Viper!

This is coolbert:

From only today:

"North Korea fires 5 short-range missiles off coast, despite earlier signs of cooperation "

"SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired five short-range missiles off its east coast on Monday, news reports said, even as South Korea proposed working-level talks with its communist neighbor."

"Yonhap [South Korea's Yonhap news agency] said the missiles were surface-to-surface KN-02 rockets with a range of up to 75 miles (120 kilometers)."

These are called the KN-02 by the North Koreans? A variant, a indigenous manufactured version of the Soviet/Russian OTR-21. Called the SS-21 Scarab by NATO!

A tactical battlefield missile having some pretty good degree of accuracy, range, and a capability to deliver a nuclear warhead [?]!

"North Korea is known to have developed a local variant, the KN-2 Toksa (Viper) . . . The Toksa has a range of 120 - 140 kilometers, and it is the most accurate ballistic missile in KPA's inventory to date."

"The OTR-21 is a mobile missile launch system, designed to be deployed along with other land combat units on the battlefield. . . . can be used for precise strikes on enemy tactical targets, such as control posts, bridges, storage facilities, troop concentrations and airfields. The fragmentation warhead can be replaced with a nuclear, biological or chemical warhead."

Comments:

* The North Koreans seem to have a pretty good ability to take a basic weapons system, such as the SS-21, and make some impressive improvements! Range, accuracy, payload, mobility, etc. North Korean and Israeli ordnance personnel share a similarity here?

* How much more tube artillery, rocket artillery, short-range, ballistic missiles must the North Koreans have? Their capacity in this regard is nothing short of extraordinary. It must COST THEM A LOT AND YET THEIR NATION "WALLOWS" IN POVERTY!!??

* The SS-21 has an on board capability for GLONASS? The Soviet/Russian GPS! That enhances to a marked degree the accuracy of the Viper. The U.S., China, Russia, and Europe all have their own independent functioning GPS. Those systems put into orbit at a date subsequent to the American GPS are more sophisticated and accurate than the U.S version? NOT SURE! There is an advantage to the North Koreans using GLONASS in the event of conflict with the U.S. American military planners will be very hesitant to interfere in any manner with the Russian GPS?

* These missile firings while negotiations and renewed cooperation between North and South Korea is merely an indication of the mercurial character of Kim and indeed the entire North Korean regime?

coolbert.