WW3 Approaches, Expert Warns: ‘North Korea Will Test ICBM During Olympics’

Defcon analysts are claiming North Korea and their round pint-sized tyrant, Kim Jong-Un, will test another intercontinental ballistic missile, and much “sooner than expected.” This test is likely to occur during the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The shocking warning from Defcon comes amid news that the South and the North have rekindled talks about the Olympics. Defcon has monitored and analyzed nuclear threats against the United States since 1984 and classes the immediacy of the threat numerically and by color. The US is currently at Defcon 5, code Green, meaning there are no imminent nuclear threats against the country.

But according to Defcon analyst, Harry Kazianis, the North will most likely conduct their next ICBM test during the Winter Olympics, which is set to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February of this year. “They are going to test an ICBM, or nuclear weapon, or try to hack these Olympics. They are not going to do nothing. They are going to do something,” Kazianis said.

North Korea has been ignoring calls to put an end to its threatening rhetoric, fueling fears of World War 3 among the international community. Kazianis also warned that leader Kim Jong-un could exploit the Winter Olympics to showcase his military arsenal in front of the world despite the offering of the proverbial olive branch to neighboring South Korea. “Of course, the South Koreans are going to try and make the best of it but I guarantee the North Koreans are going to use this for propaganda advantage,” Kazianis reiterated.

Other experts say that the US is going to jump a chance to fight another war too. Analysts warned of the burgeoning conflict between North Korea and the US as they announced the latest Defcon condition code. Despite the low threat level, analysts have warned of increasingly volatile international politics which could plunge the globe into war.

Balking at United Nations sanctions and increasing international pressure, North Korea has refused to give up its nuclear weapons, saying they are non-negotiable. The dictatorship is likely to continue testing missiles and other nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons as well, provoking a further international outcry, according to Defcon.

“This test took a number of experts by surprise, and many warn that North Korea is rapidly advancing its ICBM capabilities,” Defcon said of North Korea’s latest nuclear test, which flew for longer than any previously tested missile.

Pentagon To Deploy THAAD Anti-Missile Systems On West Coast To Protect Against North Korean ICBM Attack

Days after North Korea launched its most advanced ICBM which reportedly can hit a target anywhere in the United States with its 8,000+ mile range, Pyongyang said the U.S. is "begging" for a nuclear war by planning the "largest-ever" joint aerial drill with South Korea, according to Bloomberg. “Should the Korean peninsula and the world be embroiled in the crucible of nuclear war because of the reckless nuclear war mania of the U.S., the U.S. will have to accept full responsibility for it,” North Korea’s state-run KCNA said Saturday, citing a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As we previously reported, the statement came after Yonhap News reported that six U.S. Raptor stealth fighters planes arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint air drill named "Vigilant Ace 18" scheduled for Dec. 4 to 8. The F-22s flew into South Korea together in a show of force. The stealth fighters, however, were just a small part of the upcoming show of force: according to local media, some 230 aircraft and up to 16,000 soldiers and airmen are taking part in the drill, which is one of the biggest ever of its kind.

Meanwhile, in addition to Lindsey Graham"s warning that US civilians in South Korea should evacuate ahead of "military conflict", in response to North Korea"s recently enhanced capabilities, the United States is beefing up security on the West Coast.

Last week the New York Times reported that Hawaii was bringing back its Cold War-era early missile warning system designed to warn residents of an impending nuclear attack.

The Attack Warning Tone, described as a “wailing tone,” will be heard for about 50 seconds on the first business day of every month, beginning on Dec. 1. It will sound after the regular monthly test of the sirens that warn residents of hurricanes or tsunamis, the Emergency Management Agency said.

Now, according to Congressmen Mike Rogers who sits on the House Armed Services Committee along with Democrat Adam Smith, we learn that the Pentagon is also exploring locations on the West Coast for anti-missile hardware. Rogers and Smith said the Pentagon is looking to distribute the THAAD anti-missile system made by Lockheed Martin Corp at west coast sites.

“It’s just a matter of the location, and the MDA making a recommendation as to which site meets their criteria for location, but also the environmental impact,” the Alabama Congressman and Republican told Reuters during an interview on the sidelines of the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in southern California, although the Congressmen said the number of sites that may ultimately be deployed had yet to be determined.

As Zero Hedge reported in September, the THAAD ground-based regional missile defense system has a 100% success rate in test interceptions according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as of May 2017, hitting 13 out of 13 targets (unlike the new SM-3 Block IIA missile developed jointly by the US and Japan failed its first test in June). 

Reuters elaborates:

THAAD is a ground-based regional missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles and takes only a matter of weeks to install. In addition to the two THAAD systems deployed in South Korea and Guam in the Pacific, the U.S. has seven other THAAD systems. While some of the existing missiles are based in Fort Bliss, Texas, the system is highly mobile and current locations are not disclosed.

A Lockheed Martin representative declined to comment on specific THAAD deployments, but added that the company “is ready to support the Missile Defense Agency and the United States government in their ballistic missile defense efforts.” He added that testing and deployment of assets is a government decision.

The United States also tested the THAAD system in July, shooting down a simulated, incoming intermediate-range ICBM.

The addition to boost West Coast defense, THAAD locations will significantly beef up the existing ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD) located in Alaska and California, along with the ship-mounted Aegis system deplyed on U.S. Navy vessels. The THAAD system has a much higher success rate than the GMD. The Missile Defense Agency also told Congress in June that it planned to deliver 52 more THAAD interceptors to the U.S. Army between October, 2017 and September 2018, bringing total deliveries to 210 since May 2011, Reuters reports.

There is a bit of conflicting information on the plan, however, as Missile Defense Agency deputy director, Rear Admiral Jon Hill, stated "The Missile Defense Agency has received no tasking to site the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense System on the West Coast," directly contradicting reps Mike Rogers and (R-AL) and Adam Smith (D-WA).

As reported in September, South Korea has already installed the THAAD system in the province of Gyeongsangbuk, which hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest in a major clash with police. 

Perhaps the South Koreans (and certainly China) are not especially excited by the U.S. military buildup, but now that the neighbor to the north has the ability to sling an ICBM over 8,000 miles, they may reconsider.

True Dangers Posed by North Korea

This article’s purpose is not to deal with the political issues behind the potential conflict between North Korea and the United States. For some time, now, the United States has needed a “wake up call” among the citizens. The Obama administration carried on a disinformation campaign of denying North Korean capabilities. The reason: to downplay the threat (increasing over the years) and simultaneously to weaken the United States by eroding her military capabilities and opening us up to an attack.

That being mentioned, the naysayers among “experts” who concluded that “North Korea does not possess the capability to inflict a nuclear strike on the United States” are now in full-180-degree mode: now they are admitting the truth.

