North Korea says it will stage nuke test

[phk]

North Korea says it will stage nuke test

By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 3, 9:36 AM ET

SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program.
ADVERTISEMENT

The United States said it would raise the latest statement in a
U.N. Security Council meeting, and
South Korea raised its security level.

"The government has taken measures to strengthen the security level in relation to the North Korea nuclear test, and has begun discussions with related countries," South Korea's presidential office said in a statement after an emergency meeting.

The statement from Pyongyang gave no precise date as to when a test might occur.

"The DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test in a condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, using its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In an early-morning interview with The Associated Press, the U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, John Bolton, said the U.S. would bring up North Korea's statement for discussion Tuesday morning in a regular meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

"A nuclear test by North Korea would be extraordinarily serious," Bolton said. "The threat is serious enough that we're certainly going to take this action in the council this morning, by raising it."

Pyongyang has said it has nuclear weapons, but has not conducted any known test to prove its claim. South Korea's spy agency has said the North could test a nuclear bomb at any time.

"The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a self-defense measure in response," said the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

China, North Korea's neighbor, ally and chief benefactor, had no immediate comment.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso called the North's nuclear test plans "totally unforgivable," and said Japan would react "sternly" if the North conducted the tests, according to Kyodo News agency.

In Finland,
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said such a test "is always bad news."

Multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled for almost a year, with Pyongyang boycotting the six-nation talks in protest over U.S. financial restrictions imposed for its alleged illegal activity, including money laundering and counterfeiting.

Efforts to bring the North back to negotiations have taken on added urgency after the communist nation test-fired seven missiles in July, including one believed to be capable of reaching the United States.

Reports have also suggested the North might conduct a nuclear test, citing suspicious activity at a possible underground test site. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen or more nuclear weapons.

The North said Tuesday its ultimate goal is "to settle hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and to remove the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity," accusing the U.S. of posing a nuclear threat in the region.

The North, however, said it will "never use nuclear weapons first and strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear transfer."

Charles Kartman, who was the lead negotiator with North Korea under the Clinton administration, said last week that North Korea had few other options than saber-rattling.

"If they feel they are not getting interaction with us, they tend to do things to get our attention. And the tools that they have are all bad ones," he said. "The missiles, the nuclear program, the military."

___

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

scary

If they launch, I hope Japan attacks.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

So… Bush told us the enemy was the Axis of Evil consisting of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.  Bush invaded the weakest link while allowing the most dangerous parts to further develop and share WMD.

Maybe Bush just told us about the Axis of Evil to annunciate his future failures.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

North Korea learned a valuable lesson from the Iraq invasion. We only invade countries that don't really have WMD.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

North Korea learned a valuable lesson from the Iraq invasion. We only invade countries that don't really have WMD.

So, are you saying you would support the US going to war with NorthKorea?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

North Korea learned a valuable lesson from the Iraq invasion. We only invade countries that don't really have WMD.

So, are you saying you would support the US going to war with NorthKorea?

No, I'm not, but at least they have WMD.
Although perhaps more relevant is that they could level Seoul with conventional firepower.
We attacked Iraq because they were weak, not because they were a threat.

[Beet]

So… Bush told us the enemy was the Axis of Evil consisting of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.  Bush invaded the weakest link while allowing the most dangerous parts to further develop and share WMD.

Maybe Bush just told us about the Axis of Evil to annunciate his future failures.

^^^^

[NewFederalist]

If they launch, I hope Japan attacks.

With what? Thay have only defensive weapons.

[David S]

This is why we need a missle defense system capable of stopping at least a small attack from a goofball like Kim Sung. We should also make it clear to N Korea that if they attack us with such a weapon it will be their last act.

[NewFederalist]

That is also why we need to tell the Japanese to re-write their U.S. imposed constitution to allow them to rearm. Then we need to give them a timetable as to when we plan to withdraw from their region and let them figure it all out.

[Beet]

Conservatives first block a negotiation that would have stopped North Korea from building nukes.

Then they use the fact that North Korea has nukes as a reason for warmongering.

This storyline always ends with thousands of people dead.

Where is the love, people?

[Colin]

If they launch, I hope Japan attacks.

With what? Thay have only defensive weapons.

M-16s, F-16s, F-1s, AEGIS Destroyers, Submarines, and tanks are all defensive weapons now aye?

Plus I think we are confusing missiles with nuclear bombs. The North Koreans have had missile tests and nuclear test, allegedly, but not a nuclear missile test. Even if they have a few nuclear bombs those wont be small enough or advanced enough to be put on a missile. It takes time to make the bombs small enough and capable enough to be placed atop a missile. Plus you have to remember Lil' Kim wants to stay alive and in power. He wont attack anyone if he looks secure in those two factors.

