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Ng Han Guan / AP, file
In this photo taken on April 15, 2012, what appears to be a new missile is carried during a mass military parade at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. The photo shows the warhead's surface is undulated, suggesting it's a thin metal sheet unable to withstand flight pressure, analysts say.
The Associated Press reports — Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country's claims of military prowess.
The weapons displayed April 15 appear to be a mishmash of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel components that could never fly together. Undulating casings on the missiles suggest the metal is too thin to withstand flight. Each missile was slightly different from the others, even though all were supposedly the same make. They don't even fit the launchers they were carried on.
Ng Han Guan / AP, file
Adding more doubt to North Korea's claims of military prowess after its flamboyant rocket launch failure, analysts say the half dozen missiles showcased at the military parade were low-quality fakes.
"There is no doubt that these missiles were mock-ups," Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Germany's Schmucker Technologie, wrote in a paper posted recently on the website Armscontrolwonk.com that listed those discrepancies. "It remains unknown if they were designed this way to confuse foreign analysts, or if the designers simply did some sloppy work." Read the full story.
David Guttenfelder / AP, file
North Korean civilians, some weeping, wave flowers as they look up at Kim Jong Un, unseen, at the end of the military parade on April 15, 2012.
Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, shares a rare and revealing look inside the reclusive kingdom of North Korea.
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This country is so godd*** fascinating. It's like a living, breathing scientific creation locked in a time capsule. I'm not talking about the fake missiles, I'm talking about the real robot people with functioning tear ducts who still live in the 1950s.
Shouldnt have said anything....maybe these idiots believed they worked and woulda taken care of themselves....
Someone, earlier, stated that China would NOT get involved. That is living in a DREAM WORLD! The "Korean Conflict" would have been over in days, if not weeks, if China had not been involved. They had TROOPS and JETS in and over N. Korea killing OUR military!
Until China unilaterally denounces Communism they will come to the aid of N. Korea. The bulk of China is under strict Communism control. The only places that APPEAR to be even slightly "Open Minded" are the few Cities that have large manufacturing bases but they, too, are under the shadow of Communist control!
China won't get involved. Whatever else you say about the Chinese, they're not idiots. They consider the DPRK to a political liability but one from which they have no means of extricating themselves without massive loss of faith. So, instead, they exploit it as a kind of unreliable psy-ops assets. If North Korea actually attacks South Korea in force, China will throw their support in with the South (with which they have grown way too friendly, for my preference).
The other thing to bear in mind is that North Korea's principle support in the Chinese politburo come from several powerful politicians: Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai,Xu Ming, and about four others. As of this moment, Zhou is pretty close to being placed under house arrest, Bo is being waterboarded somewhere and Xu is probably getting his organs harvested. Virtually all of their associates - who also support North Korea - are in the process of getting purged, arrested, discredited or run-to-ground. There is a quiet coup going on China now, and it is extremely unlikely that, once the dust settles, the North Korea lobby will have any influence left whatsoever. This does NOT mean that China will be any less anti-American than it is now, but rather simply that those who will be left in power don't put much stock in North Korea at all.
We need totarl consentwation! This is nawt a shawade!
Maybe our analyst can tell them everything that's wrong with there missiles so next time they get it right. Might as well send them a blue print those aren't real because.......
Is it wise to drive actual munitions full of rocket fuel through a city just for a parade? I'm not surprised they were mock-ups, the last thing they would want would be to take a chance at roasting a city block if one started to leak. I'm sure their real missiles are locked away wherever they usually keep them. Whether or not they have long-range missiles that actually work is probably not a question that can be answered by floats in a parade.
Heck, why dont we just send a nuke but make it an Iranian nuke. Blame them. That's what they would do to us...and have, but on a much smaller scale from what I have personally seen in Iraq.
Virtually everything about North Korea seems fake. In fact, the only thing real about North Korea is the suffering of their people. But then again, that's all their people have ever known; for all we know, they could all believe they are living the best life possible. How very sad.
