Korea ( South & North ) 01 (May 08 - Nov 10)

[winston]

Talk is always cheap. The minute the North cross the DMZ, it would be an excuse for the Americans to wipe out their military sites. The Americans need to kill a monkey badly, to frighten the chickens eg. Iran, Syria, Burma, Venezuela, Russia etc..

North Korea warns of attack, says truce no longer valid

Related News
• US underscores commitments to defend SKorea, Japan
• UN to move towards tough measures for NKorea
• US says NKorea will "pay a price" for nuclear test
• NKorea warns of possible military strike

SEOUL - North Korea said Wednesday it was abandoning the truce that ended the Korean war and warned it could launch a military attack on the South, two days after testing an atomic bomb for the second time.

The announcement came amid reports that the secretive North, which outraged the international community with its bomb test Monday, was restarting work to produce more weapons-grade plutonium.

Defying global condemnation, the regime of Kim Jong-Il said it could no longer guarantee the safety of US and South Korean ships off its west coast and that the Korean peninsula was veering back towards war.

The White House said it viewed Pyongyang's threats as "saber-rattling and bluster" that would only deepen its isolation, with spokesman Robert Gibbs saying that "threats won't get North Korea the attention it craves."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile stressed US commitments to defend South Korea and Japan, saying in Washington "that is part of our alliance commitment that we take very seriously."

The United States still hoped the North would return to multi-party talks on ending its nuclear programme, she added.

The North's latest display of anger was prompted by the South's decision to join a US-led international security initiative, established after the September 11 attacks to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"Those who have provoked us will face unimaginable merciless punishment," said the military statement on the official Korean Central News Agency, blaming Washington and Seoul for the latest turn of events.

The PSI, which now groups 95 nations, provides for stopping vessels to ensure they are not carrying weapons of mass destruction or the components to make them. The South announced it was joining on Tuesday.

"Any tiny hostile acts against our republic, including the stopping and searching of our peaceful vessels... will face an immediate and strong military strike in response," the North Korean statement said.

It said its military would "no longer be bound" by the 1953 armistice that ended hostilities in the Korean war -- in which the United States fought with the South -- because Washington had drawn its "puppet" Seoul into the PSI.

With no binding ceasefire, it said, "the Korean peninsula will go back to a state of war."

It also said the North "will not guarantee the legal status" of five South Korean islands near the disputed inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea, which was the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002.

Analysts played down the likelihood of a full-scale conflict between North and South Korea but said clashes near the sea border were possible.

The North has taken a harder line with the international community in recent months -- firing a long-range rocket in April, launching five short-range missiles on Monday and Tuesday and conducting its second nuclear test Monday.

Analysts say Kim Jong-Il, 67, is likely carrying out shows of strength to reassert his control in the impoverished state. He reportedly had a stroke in August, which has renewed questions about who might succeed him.

"Kim is trying to impress the cadres and the elite in general... to convince powerholders that his family is the one that should be ruling the country," Peter Beck of American University in Washington told AFP on Tuesday.

"It is not unreasonable to conclude that they are no longer interested in nuclear diplomacy," Beck, a Korea expert, said.

Almost six years of six-nation talks have failed to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear programmes in exchange for energy aid, diplomatic benefits and security guarantees.

The international community, including the North's main ally China, strongly condemned its latest nuclear test.

The Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Pyongyang's ambassador and called for the reclusive state to return to the six-party talks.

Earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged a strong United Nations resolution to condemn Monday's nuclear test.

He insisted however that the stand-off with the reclusive state could only be solved through the multi-party talks, saying that North Korea should not be punished "for the sake of punishment" alone.

Diplomats at the UN Security Council, however, said they would need time to agree on a new resolution.

Meanwhile, South Korean reports said that steam was seen coming from a plant at the North's main nuclear facility at Yongbyon -- a sign it was trying to produce more plutonium.

- AFP /ls

[winston]

Still watching ...

