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anomalocaris 25-Jun-09, 14:06	N Korea vows nuke attack if provoked by US By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago SEOUL, South Korea — Punching their fists into the air and shouting "Let's crush them!" some 100,000 North Koreans packed Pyongyang's main square Thursday for an anti-U.S. rally as the communist regime promised a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" for any American-led attack. Several demonstrators held up a placard depicting a pair of hands smashing a missile with "U.S." written on it, according to footage taken by APTN in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the day North Korean troops charged southward, sparking the three-year Korean War in 1950. North Korean troops will respond to any sanctions or U.S. provocations with "an annihilating blow," one senior official vowed — a pointed threat as an American destroyer shadowed a North Korean freighter sailing off China's coast, possibly with banned goods on board. A new U.N. Security Council resolution passed recently to punish North Korea for conducting an underground nuclear test in May requires U.N. member states to request inspections of ships suspected of carrying arms or nuclear weapons-related material. In response to the sanctions, the North pulled out of nuclear talks and has ramped up already strident anti-American rhetoric. And the isolated regime may now be moving to openly flout the resolution by dispatching a ship suspected of carrying arms to Myanmar. While it was not clear what was on board the North Korean-flagged Kang Nam 1, officials have mentioned artillery and other conventional weaponry. One intelligence expert suspected missiles. The U.S. and its allies have made no decision on whether to request inspection of the ship, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday in Washington, but North Korea has said it would consider any interception an act of war. If permission for inspection is refused, the ship must dock at a port of its choosing so local authorities can check its cargo. Vessels suspected of carrying banned goods must not be offered bunkering services at port, such as fuel, the resolution says. A senior U.S. defense official said the ship had cleared the Taiwan Strait. He said he didn't know whether or when the Kang Nam may need to stop in some port to refuel, but that the Kang Nam has in the past stopped in Hong Kong's port. Another U.S. defense official said he tended to doubt reports that the Kang Nam was carrying nuclear-related equipment, saying information seems to indicate the cargo is banned conventional munitions. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to talk about intelligence. North Korea is suspected to have transported banned goods to Myanmar before on the Kang Nam, said Bertil Lintner, a Bangkok-based North Korea expert who has written a book about leader Kim Jong Il. Pyongyang also has been helping the junta in Yangon build up its weapons arsenal, a South Korean intelligence expert said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The two countries have not always been on good terms. Ties were severed in 1983 after a fatal bombing during the South Korean president's visit to Myanmar blamed on North Korean commandoes. They held secret talks in Bangkok in the 1990s to discuss the lone survivor among the three North Korean commandos involved in the bombing, and since have forged close relations. The two regimes, among Asia's most repressive, restored diplomatic ties in 2007. Not long after that, in April 2007, the Kang Nam docked at Thilawa port saying it needed shelter from bad weather. But one expert said reports show the weather was clear then, and two local journalists working for a foreign news agency who went to write about the unusual docking were arrested. "The Kang Nam unloaded a lot of heavy equipment in 2007," Lintner said. "Obviously, the ship was carrying something very sensitive at that time as well." North Korea has also helped Myanmar dig tunnels in recent years, said Lintner, adding that the cash-strapped North may have received rice, rubber and minerals in return for its military and other assistance. "North Korea appears to have exported conventional weapons to Myanmar in exchange for food," another expert said. Pyongyang is believed to have transported digging equipment to Myanmar, which is seeking to make its new capital a fortress with vast underground facilities, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence. North Korea has been locked in a tense standoff with Washington and other regional powers over its nuclear program. In April, the regime launched a rocket widely seen as a cover for a test of long-range missile technology — a move that drew U.N. Security Council condemnation. The North responded by abandoning six-nation disarmament talks and threatening to carry out nuclear tests and fire intercontinental ballistic missiles. The North is believed to be developing a long-range missile designed to strike the U.S. but experts say it has not figured out how to mount a bomb onto the missile. On Thursday, Pyongyang vowed to enlarge its atomic arsenal and warned of a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" if provoked by the U.S. North Korea's "armed forces will deal an annihilating blow that is unpredictable and unavoidable, to any 'sanctions' or provocations by the US," Pak Pyong Jong, first vice chairman of the Pyongyang City People's Committee, told the crowd gathered for the Korean War anniversary rally. In Seoul, some 5,000 people — mostly American and South Korean veterans and war widows — also commemorated the anniversary at a ceremony. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the nation is prepared to counter any type of threat or provocation. "The South Korean government is firmly determined to defend the lives and wealth of its people and will do its utmost to find the remains of troops killed in the Korean War," he said at the ceremony. The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war because the conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Obama has single handedly turned the world against us. Not even in the Bush years did N Korea display this kind of aggression. Actually threatening to use Nukes against us?!! It's time Obama did something to change the image of the U.S. He has done nothing but alienate the world. His cowboy attitude and shoot first ask questions later approach do nothing to help our image.
chessnovice 25-Jun-09, 14:15	... Snore. They'd need to develop a rocket that could reach Japan without plunging into the ocean first. North Korea is by no stretch of any imagination a serious threat.
anomalocaris 25-Jun-09, 14:21	just wondering why do we pay attention to them then? Why does Japan worry?
