North Korea Crisis

[AbbeySider]

I have been following this one for a while. So far they have tested 2 atomic bombs and this is the seventh missile test.
Extremely aggressive behaviour and they look to be on the brink of an attack against South Korea.



North Korea steps up war of words

North Korea today vowed to take further "self-defence" measures if provoked by the UN Security Council, which is discussing how to punish the regime for its nuclear test.

Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry also said in a statement the country will not recognise any Security Council resolutions unless the council first apologises for criticising Pyongyang's rocket launch last month.

"It will be inevitable for us to take further self-defence measures" if the council provokes the North, the statement said.

Tensions have been running high after the North conducted its second nuclear test and missile launches this week, rising further today as Chinese fishing boats pulled away from its coast, possibly to avoid skirmishes between the Koreas.

The North has been strident since its test – which it has also called a self-defensive measure. It did not specify what further action it was considering in response to UN resolutions, nor what it would consider a provocation.

Fears have increased of military skirmishes, particularly in disputed waters off the western coast, after North Korea conducted the nuclear test on Monday and then renounced the truce keeping peace between the Koreas since 1953.

The waters were the site of two deadly clashes in 1999 and 2002.

From Yeonpyeong, the South Korean island closest to the North, about a dozen Chinese ships could be seen pulling out of port in the North and heading elsewhere. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that more than 280 Chinese vessels were fishing in the area earlier this week, but the number has dropped to about 140.

It was not clear if the Chinese vessels, in the area for the crabbing season, were told by the North to leave or if they were leaving on their own for fear of clashes at sea.

South Korean and US troops facing North Korea raised their surveillance on Thursday to its highest level since 2006, when North Korea tested its first nuclear device. About 28,000 American troops are stationed across the South.

North Korea, whose 1.2-million strong military is one of the world's largest, says it is merely preparing to defend itself against what it says are plans by the US to launch a pre-emptive strike to overthrow its communist government.

The US has repeatedly denied any intention to attack North Korea.

In Washington, the Army's top officer, Gen George Casey, expressed confidence that the US could fight a conventional war against North Korea if necessary, despite continuing conflicts elsewhere.

But US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said the situation is not a crisis and no additional US troops will be sent to the region.

Gates, en route to Singapore for regional defence talks, tried to lower the temperature.

"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early today.

Meanwhile, talks at the United Nations Security Council over possible sanctions for the nuclear test were moving forward slowly.

Russia's UN ambassador said there was wide agreement among key world powers on what a new UN resolution should include, but said putting the elements together will take time because the issues are "complicated".

A list of proposals was sent on Wednesday to the five permanent veto-wielding council members – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea.

Diplomats said a draft of the proposed resolution is not expected to be circulated until next week.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/north-korea-steps-up-war-of-words-412786.html#ixzz0Gu3OsGMT&B


**************************


North Korea test-fires short-range missile
29/05/2009 - 12:00:42
North Korea test-fired another short-range missile off its east coast today.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency did not provide any details about the reported launch.

The launch would be the sixth short-range missile North Korea has test fired since its nuclear test on Monday.

Officials could not immediately confirm the report.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/north-korea-testfires-shortrange-missile-412804.html#ixzz0Gu3ArILR&B

[Orior]

I'd be for nuking them

[Trevor Hill]

I really wanted to start this thread, so I could get to use my headline. Is Kim Jong-ill ?

[ildanach]

the thing with kim is that he is that mad insane he would nuke south korea and suffer the conseqences to his own country with the nuclear fall out.

[stew]

Surely no one is suggesting the big bad US of A take the job on under the guise of the UN?

This eejit is an absolue nut job, I am hoping one of his own generals takes him out by the root as soon as possible.

Whatever they have to do to rid the world of this nutter is fine by me.

[DrinkingHarp]

Kim is a friggin nutjob, the man is a cross between Elvis and Stalin. He builds up his armament supply instead of helping to feed his country men. If he educated the civilians in his country the economic results would be incredible, they could be the new India.

[AbbeySider]

It's much more likely that China and/or Russia will be taking matters into their own hands if Kim-Jong Ill starts acting the prat, and I'm sure even he is not stupid enough to try and piss off the USA, Russia and China at the same time.

