PDA

View Full Version : North Korea and bio-weapons



Peter1469
12-12-2017, 07:17 PM
North Korea and bio-weapons (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/microbes-by-the-ton-officials-see-weapons-threat-as-north-korea-gains-biotech-expertise/2017/12/10/9b9d5f9e-d5f0-11e7-95bf-df7c19270879_story.html?utm_term=.a867688a6aaf)

Bio-weapons are a big thing in the Kindle E-book world. In the real world, they have yet be successful. But they certainly do have that potential.


Five months before North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, U.S. intelligence officials sent a report to Congress warning that secret work also was underway on a biological weapon. The communist regime, which had long ago acquired the pathogens that cause smallpox and anthrax, had assembled teams of scientists but seemed to be lacking in certain technical skills, the report said.

“Pyongyang’s resources presently include a rudimentary biotechnology infrastructure,” the report (https://fas.org/irp/threat/wmd-acq.pdf)by the director of national intelligence explained.


A decade later, the technical hurdles appear to be falling away. North Korea is moving steadily to acquire the essential machinery that could potentially be used for an advanced bioweapons program, from factories that can produce microbes by the ton, to laboratories specializing in genetic modification, according to U.S. and Asian intelligence officials and weapons experts.


Meanwhile, leader Kim Jong Un’s government also is dispatching its scientists abroad to seek advanced degrees in microbiology, while offering to sell biotechnology services to the developing world.

waltky
12-18-2017, 06:21 PM
Granny says, "Dat's right - dem Chinamens an' No. Koreans in cahoots together...
:shocked:
Chinese experts: War on Korean Peninsula may come sooner than later
Dec. 18, 2017 -- Chinese regional experts have warned that an outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula looks likelier than ever, despite Seoul and Beijing's agreement last week that such a conflict cannot be tolerated.


Chinese daily Global Times quoted Shi Yinhong, Professor of Renmin University, who said, "The possibility of war breaking out on the Korean peninsula has become the highest in several decades," pointing to the "vicious cycle of threats" between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Shi said that that China can only delay an all-out clash between them as it is too late to turn the situation around. "China only delay war, hoping that the detonator of the time bomb that is North Korea can be removed," he said.


https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi/1711513560101/2017/1/b24c49ddd62038dffc8c61e6fbdb56d7/Chinese-experts-War-on-Korean-Peninsula-may-come-sooner-than-later.jpg
Chinese security experts warn that China must prepare for a possible war on the Korean peninsula.

Wang Hongguang, former Deputy Commander of the Nanjing Military Region suggested war could occur much earlier than expected, Chosun Ilbo reported. "It could break out tonight. It may come before March next year when South Korea and the United States begin their annual military exercise," he said. Wang cited a local newspaper article that provided a guideline for Chinese citizens in case of a nuclear explosion, saying this was "a signal conveyed to the North telling it to prepare for the coming war." Putting aside the timing, Professor of Nanjing University Zhu Feng believes Beijing must brace itself for war.

As tensions continue to escalate in the region, a "soft-landing" solution is impossible, he said, adding that "China must prepare psychologically and practically for a nuclear conflict, a radioactive fallout and an atomic explosion." Last week, the Chinese navy began conducting a four-day live-fire exercise off North Korean waters while the air force held simulated anti-missile drills with Russia, South China Morning Post reported. The joint exercise was aimed at repelling ballistic and cruise missile threats in the region, according to Beijing's defense ministry.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/12/17/Chinese-experts-War-on-Korean-Peninsula-may-come-sooner-than-later/1711513560101/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=14

See also:

South Korea scrambles fighters in response to Chinese planes
Dec. 18, 2017 -- South Korea scrambled fighter jets after five Chinese military aircraft entered the country's Air Defense Identification Zone, or KADIZ, on Monday.


The deployment of two Chinese bombers, two fighters jets and a reconnaissance plane follows South Korean President Moon Jae-in's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A South Korean joint chiefs of staff official said the Chinese planes entered Korea-claimed airspace from the southwest -- and also flew into Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone, or JADIZ, South Korean newspaper Maeil Business reported. "After our military noticed the aircraft approaching the KADIZ from the west, we used a hotline with the Chinese military to confirm whether or not it was Chinese military aircraft, and to take countermeasures," the South Korean official said.

South Korea scrambled F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets in response to the incoming flights -- two Chinese H-6 fighter jets, two J-11 fighters and one TU-154 reconnaissance aircraft. The Chinese aircraft reportedly re-entered the KADIZ after leaving the Japanese zone, and did not leave the airspace until 1:47 p.m.


https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/i/4091513606943/2017/1/15136071218992/South-Korea-scrambles-fighters-in-response-to-Chinese-planes.jpg
China deployed the J-11 fighter and other aircraft into South Korea and Japan-claimed airspace on Monday, according to Seoul's joint chiefs of staff.

Chinese aircraft last flew in Korea-claimed airspace on Jan. 9, when they deployed six H-6K bombers, a KJ-200, a propeller airborne early warning and control aircraft and a Y-9 reconnaissance plane. The Chinese flights Monday came as Beijing's foreign ministry said the summit between Xi and Moon was a "success," South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the two sides agreed to "improve and develop the relationship," and to "respect the interests of our neighbors." The summit in Beijing was eclipsed last week by brutal beatings of South Korean photojournalists, which were met with protests in Seoul. "Chinese security guards kicked Korean journalists in the face and engaged in a group attack," protesters said Friday. "It is a barbarous act, and it is hard to believe it could happen in a civilized country."

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/12/18/South-Korea-scrambles-fighters-in-response-to-Chinese-planes/4091513606943/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=9