chaz- 25-Jun-09, 14:49	stinky ... ... why does China tolerate such a wayward neighbor?
anomalocaris 25-Jun-09, 15:03	Chaz No idea really.
softaire 25-Jun-09, 16:07	It would probably be the "Mother of all Battles".
qiwi 25-Jun-09, 16:12	Chessnovice.... The recent rocket launched by North Korea not only reached Japan but sailed clean over the top of it, jettisoning the booster stage in the western Pacific Ocean nearly 1,300 miles east of Japan.
chessnovice 25-Jun-09, 16:43	qiwi Sort of a sarcastic remark, definitely missing the point. How are they going to wipe out the US without any ability to reach the US? ASF: We pay attention to them because we seem to like flexing our muscles at countries that don't cooperate with us. We did it with Iraq, we do it with Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, and even North Korea. North Korea is giving this threat of attacking the US if we mess with them. Our Secretary of State has talked about totally obliterating Iran if we mess with... Israel. Which one of the threats was even remotely feasible? Japan worries because they're demilitarized. Maybe North Korea's aggressiveness is a sign that they shouldn't be any longer.
chaz- 25-Jun-09, 17:25	Chess ... ... help me out to understand what China's position on all this must be. Is N.K. just a nearby nuisance that is no threat to them? Or, is this a subtle, but useful admonition to folks, like Americans, not to mess with ANYone in the Far East? Or, just what ... ?
chessnovice 25-Jun-09, 17:45	chaz Probably the easiest answer is that they both have the same philosophy of government, and alike countries tend to work together. I'm not sure how significant a factor it might be considering that China is really the only strong communist country right now, though. China definitely does not appear to want any North Korea refugees, to the point that they influenced North Korea to build a barbed wire fence along the border (familiar idea). Presumably if North Korea collapsed, China would endure the most refugees as a result. I think that's a big influencing factor. And honestly, I'm sure China is getting impatient with North Korea's ventures as it is. They supported an economic sanction against North Korea a few years ago, directly in response to their ballistic missile testing. China has historically been the sole veto against sanctions. So the more they test the limits, the less likely China will continue to defend them.
fatcat2 26-Jun-09, 13:09	As Rod said... The Spectator columnist Rod Liddle described North Korea's nuclear threats as "being threatened by a psychopathic gerbil". That sums it up, really. North Korea's longest missiles can reach around 200 miles - nowhere near enough to reach the USA. North Korea could perhaps damage it's Southern counterpart, and then what? It will be reduced to a blot of dust by converging missiles from the USA. North Korea has not a chance. They're just trying to make themselves heard in a world filled with hostile ears. Let's face it: they brought those hostile ears onto themselves.
anomalocaris 26-Jun-09, 13:29	fatcat NO ONE brings hostile ears onto themselves these days. The U.S. is responsible for all problems in the world. We need to figure out how we can correct our mistakes. Also Iran is pretty mad at us too. We should apologize to both countries.
housecat 26-Jun-09, 15:59	Hmmm If i was a little dude (and I am), and some big dude was trying to push me around, I think I might look for an equalizer.
anomalocaris 26-Jun-09, 16:36	hmm Kinda like a school yard bully? Good analogy. Same difference more or less.
housecat 26-Jun-09, 17:36	stinky I think, perhaps, you missed my point. Nuclear weapons are the equalizer that other countries such as Iran and NK seek.
anomalocaris 27-Jun-09, 13:01	House No, I got the point entirely. It was sarcasm. I don't care how NK or Iran feel, I don't want them to have nukes, ever. My post was simply pointing out your analogy was over simplified to the extreme.
housecat 01-Jul-09, 16:10	stinky over-simplified? do you think you could elaborate and justify your accusation?
musket33r 01-Jul-09, 16:19	house instead of giving someone a weapon, why not take the weapon off the other subject. I don't want the likes of NK Iran and France having access to nuclear weapons.
anomalocaris 01-Jul-09, 16:23	House What accusation?
housecat 01-Jul-09, 16:25	stinky that my analogy was over-simplified "to the extreme"
anomalocaris 01-Jul-09, 16:33	comparing school yard bullies with world politics and nuclear weapons. Ahh never mind.
chaz- 02-Jul-09, 06:29	... ... so ... NK's ship turned around. Is that a positive sign that they too didn't want this kind of confrontation? Or, did China interfere with NK's navigation plans?
housecat 02-Jul-09, 18:55	musket France? Really? How about Pakistan? Israel?
housecat 02-Jul-09, 18:57	stinky if you look at it coming from the understanding of how power operates you may see that my analogy is not over-simplified. Power seeks control over others. Period. Those with less power seek defense to maintain there own standing. Simple, yes, on all levels.
musket33r 02-Jul-09, 22:04	house History repeats, so if anyone declares war on france, france will surrender in a month and the invading country finds itself in possesion of frances nuclear arsenal.
housecat 03-Jul-09, 11:00	musket who would invade them? Luxembourg, perhaps?
musket33r 03-Jul-09, 17:54	House You never know, I mean you know the world is stuffed up when The best golfer is a black guy, The best rapper is a white guy, France accuses America of arrogance and Germany doesn't want to go to war.
housecat 07-Jul-09, 15:51	musket Now that's funny, man! Good on ya!

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