Parsons Green Terror Attack and North Korean Summary
Parsons Green Terror Attack and North Korean Summary
On Friday morning, a teenage Iraqi refugee planted a bomb on a British subway train that exploded at Parsons Green train station. Some thirty people were injured in the attack likely inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS). Fortunately, the bomb, likely TATP, only partially exploded and in so doing avoided a massacre at rush hour. The 18-year-old Iraqi refugee who planted the bomb on the tube train and another 21-year-old Syrian refugee were later arrested by UK police as they attempted to crush a terror cell before it could carry out further bombings. The fear now is that ISIS has slipped or infiltrated a series of teen-aged ‘sleeper’ agents into countries like the UK in Western Europe and North America prepared to carryout terror attacks. The attack in Parsons Green also follows a recent call by al-Qaeda to targets passenger trains in the West with explosives and other means to kill innocent civilians. Al-Qaeda carried out a series of bus and subway suicide bombing attacks in London on July 7th, 2005.
Thursday of last week, North Korea test-fired another nuclear-capable Hwasong-12 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) over Japan. The Hwasong-12 IRBM flew to an altitude of 770 kilometers and landed 3700 kilometers away into the Pacific Ocean. South Korea’s Defense Ministry has warned that North Korea may conduct another nuclear or missile test going forward as it aims to advance its missile and nuclear capabilities. The next step would be for North Korea to test-fire an Hwasong-14 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) over Japan and far out into the Northern Pacific. On the diplomatic front, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and US President, Donald Trump, spoke directly to reiterate their commitment to jointly confront military threats from North Korea. Both South Korea and Japan are now openly discussing nuclear armament something that China is vehemently opposed to and something that gives the US and its allies real leverage with the Chinese.
On Sunday, the US military deployed a formation of two B-1 strategic bombers and twelve F-35 fighters over the Korean Peninsula to join South Korean 15K and Japanese F-2 fighters for live fire bomb runs on the Pilsung training range in South Korea. As well, the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group has been directed to take part in bilateral naval exercises with South Korea. The US-led Coalition is reportedly trying to subdue North Korea’s plan for additional nuclear and ballistic missile tests that could occur on or about the October 10th North Korean holiday commemorating the founding of the Communist Party. But in a telling move, US Defense Secretary, Jim Mattis, confirmed on Monday that the US and South Korea have discussed employing tactical nuclear weapons as an option to defend against North Korean attack. North Korean doctrine and strategy calls for theatre level nuclear strikes on the US and its allies South Korea and Japan, and nuclear-armed IRBM and ICBMs to threaten the US. The goal of Pyongyang’s strategic nuclear deterrent, is to deter the US from using its nuclear deterrent in a retaliatory strike, as the North eliminates South Korea and Japan in total war.