There could not be much more of a stark truth than the words spoken after the successful test launch of North Korea’s newest ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) on 11/29/17. The U.S. Secretary of Defense, General Mattis said this:

“[The missile] went higher, frankly, than any previous shots they have taken. It’s a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missile that could threaten everywhere in the world basically.”

So, to add to what he said came the words of Colonel Robert Manning, a spokesman for the Pentagon, who said this:

            “Initial assessment indicates that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

In this “connect-the-dot” game that has been ongoing, now, for the past year and gathering steam with President Trump’s inauguration, the experts have had to admit (begrudgingly) that North Korea can strike the United States.  This launch is different, because not only is re-entry confirmed (the missile traveled 10 times higher than the ISS, the International Space Station), but on a flat trajectory it can easily reach Washington. Estimates placed that range on this one as being 8,100 miles, more than 1,500 miles greater than the distance needed to hit Washington, D.C.

The big “news” is this: The missile reached the height of at least 4,000 km (about 2,400 miles), and at that height, the concern is that with such a height, it cannot be accurately estimated or determined what the destination of the missile is.

Such is perfect for an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) weapon to be used.

In September we saw the “death by defunding” of the Commission to Assess the EMP threat against the United States. Its most vocal and esteemed chair and spokespersons, Dr. Graham and Dr. Pry have pleaded unsuccessfully with Congress and the President to take the decades of research and classified information gathered about North Korea seriously. They have repeatedly warned about an EMP strike against the United States.

What would happen? Except for shielded installations (mostly among military bases and governmental installations), we would lose our power grid. A “cascade effect” would follow, as everything in our society is dependent upon instantaneous communications, transportation, and financial systems only functional with electricity. There is also the unknown factor of the nuclear power facilities: Each has a backup electrical system with generators, however, nobody really knows if these will be working after an EMP strike.

Picture several dozen Fukushimas all over the United States…the problem especially being with the ability to cool the reactors and to cool the piles of spent nuclear material kept in storage. Add to this the demands of 325 million people who all still need food, water, medicine, and a myriad of other requirements…all of a sudden, thrust back into a pre-industrial state of living. As of this writing, Senator (in name only) Lindsay Graham is stating that we may have to go to war, and Tillerson is talking about a naval blockade.

We’ll see what happens, but as I’ve written in previous articles, the loss of millions of lives either potentially or in actuality is a serious matter, and war is one vehicle that can serve to bring the U.S. down completely in the march toward globalism. Better to be wrong about it a thousand times and be as aware and prepared as you can be than to be right about it once without a plan and supplies in place. Let the facts from research by Dr. Graham and Dr. Pry be your guide, as well as the ineptitude, crookedness, possible hidden agendas, and self-interests of our politicians also guide you to making the right decisions for you and your family.

The next world war will be initiated by an EMP attack, followed by a nuclear war and then a war with conventional forces.

How A North Korean Electromagnetic Pulse Attack Could Kill Millions And Turn America Into A Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland

This report was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse

This is why North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile is so important. North Korea had test fired a total of 22 missiles so far this year, but this latest one showed that nobody on the globe is out of their reach. In fact, General Mattis is now admitting that “North Korea can basically threaten everywhere in the world”, and that includes the entire continental United States. In addition to hitting individual cities with nukes, there is also the possibility that someday North Korea could try to take down the entire country with an EMP attack. If the North Koreans detonated a single nuclear warhead several hundred miles above the center of the country, it would destroy the power grid and fry electronics from coast to coast.

I would like you to think about what that would mean for a few moments. Suddenly there would be no power at home, at work or at school. Since nearly all of our vehicles rely on computerized systems, you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere and nobody would be able to get to you. And you wouldn’t be able to contact anyone because all phones would be dead. Basically, pretty much everything electronic would be dead.  I am talking about computers, televisions, GPS devices, ATMs, heating and cooling systems, refrigerators, credit card readers, gas pumps, cash registers, hospital equipment, traffic lights, etc.

For the first couple of days life would continue somewhat normally, but then people would soon start to realize that the power isn’t coming back on and panic would begin to erupt.

The intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea just launched traveled almost 1,000 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 4,500 kilometers. We have been told for decades that this would never be allowed to happen, but now it has happened…

This is concerning for one big reason: according to General Mattis, the North Korean ICBM “went higher, frankly, than any previous” and “North Korea can basically threaten everywhere in the world.” This was confirmed by North Korea missile analyst, Shea Cotton, who cited Allthingsnuclear author David Wright, and who told the BBC that the initial estimates of the ICBM test mean that North Korea can now reach New York and Washington DC.

If we had been working hard to develop our anti-missile technology all these years, this wouldn’t be a problem.

But at this point we are way behind the Russians in this regard, and there is a very real possibility that a missile launched by the North Koreans could make it through the very limited anti-missile defenses that we do have.

Once upon a time, discussions about a North Korean EMP threat were mostly hypothetical, but now that has completely changed. North Korea has clearly demonstrated that they are able to deliver such an attack, and last September Kim Jong Un publicly admitted that North Korea intended to develop this capability…

But most reporters missed a key threat that appeared at the bottom of Kim’s public statement, when he bragged that North Korea had harnessed “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals.”

So now we know. Launching an electromagnetic pulse attacks against its enemies is one of North Korea’s strategic goals. And for North Korea, the United States is the top enemy.

And like I said earlier, all it would take would be a single well placed nuclear detonation to fry electronics from coast to coast.  The following comes from the Daily Mail…

Theoretically, a sufficiently powerful bomb detonated at an altitude of 249 miles would wipe out all electronics in the US, save the southernmost top of Florida and the easternmost states – as well as affecting Canada and Mexico.

Without power, nothing would get distributed. That means that very rapidly there would be no food, no water and no medicine available in your community. An article posted by Fox News this week used the term “post-apocalyptic” to describe what we would be facing…

It all starts to sound very post-apocalyptic when you realize this means no lights or other electric-powered devices in homes and businesses, no water filtration, no regional food hubs, no transportation grid – none of the things we take for granted in modern civilization.

Like I stated earlier, things would be relatively fine for a few days, but then once everyone realizes that the power isn’t coming back on there would be chaos on a scale unlike anything we have ever seen before. The following comes from an article by Mac Slavo…

The first 24 – 48 hours after such an occurrence will lead to confusion among the general population as traditional news acquisition sources like television, radio and cell phone networks will be non-functional.

Within a matter of days, once people realize the power might not be coming back on and grocery store shelves start emptying, the entire system will begin to delve into chaos.

Within 30 days a mass die off will have begun as food supplies dwindle, looters and gangs turn to violent extremes, medicine can’t be restocked and water pump stations fail.

So what kind of a “mass die off” would we be talking about?

