N Korea threatens US; world anticipates missile

[The Hope Mobile]

Source: AP


N. Korea threatens US; world anticipates missile
By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press Writer – 8 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea accused Washington of seeking to "provoke a second Korean War" as the regime prepared to hold maritime military exercises off the eastern coast.

U.S. and regional authorities were watching closely for signs that North Korea might fire short- or mid-range missiles during the June 25 to July 10 timeframe cited in a no-sail ban for military drills sent to Japan's Coast Guard.

North Korea had warned previously it would fire a long-range missile as a response to U.N. Security Council condemnation of an April rocket launch seen as a cover for its ballistic missile technology.

An underground nuclear test last month drew more Security Council action: a resolution seeking to clamp down on North Korea's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring U.N. member states to request inspections of ships carrying suspected cargo.

In a first test of the new resolution, a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons was sailing off China's coast with a U.S. destroyer close behind.

The Kang Nam, which left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago, is believed bound for Myanmar, South Korean and U.S. officials said.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was unable to discuss intelligence on the vessel, said Wednesday that the ship had already cleared the Taiwan Strait.

He said he didn't know how much range the Kang Nam has — that is, whether or when it may need to stop in some port to refuel — but that the Kang Nam has in the past stopped in Hong Kong's port.

North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war, and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to start another Korean War.

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The brutal fighting ended after three years in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula divided and in a state of war. The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities.

On Wednesday, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp, praised soldiers from U.S.-led U.N. forces who died fighting the "tyranny" of communist North Korea decades ago.

"A North Korean victory in the Korean War would have brought the nightmare of tyranny to this great land, thrusting the citizens of the Republic of Korea into a darkness that their northern counterparts have yet to emerge from," he said a commemoration ceremony Wednesday, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

Reports about possible missile launches from the North highlighted the state of tension on the Korean peninsula.

A senior South Korean government official said the no-sail ban is believed connected to North Korean plans to fire short- or mid-range missiles. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

Yonhap reported that the North may fire a Scud missile with a range of up to 310 miles (500 kilometers) or a short-range ground-to-ship missile with a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers) during the no-sail period.

U.S. defense and counterproliferation officials in Washington said they also expected the North to launch short- to medium-range missiles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

South Korea will expedite the introduction of high-tech unmanned aerial surveillance systems and "bunker-buster" bombs in response to North Korea's provocations, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing lawmakers.

Meanwhile, a flurry of diplomatic efforts were under way to try getting North Korea to return to disarmament talks.

Russia's top nuclear envoy, Alexei Borodavkin, said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart that Moscow is open to other formats for discussion since Pyongyang has pulled out of formal six-nation negotiations.

In Beijing, top U.S. and Chinese defense officials also discussed North Korea. U.S. Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy was heading next to Tokyo and Seoul for talks.

South Korea has proposed high-level "consultations" to discuss North Korea with the U.S., Russia, China and Japan.

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No link yet.

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Thoughts on this? Does anybody have more info??

[Hugabear]

1. Are North Korean "threats" really LBN?

They threaten death, destruction, fire, and brimstone on a regular basis. I don't think anybody seriously anticipates that they're going to attack us.

[The Hope Mobile]

4. I hope you're right. This seems to have a bit more credibility to me.

But I much prefer to think you're right on this.

[sofa king]

7. They have a different diplomatic approach.

The North Koreans aren't alone in this, either. Both they and mainland China, Taiwan to some extent, and other East Asian nations are big on the rhetoric, and the threats. Part of the ruse is posturing, attempting to establish a strong and unwavering position from which to negotiate. Part of it appears to me to be an attempt by the table-banger to outline the very shortest path to disaster. Usually, in my limited and inexpert observation, the "threat" is a hypothetical response to some stated anticipated move by other nations.

The important thing to remember is that all this tension-ratcheting and posturing has about as little to do with actual nuclear weapons as a six-year old playing in a sandbox has to do with them. There are credible rumors which suggest that NK's first test wasn't a nuclear weapon at all. There are half a dozen nations out there that may wish to wreck a North Korean missile launch simply to test their own anti-missile systems and espionage capability. North Korea's largest actual threat is the ability to dump a million artillery shells an hour into the Seoul metropolitan area--that's the one you never hear them talk about.

Rather, this current round of stormy weather has to do with averting yet another famine in North Korea, which is too corrupt to feed itself, and with guaranteeing the territorial and political integrity of the Kim family tyranny as it transitions to yet another insane redneck dictator. North Korea ratchets up the tension and attempts to bargain away the tension in return for aid and stability. South Korea usually reaps its own rewards at the same time. The tactic has been a resounding success for both nations since the death of Kim Ill Sung, perhaps long before that.

Edit: I should provide an example to demonstrate what I mean in the last sentence of my first paragraph, easily found in today's news:

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/north-korea-threatens-to-_3_n_220001.html

As long as it's an if/then statement, the North Koreans feel free to jump squarely to the worst conclusion. It's scary, but it's not an operative threat, because we're not going to start that war and neither are they. Or so we hope.

[Hugabear]

9. It will be more credible once they start gearing up their military

So far, nothing indicates that their military is preparing for an all-out war. This appears to be nothing more than their usual "look at me" antics. Clinton placated them during his administration, Bush came along and antagonized them, now there's a new president in charge.

[msongs]

2. always 1955 in n. korea nt

[The Hope Mobile]

5. but now they have what it takes to do something about it and they're just

crazy enough to try. It seems like they're being taken more seriously this time.

[Hugabear]

10. No they don't

Their military is no more "ready" than it was during the 1990s. Sure, they could inflict massive casualties on our forces and the South Korean people, and they could lob a few missiles at Japan. But that's about it. Just because they've detonated an atomic bomb doesn't mean they have the ability to deliver it. There's no indication they have the ability to mount it on a missile, and they definitely don't have the missile technology to strike the US.

[The Hope Mobile]

11. Thanks for the info. Its reassuring. I thought things were further along

than they apparently are.

[iandhr]

3. An act of War

They consider everything a act of war.

[Xolodno]

6. Technically speaking...

North and South are still "at war", thus any military move by the south can be considered an "act of war".

They could be playing reverse "crying wolf". Call every action a provocation enough and eventually every one will ignore you. Then one day make good on your threat while everyone is "ignoring" you.

[man4allcats]

8. Re: "...the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all"

I seriously doubt North Korea currently has the capability to nuke the U.S. given the distance a warhead (if they have one) would have to travel disallowing, of course, a submarine based attack. For the sake of argument though, even if they do have such capability, with their "wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all" statement, they seem to be forgetting the nuclear hell such an attack by them would precipitate on their own nation. Under such circumstances, the U.S., which apparently likes nothing so much as a good war no matter the costs, would I think pull out all the stops. They might hit us, but it would be the last thing they ever did, and of course we do have the fire power to back that up.

[smirkymonkey]

12. What the hell is up Kim Jong Il's ass anyway??

I mean, there's no point to this. NK will just end up being a big nuclear wasteland in the end, what can he possibly hope to gain?