North Korea triggers a U.S. missile defense showdown among major powers

North Korea triggers a U.S. missile defense showdown among major powers

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com North Korean rocket launches and nuclear tests risk getting boring. The pattern is familiar: expressions of outrage, loud condemnation ― then nothing. Has the latest one-two punch of nuclear test and rocket launch changed a thing? The easy answer is not really ― but think again. The lines […]

‘Useless’: N. Korean satellite ‘tumbling in orbit,’ U.S. official says

‘Useless’: N. Korean satellite ‘tumbling in orbit,’ U.S. official says

Special to WorldTribune.com North Korea’s recently-launched satellite is “tumbling in orbit,” rendering it virtually “useless,” a U.S. official said. If the description is accurate, the satellite launched by Pyongyang on Feb. 7 would be incapable of functioning in any useful way, a senior U.S. defense official told CNN. Kwon Ki-hyun, a spokesperson for South Korea’s […]

Good guys, bad guys in NE Asia high tech war race: What could go wrong?

Good guys, bad guys in NE Asia high tech war race: What could go wrong?

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The stakes are escalating in the contest for Northeast Asia. North Korea’s got nukes and lots of missiles, most recently maybe the SLBM for submarine-launched ballistic missile. The U.S. has glistening new hardware too. THAAD, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, the missile system for Star Wars, is capable, they […]

Some in carefree Seoul worry about waging futuristic wars in the here and now

Some in carefree Seoul worry about waging futuristic wars in the here and now

By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Star Wars is coming. Wait around long enough, and we’ll see missiles and interceptor projectiles knocking each other out in great blazes of flashing light hundreds of miles above from where we cower in fear of a deadly device sneaking its way through the flak and detonating on top […]