/ / KOREA PENINSULA CONFLICT TIMELINE 2013

KOREA PENINSULA CONFLICT TIMELINE 2013

Edit

Watch :  The North Korean Nuclear Crisis What You Aren't being Told HERE

3/12/2013 


 
Flaring up already heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea slammed tougher sanctions against its nuclear test and continued ramping up war rhetoric on Saturday. 
An unidentified spokesman for the North‘s foreign ministry denounced the U.N. Security Council’s toughened sanctions to punish the North‘s third nuclear test, calling them “clear proof” that the U.N. is “abused” by the United States that aims to bring down the Pyongyang regime “by disarming and suffocating it economically.” 
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2094 on Friday (Eastern Standard Time), which is aimed at punishing the North for carrying out an underground nuclear test on Feb. 12. The blast came two months after it carried out a banned long-range rocket launch.
“The DPRK vehemently denounces and totally rejects the resolution on sanctions against the DPRK, a product of the U.S. hostile policy toward it,” said the spokesman in the statement published by the North‘s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Bristled at the international move, the North on Friday threatened that it will sever its emergency hotline with Seoul and nullify non-aggression agreements between the two countries.
Reiterating its long-standing argument that rocket launches and nuclear tests aim to “defend its sovereignty and vital rights,” the North warned that the resolution will “only result in bolstering of its nuclear deterrent qualitatively and quantitatively.” 
Vowing to take “stronger countermeasures in succession and a great war for national reunification,” Pyongyang also said it will “reinforce (itself) as a nuclear weapons state and satellite launcher” in response to the U.N. resolution. 
A commentary moved by the North‘s Cabinet newspaper Minju Joson also warned the U.S. of facing “deadly blows that it had never experienced” for the annual Seoul-Washington military exercises. 
Calling the joint exercise “nuclear war maneuvers and the most disguised military provocation to mount a preemptive strike at it,” the North said it will “fight a real war” with the U.S, according to the separate KCNA report citing a bylined commentary by the newspaper. 
The two-month field training exercise Foal Eagle kicked off last week and computer-simulated drills known as Key Resolve will be held from March 11-21. The South has said the joint war drills are only defensive in nature. 
“We have already taken up posture for an all-out action according to the operational plan finally signed by Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un to annihilate the enemies,” it said, adding the belligerent action aims to “defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country.”(Yonhap News) N. Korea slams U.N. resolution, vows nuclear buildup - 3/12/2013


By Peter Symonds 
Amid threats from both sides, North Korea yesterday cut the phone “hotline” between the two Koreas and abrogated The 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War. The move came as American and South Korean troops began joint military exercises and Washington announced new sanctions against Pyongyang. 
The escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula follows last week’s UN Security Council resolution imposing further punitive measures on North Korea over its third nuclear test on February 12. As well as previous UN sanctions, the North Korean regime has also been subject to a US-led economic and diplomatic blockade since the end of the Korean War. 
An editorial in North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun yesterday declared that “the armistice agreement has been nullified” and warned “no one can expect what will happen next.” The 1953 armistice stopped the fighting but did not formally end the war. 
Pyongyang has pressed for decades for a formal peace treaty with the US, only to be repeatedly rejected. 
North Korea has previously declared the armistice void, most recently in 2009 in response to a previous round of sanctions that the US pushed through the UN. Tensions flared in 2010 following the sinking ofthe South Korean corvette, the Cheonan, for which North Korea denied responsibility. Amid provocative US-South Korean naval exercises, the two Koreas engaged in artillery exchanges in which several South Korean soldiers and civilians on Yeonpyeong Island were killed. 
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited an artillery unit that took part in the 2010 shelling, urging it to “deal deadly counterblows to the enemy if a single shell is fired on the waters.” 
Exercise Key Resolve, involving 10,000 South Korean troops and more than 3,000 American military personnel, began yesterday and will continue until March 21. During the war games, the Pentagon has supplemented the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea with additional personnel, as well as extra warships and warplanes. 
No military incidents or clashes involving the two Koreas have been reported to date. Moreover, several dozen South Korean managers continued their daily trip yesterday to the Kaesong industrial zone inside North Korea, where they supervise some 50,000 workers making goods for South Korean businesses. 
Both sides, however, have engaged in bellicose rhetoric. Last week, as the UN Security Council prepared to impose further sanctions, Pyongyang warned that it would “exercise the right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack” to defend the country and claimed to have the ability to carry out a precision attack on Washington. 
South Korea’s defence ministry warned last Friday that the North’s government would “evaporate from the face of the Earth” if it ever used a nuclear weapon. Newly-elected South Korean President Park Geun-hye told her first cabinet meeting yesterday: “We must deal strongly with a North Korean provocation.” 
Kim Byung-kwan, Park’s appointee as defence minister, declared during his confirmation hearing that South Korea would respond to a North Korean artillery attack by destroying the regime. Kim, who was former deputy commander of the joint US-South Korean forces, is known to carry a photo of the president’s father—former South Korean military dictator Park Chung-hee—who ruled from 1961 to 1979. 