Well, some of the top experts in the field believe that “up to 90 percent of all Americans” could end up dead if the power outage lasted long enough…

William Graham, chairman of the former EMP commission and its former chief of staff, Peter Vincent Pry, warned the hearing that such an attack could “shut down the US electric power grid for an indefinite period, leading to the death within a year of up to 90 percent of all Americans.“

Others believe that the figure would be lower, but pretty much everyone agrees that the death toll would be in the millions.

This is one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities, and our power grid could be hardened against an EMP attack for just a few billion dollars. This is something that I am pushing very hard for, but right now it is just not a priority for our leaders in Washington.

In fact, they have actually pulled funding from the commission that was looking into the EMP threat…

On Sept. 30, the Congressional Commission to Assess the Threat of Electromagnetic Pulse to the United States of America shut its doors after a failure to secure funding from Congress.

Sometimes I find it difficult to come up with the words to describe how incredibly foolish Congress is being.

An EMP attack is a greater threat than ever before, and yet Congress didn’t even want to come up with a little bit of funding for the commission that was working on a plan to protect us.

This is yet another example that shows that we need new leadership on Capitol Hill, because right now the people that we have “representing” us in Washington seem to be completely and utterly clueless about almost everything.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream. 

If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming.

China Will Have Ballistic Missile That Can STRIKE ANYWHERE On Earth Ready In Months

In mere months, China will have a ballistic missile completed and ready to strike anywhere in the world. And it can carry up to ten nuclear warheads.

The Dongfeng-41 missile, which is said to have the longest range of any ballistic rockets in the world, has undergone its eighth test and is now near completion, according to state-run media.

Previous reports have claimed that the missile has a range of at least 7,500 miles (12,000km) and could carry up to 10 nuclear warheads – meaning it could strike multiple targets. The new missile also has a speed of more than Mach 10, or ten times the speed of sound (7,672mph) and can use decoy devices to find its way through the enemy’s missile defense systems.

“It can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads, each of which can target separately,” Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association told Global Times. The missile must have “matured considerably” if it is to be operational in 2018, Guangyu said.

The South China Morning Post reported that China had likely tested the ICBM (Intercontinental ballistic missile) in its Western desert area in early November, but it did not give the exact location or date of the test  – if there was one. The warhead will be inducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2018 after first being introduced in 2012, the report from China’s state-run Global Times suggests.

“Once the Dongfeng-41 goes into service, China’s ability to protect its own safety and to prevent wars would greatly increase,” said Guangyu. In July, a propaganda video from China claimed that Beijing owns about 2,500 ballistic missiles. In the video, Dongfeng-41 is highlighted as one of the “world’s top five intercontinental missiles.”

Some are saying that this is a “message” to president Donald Trump, although PLA denies those accusations. The development of this missile was also ongoing during the Obama Administration. One mainland analyst cautioned that such a test would not be tied to the change in American leadership, given the months and even years of preparation it requires.

North Korea Prepares For World War 3 With Mass Evacuation And Blackout Drills Conducted Across The Country

The rogue nation of North Korea is bracing itself for World War 3. The country has now undergone mass evacuation and blackout drills designed to ready the public for a war.

Although the drills were not conducted in the capital city of Pyongyang, the North Korean government had many other cities practice evacuations and “blackout” drills. Blackout drills are designed to disguise the people from enemy aircraft in the event of a war by minimizing the lighting. With tensions sky-high between the United States and North Korea,  the ultra-secretive country reportedly staged the training in towns and cities throughout the nation last week.

North Korea’s refusal to abide by international sanctions may be part of the reason of their insistence on war preparations, all while US Defense Secretary James Mattis fears threats of a nuclear missile attack by the regime are accelerating. “North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons programs,” Mattis said on Saturday.

According to NK News, evacuation drills of this scope and nature are “extremely rare,” and often unheard of in the communist nation that approximately 25 million people call home. “I have never heard of this type of training exercises before in North Korea, but am not surprised,” a retired South Korean army lieutenant general said. “They must realize how serious the situation is.” The “daily air raid drills” were supposedly common and occurred regularly in 1994 when the North and the US were “on the brink of war.”

But the drills are ominous, begging the question: what exactly does North Korea have planned?

On Saturday, Mattis accused Kim Jong Un’s regime of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs, and vowed to defeat any attack by North Korea, which he said engages in “outlaw behavior.” He also said the US will not accept the North as a nuclear power.

Kim Jong-un is also understood to possess an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. The nation has also branded president Donald Trump, and the US at large, a “hooligan” and a “lunatic” after the US reportedly put its nuclear bombers back on 24-hour alert for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

It’s been reported North Korean secret police have begun to patrol monuments to Kim Jong-un because of the public’s growing fury about poverty in the leftist country.

Russia Successfully Test-Fires New RS-24 Yars ICBMs

In a unanimous decision, the United Nations Security Council on Monday tightened sanctions against North Korea after Russia, China and the US compromised on a watered-down agreement that cut North Korean exports by 90%, reducing the refined products available to North Korea by 44% and fuel by 30% - though it did not touch the North Korean oil trade.

But while the sanctions likely won’t halt the North’s nuclear program, they will likely render the Kim regime increasingly desperate – increasingly the possibility that the unthinkable could happen. With North Korea showing no signs of being open to talks with the US - as both Russia and China have repeatedly insisted – Russia has decided to test some of its most powerful weapons to make sure they work should geopolitical events take an unfortunate turn.

According to Russia Today, Russia successfully completed a test launch of a new RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from a silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

“The main purpose of the launch is to confirm the reliability of rockets of the same class. The warheads successfully reached their target – the Kura testing range in Kamchatka. All aims of the test were achieved,” said a statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The RS-24 Yars, which is equipped with three to six warheads, can hit targets up to 12,000 kilometers away. It was first tested a decade ago, and has been in use by Russian forces for seven years. The solid-fuel rocket is an upgraded version of the Topol-M missile, and can be launched from both the ground and from a vehicle.

The testing was part of strategic drills announced earlier this month, according to Russia Today.

Previously, Russia tested a submarine-based Bulava ICBM in June, successfully targeting the same facility as in the latest test, located near the Pacific coast in Kura.

A test of its RS-28 Sarmat super-heavy thermonuclear missile could be held in October, TASS reported on Monday, citing a military source.

In the wake of the North’s repeated tests this year, Russia Today notes that tests of missile-defense systems by the US and missiles tests by both China and Russia have received unusually high levels of scrutiny, which is, of course, understandable: US ships have in recent months played chicken with their Chinese counterparts during “Freedom Operations” in the South China Sea. Not too long ago, US jets and their Russian counterparts were having dangerous near-misses in the airspace above Syria. Tensions – not just in North Korea – are rising.
 

