North Korean Threats Show Need for Robust Defenses

Bruce Klingner /

Sea based X-band Radar It may look like something straight from a science-fiction novel, but this unusual structure is actually part of the United States Government's Ballistic Missile Defence system. The Sea-based X-band Radar, originally built at Vyborg, is an important part of the American defence system. The structure itself is a floating, self-launched, mobile radar station, built to operate in high winds and heavy sea situations. The Goliath-like construction, with a height of 85 metres (279 feet) and a length of 116 metres (381 feet), has its uses - detecting incoming ballistic missiles.

North Korea has responded to planned U.S.-South Korean military exercises by threatening a “retaliatory sacred war” with a “powerful nuclear deterrence.” Pyongyang’s belligerent propaganda is intended to show that the regime is not intimidated by the large-scale allied naval and air exercises scheduled to take place next week near the Korean Peninsula. Washington and Seoul announced that the military maneuvers are being taken in response North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean naval ship and will encompass 20 ships and 200 aircraft—a strong signal of the allies’ resolve to deter and defend against Pyongyang’s belligerence.

Pyongyang’s statements are worrisome but do not portend an attack on the exercise participants nor imminent hostilities. North Korea has frequently threatened war against the U.S., South Korea, and Japan; pledged to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire”; and to respond “a hundred fold” to any attack. As such, the rhetoric is consistent with previous propaganda themes, though at the higher end of bellicosity. (more…)