north-korea-prepares-for-rocket-launch-ap-photo-david-guttenfelder.jpg

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 23:19 p.m. EDT, 22 April 2013

SOUTH HAMGYEONG PROVINCE - Despite continued international pressure, North Korea is reported to have moved two short-range missile launchers to its east coast.

In an apparent bid to save face, Kim Jong-un, the youthful North Korean leader, is pushing ahead with his plans to flex his nuclear aspirations.

This planned test comes on the heels of heightened hostility in the Korean peninsula.

This planned missile launch is scheduled to occur nearly a year to the date of a humiliating failed rocket launch at a commemorative festival for the late Kim Jong-il.

According to Reuters, "an unidentified South Korean military source told the South's Yonhap news agency that satellite imagery showed that North Korean forces had moved two mobile missile launchers to South Hamgyeong province for short-range Scud missile tests."

The North moved two mid-range Musudan missiles in early April and placed seven mobile launchers in the same area, Yonhap said. A North Korean show of force could be staged to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of its army on April 25."

This latest demonstration of aggression a recalcitrant North Korea steadfastly defies a U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at curtailing North Korea's ability to develop the technology necessary to deliver a nuclear warhead mounted long-range missile.

In February, North Korea engaged in its third test of a nuclear weapon, which according to Reuters, instigated new U.N. sanctions which in turn led to a dramatic intensification of North Korea's threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.

This past weekend, Pyongyang signaled a willingness to discuss disarmament, but rejected any consideration of a solution which would require the relinquishing of its nuclear weapons.

Follow Nahmias Cipher Report on Twitter

Twitter: @nahmias_report Editor: @ayannanahmias

Report says North Korea has moved 2 short-range missile launchers to its east coast, indicating preparations for a test launch - @Reuters (reuters.com)
North Korea readies short-range missile launchers (csmonitor.com)
North Korea moves more missile launchers to east coast, says report (guardian.co.uk)
North Korea Prepares For A Missile Launch (warnewsupdates.blogspot.com)

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:10 PM EDT, 26 December 2011

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Kim Jong-il, “supreme leader” of North Korea died on Saturday, 17 December 2010, purportedly from a heart attack at the age of 69. Although the North Korean people suffered abject deprivation and human rights abuses under his reign; news broadcasts from state official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) displayed throngs of people wailing and crying in the streets more than a week after his death.

On Tuesday the scene was much more dignified and solemn as the North Korean people and foreign dignitaries prepare for the succession of his twenty-year old son Kim Jong-un. A solemn procession of people filed past the body on display in a glass coffin at the Kumsusan memorial palace in the capital, Pyongyang to pay their last respects.

Kim Jong-il’s passing was a shock and possible bad omen as his death comes days before the beginning of 2012. The regime has promoted next year as the point at which the country would achieve development and prosperity. This vision is at odds with the starvation, torture and prison camps which we described as ‘North Korean Gulags,’ where an estimated 200,000 people are imprisoned in harrowing and horrific conditions.

The KCNA urged the nation's people and military to rally behind and "faithfully revere" the soon to be figure head. Kim Jong-un has been pronounced the "supreme leader" of the 1.2-million strong military, also known as “the revolutionary armed forces." This haste to install him even before the mourning period has passed is a disquieting foreshadowing of a country that could easily fall under greater military control because of a weak successor.

Kim Jong-un made a third visit Saturday to the palace where his father's body is lying in state — this time accompanied by North Korea's top military leaders. Since Kim’s reported stroke in 2008, he had begun to groom Kim Jong-un to take control of the insular state, appointing him a general last year and giving him several high profile roles. Kim Jong-il’s death will also be felt far beyond North Korea's 24 million populations.

The White House said that President Barak Obama is monitoring the situation. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton attended the funeral. North Korea has been an international concern because of its nuclear and missiles programs. Seoul's Yonhap news agency said South Korean military leaders had declared an emergency alert following Kim's death and widespread anxiety about potential instability and the implications of the change in leadership.

Chung Young-tae, of the Korea Institute of National Unification, told Reuters: "Any prospect for a strong and prosperous country is now gone. There is a big possibility that a power struggle may happen. It's likely the military will support Kim Jong-un” but that has yet to be determined. Right now it appears the military will continue to wield control over the people to keep them in line and prevent any potential uprising during this tumultuous time.

Follow Nahmias Cipher Report on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Editor: @ayannanahmias