Missiles

The United States has scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defences, preparing to send ground-based interceptors to Guam, as North Korea said Thursday it had authorized plans for nuclear strikes on US targets.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Pyongyang’s increasingly bellicose threats combined with its military capabilities represented a “real and clear danger” to the United States and to its allies South Korea and Japan.

“They have nuclear capacity now, they have missile delivery capacity now,” Hagel said Wednesday. “We take those threats seriously, we have to take those threats seriously.”

The Pentagon said it would send ground-based THAAD missile-interceptor batteries to protect military bases on Guam, a US territory some 3,380 kilometers (2,100 miles) southeast of North Korea and home to 6,000 American military personnel, submarines and bombers.

They would complement two Aegis anti-missile destroyers already dispatched to the region.

Shortly after the THAAD announcement, the North Korean military said it had received final approval for military action against the United States, possibly involving nuclear weapons.

“The moment of explosion is approaching fast,” the Korean People’s Army general staff said, responding to what it called the provocative US use of nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in ongoing war games with South Korea.

The US aggression would be “smashed by… cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means,” it said in a statement.

While few of the North’s threats have been matched with action, reports Thursday said it appears to have moved a medium-range missile capable of hitting targets in South Korea and Japan to its east coast.

“We are closely monitoring whether the North moved it with a view to actual launch or just as a show of force against the US,” Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying.

A provocative missile test-fired into the sea over Japan is one scenario that analysts have said the North could opt for as a relatively low-risk way of exiting the crisis with a face-saving show of force.

Yun Duk-Min, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul, said the latest nuclear threat was similar to one issued a month ago, but with the added weight of “approval” — presumably by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reports that Singapore is seeking the purchase of 20 AIM 9X-2 Sidewinder Block II All Up Round Missiles.

The contract, if approved by Congress, would include associated equipment, parts and support and would be worth $36 million.

“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by increasing the ability of the Republic of Singapore to contribute to regional security,” the agency said, “Its contributions to counter-piracy and counter-terrorism efforts continue to stabilize a critical chokepoint where much of the world’s goods and services transit en route to and from the Asia Pacific region.”

Associated equipment to be supplied under the Foreign Military Sales package includes eight CATM-9X-2 captive air training missiles, five CATM-9X-2 Block II missile guidance units, two AIM-9X-2 Block II tactical guidance units, containers, spares and repair parts.

“The Republic of Singapore requires these missiles to meet current and future threats of enemy aircraft,” the agency said. “The proposed sale will enhance RSAF’s ability to operate with coalition forces in bilateral and multilateral exercises and potential air defense operations.”

The prime contractor for the deal would be Raytheon Missile Systems.