Do you agree with John Kerry's statement on North Korea?

[Nye Bevan]

The United States will not accept North Korea as a "nuclear state," Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Tuesday, just hours after Pyongyang announced plans to restart a nuclear reactor it shut down five years ago.

......

"The bottom line is simply that what Kim Jong Un is choosing to do is provocative. It is dangerous, reckless. The United States will not accept the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) as a nuclear state," Kerry said during a joint briefing in Washington with South Korea Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

"And I reiterate again the United States will do what is necessary to defend ourselves and defend our allies, Korea and Japan. We are fully prepared and capable of doing so, and I think the DPRK understands that."

.....

On Tuesday, Kerry refused to speculate about North Korea's intentions or what its strategy may be with regard to its plans to reopen its reactor. "We've heard an extraordinary amount of unacceptable rhetoric from the North Korean government in the last days. So let me be perfectly clear here today: The United States will defend and protect ourselves, and our treaty ally, the Republic of Korea," he said.


http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/world/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html

3 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes. John Kerry is correct. The US should not accept NK as a nuclear state and should do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves and our allies.
	2 (67%)
	No. John Kerry is wrong. Kim Jong-un has a right to get nukes and we should not do a damn thing to stop him.
	1 (33%)
	Something else.
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[onehandle]

1. North and South Korea are the new China.

North is a Communist Dictatorship.

South is ruled by a Corporate Fascist Dictator Bloodline.


I'm far more worried about the collective Koreas than the Middle East.

[El Supremo]

2. Li'l Kim is full of shit.

If he makes one move against South Korea he is toast.

[ProSense]

3. Full statement:

<...>

SECRETARY KERRY: I’m not going to speculate on what the intent is or whether there’s a strategy or not a strategy. The bottom line is very simply that what Kim Jong-un has been choosing to do is provocative, it is dangerous, reckless, and the United States will not accept the DPRK as a nuclear state. And I reiterate again the United States will do what is necessary to defend ourselves and defend our allies, Korea and Japan. We are fully prepared and capable of doing so, and I think the DPRK understands that.

Now, that said, no one takes lightly, least of all the President of the United States, what has been happening, which is precisely why the President made the decision to redeploy missile defense with respect to the United States itself as well as to take other preparations in the region and to send a very clear signal to our allies and the North alike that the United States will defend our allies and that we will not be subject to irrational or reckless provocation.

But – and here’s an important but – we make it clear, as we have consistently, that the United States believes there is a very simple way for North Korea to rejoin the community of nations and make it clear that they want to pursue a peaceful path. And they can come back to the table and join all of those other countries, including their nearest neighbor and partner, China, obviously shared nearest neighbor with the Republic of Korea, but China which has such an important role to play and which has always maintained a closer relationship to the North than any other country.

So they have an option, and that option is to enter into negotiations for the denuclearization, which is China’s policy also, and to begin to focus on the needs of their people, which we also have made it clear we are prepared to help them with if they will bring their behavior in line with the United Nations and global community requirements. So it’s very simple: We are going to proceed thoughtfully and carefully, as the President has indicated, but we take nothing for granted. And we also are not indifferent to the meaning of the risks that are involved.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/04/207011.htm

[ellisonz]

6. Good Statement from Kerry

[TwilightGardener]

4. I feel like that horse already left the barn.

[ellisonz]

7. The horse can be put back in the barn. n/t

[limpyhobbler]

5. I thought they already have nuclear weapons since 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons

[longship]

8. Not according to their tests.

If DPRK had a viably tested nuke, it would have been front page because it's just not possible to hide such a thing. Physics departments all over the globe have the necessary seismic equipment to detect atomic blasts which have a unique seismic signature.

Every nation which has successfully tested a nuke has been exposed, usually within hours. In these days of global Internet it is just not possible to keep a successful test secret. No such report has happened with the DPRK. There is only speculation on three tests.

Plus, a chain reaction also has unique daughter products which identify the makeup of the fissionable core. No chain reaction; no daughter products. It's funny that nobody's reported those either as they also cannot be hidden.

I highly suspect is that NK has no successful nuclear bomb. The last test had a yield of 6 KTons and was said to be a U bomb. The previous two were supposedly Pu. None had the requisite seismic or daughter product signatures.

So, although they may have nuclear material in them, there was likley no runaway chain reaction and no nuclear detonation. They don't yet know how to do it, I think.

[msongs]

9. so john K, what exactly are you going to do about it, go all vietnam on him? nt

[jazzimov]

10. There is no comparison to Vietnam.

Dumb post.