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South Korea Says ‘Too Early’ for Optimism on Economic Recovery By Seyoon Kim

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s government said it’s “too early” to be too optimistic about the economic outlook, as the economy faces a number of uncertainties including the global financial-market unrest.

“The local economy is continuing its recovery trend and the global economic slump is showing signs of easing,” the finance ministry said in a monthly economic outlook report from Gwacheon today. “Still, it’s too early to be optimistic about the economic outlook as there are uncertainties in the global markets, concerns about rising oil and the recovery is weak.”

Reports earlier this week showed South Korea’s exports slumped at the fastest pace in four months in May as demand from the U.S., Japan and China weakened. The decline in exports was the seventh in a row, extending the longest slump since 2002.

At the same time, there are signs that the worst of the slump may be over, both for South Korea as well as its biggest Asian trading partners. Factory production gained for a fourth month in April, manufacturers’ confidence climbed to an eight- month high and consumer confidence rose to the highest in almost two years.

The $929 billion economy avoided a technical recession in the first three months of this year, helped by record-low interest rates and government stimulus. South Korea’s economy grew 0.1 percent in the first quarter, rebounding from a 5.1 percent contraction in the previous three months.

The government said it will maintain an “expansionary macroeconomic policy” including the extra spending. South Korea probably posted a current account surplus of more than $4 billion in May, the ministry said today.

[winston]

Korea managed to miss a technical Recession as well, in addition to Australia ..

[winston]

Test a few more and people come knocking on your door to offer you oil and rice. So why not test a few more ?

=======================================================

North Korea test fires what appears to be two short-range missiles off its east coast, South Korean media reports.

[kennynah]

in then world of weapons..no one is any more saintly... anyone wielding a weapon is the devil...whether it is the americans, chinese, japanese, or north koreans...

[winston]

I'm sure an American Strategist has already thought of the options:-
1) Take out the nuclear weapon sites ( assuming they know where it is )
2) If the North Koreans retaliate, then take out the other military sites as well
3) Brawn power will not be any match for modern tech
4) If millions of North Koreans start to crss into China, that would forced China to control the North Koreans
5) The North Koreans would probably still listen to the Chinese as alot of Chinese died for them. In addition, most of their supplies are probably thru China now.

The Americans are starting to think that the North Koreans are becoming a "Clear & Present Danger". In addition,they need to also send a strong message to Iran...

Obama would need to make this big decision very soon

What is the alternative ? A nuclear armed North Korea and Iran ? At least in Iran, they have elections ..

[winston]

They are digging their own grave...

NKorea 'fires two short-range missiles'

by Lim Chang-Won

North Korea Thursday fired two short-range missiles, fuelling tensions sparked by its nuclear standoff, as a US team began talks in China on ways to make UN sanctions bite against Pyongyang.

The missiles were launched in the early evening from a base near the eastern port of Wonsan, South Korea's defence ministry said.

"They appear to be ground-to-ship missiles, which were launched into the East Sea (Sea of Japan)," a spokesman told AFP.

"We have no detailed information now but there have been preparations for missile launches in the region."

The North has responded angrily to United Nations sanctions imposed following its long-range rocket launch on April 5 and a May 25 nuclear test, and vowed to bolster its defences.

It warned Japan Wednesday to stay clear of some areas off its east and west coasts during military exercises lasting until July 11.

South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, quoting an intelligence source, said the North in coming days is likely to fire a series of short-range missiles.

Apart from ground-to-ship weapons with a range of 140 kilometres (88 miles), it said these would likely include Scud-B missiles with a range of 340 km.

The North may also fire Rodongs, whose 1,300-km range would likely be shortened to some 400 km for the current round of testing, the paper predicted.

In the days after its atomic test -- the second since 2006 -- Pyongyang had fired a total of six short-range missiles and renounced the truce in force on the Korean peninsula.

