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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.S. Deploys Ships to Monitor North Korea Rocket Launch
By David Lerman & Sangwon Yoon
The U.S. is deploying ships to monitor and potentially shoot down a rocket North Korea plans to fire as soon as next week, as Japan readied its military to destroy any possible debris.
Well move them around so we have the best situational awareness that we have, Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said at a Pentagon news conference in Washington yesterday. To the degree that those ships are capable of participating in ballistic missile defense, then we would position them to be able to do that.
North Koreas plan to fire the rocket between Dec. 10-22 reflects signs of growing instability in the totalitarian state, a South Korean government official said today. Leader Kim Jong Un has worked to secure his hereditary grip on power since his father Kim Jong Il died a year ago, and last month called for a crackdown on rebellious elements.
The regimes priority is ensuring the success of the launch after a similar attempt exploded in April and not any possible nuclear weapons test, the official said, speaking to reporters in Seoul on condition of anonymity. Locklear yesterday made a similar point.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-06/mideast-turmoil-won-t-deter-u-s-asia-shift-admiral-says.html
hack89
(39,171 posts)they are trying to gather as much intelligence as possible.
dembotoz
(16,799 posts)slackmaster
(60,567 posts)Botany
(70,490 posts)Trees around the base of a missile