The most chilling threat came from Washington. Obama’s National Security Adviser Tom Donilon yesterday warned: “There should be no doubt: we will draw upon the full range of our capacities to protect against, and to respond to, the threat posed to us and to our allies by North Korea.” The “full range” obviously includes the huge American nuclear arsenal. Donolon added that Washington would hold Pyongyang “full accountable” for any transfer of nuclear weapons or materials to other countries. 
The US Treasury announced more penalties against North Korea yesterday, targeting the country’s main foreign exchange bank—the Foreign Trade Bank—and a senior official, Paek Se-bong, who is allegedly connected to North Korea’s missile program. The US State Department also designated another three individuals for sanctions. 
The Obama administration is directly responsible for the rising tensions in North East Asia. Its “pivot to Asia” aimed at undermining China has encouraged governments throughout the region, including South Korea, to take a more aggressive stance. By putting the pressure on China’s ally North Korea, the US is also compounding the problems facing Beijing. 
China has continued to economically prop up North Korea to prevent a political implosion and the possibility of a pro-US regime on its northern border. At the same time, Beijing has voted for UN sanctions and sought to rein in North Korea, fearing that Pyongyang’s nuclear tests could provide South Korea and Japan with a pretext for developing their own nuclear weapons. 
South Korean lawmaker Chung Mong-joon, from Park’s right-wing Saenuri party, has already suggested that the country should build a “nuclear deterrence”. He told a meeting of the party’s National Assembly members last month that the current situation was like trying to defend oneself with a pebble against a gangster with a machine gun. The Joong Ang Ilbo described North Korea’s nuclear test as an existential threat and argued that South Korea should develop its own nuclear weapons, rather than rely on the US. 
Such comments only add to the pressure in Beijing, where a debate has opened up in ruling circles over China’s alliance with North Korea. While there has been no shift in China’s official stance, senior officials and academics have advocated a tougher line against Pyongyang, including ending the security treaty between the two countries. 

At the same time, Beijing is well aware that the US is encouraging North Korea to adopt a more pro-Western orientation. US National Security Adviser Donilon yesterday referred to the transformation of US relations with Burma, saying it had resulted in billions of dollars in Western aid, investment and debt forgiveness. It was a not-so-subtle hint that Pyongyang could make the transition from pariah to “democracy” if it toed Washington’s line. 
The US has, however, flatly refused to make any concessions to North Korea unless it dismantles its missile and nuclear programs. Pyongyang agreed to do so in the past—under the 1994 Agreed Framework and the 2005 agreement reached at six-party talks—only to be confronted with broken promises and new demands from Washington. 
The aggressive US stance ensures that the Korean peninsula remains extremely tense, heightening the danger of conflict in one of Asia’s critical flashpoints. Tensions rise on Korean peninsula - 3/12/2013

3/15/2013 
KIM Jong-un's impassioned calls for war could be explained after reports have emerged of an assassination attempt by his own disgruntled people in Pyongyang during a power struggle. Assassination Attempt Of Kim Jong-un Behind Calls For War? - 3/15/2013

3/16/2013  
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel announced yesterday that the Pentagon would expand the number of ground-based anti-ballistic missile interceptors deployed in the Asia Pacific region by nearly 50 percent by 2017. An additional 14 interceptors would be based at Fort Greely in Alaska on top of 26 already in place. Another three are already stationed in California.Hagel seized on North Korea’s nuclear test last month and its satellite launch in December as the pretext for the expansion of US anti-ballistic missile systems. “North Korea, in particular, has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations,” he said. US to boost anti-ballistic missile systems in Asia Pacific - 3/16/2013


A week after Pyongyang threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike nuclear strike on Washington, the Pentagon said it was increasing its fleet of interceptor missiles by nearly 50 per cent.Chuck Hagel, the newly-appointed US secretary of defence, said that an additional 14 interceptors would be deployed to Alaska by the end of 2017, raising the overall total to 44 missiles stationed along the West coast."The United States has missile defence systems in place to protect us from limited intercontinental ballistic missile attacks, but North Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and is engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations," Mr Hagel said. US to deploy missiles in Alaska in response to North Korea threat - 3/16/2013

Here
Nuclear Energy Around the World
As of February 2013, 30 countries worldwide are operating 437 nuclear reactors for electricity generation and 71 new nuclear plants are under construction in 14 countries.

