US and South Korean armed forces went on the highest level of alert - Watchcon 2 - Thursday, April 11, ready for multiple launches after at least one North Korean ballistic Musudan missile was sighted fueled and ready to launch at any moment. Some Western intelligence sources attribute Pyongyang’s saber-rattling to a power struggle ongoing between Kim Jong-Un’s military backers and the generals who judge him unfit for the top command. He may order a missile launch to assert his authority against his detractors.

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Il was a key player in Middle East war-or-peace quandary this week for the second time in three years. Obama failed to prevent the proliferation of his ballistic missiles to the Middle East.

Western intelligence has discovered that most of the missiles paraded in Tehran are fakes. But after witnessing the solid-fuel missiles, they suspect the real weapons may be hidden.

Despite Tehran's denial, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delayed his trip to Kabul by 48 hours when US defense secretary Robert Gates arrived suddenly in the Afghan capital Monday, March 8.
The Iranian president had set the scene for his visit by accusing the US of "fabricating" 9/11 as a pretext for invading Afghanistan and unveiling new missile production lines.