[NewFederalist]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so any equipment they have stays on the home islands.

[Beet]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so anything equipment they have stays on the home islands.

Have you served in the military, NewFederalist?

[NewFederalist]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so anything equipment they have stays on the home islands.

Have you served in the military, NewFederalist?

33 years in the Navy. Retired in 2003.

[Beet]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so anything equipment they have stays on the home islands.

Have you served in the military, NewFederalist?

33 years in the Navy. Retired in 2003.

Congrats man. What I know about the Navy comes from reading Jane's Fighting Ships

[NewFederalist]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so anything equipment they have stays on the home islands.

Have you served in the military, NewFederalist?

33 years in the Navy. Retired in 2003.

Congrats man. What I know about the Navy comes from reading Jane's Fighting Ships

And a very good read it is!

[Colin]

What was your rank when you retired? Do we have an admiral in the house?

[Michael Z]

That is also why we need to tell the Japanese to re-write their U.S. imposed constitution to allow them to rearm.

You don't need to tell them, they're planning to do that already.

[NewFederalist]

What was your rank when you retired? Do we have an admiral in the house?

Nope. Just a mere Captain (O-6). I had prior enlisted service which is how I got 33 years.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

I say we should have an ICBM test which "Accidently" lands right on Kim Il Jong's palace.

[MasterJedi]

And if they do test a nuke it will make China and Russia breath down their necks. I wouldn't be surprised if China just took care of the problem.

[John Dibble]

Update on this:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/korea-on-its-own-as-china-pulls-out/2006/10/05/1159641461820.htmlKorea on its own as China pulls out[/url]
Deborah Cameron, Tokyo
October 6, 2006

NORTH Korea can have a future or it can have nuclear weapons but "it cannot have both", the US said, as staunch ally China warned "no one is going to protect" the regime should it go ahead with atomic tests.

Beijing's ominous caution breaks a longstanding policy of avoiding criticism of Pyongyang, and leaves the Stalinist state without the support of its sole powerful friend.

"I think if North Koreans do have the nuclear test, I think that they have to realise that they will face serious consequences," China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, said.

The rebuke spells trouble for North Korea, which faces a relatively united front against its nuclear aspirations, in sharp contrast to the fractured reaction to a series of missile tests in July. At that time, China accused Japan of overreacting in calling for sanctions.

The North said earlier this week that it planned to test an atomic bomb, and a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Seoul said yesterday the threat was not "bragging" but "a real action to be executed".

A US defence official said spy satellites had detected unusual activity at potential test sites, an indication that preparations were possibly under way.

The sightings were backed up by reports in South Korean media that identified Kilju, a town in the north-east near the coast, as the site of recent suspicious activity.

But the US, whose satellite images accurately predicted July's missile tests, was less sure about the latest signs.

"We don't really know what we're looking for," the US defence official said, because the North had not conducted a nuclear test before.

In a strongly worded speech, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Christopher Hill, said the US would not accept a nuclear-armed Korea or a nuclear test.

"It can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both," he said.

But Japan, which is emerging as the lead broker in regional efforts to defuse the crisis, said it was aiming for a joint statement next week with China and possibly South Korea urging the North to give up the test, Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

Japan has also said that the UN Security Council should issue a "speedy and united" signal to the North to exercise restraint.

US officials have been pressing China to intervene, though it is unclear how much influence the Chinese have; Beijing asked the North not to conduct the missile tests in July but was ignored.

Close observers of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il say the threat to detonate a nuclear bomb is a tactic to keep him at the centre of regional affairs and to force the US into direct negotiations over the future of his regime and aid to the impoverished country.

The US, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan have urged North Korea to resume the six-party talks on nuclear issues. Other nations, including Australia, are also urging a recommencement.

[David S]

They have no in flight refueling capability. Check out the range of their interceptor aircraft. I am not arguing that they SHOULD NOT have the capability to attack North Korea (or China, for that matter) I am only saying that they DO NOT. I have seen their ships and they are impressive but they have no true capital ships. That is why the USS Kitty Hawk is homeported there. As I said, they need to change their constitution and rearm. BTW, they have ZERO amphibious capability so anything equipment they have stays on the home islands.

Have you served in the military, NewFederalist?

33 years in the Navy. Retired in 2003.

I didn't know that. My hat's off to you.

[David S]

That is also why we need to tell the Japanese to re-write their U.S. imposed constitution to allow them to rearm. Then we need to give them a timetable as to when we plan to withdraw from their region and let them figure it all out.

I tend to agree although I have some reservations. The Japanese are very talented technically. I would hate to think of them devoting that talent to building a powerful high tech military. Pearl Harbor wasn't that long ago.