The Communist-ruled North launched two KN-02 missiles last week, a South Korean military official said, in what appeared to be a response to ongoing joint military exercises by America and South Korea. The official declined to give other details.Pyongyang routinely launches short-range missiles in an effort to improve its arsenal, but the latest test comes at a time of rising tensions. 
Related Articles


3/19/2013 
The US build-up of anti-ballistic missile capacity is part of the Obama administration’s broader “pivot to Asia,” which involves a comprehensive diplomatic effort throughout the region to undermine Chinese influence and consolidate a system of military alliances to encircle China. 
This is combined with the “rebalancing” of US military forces to Asia as well as within the region to ensure the US has a range of aggressive options—from a naval blockade of China to a full-scale nuclear war. 
Beijing is being compelled to respond. In January, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua announced that the military had successfully tested a ground-based ballistic missile interceptor. Air Force expert Fu Qianshao told the media, however, that Chinese systems were still in their infancy and lagged behind the US. 
In this area of military technology, as in others, the Obama administration is provoking a dangerous arms race that only increases the danger of war.



SOUTH KOREA :


Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- A new North Korean propaganda video shows images of what appears to be an imagined missile attack on U.S. government buildings in Washington, including the White House and the Capitol. The roughly 4-minute video was posted Monday on the YouTube channel of the North Korean government website Uriminzokkiri. 
It carries a montage of clips of different weapons, including artillery guns firing and large missiles on display at military parades.Just before the three-minute mark, it cuts to footage of the White House in an electronic sight's crosshairs, and then a simulated explosion of the Capitol's dome.At the same time, the voice narrating the video says, "The White House has been captured in the view of our long-range missile, and the capital of war is within the range of our atomic bomb."Analysts say that North Korea is still years away from being able to target nuclear missiles at the United States. 
But the video's release comes amid spiking tensions between Pyongyang and Washington after the U.N. Security Council voted to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea following its latest nuclear test last month. 

In a slew of angry rhetoric in response to the U.N. vote, North Korea has threatened to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the United States and South Korea and said it was nullifying the armistice agreement that stopped the Korean War in 1953. 
Although U.S. officials say they don't believe North Korea is in a position to strike the United States at the moment, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week announced plans to deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast as part of efforts to enhance the nation's ability to defend itself from attack. 
This isn't the first time a North Korean propaganda video has evoked the prospect of an attack on the United States. 
A video posted on YouTube last month, before the North carried out its most recent underground nuclear test, depicted a city resembling New York with its skyscrapers on fire.

3/21/2013  

3/22/2013 
The latest propaganda video to emerge from North Korea depicts paratroopers descending on Seoul in an invasion scenario that it said would see thousands of US citizens living in South Korea taken hostage. NewNorth Korea video depicts invasion of Seoul - 3/22/2013  North Korea video depicts invasion of South and U.S. hostages - 3/22/2013


Pyongyang said its long-range missile and artillery units have entered combat posture and are targeting US military bases in Guam, Hawaii and mainland America."From this moment, the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army will be putting in combat duty posture No. 1 all field artillery units including long-range artillery units strategic rocket units that will target all enemy object in US invasionary bases on its mainland, Hawaii and Guam," the North's KCNA news agency said. Commenting on the news, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei called on all sides involved to exercise restraint. 
The North has previously threatened nuclear attacks on the US and its ally South Korea. Military experts believe the threats to be empty, since North Korea is several years from building a nuclear warhead or a missile capable of reaching the mainland US. 
Pyongyang has made increasingly aggressive threats recently after the UN Security Council issued a new round of sanctions over North Korea’s third nuclear test in February. The isolated nation says it needs nuclear capabilities to protect its sovereignty from its southern neighbor and the US. 
The threat comes just days after Washington and Seoul signeda joint contingency plan on possible responses to North Korean military provocations. Around 28,500 US troops are based in South Korean, and would take command of the South’s army in the event of a full-scale war with the North.
The two countries are currently holding massive annual war games. Pyongyang has accused that the maneuvers are a cover for possible incursions into Northern territory, and has threatened to respondto such an attack with full force. 
Pyongyang previously threatenedto attack US bases in Guam and Okinawa, Japan, last week as the bases are used to launch nuclear-armed US B-52 bombers for the joint exercise. N. Korea threatens attacks on US Pacific, mainland bases - 3/26/2013

North Korea puts rocket units on alert to 'attack US'
North Korea has elevated its artillery and strategic missile forces to "combat-ready posture" and said it is prepared to strike targets in South Korea, Japan, Guam, Hawaii and the continental US.

