Far and away, the most immediate and pressing problem in the world in regards to nuclear-backed capabilities and threats to this nation and its allies comes directly from North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un.
With much fanfare and pomp, the man who leads the North lorded over his grandfather’s 105th Birthday celebration like a child sitting over his toy soldiers lined up in a battlefield readied for engagement.
Intelligence officer and former analyst for the United States military, Michael Pregent, was interviewed on Fox News regarding Pyongyang’s propagandistic display and asked to examine photographs from the celebration in order to render an opinion as to the worthiness of the military’s capabilities for warfare.
After a lengthy dialogue about how the display was a 100% propaganda move on the North Korean leader’s part, he went into details about the photos of the soldiers themselves. What he revealed was startling.
According to Pregent, photos that showed the commandoes with AK47 rifles, affixed with a cylindrical canister that appeared to be a grenade launcher of some sort, the expert pointed out that they were actually a specialized type of bullet magazine called a helical, designed to store rounds in a spiral shape. He went on to explain that they were notoriously prone to malfunction.
Commandos or caricatures?
Commandos, shown here at Kim II Sung Square during a military parade on April 15, don’t have state-of-the-art equipment, according to experts.(Associated Press)
Some of the most memorable images to emerge from North Korea’s dramatic parade featured the special operations “commandos” who were carrying what appeared to be AK-47’s with grenade-launching capabilities. It turns out that what many people believed to be grenade launchers are actually what’s known as “helical” magazines, a piece of equipment that organizes rounds in a spiral shape to maximize capacity and that is notorious for jamming, according to Pregent.
Pregent adds that not only do these types of magazines have a high-failure rate, there is still the question of whether any of these rifles are actually loaded, as ammunition manufacturing is considered a serious issue for the isolated regime.
Even suglasses, which are not the wraparound, protective type worn by western army special operators, are dubious, say experts. (Associated Press)
It’s not just the weapons those commandos are holding that raise questions, Pregent claims, and it seems some of the equipment on display would make for a better fashion show than a foxhole.
Pregent claims that the type of sunglasses being worn by those same troops “looks like a flat-face frame, and that’s not ballistic. That would wraparound and would also protect your eyes.”
Even the fingerless gloves being sported by some of those soldiers are more for show, according to Pregent. “Some of our guys do have them, but most guys go all the way with full gloves based on the heat of the barrel from a round, not to mention they’re fire resistant if you need to pick up something.”
Possible anomalies were also noted in the rifles toted by Kim Jong Un’s fighting forces. (Associated Press)
Are those launchers affixed to the tips of rifles, or something else? It’s not clear, say experts.(Associated Press)
“Fake projectiles”
Whatever the shortcomings of North Korea’s foot soldiers, experts don’t doubt the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear capability (Associated Press)
Some of the other eye-drawing items in the North Korean parade, items that may have zero combat application, are the seemingly oversized projectiles affixed to the end of some of those soldiers’ rifles. And while they apparently come in a variety of shapes and colors, Pregent calls them “laughable.”
Kim’s military exercises are likely designed to instill fear in his own people as much as outsiders.(Associated Press)
“If you look, you can see the plastic is over the muzzle,” Pregent said. And while he admits that some of the North Korean RPG capabilities could be real, the projectiles themselves would have to be fake “because Kim Jong Un doesn’t want them to launch one at the viewing stand,” whether by accident or on purpose.
Also fake, Pregent believes, are what appear to be silver-plated rifles being held by some of the soldiers who seem more front-and-center than the others. “Saddam had gold plated handguns, and even he wouldn’t give them to his troops, so these are most likely painted,” Pregent said.
Despite the fakes, a reason to fear
There may be questions about North Korea’s capabilities when it comes to effectiveness on the ground, ballistic missiles and even nuclear capabilities, but experts agree that the artillery units being tested this week present a clear and present danger to our allies.
George Friedman, founder of Geopolitical Futures, told Tucker Carlson recently that given those heavily-fortified and strategically placed artillery units, “if they open fire on [Seoul,] there is going to be a holocaust.”
He added that taking out all of those units is “not going to be an easy job. That’s not going to be a one-day strike.”
The former intel officer even went so far as to surmise that the rocket launchers were most likely toys issued to the troops in order to preclude an attack toward the viewing stand. Why he said this is not expounded upon, but one can only assume that he was intimating that the soldiers may wish to see Jong-un dead and issuing live ammo would be a foolish decision.
For the time being, military officials in the U.S., Japan and South Korea will continue to watch North Korea very carefully, scrutinizing the leader’s every move. This latest display does prove one thing, and that is that the North Korean dictator is no longer rattling a sabre, but rather is sabre rattled.
Source: Fox News
Hey Barry, remember to leave the number in the title. I will remove it before publishing
Also, we need tags completed on every post.
Look you aren’t your quarterback generals don’t underestimate this man or that Army. You forgot what happened during the Korean War wait and the Vietnam War
The two wars the politicians tried to command the armed forces.
Give us one day. We could blow them off the face of the earth. We better do it before this looney toon does something stupid
Just another way that he enlaces and abuses his people.
Aren’t their special forces marching with paintball guns?
Those hundreds of tanks and trucks are all lined up real pretty. A flight of A10’s would reduce the to a scrap heap very quickly,!!!!! Would be very cool to watch that.
Opinion.
An opinion they will not take you to jail it’s the law, in the meanime anyway ,,,
The Elite 5 Mad Men Who Control The World ,,, New World Order – They Call It,
They are the ones who plan to attack America, not Russia, not Korea, just like
The twins were inside job ,,,