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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Report: NORKS transshipping missile parts piecemeal by air via Russia to avoid detection |
| 2006-08-31 |
| From East Asia Intel, subscription. Instead of sending unconventional weapons by sea as in the past, North Korea now is shipping missiles and missile components on planes that fly via Russia, landing at Russian airports for refueling and possible transshipment on the way. Russia, our staunch ally in the global war on terror. With friends like these, who needs enemies? North Korea is overhauling its program for shipping such strategic materials in an effort to avoid detection and possible boarding by U.S. Navy vessels posted along main routes between North Korea and the Middle East, according to a new report by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey. The missiles are sent in kits from which recipients, with North Korean technical expertise, put together the final versions. One reason for sending the missiles in kits is to avoid detection by informants at airports who would recognize a finished missile but not a missile broken down into dozens of parts, each in separate containers. Yet another reason is to be able to pack a greater number of missile sets onto transport planes. Missiles will go on the dimensional rate, so packing them in a denser volume will keep the freight costs down, heh. These revelations raise the question of whether Russian authorities are profiting indirectly from the shipments even though the Moscow has appeared critical of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Ya think? Watch the hands, not the lips. The report cites instances in which “private-sector Russian assistance” has facilitated shipments, thus “calling into question the Russian government’s ability and/or willingness to control North Korea’s missile proliferation.” Analysts believe this revelation places under a spotlight the basic integrity of Russian officials, who are suspected of having received payoffs to smooth the flow of air traffic from Pyongyang to the Middle East. Russian scientists are also believed to be providing technical assistance after the missile tests in early July in which a long-range Taepodong-2 fizzled and plummeted into the sea just 42 minutes after launch. The NORKS better get some better technical assistance, but on the other hand, the Russians could be milking them for more engineering and technical assistance billing charges. Russian specialists, “both in North Korea and Russia,” the report said, are helping to insure “the developmental leaps to successful multiple-stage systems using large rocket motors” -- a goal that “cannot be achieved without external technological assistance.” At the same time, the report reveals a shift in command and control of the program to the DPRK air force, apparently a reflection of the shipping of missiles by air rather than sea. Explaining the decision to place the program under the air force, the report suggested that North Korea was following the example of Iran, whose missile program was under the command and control of the air wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Since the missiles fly long distances through the atmosphere and above, it would be reasonable to suggest that this be the bailiwick of the air force. The report said such changes “allow more rapid shipping deliveries” while “interception of such shipments will become more difficult.” And the Russian planes can fly through the back door to Iran, avoiding airspace that could expose them to interception by allied air forces. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #1 Russia has to stop this duplicity. Russia has its own terror problems. Can't understand why they keep acting like the USSR. Russia and China are hairing up the butter concerning the WOT. What's it going to take to have them get with the program? Life would be a lot easier for the West if they jumped on board in the war on terror. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-08-31 21:26 |