3/28/2013  
The deployment of the stealth bombers was clearly meant to deliver a potent message to Pyongyang about the US commitment to defending South Korea against any aggression as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar. It came after North Korea severed its last-remaining military hotline with South Korea on Wednesday and put its rocket units on combat status with a threat to target US bases in the Pacific region.Italso emerged on Wednesday that North Korea had "Photoshopped" animage of a troop landing drill as part of Pyongyang's renewed military propaganda war. 
Related Articles

3/30/2013 
North Korea has revealed its plans to strike targets in Hawaii and the continental United States in photos taken in Kim Jong-un's military command centre. 
Related Articles



4/2/2013 





South Korean President Park Geun-hye yesterday gave her country’s military the green light to take any action that it saw fit in response to a threat from North Korea. Her comments escalate the danger of  conflict on the Korean Peninsula amid ongoing joint war games between South Korea and the US, and warnings of war by North Korea. 
Park, the daughter of former military dictator Park Chung-hee, told a defence ministry policy briefing that she regarded North Korea’s threats as “very serious”. She added: “If the North attempts any provocation against our people and country, you must respond strongly at the first contact with them, without political consideration.” 
While Washington and Seoul portray their stance as purely defensive, the Yonhap News Agency reported that the South Korean military had unveiled a new contingency plan of “active deterrence” at yesterday’s briefing. The plan would allow the military “to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea if the North shows signs of an imminent nuclear or missile attack on the South,” Yonhap explained. 
A presidential spokesman told Yonhap that Park had emphasised the need for “strong preparedness” in a special video call to the commander of the South Korean navy’s second fleet, which is based in the Yellow Sea, where disputed maritime boundaries have led to clashes in the past. 
The US is intimately involved in these military preparations against North Korea. During the briefing session, the South Korean defence ministry reported that the drafting of a joint “tailored deterrence strategy” with the US was well underway and would be finalised by October. 
Park won the December presidential election in South Korea, promising to hold dialogue with North Korea. Far from easing tensions, she has set the stage for a provocation by the South Korean military that could be followed by a rapid escalation of conflict. Park’s Saenuri Party, previously named the Grand National Party, was the political organisation of the US-backed military dictatorship, which only relinquished power in the late 1980s. 
Park’s aggressive stance toward North Korea followed media criticisms of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, also from the Saenuri Party, for failing to take tougher military action against North Korea during the tense confrontation in December 2010 that involved artillery exchanges centred on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island. 
The tense situation on the Korean Peninsula has rapidly escalated since the US, with China’s backing, imposed a new round of UN sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear test last month. North Korea has abrogated the Armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953, cut off hotlines to South Korea and threatened to defend itself by attacking the US and South Korea, including with nuclear weapons. On Saturday, Pyongyang declared that a “state of war” existed with Seoul. 
At the same time, however, North Korea has, despite a warning to the contrary, kept open the Kaesong Industrial Zone used by South Korean companies to access cheap North Korean labour. The industrial zone is one of the country’s few sources of foreign exchange. 

The Obama administration has exploited Pyongyang’s bellicose rhetoric to further build up the US military presence in the Asia Pacific, including a 50 percent increase in its anti-ballistic missile interceptors and a trial run by nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers from the US and South Korea. While nominally directed at North Korea, the US push is primarily aimed against China as part of Obama’s so-called “pivot to Asia”—a comprehensive diplomatic, economic and strategic plan to contain China and undermine its influence throughout the region. 
The rising American pressure on Beijing has provoked an unusually public debate in Chinese ruling circles over its alliance with North Korea. Some prominent Chinese academics have declared that North Korea is a liability and called for a loosening or even cutting of ties. Military figures, however, have insisted that China has to stand by its ally, as instability in North Korea or the collapse of the regime would only weaken China’s strategic position. 
According to the Washington Free Beacon, China has placed its military forces on heightened alert in the region adjacent to the Korean peninsula. Citing American officials, the right-wing US newspaper reported that the Chinese military was extending its naval drills in the Yellow Sea and mobilising troops and aircraft. Whether it contains an element of truth or not, the article points to the climate of fear and panic being cultivated by the US media to justify the US military buildup in North East Asia. 
The US is currently engaged in extensive joint military exercises with South Korea that began on March 1 and involve US warplanes and warships as well as troops. The Pentagon has not only publicly highlighted the B-2 flights, but also the involvement of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and the deployment of two advanced fighter jets, F-22 Raptors, from their base in Japan. Yesterday the US navy announced that it had sent the USS Fitzgerald, a hi-tech destroyer equipped with the Aegis anti-missile system, to waters off the Korean peninsula. 
Pentagon spokesman George Little insisted that the exercises simply sought to reassure US allies, Japan and South Korea, against the threat posed by North Korea. He urged North Korea to “switch lanes” and “seek peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” To do so, however, required that Pyongyang “come into compliance with their international obligations,” he added. 
Washington’s posturing as a voice of peace in North East Asia is entirely hypocritical. Over the past two decades, North Korea has repeatedly signed up to deals over its nuclear program, either directly with the US, or indirectly via the so-called six-party talks sponsored by China, only to be left with broken promises. 
Obama, following on from George W. Bush, made no effort to restart six-party negotiations and has used rocket firings and nuclear tests to intensify pressure on Pyongyang. 
When Little declared that North Korea must meet its “international obligations”, he simply meant that Pyongyang must give up its nuclear and missile programs—the only bargaining chips that the small, economically backward country has—in advance of any negotiations.  
The North Korean regime has indicated its willingness to transform into a cheap labour platform for foreign investors, but the US economic blockade, in place since the end of the Korean War, effectively stymies any such attempt. 
Just as Obama’s “pivot to Asia” has encouraged allies such as Japan and the Philippines to take a tougher stance in their maritime disputes with China, so it has also dangerously inflamed the Korean Peninsula and heightened the danger of war.South Korea’s threats heighten danger of military conflict - 4/2/2013