Jim Rickards: The North Korean Endgame is Playing Out Now

Via Daily Reckoning,

As mounting tensions rise from the latest round of nuclear testing out of North Korea, Jim Rickards believes a considerable window is closing by the United States. The threat of a nuclear armed and capable North Korea is a line that the currency wars expert and macro analyst believes the United States will now allow to be crossed. Speaking on CNBC’s Capital Connection Rickards offered his latest critique of the restrictions and response by the international community on North Korea.

The interview began with a question what an oil embargo would mean for North Korea and how it would impact that country. Rickards blasts,

“North Korea has already beaten the world to the punch. They’ve been building up their strategic oil reserves. What that means is they have an estimated year’s worth of held in reserve and China has played a role in these things in the past.”

Jim Rickards is the editor of Strategic Intelligence and a best-selling author featured in the New York Times for his latest work, The Road to Ruin. Rickards’ worked on Wall Street for over three decades and has advised the U.S intelligence community on international finance, trade and financial warfare tactics.

“The area that would be effective for a reactionary measure would be for the United States to exclude the People’s Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and some of the other major Chinese banks from within the U.S dollar payment systems. The U.S could completely shut down the U.S operations.”

On the keys to a successful response, Rickards notes that China plays a pivotal role. The macro analyst relays, “Ultimately, the Chinese are facilitating the North Korean finance. The move would be a kind of sanction with bite behind it. My expectation would be that China wouldn’t necessarily put pressure on North Korea. In reaction we could see escalation of further sanctions from the Chinese against the United States leaving for a trade and financial war without solving the North Korean situation.”

Speaking on the impact of nuclear development in the country the intelligence community advisor warns, “Currently, North Korea is in what is classified as a ‘break out.’ Under typical nuclear development phases, we’ve normally seen countries that are cheating on nuclear development programs complete their operations in baby steps.  In the process they proceed gradually and when they do draw attention will stall programs until beginning again at a later date. North Korea has put that pattern aside and is in complete breakout.”

“To give a U.S football comparison, they’re in the red zone and the quarterback is simply about to throw a pass into the end zone. The leader of North Korea is going for it and not hiding anything.

 The leadership in North Korea is hoping that the United States is bluffing and that they will be able to get a serviceable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a hydrogen bomb that could threaten or destroy Los Angeles before the U.S could do anything. The United States is facing a six month window to act and I believe they will.”

When asked about the preemptive strike threat by the United States and what it means for China the currency wars expert narrowed in, “China will be looking out for its own interest. They will have great concern over a U.S ground invasion in North Korea and as was the case in 1951 they would be highly concerned over any proximity of forces to the border. There would also be concerns that the U.S is attempting to reunify the Korean Peninsula under U.S strategic interests.”

“The way I expect that the U.S government will approach the situation is to approach China in outlining that it will be functioning toward strategical means. What that would signal is that they are not going to get anywhere near the Yalu River and that special operations and cyber warfare will be a key role.”

“My expectation is that the first steps will see the country going dark by shutting down the power grid and cutting off the command and control operations. From there they will use psychological warfare tactics. The objective will be to disrupt all North Korean operations before the heavy bombers move in. North Korea will be limited and reduced in its artillery response.”

“All of that will be relatively close to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) region. By indicating to China that when the U.S military operation is over, they will be looking to open up communications and negotiations to reunify stability on mutually acceptable terms.”

As Rickards noted previously, North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon early on Sunday, Sept. 3. This was the sixth time they had done so, but the first time since their ICBM missile tests and the first time under President Trump’s administration.

This test was different in another important way. It is estimated to be a hydrogen bomb instead of an atomic bomb. The difference is significant.

Both types of nuclear weapons work by releasing neutrons in critical-state radioactive material, either highly enriched uranium or plutonium. The difference is that the atomic bomb works by fission, literally “splitting” an atom, so that a neutron is emitted, collides with other atoms and causes a chain reaction with an enormous release of energy.

The hydrogen bomb works by fusion. Atomic particles are “fused,” or pushed together, in a way that destabilizes the atom and also releases a neutron.

Both methods start a chain reaction. But the fusion method in a hydrogen bomb is orders of magnitude more powerful. The destructive force can be 100 or even 1,000 times greater than that of an atomic bomb.

This gives North Korea many more options in their attack scenarios.

They can put more destructive force in a smaller space, thereby achieving the warhead miniaturization needed to fit on an ICBM.

They do not have to worry as much about accuracy. An atomic weapon has to hit the target to destroy it. A hydrogen bomb just has to come close. This means that North Korea can pose an existential threat to U.S. cities even if its missile guidance systems are not quite perfected. Close is good enough.

Finally, a hydrogen bomb gives North Korea the ability to unleash an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). In this scenario, the hydrogen bomb does not even strike the Earth; it is detonated near the edge of space. The resulting electromagnetic wave from the release of energy could knock out the entire U.S. power grid. Good luck with your bitcoins in that scenario.

Got gold?

These threats are existential from a U.S. perspective. Deterrence does not work when the opponent has so little to lose.

Green Beret Warns: "Skepticism Will Vanish When The Power Suddenly Fails Across The US"

Authored by Jeremiah Johnson (nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces ) via SHTFplan.com,

It should be obvious, now, even to the most vocal and acetic naysayers that no matter how much they try to declare that nothing will happen regarding North Korea, they’re wrong. 

It is happening, as we speak, and the buildup reached a high octave with North Korea’s sixth nuclear detonation, one that experts are saying was between 100 to 120 kilotons.  This detonation occurred in North Korea’s test facility on Sunday, and North Korean news stated that it was a hydrogen bomb.  Here’s a Wall Street Journal article excerpt:

“In a televised statement, North Korea described the underground explosion, which triggered a large earthquake, as a “perfect success in the test of a hydrogen bomb for an ICBM.”

Pyongyang said, “the creditability of the operation of the nuclear warhead is fully guaranteed.”  The test came just hours after leader Kim Jong Un showed off what he described as a hydrogen bomb capable of being mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile.” 

Now, the Western Consumer Marketing/Euro Arrogance-Confidence News Networks and Politicos all decried North Korea’s capabilities for years. 

The news-twisters and politicos still only begrudgingly admit what recognized experts have been jumping up and down to warn the public about for years, namely this:

1. That North Korea does indeed possess nuclear weapons


2. North Korea does have ICBM’s capable of delivering a nuclear warhead


3. North Korea possesses the technology and the ability to deploy an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) weapon


4. Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM’s) are in North Korea’s arsenal


5. Two satellites (Kwangmyongsang-3 and Kwangmyongsang-4) are currently orbiting the earth, and each satellite passes over the United States several times per day


6. The possibility exists that the satellites are carrying/have been fitted with an EMP weapon


7. The central focus of North Korea’s strategic doctrine regarding nuclear war is geared toward an EMP strike

This is part of that article that shows how science and stupidity go together, as follows:

In July, it test-fired two ICBMs that experts say they believe are capable of reaching many parts of the U.S. mainland. 

