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Unusual and rare,....

GTC

The entire U.S. Senate has been invited to the White House for a briefing Wednesday on the North Korea situation, amid escalating tensions over the country’s missile tests and bellicose rhetoric.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed the upcoming briefing, for all 100 senators, on Monday.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats plan to provide the update to lawmakers.

It is rare for the entire Senate to be invited to such a briefing.

Spicer clarified that while the event will take place on the White House campus, it is technically a Senate briefing and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is the one who convened it.

The briefing, first reported by Reuters, was confirmed after President Trump earlier spoke to the leaders of both China and Japan.

Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Xi told Trump that China strongly opposed North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and hoped “all parties will exercise restraint and avoid aggravating the situation,” according to Chinese broadcaster CCTV. Trump hopes China could increase pressure on its isolated ally instead of using military options or trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Trump and Abe agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions.

Meanwhile, U.S. commercial satellite images indicated increased activity around North Korea’s nuclear test site, while Kim has said that the country’s preparation for an ICBM launch is in its “final stage.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry has said the North appears ready to conduct such "strategic provocations" at any time. South Korean Acting Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has instructed his military to strengthen its "immediate response posture" in case North Korea does something significant on the April 25 anniversary of its military. North Korea often marks significant dates by displaying military capability.

On Monday, Trump also had lunch with ambassadors of countries on the U.N. Security Council. Ahead of the meeting, Trump called for “big reforms” at the U.N. and criticizing its handling of recent events in Syria and North Korea – but said it has “tremendous potential.”

"You just don't see the United Nations, like, solving conflicts. I think that's going to start happening now," he said.


Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...hite-house-for-north-korea-briefing.html

Letting them in on the real intelligence on NK.

They may not sleep as well tonight...

What are the Vegas odds ?

From the other side of the pond.....

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39694640

North Korea nuclear: White House calls Senate to briefing


In an unusual move, the entire US Senate is being called to the White House for a briefing on North Korea.
Washington has become increasingly concerned at North Korean missile and nuclear tests and threats to its neighbours and the US.
The briefing, involving 100 senators as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis, is being held on Wednesday.
China, North Korea's main ally, has called for restraint from all sides.
China's call came in a phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Mr Xi urged all parties to "maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions", according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Why Beijing should lead on North Korean crisis
For his part, Mr Trump said North Korea's "continued belligerence" was destabilising the Korean peninsula.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, will be among those briefing the senators
White House officials regularly go to Congress to brief on national security matters, but it is unusual for the whole Senate to go to the White House.
Alongside Mr Tillerson and Gen Mattis will be National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and Gen Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Questioned by reporters at his regular briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred further inquiries to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.
Aides, quoted by Reuters, say the House of Representatives is seeking a similar briefing on North Korea.
A U2 spy plane deploys from South Korea as the US monitors activity in the North, 24 April 2017Image copyrightEPA

Washington says a flotilla, led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, is expected to arrive off the peninsula within days, despite conflicting messages last week on its exact whereabouts.
Mr Trump has also told United Nations Security Council ambassadors, meeting at the White House, that the UN must be ready to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
The US is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to make its point on North Korea, the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue in Washington says.
First it wants the UN to tighten sanctions even further, and to ensure those in place are properly enforced.
Secondly, it is attempting to put fresh pressure on China to rein in its communist neighbour. The third aspect is the sending of an aircraft carrier to the Korean peninsula - making clear military action is an option.
North Korean rhetoric
North Korean state media said on Sunday the country's forces were "combat-ready to sink" the Carl Vinson.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun called the carrier a "gross animal".
North Korea has promised to press ahead with missile tests despite Mr Trump's warnings and experts say it may be preparing for another nuclear test, in defiance of UN resolutions.
However, a North Korean ballistic missile test on 16 April failed within seconds of launch, US experts said.
Washington is concerned that Pyongyang may develop the ability to place a nuclear bomb on a missile capable of reaching the US.
Beijing is worried about the possibility of all-out conflict on the peninsula, which could lead to the collapse of the North Korean regime under its mercurial leader Kim Jong-un.
China fears this could cause a sizeable refugee problem and lead to an American presence up to the Chinese border.
North Korea 'detains American citizen'
What can the outside world do about N Korea?
Timeline of recent tensions
8 April: The US military orders a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula
11 April: North Korea says it will defend itself "by powerful force of arms"
15 April: North Korea puts on a huge military parade - complete with missiles - to mark 105th birthday of the nation's founding president, Kim Il-sung. Meanwhile US Vice-President Mike Pence arrives in South Korea
16 April: North Korea conducts a rocket test, but it fails
17 April: Senior North Korean official tells the BBC the country will continue to test missiles "weekly" and Mr Pence warns North Korea not to "test" Donald Trump
18 April: It emerges the US Navy strike group was not heading towards North Korea when US officials suggested it was
22 April: US Vice-President Mike Pence says the group will arrive off the Korean peninsula "within days".
23 April: North Korea says it is "ready to sink" the US aircraft carrier