3 April 2013 
US escalates military tensions over North Korean nuclear program
By Alex Lantier 

Washington is continuing to escalate military tensions in the global crisis triggered by the US confrontation with North Korea over its nuclear program. All of the region’s major powers are carrying out military exercises amid rising fears of a war fueled by the US “pivot to Asia,” aimed at containing China, North Korea’s main ally and protector. 
Yesterday, US officials deployed more forces to the Asia-Pacific and held high-level talks with Asian allies in Washington, while North Korea pledged to restart the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. As part of the two-month-long US-South Korean “Eagle Foal” military exercises, the US deployed a second guided missile destroyer, the USS John McCain, to Korean waters. 
President Barack Obama met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House. At a press conference following the meeting, the two leaders promoted US-Singaporean military and economic cooperation and announced the deployment of more US warships to Singapore, a port located on waterways connecting the Indian and Pacific Ocean that are critical to Chinese trade. Neither Obama nor Lee raised the military stand-off in Korea.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. Yun said their meeting focused on the Korean peninsula, the US-South Korea alliance, and a coming state visit in May by South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Adding that South Korea supported US policy in Asia, Yun said China was being “cooperative” on North Korea. 
For his part, Kerry said the US “will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state.” This formulation, applied to Iran, has been used to signal US willingness to go to war to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. On Monday, South Korea announced arrangements that give US operational control of South Korean forces in wartime and reportedly authorize possible “pre-emptive strikes” against Pyongyang. 
At his press briefing yesterday, White House spokesman Jay Carney called for China and Russia to pressure Pyongyang to fall in line with US demands. “We are in close contact with our allies in Seoul and Tokyo,” he said. “We are regularly reaching out to Beijing and Moscow to encourage them to do more to restrain the North Koreans.” 
North Korea is restarting a reactor it shuttered in 2007, detonating the plant’s cooling tower. Its bid to normalize relations with the US in exchange for ending its nuclear program failed after the Bush administration refused to accept its nuclear verification protocols. 
The side that is escalating tensions without restraint is not Pyongyang, but Washington. 
It will take several months to restart the reactor, which Pyongyang said would be used for civilian energy purposes, and at least a year to produce enough material for a nuclear bomb, should Pyongyang use the reactor for that purpose. 
The latest US deployments, on the other hand, follow on the heels of the Pentagon’s decision to fly nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers and B-52 bombers to Korea. Washington claimed this was to signal its nuclear deterrence capabilities and prove to its allies in South Korea and Japan the obvious fact that the US militarily outclasses tiny North Korea. In reality, it was a blunt threat to the Chinese regime that the US is willing to use nuclear weapons. 

China and Russia also held large-scale military exercises over the weekend. The Chinese navy held live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap naval exercises by Russia’s Black Sea fleet after returning from a summit of emerging powers, including China, held in South Africa. 
Washington is using the North Korean nuclear standoff to pressure China, which has emerged as the most powerful block on US imperialist policy. Not only is China the United States’ largest creditor, it has vetoed UN resolutions that would have sanctioned open and direct military intervention by Washington against Syria. China, moreover, continues to trade with Iran. 
These points of conflict underscore the powerful imperialist interests driving Washington to adopt an increasingly provocative posture toward Beijing with the aim, in the short-term, of shifting China’s foreign policies. 
On North Korea, Beijing has distanced itself from Pyongyang’s decision to restart the Yongbyon reactor. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, “We have noticed the statement made by the DPRK [i.e., North Korea] and feel regretful about it. We are calling for all parties concerned to remain calm and restrained, return to dialogue and consultation as soon as possible, and jointly seek ways to appropriately resolve the issue.” 
In an April 1 article, China’s Global Times called for Beijing to limit its support for North Korea and work out a joint policy with Washington. The article stated: “China and the US have shared common interests on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and maintaining stability there. China’s policy toward North Korea should shift over time.” 