“The Kim regime made the strategic decision to develop a nuclear armed ICBM that can strike the United States,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul.

“It is in a sprint to deploy that capability, because it wants the world to recognize it before returning to diplomatic talks, and before sanctions become unbearable.” However, analysts have been divided on whether North Korea could shrink a nuclear warhead to fit on the tip of a missile. Many also remain skeptical about whether a North Korean warhead can survive the strain of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Skepticism will vanish when the power suddenly fails across the United States.  The North Koreans can reach the U.S. mainland with a missile, and it will survive reentry. 

They can do this, and they will…only it will not come in the form of air-raid sirens blaring and people scurrying to the basements of buildings (as Fallout Shelters don’t exist anymore).  Here is the form that it will take. This is the real “kicker” that was just released Sunday by North Korea’s state-run news agency, reported on Daily Mail and if falls in line with the items just mentioned:

“North Korea’s state news agency warned that the weapon ‘is a multifunctional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP attack.”

This falls in line with the warnings of Dr. Peter Pry, the head of the Committee to brief Congress on EMP threats against the U.S., the warnings of former Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R, MD), and a slew of other with access to detailed information on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.  When asked if the military option is on the table on Sunday, September 3rd, President Trump responded with, “We’ll see.”

No, ‘We the People’ will see it, but he will not, except on television.  He will be in a bunker a mile underground, or in an area far removed from what happens in the moment of decisive action or the aftermath.  There’s a good chance that nobody will ever see it coming.  Remember: The North Koreans launched a missile that flew directly over Japan!  This excerpt is from AP News on September 1st and summarizes “Japanese readiness” in a nutshell:

“Japan has a two-step missile defense system, including interceptors on destroyers in the Sea of Japan that would shoot down projectiles mid-flight and if that fails, surface-to-air PAC-3s on land.”

So, with that “protection,” why didn’t they shoot down the North Korean missile fired right over them last Monday?  Maybe they were waiting for “Mothra” to stop it.

In any event, it appears the President is going to pursue a military option, as can be implied within his words.  This also comes from the Wall Street Journal article:

“North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”

He also added: “South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!”

What might that “one thing” be?  Whatever happens, you can be certain that if we initiate an attack, North Korea will have allies, as China has already informed the world.  The bottom line is that if you personally have not prepared and formulated a plan if things kick off, then you’re long in the tooth.  Don’t remain in denial that the worst can happen, and take the initiative.  It’s better to be prepared and be “wrong” every day than to be unprepared just once and have the worst come to pass on that day.

The next world war will be initiated with an EMP weapon detonated over the U.S., followed by a nuclear exchange and conventional warfare.

Putting North Korea's "Bomb Test" In Context

On Sunday, North Korea tested its most powerful nuclear bomb yet, detonating a device that caused a 6.3 magnitude tremor.

The weapon"s sheer power has caused alarm but the fact that Pyongyang is claiming it can be fitted inside an intercontinental ballistic missile is sending shockwaves through Asia and beyond.

Using data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Statista"s Niall McCarthy presents the following infographic provides an overview of the strength of all North Korean nuclear tests since 2006.

You will find more statistics at Statista

Sunday"s detonation was estimated to have been 100 kilotons or more, far more powerful than previous tests and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. How does it compare with the warheads inside current U.S. and Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles?

According to the Economist, the U.S. Trident and Russian SS ballistic missiles have a yield of 455 and 800 kilotons respectively.

North Korea Claims It Has Developed Advanced Hydrogen Bomb, EMP

A day after Russian President Vladimir warned that the US and North Korea are “balancing on the verge of a large-scale conflict," North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is doing everything in his power to validate Putin’s words.

To wit, in a segment broadcasted Saturday by the Korean Central Broadcasting Network, the North’s state-run television-news network, the regime claimed that it has “succeeded in making a more developed” hydrogen bomb. In the broadcast, Kim can be seen looking on as a purported thermonuclear warhead is loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, which KCNA described as having “great destructive powers." KCNA added that all hydrogen bomb components are homemade, so the North can "produce as many as it wants." The report also claimed that the North have developed a powerful electromagnetic pulse weapon.

According to the Wall Street Journal, experts fear an attack with this type of weapon could wipe out electrical networks in the U.S.

Here are more details from Dow Jones Newswires:

• North Korea Says It Has ‘Succeeded in Making a More Developed’ Nuclear Weapon


• Kim Jong Un Witnesses Hydrogen Bomb Being Loaded onto a ‘New ICBM’ —North Korea State Media


• New Hydrogen Bomb’s Explosive Power Goes Up to Hundreds of Kilotons —North Korea State Media


• North Korea Threatens ‘Super-Powerful’ EMP, or Electromagnetic Pulse, Attack


• North Korea Claims All Hydrogen Bomb Components Are ‘Homemade,’ Can Produce ‘As Many As It Wants’

Reuters explains that the hydrogen bomb"s power is adjustable to hundreds of kilotons and can be detonated at high altitudes. Kim Jong Un "set forth tasks to be fulfilled in the research into nukes," KCNA said, but it made no mention of plans for a sixth nuclear test.

As a reminder, in July, the North launched two ICBMs capable of reaching the US mainland, and after a monthlong break, Kim resumed his provocative missile tests last Friday by launching three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan – and then on Monday, in another unprecedented provocation, the North fired an intermediate-range missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Of course, there is no way of knowing whether the warhead is authentic, though we’re sure the intelligence community’s army of analysts will promptly opine one way or the other. Here’s Reuters with a more detailed account of the broadcast…

“Kim visited the country’s Nuclear Weapons Institute and “watched an H-bomb to be loaded into new ICBM,” KCNA said. “All components of the H-bomb were homemade and all the processes ... were put on the Juche basis, thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants, he said.”

Juche is North Korea’s homegrown ruling go-it-alone ideology that is a mix of Marxism and extreme nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather.

Kim Jong Un “set forth tasks to be fulfilled in the research into nukes,” KCNA said, but it made no mention of plans for a sixth nuclear test.”

Whether or not the claim of having an H-bomb is a fabrication, professional observers of the Kim regime warn that the report is a signal that the North Korean leader is preparing to carry out what would be the country"s sixth nuclear test. North Korea last year conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear tests, claiming that the fourth in January 2016 was a successful hydrogen bomb test, though outside observers raised doubts about this claim. The North conducted a fifth nuclear test in September 2016, which was measured to be possibly North Korea’s biggest detonation ever, but the earthquake it caused was still not believed to be big enough to demonstrate a thermonuclear test, according to Reuters.

