The sea-based X-band radar is heading over from Pearl Harbor, a Pentagon official says. The John S. McCain guided missile destroyer is also being sent.
Washington – The U.S. Navy is moving a sea-based radar platform closer to North Korea to track possible missile launches, a Pentagon official said Monday, in the latest step meant to deter the North and reassure South Korea andJapan that the U.S. is committed to their defense.
The sea-based X-band radar, a self-propelled system resembling an oil rig, is heading toward the Korean peninsula from Pearl Harbor, the official said. The John S. McCain, a guided missile destroyer capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, also is being sent to the region, said another Defense Department official.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing ship movements.
On Sunday, the Pentagon sent two F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to Osan Air Base in South Korea from Japan.
The moves come amid heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula as the North has issued nearly daily threats over recently imposed United Nations sanctions and joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that the Stalinist regime calls “an unpardonable and heinous provocation and an open challenge.”
The Pentagon’s decision to send only two fighters appeared to reflect a delicate balance, seeking to demonstrate American resolve without provoking a confrontation with North Korea. Last week, theU.S. military flew B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft to carry out dummy bombing drills over South Korea.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said the F-22s were on “static display” at Osan as part of the monthlong military exercises and “to provide South Korean senior leaders with an orientation to the aircraft, which are an advanced capability that is available for the defense of South Korea.”
The flights Sunday were the fourth time that F-22s, one of the Air Force’s most advanced fighters, have deployed to South Korea, the Pentagon said
The U.S. has had a land-based version of the X-band radar in northern Japan since 2006 that can track North Korean missile launches, and it recently announced plans to install a second radar in central Japan to improve monitoring of missile launches toward Hawaii and Guam. But the latter system is not due to be operational for at least several months, Defense officials say.
The latest U.S. moves came as North Korea announced the appointment of a 74-year-old economics expert as prime minister. The naming of Pak Pong Ju, who served as prime minister for four years ending in 2007, followed by a day the North’s declaration that economic reform and nuclear weapons development would be two mainstays of the regime.
Observers speculated that the naming of Pak was meant to show the government’s determination to strengthen the economy of the impoverished nation, which is beset by periodic food shortages. But the pledge to reform the economy was matched by leader Kim Jong Un’s declaration Sunday at a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party central committee that the North’s controversial nuclear weapons program was a “treasure” that would not be abandoned or traded for “billions of dollars.”
The North has been widely condemned for its nuclear ambitions. After successfully launching a three-stage rocket in December and testing a nuclear warhead Feb. 12, it was slapped with the additional sanctions by the U.N. Security Council. The measures were approved by the regime’s chief ally, China, as well as the United States.
In defiance of the sanctions and the military exercises, the North first announced that it was annulling the cease-fire between the Koreas, then said it was prepared to attack “all U.S. military bases in the Asia Pacific region,” and finally declared that a “state of war” existed between North and South Korea.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who has pledged to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea if Kim’s regime abandons its nuclear ambitions, called Monday for her nation’s military to respond powerfully if the North makes any threatening moves.
Despite the North’s threats, Seoul residents resumed their routines Monday with little sign of anxiety.
“It’s a regular event. I don’t feel so moved about it,” Seo Hwan-seok, a 21-year-old army cadet on a short leave, said at the bustling Seoul train station. “Within the military, there has been a moderate amount of additional training on the issue. But I don’t think the war’s going to break out. I joke about it with my peers.”
The South’s military has not delayed leaves for soldiers.
Nor do investors seem overly concerned. The South Korean stock market’s Kospi index rose throughout last week before dipping slightly Monday.
“The issue of North Korean threats has been a continuous one,” said Seo Dong-pill, chief strategist at IBK securities. “The investors have developed a tolerance to North Korean threats. Such events just don’t make people overreact. “
Times staff writer Cloud reported from Washington and special correspondent Choi from Seoul.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.