The article also warned Pyongyang against believing that China has “tolerance toward North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons or constant nuclear tests.” 
Such comments reflect the political crisis shaking Beijing, as Washington demands that it turn upon a country to which it has deep political and geo-strategic ties. 
In 1950, the year after a revolution brought the Chinese Communist Party to power, the Chinese army intervened in the Korean War against the United States to prevent the destruction of North Korea by US and South Korean forces. It thus blocked the establishment of a pro-US state directly on China’s border and a possible US invasion of China to restore capitalist rule. The war cost nearly one million Chinese soldiers’ lives. The Chinese army maintains close ties to its North Korean counterpart to this day. 
Unlike the Chinese and Vietnamese bureaucracies, however, which turned to exploiting the working class as cheap labor for export industries based on Western capital during the 1980s, Pyongyang has remained economically isolated. Washington has consistently opposed attempts to normalize relations with Pyongyang—a decision fraught with complex consequences in the explosive geo-political environment of the Korean peninsula. 
Nonetheless, the Pyongyang regime is as reactionary as its counterparts in Beijing and Hanoi. As the global economic crisis drives regimes throughout Asia to prepare new assaults on working class wages and social conditions, sections of the North Korean regime are signaling their intention to press ahead with further market measures. 
Monday’s nomination of market reformer Pak Pong-ju as North Korea’s prime minister is one such signal of attempts by the bureaucracy to find a basis for better relations with US imperialism. 
At the same time, the Pyongyang regime remains deeply divided internally and fearful of the consequences of normalizing ties with the US, especially under conditions where Washington is constantly threatening it with war. 
In January, Germany’s conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that North Korean officials were secretly consulting German economists and lawyers on how to restore ties to the world capitalist economy. One of the experts told the newspaper that Pyongyang was interested in the market model in Vietnam, “where selected enterprises are chosen to carry out investment.” 
Another said that the army, which currently dominates North Korea’s economy, largely opposed such plans. “The military in North Korea will not want to give up control, however, so it is not at all clear that the reforms will succeed,” he stated. 
Under these conditions, US imperialism appears set to further escalate its military threats in an attempt to whip Pyongyang and Beijing into line.US escalates military tensions over North Korean nuclear program - 4/3/2013