And at least one observer who weighed in on Twitter said that the bomb appears to be authentic, which would confirm that the North is preparing for its most provocative action yet: its sixth nuclear test, which would force Trump to respond, having vowed never to allow North Korea to become a nuclear power with offensive capabilities.

Ok, hot takes on #DPRK photos of purported thermonuclear weapon. 1/ pic.twitter.com/ACG9vHuw8H

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

First, as with the fission weapon they showed us in March 2016, we can"t prove it"s real without an expert or a test. 2/

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

3D models by @nateisgood @grace_c_liu, @ArmsControlWonk thought seismic signature revealed larger explosion https://t.co/yppOlTpOVZ 4/

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

But maybe more like boosted than thermo nuclear... we"ve been expecting a 6 nuclear test, possibly thermonuclear for some time 5/

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

They"ve even dug out a whole new tunnel at Punggye-ri... 6/

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

Back to the photos, again, we don"t know if this thing is full of styrofoam, but yes, it is shaped like it has two devices. 7/ pic.twitter.com/Rzr7Di3qrM

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

It doesn"t NEED to be shaped like that on the outside, but they threw in a diagram, just so we would get the message. 8/ pic.twitter.com/z06zdeZDAB

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

They also showed off the physics package for good measure. 9: pic.twitter.com/iAX5X0pAbW

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

They also showed a nosecone, looks like HS-12 paint job, but I"ll need to look for more photos. 10/ pic.twitter.com/4E5iZegwOT

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

This WILL help @DaveSchmerler and me measure though. 11/

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

The bottom line is that they probably are going to do a thermonuclear test in the future, we won"t know if it"s this object though. /12

— Melissa Hanham (@mhanham) September 2, 2017

Meanwhile, China and Russia have repeatedly urged the US and North Korea to engage in talks – even going so far as to offer a “roadmap” to de-escalation that would ask the North to halt progress on its missile program while the US and South Korea end military exercises.  As always, we await a response from President Donald Trump, who spent Saturday visiting disaster victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. As WSJ noted, the State Department has yet to comment.

The Trigger? "If This Ever Happens You Know You're Days Away From Nuclear War"

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,

Back in February of 2014 we published an interview and report from well known preparedness strategist and strategic relocation expert Joel Skousen in which he explained his assessment of how World War III would “go down.”

At the time, North Korea was considered by most to be nothing more than a small pest that posed no real threat to the United States. President Barrack Obama, like his predecessors, had maintained America’s policy of “strategic patience” with the rogue state, while its leader, as he does today, often made threats about attacking the United States, Japan and South Korea. What’s different today is that North Korea has proven their capabilities with not only inter-continental ballistic missiles, but nuclear weapons as well. Moreover, they have threatened to launch nuclear attacks against specific U.S. targets and many in the intelligence community have argued that the North may already have the weapons systems in place to strike key population centers that include Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

Unlike 2014, today we have a different kind of President – one who believes strategic patience is a failed policy. Donald Trump has made it clear that North Korea will not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons and has backed his words with the might of Naval carrier strike groups off the Korean Peninsula and strategic bombers stationed in Guam. Trump and his national security team have essentially given Kim Jong Un two options. Either dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program, or war will be declared.

On that note, we encourage you to consider the following assessment from Joel Skousen. If war is coming, this may well be how it’s triggered. And when it goes down, it’s going to be thermo-nuclear.

Originally published February 10, 2014:

It’s no secret that the world is on the brink of a significant paradigm shift. With the economy in shambles and the United States, Europe, China and Russia vying for hegemony over global affairs, it is only a matter of time before the powder keg goes critical.

As was the case with World Wars I and II, the chess pieces are being positioned well in advance. It’s happening on all levels – monetary, financial, economic, geo-political. Lines are being drawn. Alliances are being cemented.

We know that a widespread depression is sweeping across just about every nation on earth. The complete collapse of the world we have come to know as it relates to commerce and consumption is a foregone conclusion. We may not know exactly when or how the final nail is driven into the coffin, but we know it’s happening right before our eyes.

Throughout history, when countries have fallen into destitution and despair, their leaders have often resolved their domestic plights by finding foreign scapegoats. This time will be no different – for all parties involved.

In the following interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones, Joel Skousen of World Affairs Brief  leaves nothing to the imagination and outlines what we can expect as East and West face off in coming years.

The trigger is clear. What will follow is nothing short of thermo-nuclear warfare on a massive scale.

The trigger event has to be North Korea… North Korea is the most rogue element in the world and yet it’s been given a pass by the U.S… We don’t do anything to stop its nuclear progress, unlike Iran.

…

Russia and China… it’s too early… they’re not ready to go to a third world war over Iran…

…

When you see a North Korean launch against the South… and they do some minor military attack every year, so you’ve got to be careful not to confuse those with a major artillery barrage on Seoul. If this ever starts you know you’re days away from nuclear war. People ought to get out of major cities that are major nuclear targets.

…

There has to be a reason why North Korea has been preserved… It can only be because the globalists know that they are the puppets of China and that they will be the trigger.

Here’s how I think it’s going down. I think there will be an attack against South Korea. The North Koreans have over two million troops… 20,000 artillery… they can level Seoul in a matter of three or four days. The only way the U.S. can stop that attack is using tactical nuclear weapons.

And that would give China the excuse to nuke the United States. U.S. is guilty of first-use, the U.S. is the bully of the world, Russia and Chinese unite to launch against U.S. military targets. Not civilian targets per say. There will be about 12 or 15 cities that are inextricably connected with the military that are going to get hit that I mentioned in Strategic Relocation… you don’t want to be in those cities.

You may have two days notice when that attack in Korea starts, before China launches on the United States.

And if you ever see everything blackout, because both Russia and China will use a preemptive nuclear EMP strike to take down the grid… before the nukes actually fall… anytime you see all electricity out, no news, nothing at all… that’s the time you need to be getting out of cities before the panic hits.

In his Strategic Relocation documentary, Skousen notes that the reason Russia and China have yet to take action is because they are not ready. But as current events suggest, they are making haste. Iran has apparently deployed warships near US borders and China has continually balked at internationally established air zones, encroaching on U.S. interests. North Korea continues to do whatever it wants, even after sanctions issued again their nuclear development plans by the United Nations. And, given President Obama’s refusal to attend the Olympic games with other world leaders that include Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, it should be obvious that the relationship between the world’s super powers are strained.

No one is willing to back down. And as we saw in the 20th century, that kind of diplomacy ends with the deaths of millions of people.

No one believed it could happen in the early 1910’s and again in the late 1930’s.

