and military measures but lean more toward sanctions and increased pressure on Beijing to rein in its reclusive neighbor.

Although the option of pre-emptive military strikes on North Korea is not off the table, the review prioritizes less-risky steps and de-emphasizes direct military action.

Trump spoke with South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday, the White House said on Saturday in a statement which did not mention the strike group.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Richard Chang)

 

[HellToupee]

Didn't you support Trump? You're not happy about this ,right?

Who would be happy . Who knows what intel they have for us to move more pieces into the area. Will this scare the fat midget or provoke him ? Usually a bully will back down but if this guy is really unhinged bad things can happen.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Who would be happy . Who knows what intel they have for us to move more pieces into the area. Will this scare the fat midget or provoke him ? Usually a bully will back down but if this guy is really unhinged bad things can happen.

Well it sure seems like we are inviting confrontation. That seems like a Trump thing. Clinton, Bush and Obama all seemed to avoid that.

 

[HellToupee]

Thanks for voting this ######## into office . moron 

Thank the Clinton fanboys. I wouldn't call Trump a cowboy for hitting Assad and now looking at NK. Both are very bad hombres

 

[Aerial Assault]

Who would be happy . Who knows what intel they have for us to move more pieces into the area. Will this scare the fat midget or provoke him ? Usually a bully will back down but if this guy is really unhinged bad things can happen.

Um . . . still confused, sorry.  Shouldn't you be cheerleading Orange Cheeto on this manly show of force instead of hiding under your bed?

P.S., which guy is really unhinged?  Just checking.

P.P.S., this isn't going to result in a war, so you can resume your support for the alleged president now.