N. Korea approves nuclear strike on United States
By Jung Ha-Won (AFP) – 7 hours ago 

SEOUL — North Korea dramatically escalated its warlike rhetoric on Thursday, warning that it had authorised plans for nuclear strikes on targets in the United States. 
"The moment of explosion is approaching fast," the North Korean military said, warning that war could break out "today or tomorrow". 
Pyongyang's latest pronouncement came as Washington scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defences, preparing to send ground-based interceptors to Guam and dispatching two Aegis class destroyers to the region. 
Tension was also high on the North's heavily fortified border with South Korea, after Kim Jong-Un's isolated regime barred South Koreans from entering a Seoul-funded joint industrial park on its side of the frontier. 
In a statement published by the state KCNA news agency, the Korean People's Army general staff warned Washington that US threats would be "smashed by... cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means". 
"The merciless operation of our revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified," the statement said. 
Last month, North Korea threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear strike against the United States, and last week its supreme army command ordered strategic rocket units to combat status. 
But, while Pyongyang has successfully carried out test nuclear detonations, most experts think it is not yet capable of mounting a device on a ballistic missile capable of striking US bases or territory. 
Mounting tension in the region could however trigger incidents on the tense and heavily militarised border between North and South Korea. 
The White House was swift to react to Pyongyang's latest "unhelpful and unconstructive threats". 
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: "It is yet another offering in a long line of provocative statements that only serve to further isolate North Korea from the rest of the international community and undermine its goal of economic development. 
"North Korea should stop its provocative threats and instead concentrate on abiding by its international obligations."
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel earlier said Pyongyang represented a "real and clear danger" to the United States and to its allies South Korea and Japan. 
"They have nuclear capacity now, they have missile delivery capacity now," Hagel said after a strategy speech at the National Defense University. "We take those threats seriously, we have to take those threats seriously. 
"We are doing everything we can, working with the Chinese and others, to defuse that situation on the peninsula." 
The Pentagon said it would send ground-based THAAD missile-interceptor batteries to protect military bases on the island of Guam, a US territory some 3,380 kilometres (2,100 miles) southeast of North Korea and home to 6,000 American military personnel, submarines and bombers. 
They would complement two Aegis anti-missile destroyers already dispatched to the region. 
The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) is a truck-mounted system that can pinpoint an enemy missile, track the projectile and launch an interceptor to bring it down. 
The new defensive measures came as Pyongyang stopped South Korean staff members from entering the Kaesong complex, a shared industrial zone funded by Seoul but 10 kilometres inside the North. 
Pyongyang said the 861 South Koreans already in the zone could leave. 
The move cut the last practical cooperation between the rival powers and was seen as a dramatic escalation in the crisis. 
South Korea's defence ministry said it had contingency plans that included "military action" if the safety of its citizens in Kaesong was threatened. 
China, the North's sole major ally, appealed for "calm" from all sides, and Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said he was worried the situation could spiral out of control. Describing the Kaesong ban as "very regrettable", South Korea's Unification Ministry urged the North to normalise access immediately. Around 53,000 North Koreans work at 120 South Korean plants at the complex, which was still operating normally Wednesday.
Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since December, when the North test launched a long-range rocket. In February, it upped the ante once again by conducting its third nuclear test.Washington has deployed nuclear-capable US B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers and two US destroyers to South Korean air and sea space. 
This week, the North warned it would reopen its mothballed Yongbyon reactor -- its source of weapons-grade plutonium. It was closed in July 2007 under a six-nation aid-for-disarmament accord. 
The US-Korea Institute at John Hopkins University said Wednesday that a satellite photograph seen on March 27 appeared to show construction work along a road and near the back of the reactor was already under way. 
Experts said it would take at least six months to get the reactor back up and running, after which it will be able to produce one bomb's worth of weapons-grade plutonium per year. 
Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved.  N. Korea approves nuclear strike on United States
 4/4/2013 
(Natural News) In an interview with ABC News April 2, Gen. James Thurman, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, said the current tense situation on the peninsula is the worst it's been since he assumed command of the 28,500 U.S. forces there two years ago. 
Describing the state of affairs as "volatile" and "dangerous," Thurman noted that while his "job is to prevent war," his greatest fear is a "miscalculation" that causes "a kinetic provocation" -- the military's term for combat action. 
The seasoned general's warning follows a series of events that, to many, may seem like little more than the same cycles of bellicosity that have emanated out of Pyongyang for years following the ascension of a new leader (in this case Kim Jong Un, the third in a line of Kims dating back to his grandfather and founder of North Korea, Kim il Sung): He takes the reins of power and, to "prove" to his people that he is tough and resolute, he issues a series of provocative statements and declarations that few outside his country take very seriously, but which are designed to showcase his "resolve" and "leadership qualities" before his own people.
On the surface, things may appear to be the same as before, but as Gen. Thurman notes, they aren't. 
  • Korean War II?
  • So what's different this time around? 
  • Why are we taking the junior Kim seriously? 
  • What's going in nuclear-armed North Korea and why, all of a sudden, has this poverty-stricken, Stalinist nation of about 25 million become such a threatening thorn in our side? 
First, a little about how this time our response has been different. 
In the past, there have been occasions when the United States military was placed on heightened alert - as it is now - in response to aggressive statements by North Korean leaders. There have been times when military assets have been shifted to counter such verbal aggression. 
But this time, the U.S. has spent tens of millions of dollars in preparation to counter North Korea - and all of this when the Defense Department is being hit with billions in sequester cuts:
-- The Pentagon, no doubt at President Obama's direction, .

Bellicosity is matching actions | In other developments: | -- China, a long-time ally of Pyongyang's, is obviously concerned about thedirection of North Korean rhetoric, along its border with the Stalinist state, moving tanks, armored vehicles and fighter jets to the region. 
China has not historically done this when North Korea comes a-threatenin', though China, the Washington Free Beacon notes, has a defense agreement with North Korea: 
The buildup likely serves two goals, the officials said. One is to bolster border security in case a conflict sends large numbers of refugees from the impoverished state into China. Additionally, the troop buildup is a signal to Pyongyang that China will abide by its defense commitment to North Korea in the event of renewed conflict. China's military maintains a mutual defense treaty with North Korea...
-- Speaking of China, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been in contact with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Chang Wanquan, and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be making a rare visit to China in the coming days to discuss the North Korean situation. 
-- On April 3, the North shut off its last shared link with South Korea - the Kaesong complex located six miles inside North Korea, which houses 123 South Korean companies and employs some 50,000 North Korean workers. The site was a key source of currency for the impoverished nation. 
On top of all of this, North Korean Leader Kim has declared a state of war with the U.S. and South Korea, and has cut off its sole line of communication with the South. 
  • Is Korea the flashpoint for world government? 
  • Is North Korea going to be the next global flashpoint? It sure seems that way. 
  • With U.S. troops now out of Iraq and preparing to leave Afghanistan, will the global elites be satisfied with "peace in our time?" Not likely. 
What's more, this "crisis" with North Korea is coming at a time of dire financial straits in the U.S. From InfoWars.com: 
It should be obvious by now that the Federal Reserve's so-called quantitative easing - bankster shorthand for pumping fiat dollars into rigged financial markets by buying bonds, treasury bills, etc. 
- is creating a huge financial asset bubble that is going to burst with an ear - splitting boom... and soon. 
War. Financial collapse. Destruction of civil society and with it, civil liberties, followed by global governance. 
"As the economic crisis escalates and the debt-based central banking system shows it can no longer re-inflate the bubble by creating assets out of thin air, an economic and political rationale for war is easy to come by," writes Justin Raimondo, of the Center for Research on Globalization, a Canadian think tank. 
War on the Korean peninsula may be just the first phase.
Sources for this article include: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Learn more: HERE