And with a Nobel Peace Prize winner at the helm of the freest nation on earth, not many Americans think it can happen in today’s modern and interconnected world.

But what if history rhymes once again?

Are we really to dismiss the warnings of Joel Skousen simply because it is such an outlier that it is impossible to imagine for most? Or do we look at history, see how such situations have unfolded over the last 5,000 years, and conclude that it is, in fact, possible that it happens again?

The lives of hundreds of millions of people are in the balance. That’s a sobering thought for average people, but mere chess pieces to the elite who sit behind the curtains with their fingers on the buttons.

As before, when the circumstances suit them and the time is right, they will invariably push those red buttons as their predecessors did before them.

Those in target cities in the U.S., Russia, China and Europe will become nothing more than statistics for the history books.

But if you know the warning signs, then perhaps at the very least, you stand a chance.

If you ever wake up one morning and your TV doesn’t work, the internet is down, and your cell phone is off, then you need to assume that your city or region was hit by a super EMP weapon, such as those being developed and tested in North Korea, Russia and China.

As Skousen warns, in such a scenario you’ll have about two days to get out of major cities to a safe location outside of the blast radius.

Pat Buchanan Asks "Is The American Empire Worth The Price?"

Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

“When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight,” Samuel Johnson observed, “it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

And the prospect of a future where Kim Jong Un can put a nuclear weapon on a U.S. city is going to cause this nation to reassess the risks and rewards of the American Imperium.

First, some history.

“Why should Americans be first to die in any second Korean war?” this writer asked in 1999 in “A Republic, Not an Empire.”

“With twice the population of the North and twenty times its economic power, South Korea … is capable of manning its own defense. American troops on the DMZ should be replaced by South Koreans.”

This was denounced as neo-isolationism.

And, in 2002, George W. Bush declared the U.S. “will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.”

Bluster and bluff.

In 2006, Pyongyang called and raised and tested an atom bomb. Now Kim Jong Un is close to an ICBM.

Our options?

As Kim believes the ability to hit America with a nuclear weapon is the only certain way he has of deterring us from killing his regime and him, he will not be talked out of his ICBM.

Nor, short of an embargo-blockade by China, will sanctions keep him from his goal, to which he inches closer with each missile test.

As for the “military option,” U.S. strikes on Kim’s missile sites could cause him to unleash his artillery on Seoul, 35 miles south. In the first week of a second Korean war, scores of thousands could be dead.

If North Korea’s artillery opened up, says Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the U.S. would be forced to use tactical atomic weapons to stop the carnage. Kim could then give the suicidal order to launch his nukes.

A third option is to accept and live with a North Korean ICBM, as we have lived for decades with the vast nuclear arsenals of Russia and China.

Now, assume the best: We get through this crisis without a war, and Kim agrees to stop testing ICBMs and nuclear warheads.

Does anyone believe that, given his youth, his determination to drive us off the peninsula, and his belief that only an ICBM can deter us, this deal will last and he will abandon his nuclear program?

Given concessions, Kim might suspend missile and nuclear tests. But again, we deceive ourselves if we believe he will give up the idea of acquiring the one weapon that might ensure regime survival.

Hence, assuming this crisis is resolved, what does the future of U.S.-North Korean relations look like?

To answer that question, consider the past.

In 1968, North Korea hijacked the USS Pueblo on the high seas and interned its crew. LBJ did nothing.

In April 1969, North Korea shot down an EC-121, 100 miles of its coast, killing the crew. Nixon did nothing.

Under Jimmy Carter, North Koreans axe-murdered U.S. soldiers at Panmunjom. We defiantly cut down a nearby tree.

Among the atrocities the North has perpetrated are plots to assassinate President Park Chung-hee in the 1960s and ’70s, the Rangoon bombing that wiped out much of the cabinet of Chun Doo-hwan in 1983, and the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858, killing all on board in 1987.

And Kim Jong Un has murdered his uncle and brother.

If the past is prologue, and it has proven to be, the future holds this. A renewal of ICBM tests until a missile is perfected. Occasional atrocities creating crises between the U.S. and North Korea. America being repeatedly dragged to the brink of a war we do not want to fight.

As Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Sunday, such a war would be “catastrophic. … A conflict in North Korea … would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people’s lifetimes.”

When the lesson sinks in that a war on the peninsula would be a catastrophe, and a growing arsenal of North Korean ICBMs targeted on America is intolerable, the question must arise:

Why not move U.S. forces off the peninsula, let South Korean troops replace them, sell Seoul all the modern weapons it needs, and let Seoul build its own nuclear arsenal to deter the North?

Remove any incentive for Kim to attack us, except to invite his own suicide. And tell China: Halt Kim’s ICBM program, or we will help South Korea and Japan become nuclear powers like Britain and France.

Given the rising risk of our war guarantees, from the eastern Baltic to the Korean DMZ — and the paltry rewards of the American Imperium — we are being bled from Libya to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen — a true America First foreign policy is going to become increasingly attractive.

Kim’s credible threat to one day be able to nuke a U.S. city is going to concentrate American minds wonderfully.

How A Renewed Korean Conflict Is Going To Be Felt Around The Globe

Authored by James Durso via TheHill.com,

The United States and the Republic of South Korea have, until now, had identical interests in the Korean peninsula: defending against a North Korean attack on the South, and keeping the North’s regime at bay until it collapsed from internal contradictions.

The inevitable ability of North Korea to hit North America with a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) means the U.S. has to consider striking North Korea preventively, regardless of the casualties in South Korea because no U.S. President will trade San Francisco for Seoul.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) recently said President Trump told him,

"If there’s going to be a war to stop [Kim Jong Un], it will be over there. If thousands die, they’re going to die over there. They’re not going to die here.”

And National security adviser H.R. McMaster has stated the U.S. is planning a “preventive war” against North Korea.

What will the president have to consider before he launches a preventative attack on North Korea?

Casualties in an attack of the North on the South are estimated at 100,000 in Seoul in the first 24 hours. The U.S. military estimates 200,000-300,000 South Korean and U.S. military casualties within 90 days, and even more civilian deaths, many of which may be caused not by North Korean weapons but the collapse of the electric power grid, and the water, transport and sewer systems in a city with one of the highest population densities in the world. Half of the South’s population of over 50 million lives in the Seoul Capital Area, which produces almost half of the country’s gross domestic product.

The effects would be felt worldwide and immediately as South Korea is a vital part of the global supply chain for high technology equipment, both as end products and parts used by other manufactures. Nor is it likely companies in other countries can quickly pick up the slack: it is estimated that the replacement cost of the display manufacturing capability of Samsung and rival LG will top $50 billion. In the words of one analyst, “If Korea is hit by a missile, all electronics production will stop.”