China are staying too quiet.
They dont want to ruffle feathers on a number of fronts. Firstly they export a lot to North Korea, including oil as far as im aware. Also, bordering Korea they dont want to instigate or seem threatening.

Is Kim doing it all for attention, so the world will sit up and listen and perhaps give more recognition?

[Son_of_Sam]

It's much more likely that China and/or Russia will be taking matters into their own hands if Kim-Jong Ill starts acting the prat, and I'm sure even he is not stupid enough to try and piss off the USA, Russia and China at the same time.

China are staying too quiet.
They dont want to ruffle feathers on a number of fronts. Firstly they export a lot to North Korea, including oil as far as im aware. Also, bordering Korea they dont want to instigate or seem threatening.

Is Kim doing it all for attention, so the world will sit up and listen and perhaps give more recognition?

China and North Korea would be fairly close all right, China would be the biggest source importer for North Korea, however the economies of South Korea and Japan each are more valuable to China than North Korea - if North Korea's actions were to start affecting this, I'd expect China to be giving Kim-Jong Ill an ultimatum.

If China where to invade they probably would occupy North Korea short term, then land grap large chunks near there own border then pull out of a Chineese puppet state to their south or let it rejoin South Korea with Chineese Naval rights.

[DrinkingHarp]

Reports: NKorea prepares long-range missile launch
AP

   By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer Jae-soon Chang, Associated Press Writer – 5 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea has transported its most advanced missile, believed to be capable of reaching Alaska, to a launch site on its west coast near China, news reports said Monday.

The reclusive communist country was also reportedly bolstering it defenses and conducting amphibious assault exercises along its western shore, near disputed waters where deadly naval clashes with the South have occurred in the past.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile had been sent by train to the newly completed missile facility of Dongchang-ni, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) from the Chinese border.

Yonhap, quoting government sources, said the missile could be ready to launch in a week or two. South Korean media have speculated that the North wants to time the launch for around June 16, when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has a summit in Washington with President Barack Obama.

With the launch, Pyongyang could also thumb its nose at U.N. Security Council attempts to rein it in after last week's nuclear test and a series of short-range missile launches.

U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at a news conference in the Philippines, said North Korea appears to be working on a long-range missile but it's not clear yet what they plan to do with it.

Lee, hosting a conference of Southeast Asian leaders on the southern island of Jeju, warned the North against any provocation.

"If North Korea turns its back on dialogue and peace and dares to carry out military threats and provocations, the Republic of Korea will never tolerate that," Lee said in his regular radio address. "I want to make clear that there won't be any compromise on things that threaten our nation's security."

Adding to tensions this week, the trial starts Thursday in Pyongyang of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, accused of entering the country illegally and engaging in "hostile acts."

North Korea faced strong international criticism after its last long-range missile launch, on April 5. The North said the launch was of a rocket intended to put a satellite in orbit. That modified version of the Taepodong-2 rocket flew about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers), crossing over Japan before crashing into the Pacific Ocean.

In late April, the North threatened to conduct nuclear and long-range missile tests unless the Security Council apologized for criticizing the launch. On Friday, it threatened to take a further "self-defense" measure if the Security Council provokes it. That threat was seen as referring to an ICBM test.

In another sign that a new launch is in the works, the North has designated a large area off its west coast as a "no-sail" zone through the end of next month, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified intelligence officials.

Yonhap said North Korean troops conducted amphibious assault maneuvers along with west coast. Other media carried similar reports. South Korean defense and intelligence officials refused to comment.

On Yeonpyeong island, one of South Korea's northernmost islands near North Korea, South Korean naval boats and a warship were patrolling waters around the disputed western sea border, but no incidents were reported.

The area is rich in fish, and May and June are the crab-catching season, meaning the waters are generally crowded with commercial ships.

Experts said the missile preparations were especially significant because the North has never launched a long-range missile from the northwestern base.

Kim Tae-woo, vice president of Seoul's state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said he thinks the North chose the site because of its proximity to China, making it more risky for the U.S. to strike.