In response to a UN resolution on June 12 tightening curbs on its missile and atomic activities, it vowed to build more nuclear bombs.

US and South Korean officials believe ailing leader Kim Jong-Il, 67, is staging a show of strength to bolster his authority as he tries to put in place a succession plan involving his youngest son.

Seoul's defence ministry refused to confirm a Yonhap news agency report that the North Thursday fired KN-01 missiles with a range of up to 160 km.

The agency quoted an unnamed military official as saying the missiles travelled about 100 km.

The official said the launches could be part of a military exercise but speculated there may be more missiles "in a show of force" to the outside world.

A US delegation Thursday met officials in Beijing for talks on giving the UN sanctions teeth.

The support of China, the North's sole major ally and largest trade partner, is seen as crucial in making the sanctions stick.

The delegation led by Philip Goldberg -- the State Department's point man on coordinating implementation of the sanctions -- met officials from the foreign ministry, the US embassy said.

His team includes members of the National Security Council and the departments of Treasury and Defence.

US warships have since mid-June been tracking a North Korean ship suspected of carrying weapons. The Kang Nam 1 was reportedly headed for Myanmar but US officials said Tuesday it has now turned back.

China, which stresses diplomacy over force with its neighbour, said its top envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue, Wu Dawei, had begun a visit to Russia, the United States, Japan and South Korea.

They are members of a forum which has tried since 2003 to persuade the North to disarm in return for energy aid and diplomatic and security benefits. The North announced it was quitting the talks after the UN censured its rocket launch.

North and South Korea met Thursday for more talks about the fate of their last major joint business project, the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial estate just north of the border.

They failed to narrow differences or to set the date for their next meeting, Seoul officials said.

The South rejects the North's demand for huge pay rises and rent increases at Kaesong, and demands freedom for a South Korean worker who has been held for more than 90 days.

The North alleges the man slandered its political system and tried to incite a local woman worker to defect. It refuses to grant access to him.

[winston]

Do you have 5 years ?

SKorea to build up defences against nuclear-armed North

• NKorea missiles aimed at provoking SKorea, say official
• US ready for North Korean missile, says military commander
• North Korea fires four short-range missiles amid nuclear standoff
• UN chief vows to push for nuclear-free North Korea
• North Korea accuses US, South Korea of spy plane missions

SEOUL: South Korea will spend tens of millions of dollars to build up defences against any North Korean nuclear attack, the defence ministry said Friday.

North Korea has vowed to build more nuclear bombs in response to a UN resolution which imposed sanctions for its May 25 nuclear test, the second since 2006.

The South will spend up to 100 billion won (US$78 million) over the next five years to protect key facilities against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves from high-altitude nuclear explosions.

Such waves - used as a prelude to an all-out attack - could shut down electronic equipment including weapons systems within tens or even hundreds of kilometres.

"The spending will not be higher than 100 billion won," Brigadier General Jang Gi-Yoon told journalists. He declined to give details on where such anti-EMP facilities will be built.

Their construction is part of a five-year defence plan for 2010-14 which calls for total spending of 178 trillion won.

The ministry also allocated eight billion won in next year's budget to buy Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude spy planes one year earlier than previously planned.

Another 64 billion won was earmarked to buy "bunker buster" bombs by next year, four years earlier than planned.

These can penetrate up to 30 metres into the ground, enabling them to strike the North's underground nuclear facilities or command posts.

The ministry also plans to purchase cruise missiles known as Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles with a range of some 400 kilometres (250 miles), which are used for precision strikes.

It will also spend 269.5 billion won to introduce an early-warning radar system against missiles and 155.3 billion won for guided bombs, Yonhap news agency said.

To upgrade defence technology, the ministry will increase the research and development share of annual defence budgets to 7.4 per cent in 2014 from this year's 5.6 per cent, Jang said.

- AFP/yb

[kennynah]

Do you have 5 years ?

to do what?

[winston]

5 years to build up their defence against a nucleared North..