N. Korea Threatens South Over Contingency Plan

SEOUL - North Korea threatened Jan. 15 to wage a "holy war" against South Korea, denouncing the Lee Myung-bak administration's alleged schemes to prepare for the communist state's internal instabilities, including the death of its leader, Kim Jong-il.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North's National Defense Commission warned that it will cut off all dialogue with South Korea and exclude its southern neighbor from all negotiations related to the security of the Korean Peninsula. The commission, headed by Kim, is the highest ruling agency in the Stalinist state.

"This is a plan to topple our republic," the North Korean statement said. "We will start a pan-national holy war of retaliation to blow away the den of South Korean authorities, including the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, who have led and supported the drawing of this plan.

"The strongly worded statement arrived after a South Korean newspaper reported Jan. 13 that the Seoul government had mapped out a plan that outlines administrative support measures for the South Korean-U.S. joint military contingency plan, codenamed 5029, to cope with various levels of internal turmoil in the North following the North Korean leader's reported illness and deepening economic problems in the North.

Quoting unidentified officials in Seoul, the Munhwa Ilbo reported that the plan, codenamed "Recovery," deals with five contingency scenarios: the death of Kim, a coup, a popular uprising, a massive inflow of North Korean refugees, and more sanctions or military attacks from the outside.

The Chosun Ilbo, the vernacular daily newspaper in the South, said Jan. 14 that the Recovery plan also envisions South Korea's establishment of an "administrative headquarters to liberate the North," when contingency situations arise.

Seoul's Ministry of Unification declined to comment on the reports at that time.

"We find it deeply regretful that North Korea took a threatening stance toward us based on some unconfirmed media reports," ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a statement Jan. 15.

Yemen strike kills six al Qaeda

(CNN) -- Air raids in northern Yemen killed six operatives with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen's Ministry of Defense said Friday.

The main target was the group's military commander, Qassim al-Raimi, the Yemeni Embassy to the United States said in a written statement.

The defense ministry said al-Raimi was killed.

A Yemeni government official briefed in detail on the matter said the Yemeni government is "almost certain" that al-Raimi was killed.

The official described al-Raimi as the third-highest-ranking figure in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

The group has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner on December 25. Investigators have said intelligence ties the bombing suspect, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, to the group.

Yemeni forces carried out an air raid at 2:30 p.m. near Alajasher in the country's far north, the Yemeni Embassy to the United States said in its statement.

Wounded Pakistan Taliban Commander: Live or Memorex?

Peshawar, Jan.16 (ANI): While the Pakistani security forces are still ascertaining reports about the death of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike, the TTP has released an audio tape of Mehsud claiming that their leader is safe.

It may be noted that 15 militants were reportedly killed in a US missile hit in the tribal controlled region between North and South Waziristan on Thursday. Security officials said Mehsud too may have been killed in the attack, but they have failed to substantiate the report.

The Pakistan government and the Army have clarified that they are uncertain over the TTP's top commander's death.

Mehsud, in his audio message, claimed that he is unhurt, and that it is a conspiracy of the government to flash the news about his death.

"Sometimes they (the government) launch propaganda about my martyrdom through media and sometimes they say that the operation has been completed in South Waziristan. This can never happen," The Nation quoted Mehsud, as saying.

However, there was no mention of the day or date of the drone strike in which Mehsud is said to have been killed, which raises questions over whether the message was recorded after the said strike.

Meanwhile, the BBC quoted a Taliban leader, as saying that Mehsud has been injured in Thursday's attack. (ANI)

Breaking News: Pantex Nuke Plant Lockdown

UPDATE:

Pantex alert due to "hunters with weapons" sighted by employee near plant.


Link: 
CNN STORY: (CNN) -- A nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant in Texas was on lockdown Friday morning because of a "potential security situation," according to a news release.

The Pantex Plant in Carson County, Texas, "has activated its Emergency Response Organization to respond to a potential security situation," the release said.

The event, which was not described, occurred around 8 a.m. the release said.

"The plant is in a lockdown status and the situation is being evaluated in order to facilitate security actions. Pantex employees are sheltered in place," it said.

Further details were not immediately available.

The Pantex plant is the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility, the release said. The facility is managed and operated by B&W Pantex for the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, according to the plant's Web site.

It is about 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

UPDATE:

Texas nuclear assembly plant in lockdown: official

HOUSTON

Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:10pm EST

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A nuclear weapons assembly plant in Amarillo, Texas, ordered a precautionary security lock-down on Friday but there was no safety breach, a state official said.

U.S.

"They did have it locked down," said an official at the Texas Department of Public Safety, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There was no security breach. It was purely a precautionary measure."

According to the Texas official, the plant was locked down because there were armed hunters on property adjacent to it. "They had some duck hunters out there," the official said. Plant officials later determined the hunters were not a threat, the official said.

The Pantex Plant maintains the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and is managed and operated by Babcock and Wilcox for the U.S. Department of Energy.

"Pantex is responding to a concern reported by Pantex employees," Steve Erhart, Pantex Site Office Manager, said in a statement. "Pantex Plant security is in control of the situation. Plant management is monitoring the ongoing response."

(Reporting by Chris Baltimore; Editing by Vicki Allen)

U

War warning: Terror attack imminent?

Washington (CNN) -- Information gained since the attempted airplane bombing on Christmas Day has U.S. officials concerned that al Qaeda in Yemen has "trained and equipped ... viable operatives" to strike U.S. targets -- including targets unrelated to aviation, a reliable source familiar with the investigation told CNN Thursday.

"I have not seen people this ramped up on the terror front like this for probably two years," the source said. "The palpable level of angst is incredible."

Federal officials said there was no imminent threat, but the source said the investigation into the electronic communications associated with Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian charged in the botched attempt to bomb an airplane, initially took officials in different directions.

Now, the source said, "the spider web" is starting to come together. Officials believe there are viable operatives -- described by this source as "people who are trained, equipped, resourced, with instructions -- maybe not with a 'go order' but all of the pieces are in place."

The source added that officials don't know where the operatives are but believe that there are "a lot" of them. This source said investigators have at least seven names. A second source said officials have identified at least some of the operatives but would not give numbers.

The first source did not believe a lot of new information had come in since Christmas, but said that, as officials followed threads, information that previously did not appear to be significant now appears to be.

The concern extends beyond aviation, and AbdulMutallab has told investigators the other operatives were trained to attack more than planes, the source said. All of the "normal vectors" are on the table -- trains, etc. -- but the belief is they would like to attack planes just to prove that they can, the source said.

The second source, a law enforcement source not authorized to speak for attribution about the investigation, also said the threat extends beyond aviation.

Also Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that aviation security was being tightened to include enhanced random screening, additional federal air marshals and the addition of names to the terrorist watch list.

The source did not say the security steps announced by Napolitano were connected with any threat from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

A source without access to intelligence said aviation security was "ramping up pretty hard. We don't do that for just anything." He said efforts were being made to put air marshals on all inbound flights.

Separately, a U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN that "the concerns have intensified since 12/25. There is every reason to believe AQAP is planning attacks against the U.S. There are people willing to assist them."

"There is a concerning stream of information related to AQAP and its intentions that we are taking a very close look at," the official added.

The report about "viable operatives" came a day after two senior officials told CNN that the United States was monitoring a "credible threat" from al Qaeda in Yemen against the U.S. homeland.

On Wednesday, one official said the threat was general in nature and a second said it was not a case of "we connected the dots to something imminent."