The missile being prepared for launch is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers), the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unnamed South Korean official.

That would put Alaska within striking range.

On Monday, the North said again that it is being provoked by South Korea and the United States, saying that the number of spy planes operating in its airspace has risen dramatically.

"The U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppets perpetrated at least 200 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK in May, or 30 cases more than those in the same month of last year," it said in a report in its official Korean Central News Agency.

The DPRK is an abbreviation of North Korea's official name.

The North's missile and nuclear programs have been considered a top regional security concern, though the regime is not yet believed to have mastered the technology to make a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on a missile.

___

Associated Press writers Siyoung Lee and Young-joon Ahn on Yeonpyeong island and Lara Jakes in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.

[Our Nail Loney]

Kim was great in Team America, I loved the way he wasn't afriad to take the piss out of himself

[Aerlik]

 

Lads, lads, pleeeeeeeez.  Before you all get sucked in by the pro-US propaganda, can I seriously suggest you actually start off by reading about the background to the current situation. 

You will find that Uncle Sam was the main instigator of the actual situation. Period.  I am not, for one minute backing Kim Jong-Il...far from it having known many Koreans during my time in Japan; but you must try to understand the role played by The US and Japan.   Neither of them are by any means the innocent party, in fact they have been very much proven to be the devisive factors post-1966 especially.

And the chances of the north attacking the south of the country (note the all-encompassing language) are very, very, very...(ad infinitum)... slim.

I highly recommend you start off with "Target North Korea" by Aus journalist, Gavan McCormack.

[AbbeySider]

North Korea 'poised to test advanced missile'

North Korea appears to be preparing to test an advanced missile designed to reach the United States, a US official said, ratcheting up tensions after its second nuclear blast.

Media reports said the North Korean leader's youngest son has been picked to be the next leader.

The reclusive communist country also reportedly bolstered its defences and conducted amphibious assault exercises along its western shore, near disputed waters where deadly naval clashes with the South have occurred in the past decade.

Satellite images and other intelligence indicated the North had transported its most advanced long-range missile to the new Dongchang-ni facility near China and it could be ready to be fired in the next week or so, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

A US official confirmed the Yonhap report and said the missile was moved by train, although he did not comment on where it was moved to, and said it could be more than a week before Pyongyang was ready to launch.

Today, Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the North could have manufactured up to four long-range missiles through the end of last year. That means the regime could fire more missiles after the one being readied for a launch.

Also today, South Korean media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Jong Un, has been picked to be the reclusive nation's next leader.

The decision came after the nuclear test and North Korean diplomats have been instructed to respect the decision, the Hankook Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo reported.

Little is known about the 26-year-old man. He studied at the International School of Berne in Switzerland until 1998, learning to speak English, German and French, the Swiss weekly news magazine L'Hebdo reported in March, citing classmates and school officials.

The reports about the possible leadership succession come amid growing tensions stoked by the nuclear and missile tests.

The latest activity at the launch site came as the United Nations Security Council mulled punitive action for North Korea's May 25 nuclear test, and ahead of a June 16 summit in Washington between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Barack Obama.

US Ambassador Susan Rice reported yesterday that key powers are making progress on a new UN resolution that will almost certainly expand sanctions against North Korea for conducting a second nuclear test in defiance of the Security Council.

Complicating the situation further, a trial was set to begin on Thursday in Pyongyang of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, accused of entering the country illegally and engaging in "hostile acts".

The missile being prepared for launch was believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,000 miles, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported.

That distance would put Alaska and US bases on the Pacific island of Guam - along with all of Japan – within striking range.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/north-korea-poised-to-test-advanced-missile-413164.html#ixzz0HGSO5l9n&B

[AbbeySider]

From Time Magazine


Could North Korea Provoke a New Korean War?

By Mark Thompson / Washington Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009

US soldiers take part in a joint military drill with South Korean soldiers at a location north of Seoul in early June.