Shipping in the nearby Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and Yellow Sea will halt as there may no longer be a destination for the cargo, and spiking maritime insurance rates, if insurance can be had, will make most voyages unprofitable. Shipping to and from major Chinese ports such as Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, and Tianjin will halt and disrupt worldwide supply chains. Ships returning to China will have to anchor until the crisis abates, at a cost to the shipping lines (and customers). Most of Japan’s major ports are on the east coast of the main island, Honshu, and will be open for business, though with the threat of North Korean missiles early in the conflict.  

South Korea imports 98 percent of its fossil fuels and relies exclusively on tankers for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil. China will also be affected as it is the world’s largest net importer of crude oil and has LNG regasification terminals at Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Crude and LNG tankers enroute will have to be rerouted, but the product can probably be sold on the spot market.

The airspace surrounding the Korea Peninsula and northeast China will be closed and will affect passenger and cargo traffic, including at Beijing, the world’s second busiest airport, and Shanghai, the ninth busiest. Eastward traffic to the region will slow and will hit the hub airport, Dubai, which is also a major tourist destination for Asia. Japan will lose eastbound air traffic, but westward traffic from the U.S. less so.

South Korea imports most of its food as it has little arable land. The U.S. is its largest supplier, providing mostly corn, meat, hides, soybeans, milling wheat, and cotton, so the U.S. farm sector will sag if the crisis happens when produce is on the way to market.

Of the local allies, Japan may be more disposed to action as it isn’t – literally – on the front line and it has already deployed the PATRIOT surface-to-air interceptor and the AEGIS ship-based anti-ballistic missile system, and it may install the AEGIS Ashore system or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. South Korea will be more reticent as it will absorb the initial blows and the only air defense missiles on its territory, the THAAD system, were deployed by the U.S. in the spring of 2017.

President Trump will have to weigh Asia’s regional stability and homeland security when making the toughest call since President Truman OK’d the use of nuclear weapons in Japan in 1945.

US "Confirms" N.Korea Has ICBM-Ready Nuclear Warheads

First thing this morning we reported that according to a 500-page report by the Japanese Defense Ministry, North Korea may now be in possession of a miniature nuclear warhead. That said, the report did not move the market because the Japanese report was largely inconclusive and did not claim with certainty that this is the case.

Now, moments ago, the exact same narrative escalated when the WaPo echoed what Japan said, only it now "confirms" that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, "crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment."

As the WaPo adds, the analysis completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency comes on the heels of another intelligence assessment that sharply raises the official estimate for the total number of bombs in the communist country’s atomic arsenal.

“The IC [intelligence community] assesses North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, to include delivery by ICBM-class missiles,” the assessment states, in an excerpt read to The Washington Post. The assessment’s broad conclusions were verified by two U.S. officials familiar with the document. It is not yet known whether the reclusive regime has successfully tested the smaller design, although North Korean officially last year claimed to have done so.

Of course, another vivid instance of "confirmation" of weapons being present, not nuclear so much as of "mass destruction" is the following.

In any case, the U.S. calculated last month that up to 60 nuclear weapons are now controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some independent experts believe the number of bombs is much smaller.

As Jeff Bezos" paper of record adds, the findings are likely to deepen concerns about an evolving North Korean military threat that appears to be advancing far more rapidly than many experts had predicted. The "conclusion" will also accelerate US plans, already in place, to intervene "preemptive" in North Korea, just as the neo-con/warhawks in Washington desire, once again binding Trump in the process.

The WaPo report has certainly impacted the market, well the FX market if not the S&P which just keeps rising as CTAs are buying because other CTAs are buying, and the USDJPY has slumped on the news, revealing the latest divergence between it and the S&P.

China Unveils New Weapons - From Stealth Fighters To ICBMs

Authored by Jeffrey Lin and P.W.Singer via PopSci.com,

As part of the People"s Liberation Army"s 90th anniversary celebration - it was founded on August 1, 1927 -  President Xi Jinping (in military fatigues) hosted a giant parade at the Zhurihe Training Center.

Zhurihe - Zhurihe certainly has enough room to hold all the people and equipment for a parade with thousands of soldiers, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, and dozens of ICBMs. -Xinhua News Agency

Here, PLA"s most elite forces demonstrated how far China has come in modern warfare. CCTV broadcast the session, which means a domestic and global audience of millions saw the army"s showcase of tanks, stealth fighters, artillery, and ICBMs.

Combat support vehicles were not forgotten. Combat engineering vehicles, BZK-006 UAV launch vehicles, communications vehicles, and even fuel tankers followed.

There was plenty of air power, too. A trio of J-20 stealth fighters flew over the parade, followed by Y-20 heavy transport aircraft, KJ-2000 AEW&C aircraft, J-16 strike fighters, J-15 carrier fighters, and J-10B fighters. The latest H-6K bombers, along with H-6U aerial tankers and Y-9 transports, also made an appearance.

J-20 - Three J-20 stealth fighters led the aerial portion of the PLA"s 90th anniversary parade. -Xinhua News Agency

Z-10 attack and Z-18 transport helicopters showed up, flying in formations shaped like "90," as well as the Chinese characters for 8-1 (a reference to August 1), with the Z-18 transports landing to disgorge airmobile infantry.

The highlight was likely the public debut of not just one, but 16 DF-31AG intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The DF-31AG is an improvement over the 7,146-mile-range DF-31A ICBM. It carries a larger, reinforced missile canister likely carrying a more powerful missile with increased range or payload. The DF-31AG also uses an all-terrain 8X8 launch vehicle, enabling it to go off-road, which will make it much harder to find compared to its truck-launched predecessor. 

DF-31AG - Sixteen DF-31AG ICBMs marched in the parade. China likely has more DF-31AGs in addition to those, thanks to a recent, rapid build-up of Chinese nuclear forces. -Xinhua News Agency

The presence of 16 new ICBMs (there are likely other DF-31AGs not present at the parade), along with several dozen other ICBMs, shows that China"s nuclear global strike capacity is growing in size and capability. 

Other missiles present: the DF-31A ICBM, the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile, and the DF-16 short-range ballistic missile. Surface-to-air missiles were well represented by HQ-9B and HQ-16 SAMs, as well as LD-2000 and PGZ-07 anti-air cannons. The surface-attack options were represented by CJ-10 cruise missiles, YJ-62 and YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, and YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missile.

The fact that the parade took place not in Beijing, but in Inner Mongolia, was symbolic. Zhurihe hosts the PLA"s annual Stride exercises. These wargames pit the resident "Blue Team" (a mechanized infantry brigade that uses NATO tactics) against visiting PLA units. These wargames are played in a variety of urban, hill, and open-area locations, often under intensive conditions, including simulated nuclear battlefields.