North Korean missile launch a 'new type of threat,' South Korea says

[soryang]

North Korean missile launch a 'new type of threat,' South Korea says
By Zachary Cohen, Nicole Gaouette, Sophie Jeong and Barbara Starr, CNN

Updated 5:29 AM ET, Thu July 25,

...Pyongyang fired two missiles early Thursday toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The first flew approximately 430 kilometers (265 miles), while the second flew 690 kilometers (428 miles), South Korean officials said.

The skies over the East Sea were the scene of a tense standoff this week between Japanese, South Korean, Russian and Chinese warplanes, emphasizing the uncertain nature of a region in which overlapping territorial claims and bullish militaries raise the risk of conflict, even without North Korea entering the mix.

South Korea's Ministry of Defense said Seoul viewed Thursday's launch "as a military threat and an action undermining efforts to alleviate tensions on the Korean Peninsula." snip

...Narang said that based on initial descriptions early Thursday, at least one of the projectiles was likely a solid-fuel ballistic missile that's been jokingly dubbed the Kimskander, a portmanteau of Kim and the Iskander missile which experts say the North Korean weapon was likely based on.

More at link:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/24/politics/north-korea-projectile/index.html

[AJT]

1. Don't worry, a good spooning with 45 will calm the situation down.

[soryang]

2. Image depicts NK missile launches into East Sea

(Source Channel A News Top Ten 7.25) The missile launches occurred not too long after the unprecedented joint Chinese-Russian military air operation in the East China Sea and East Sea/Sea of Japan during which a Russian A-50 military aircraft violated South Korean airspace near Dokto island territory of South Korea. South Korean islands Dokto and Ulleongdo are shown in the graphic. Dokto is lowest right. "North Korea, It's been 78 days, again the launch of two short range missiles."

Another element to these stories is their timing to coincide with the presence of John Bolton in Japan and South Korea to request support for the "coalition," directed against Iran.

[soryang]

3. Eccentricity, estimated range of yesterday's first missile launch increased

First estimated range of "Kimskander" missile track changed from 430 km to roughly 600 km. The initial estimate was based on a standard ballistic profile as the downrange portion of the flight was not within the envelope of South Korean and US missile tracking radars. The eccentric flight path of the Iskander type missile shown in the graphic below resulted in an underestimation of its flight range. So now both missile launches were estimated in the 600 km range according to analysts on Channel A News Top Ten. The ROK Chief of Staff office gave assurances that virtually the entire South Korean territory was within missile defense tracking capabilities.

South Korean analysts said that virtually the entire South Korean territory, including Cheju Island was within the range of this missile. They also speculated whether it possibly could reach US bases in Japan.


(Image- JTBC News 7.26)