Maybe the Little Fat Boy is a fake. Lets stick a pin in him and see if he flies away. Lets hope their missiles were made with Chinese after market parts. Fueled by rotten cabbage. When you pull a gun on a cop in NY he will shoot you whether it is a fake or real gun. I say shoot and get those people off the hook.
LOL my friends made better fireworks and pipebombs then those POS NK misslies ,supprised they removed the sticks from those big bottlerockets
I think if you could wash of the camo paint it would say ACME Corporation underneath.
Fakes or not, is irrelevant. The more we should be vigilant. It would be catastrophic when and if these "fakes" can obliterate us!
The saddest part of this whole charade is the citizens who worship their "supreme leader", and I don't mean Diana Ross. The weird thing about N. Korea is that this type of grand standing went on with his father and it was never even discussed in the news as important information. I guess because the kid is nutier than the Dad Countries are now starting to look at him through a microscope.
Big surprise. Buzz Lightyear flew better than Korea's "missiles."
The "don't even fit the launchers" comment is evidenced by the fact that the missiles are much shorter than the Soviet designed carriers which have a notched truck cab to accomodate much longer Soviet designed missiles.
I love how Republicans shake and quake over this crap. It is their only path toward winning elections because unfortunately really dumb people(teabaggers) buy into it. It's like Santorum claiming Colleges and Universities are "Liberal training camps". Lies, lies, lies, yeah, they're gonna getcha. It's like I've said 100 times you can't debate stupid. President Obama in Iowa yesterday quoting Virginia Fox of North Carolina. Brilliant. Look, if you want to go through life being an uneducated dumb ass fine, but let the rest of us take advantage of Science, History, and higher learning.
Colleges are Liberal training camps. Most professors have never had a real job, Barry is a prime example. I went to and taught in college. I know first hand. Kids pretty much believe everything they are told, especially if they are being graded on it. Barry is the most incompetent piece of @!$%# to ever sit in the oval office. I would put my 56 years of life experience , my multiple science degrees up against your purple coolaid drinking, what? 25 years of living off of mom and dad. Bet you have never had a job in your life either. We call people like you, parasites, and a self absorbed and self important one at that. One day, when you do start to work, if you can find a job with that high dollar useless degree the taxpayers helped you get, you might, just might start to resent the big bite the Feds will take out of your check to hand out to another generation of do nothing lazy asses like yourself.
Jerry: You obviously don't know of our treaties with SK that says we will come to their aid in the event NK attacks. It is much less costly to keep troops there as a deterent, a trip wire if you will, than fight our way back in during an ongoing war, which our treaty obligations would require we do in your scenario. Or are you advocating we revoke our long standing treaties with everyone because they are too costly?
Well there are two reasons why they have Fake rockets on the launchers.
1. They don't have a ICBM that can reach us, but to pull the wool over there peoples eyes, they made these fakes to make it so there people think they have power.
2. NK did not want US to see there ICBM and to just **** with US, they made these fakes to make us think they don't have a ICBM that could hit us and its all just a RUSE.
Paper towel roll... check
duct tape.....check
green spray paint.....check
diet coke....... check
mentos...... oh crap dear leader must have found them again
Oh how precious! They think everyone's as dumb as they are! XD
I bet they could make some really cool toys.
I commend N. Korea on the high levels of success at fighting obesity. The national average for body fat is at 1%.
Rumor is they will test a nuke withen 2 weeks.
You think fracking causes earthquakes ???? Wait until the peninsula has underground testing of Boosted fission nuclear warheads. A combination of Plutonium and Uranium. Didn't they see what happened in Japan last year? There neighbor is sliding around on loose plates. Not a good time to blast nukes inside mother earth.
Good point!!! Maybe they will slide into the Ocean...problem solved.
Well played Mudrake2. In college I was always shaking my head at the pie in the sky crap that came out of the professors mouths. The problem was that I went to college in my forties after the military and taveling around the world as a civilian, organizing labor in the construction field and maritime industry. When I taught I tried very hard to tell it as it is. I was at odds a great deal of the time with other staff members who had it in the back of their heads that there really is a free lunch and we are the bad guys.
Transporter room to Kirk. We've misplaced John.