Just reflecting on the "Security" level at which this will be conducted. Assuming that some of the material will probably be of a confidential nature, ....one has to wonder about the current and chronic leaky condition of our ship of state.

Also wondering about how many of the Senators will be to busy with more important business,....or skip out as =some sorta' bizarre, "statement".

GTC

I'm sure the stock market's gonna like this in the morning.

It takes a long time for our Navy to get there.

Better deploy them now.

Their head of state idiot just made a direct threat to destroy the one on it's way.

I wonder in what dream world does he imagine winning this?

Crazy sumbiotch.

Having been a weapons officer in the Navy, I have pretty high confidence in our systems and people, but if you have a nuke, it doesn't have to be launched far and it doesn't even need to be all that accurate to do serious damage to a group of ships. If the schit is about to hit the fan, they may try to unplug the fan before it spreads schit everywhere. Whatever happens, this doesn't seem good.

Trump's continues turning up the heat on Kim Jong Un in a prolonged bluff calling. Kim is forced to perform up to the level of his rhetoric or loose face. I'm reminded of My Cousin Vinnie and the redneck who challenges Joe Pesci's character to a fight over the $200 dollar wager he lost to Marisa Tomei in a game of pool. Pesci's character refused to fight until the redneck comes up with the $200.

Sure didn't seem to bother it today!! And they knew about it hours ago.

Meanwhile:


Leaders from the Five Eyes intelligence network will be meeting in New Zealand this weekend.

Officials from the world's largest spy network - made up of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - will meet in Arrowtown, near Queenstown, where a massive security operation is underway.

Government officials are refusing to confirm details or provide names, but police confirmed no former head of state would be visiting, after the rumour mill tipped the visitor could be Barack Obama, with Microsoft founder Bill Gates' name also put into the mix.

Should have kicked their azz years ago would have been much easier.This will certainly be a blood bath for both sides even if its short lived.

We don't need a nuke war, Trump is just filling in the blanks for the 100 senators...if he has to make a move, they had better play ball.

If the shooting starts, it's going to be ugly.

Living in interesting times..

I have a friend who was in N. Korea delivering a ship full of Aid, wheat, IIRC. This is going on five years ago, now. He was in port long enough to unload the ship. He and his crew did a little trading with the N. Koreans operating the port—Hershey Bars, hand tools, canned food, simple little stuff. They were under strict orders from the North Koreans to not leave the ship, to not take photographs of the port, and were under constant guard, etc. Conditions were abysmal. The population is literally starving, the crude equipment they had was mostly nonfunctional. This guy has been all over the world, from delivering ships to India and Africa to be cut up for scrap by torch wielding laborers in flip flops, to the Middle East, to China, Scandinavia, to Eastern Europe and South America. He was shocked by the conditions in N Korea and described them as like nothing he'd seen anywhere. This regime is on the edge, if they've truly lost the support of China, they're in a real pickle.

That's what makes this so scary. The little twerp has nothing to lose or gain with a single mission in mind.

He certainly does not care about himself or his people. Sad!

hard going up against someone who has "nothing to lose" when you do have something to lose.....

In the past, it has not been PC to be allowed to "win" a war.

That cannot be the case with NOKO. If we leave enough of them to climb up out of the rubble, it'll start all over again.

I don't think that'll be allowed to happen this time around. We've got 60 years a failed policies to allow another hermit kingdom.

The north has nothing to lose and everything to gain by toppling fatboy. Once the place has been sufficiently secured and international aid comes streaming in, the lights will come on, literally and figuratively. The survivors won't go back to scrounging grass for dinner.

Most definitely interesting times..Our nuclear deterrent has seemingly run its course rendering a possible tit for tat scenario if the North actually has a weapon or weapons.

Those of you ever deployed to the peninsula know all to well our forward AFB's are most vulnerable and just minutes of flying time away from disaster.Having been there myself hope the powers that be have their thinking caps on to prevent a Nork first strike sucker punch.