To fear a new Korean war is historically inaccurate, because, in fact, the last one never ended: The world's most dangerous border, across which some 2 million North Korean, U.S. and South Korean troops face each other along the 38th Parallel of the Korean Peninsula is, in fact, simply an armistice line. On July 27, 1953, the U.S. and North Korea signed a truce pausing, but not ending, a war that claimed more than 2 million lives, including those of 36,940 U.S. troops. And the North's recent nuclear and missile saber-rattling has many growing nervous about the potential for a resumption of hostilities.

North Korea, in fact, announced on May 27 that it was withdrawing from the armistice. It declared it could no longer guarantee the safety of ships sailing through the Yellow Sea off its western coast, and would no longer respect the legal status of several islands off South Korea's coast. It also vowed to attack South Korea if North Korean vessels suspected of smuggling nuclear and missile components are stopped and searched by a U.S.-led U.N. naval armada — a proposal currently under discussion. (See pictures of North Koreans at the polls.)

U.S. officials are concerned that political instability inside the Pyongyang regime may raise the danger of confrontation. "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il has been weakened by a stroke suffered late last year; his 26-year old heir apparent is not yet ready to take the reins; and the North Korean military is eager to maintain its preeminence in the coming political succession. "Any time you have a combination of this behavior of doing provocative things in order to excite a response — plus succession questions — you have a potentially dangerous mixture," said U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair on Monday. (See pictures of North Koreans at the polls)

Despite the rising tensions, however, a number of factors militate against a new chapter being opened in the Korean War. South Korea, backed by the U.S., doesn't want war, because the North has some 13,000 artillery tubes aimed at Seoul and the more than 10 million South Koreans living within 30 miles of the DMZ. North Korea, backed by China, doesn't want war because if it comes, it all but guarantees the collapse of Kim's regime, which is also the family business. (See pictures of the rise of Kim Jong-il)

Washington has made clear that it wants to solve this latest flare-up via diplomatic channels. "Our focus is now — and has been and likely will continue to be — on coming up with diplomatic and economic pressures that will persuade the North to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the platforms to deliver them," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said June 8. And if that fails? "We all need to be prudent about our planning for defensive measures." That suggests neither Washington nor Seoul is going to take preemptive military action.

The immediate priority of the U.S. and its allies is to prevent North Korea from spreading its nuclear know-how around the world. And their own lever is China's influence over the hermit regime. "There's a view that if you want to get the Chinese to act on North Korea, you need to signal a willingness to take military action," Scott Snyder, a Korean expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, said last week. "But at the same time, how do you do that —especially in conjunction with allies — without the Chinese feeling that you're trying to manipulate them tactically?"

China's role will be key, according to Larry Wortzel, who served two tours as a U.S. Army military attache in Beijing. "China will not let North Korea collapse," he was told by several top People Liberation Army officials during the Clinton Administration, according to his account in the latest issue of the U.S. Army journal Parameters. Beijing will help Pyongyang survive any sanctions. "There are limits to what the United States and its allies can do," he warns, "unless they want a complete break with, or to invite conflict with, China." China's motives are two-fold: keep North Korean refugees from flooding across the border, as well as to keep a U.S. ally from emerging on China's doorstep.

If it came to war, however, a key goal of any large North Korean attack would be to launch as many shells and rockets towards Seoul from its artillery tubes and launchers, many self-propelled or on railcars. The goal of U.S. and South Korean forces would be to destroy that artillery capability before too many rounds could be launched. While North Korea would build any attack around its 1.2 million-strong army, the U.S. and South Korea would rely more on their air and naval forces.

The Pentagon has largely refrained from saber-rattling, and is not planning to reinforce the 28,000 U.S. troops now in South Korea, or the 35,000 stationed in Japan. When pressed, U.S. military leaders concede that even their defensive plans will be tougher to implement given the fact that they currently have roughly 175,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. "There would have to be a level of ad hoc conglomeration of forces," General James Conway, the Marine commandant, told a Senate panel June 2. "But in the end, I am convinced we would prevail."

[Minder]

According to reports Kim Jong Un fed his naked uncle to 120 starving dogs in a cage.

[deiseach]

According to reports Kim Jong Un fed his naked uncle to 120 starving dogs in a cage.

Why 120? Most of them wouldn't get a morsel. File under 'dubious'.