CIA Director Met High-Level North Korean Defector

CIA Director Mike Pompeo / Getty Images

 

Pompeo discussed insurrection against Kim Jong Un during S. Korea visit

CIA Director Mike Pompeo discussed the potential for fomenting an insurrection against the Kim Jong Un regime in North Korea with a high-level defector, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

The meeting between Pompeo and Thae Yong Ho, one of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to defect to South Korea, took place during the CIA director’s visit to South Korea earlier this month.

SEAL Team 6 is training for a decapitation strike against North Korea’s Kim regime

A Navy SEAL emerges from the water during a training exercise. [US Navy Photo]

 

The annual Foal Eagle military drills between the US and South Korea will include some heavy hitters this year — the Navy SEAL team that took out Osama bin Laden, Army Special Forces, and F-35s, South Korea’s Joon Gang Daily reports.

The SEALs, who will join the exercise for the first time, will simulate a decapitation attack, or a strike to remove North Korea’s leadership.

Satellite photos reveal North Korea has built its own submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles

NORTH Korea is believed to have completed a homegrown submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles — a move set to significantly extend the rogue state’s nuclear reach.
South Korean government sources were reported in local media as saying a previously unseen submarine spotted in North Korean waters in recent weeks had now been identified.

The rogue state “is believed to have completed construction of the new submarine after importing a Soviet-era Golf-class diesel submarine and reverse-engineering it,” a government source said on condition of anonymity.

The Yonhap news agency reports the submarine was based an old design which was decommissioned by Russia almost 25 years ago.

South Korea Plans to Spend Billions on Missile Shield

The South Korean Defense Ministry last week offered its five-year budget proposal, which includes a major focus — to the tune of tens of billions of dollars — on increasing the country’s ability to thwart possible North Korean missile strikes from reaching their targets, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

South Korea to Purchase Bunker-Buster Missile

South Korea is purchasing bunker-busting long-range missiles from a European company, allowing it to hold at risk nuclear and missile sites in North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the ROK’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the purchase of Taurus bunker-busting, air-to-ground missiles for the military’s F-15K fighter jets. The missiles are equipped with GPS-guidance and have a range of 500 km while carrying a 480-kg warhead that can penetrate 6 meters of concrete. Its Circular Error Probable (CEP) is 2-3 meters.

N. Korea moves intermediate-range missile to east coast

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) — North Korea has recently moved an intermediate-range missile to its east coast in a display of military power or a preparatory move for an imminent liftoff, multiple sources in Seoul said Thursday.

The North’s apparent missile relocation has prompted the United States to move its advanced missile defense system to its base on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam along with radar systems.

North Korea puts attack choppers near border: reports

North Korea has recently deployed dozens of attack helicopters near its disputed sea border with South Korea, media reports said Tuesday, as both sides strengthen their military presence in the area.

The North has posted some 50 helicopters to Taetan and Nuchon air bases near the Yellow Sea, Yonhap news agency and other media reported, citing unidentified Seoul officials.

They include upgraded versions of the North’s Mi-2 helicopters as well as Mi-4 and Mi-8 models imported from the Soviet Union decades ago, it said, adding some were armed with machine guns and rockets.

“These choppers are being used for ground attacks and high-speed mobility forces exercises,” Yonhap quoted an official as saying.

Helicopters from the two bases could reach the South’s frontline island of Baengnyeong within two or three minutes, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

Full article: North Korea puts attack choppers near border: reports (Defencetalk)