April 4, 2013

DPRK’s“State of War” Declaration Is a Faulty Translation: Not an Official Policy Statement
Scott Creighton

“from that time” becomes “from this time on”  and “from this moment“… little change, big difference 
As much as our leaders would like them to have taken the bait, North Korea has not declared war on the South or the U.S. in response to our unprecedented provocations. So when all else fails, leave it to yellow journalism like this piece of work from the New York Times or this obviously Photoshopped image that came out this past week. 
The much touted “state of war” declaration is not a declaration of war from Kim Jung Un but rather a statement of support for whatever decision he has too make from the “the government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK.” It claims only they will declare themselves in a state of war WHEN their leader makes that decision showing they are completely behind him. 
It is a statement of support from the people and perhaps a warning to the South that the North will not fold under their attack. But not a declaration of war from Kim Jung Un. 
There is a campaign of propaganda underway this week in Korea and I will show you that this latest crisis is nothing more than a continuation of that warmongering effort. 
It’s being reported across the globe that “North Korea” made these statements in a recent official release via state media Korean Central News Agency : 
  • “From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly,”Ria Novoski
  • “Now that the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have entered into an actual military action, the inter-Korean relations have naturally entered the state of war,” Huffington Post
  • “From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly,”Reuters via Prison Planet
  • As you can see, this rhetoric spans quite a wide political divide from the fake alternative left to the equally fake alternative right and very thing in between. CNN, Fox, NBC News all of them are reporting this crucial development as fact.
Trouble is, it may be another lie. It’s hard to say because no one links to the actual original source of this statement. Also important to note, which is not being covered by most outlets, the statement is NOT from the usual official offices of the North Korean government but rather from “the government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK” and what that means is, it’s not so much a declaration of war as it is a statement to show  the unified resolve of the North Korean people against the aggressive stance and provocations undertaken by the South Koreans and their masters, the United States. 
But with that in mind, it may not even be an accurate translation of the statement. 
Ria Novosti, to their credit, caught the “mistake” from the AFP and published a retraction calling it a “faulty translation”. A noncommittal way of saying a “lie” I suppose. “Faulty” is right.
Later on Saturday, however, Russian media reported that a faulty translation might have been to blame for this apparent uptick in bellicose rhetoric. 
  • The North Korean original statement apparently stressed that the country would act “in accordance with wartime laws” if attacked, and that “from that time, North-South relations will enter a state of war.” Ria Novosti
What they are saying is if they are attacked they will be ready to enter “the state of war” with the South and their puppet masters the United States. 
Seems quite rational when you consider the fact that the Unites States is running practice drills dropping dud tacticalnukes on islands off the shores of North Korea. Were the North Koreans to have done that off our shores, Shock and Awe would have already begun. Hell, we claim the “right” to “pre-emptive warfare” on other countries and millions of people are dead and suffering as a result right now. 
This interpretation of their quote also blends seamlessly into what appears to be the North Korean’s official position gleaned from several other quotes released on the official media site.
  • “He declared the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK would react to the U.S. nuclear blackmail with a merciless nuclear attack, and war of aggression with an all-out war of justice.”
  • “The army and people of the DPRK are full of the spirit to defend the country as was displayed in the 1950s.” KCNA
  • “The powerful countermeasures of the DPRK to defend the sovereignty are a manifestation of the firm will of its army and people to defend the country and socialism at the cost of their lives from the hostile forces’ aggression moves.” KCNA
  • “If the enemies finally ignite a war of aggression, they will turn to ashes without having time to regret themselves over not paying due heed to the significant warning issued by the Supreme Command of KPA that they will have hardest time with their destiny at stake the moment they make a provocation.
  • The strong countermeasures taken by the DPRK are not to threaten others but to defend the dignity and the sovereignty of the country and the nation.
  • No one on earth can check the people turned out for just cause.” KCNA
In this article, the leadership of North Korea calls on progressives to stand against the U.S.’s globalist expansion of late and in this article the state run news agency points out the fact that the South Korean leadership is attacking their own progressives who are still trying to push the reunification agenda that came so close to succeeding not that long ago.
  • “A battle to be fought by the DPRK against the U.S. will become a war for national liberation to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country and, at the same time, a revolutionary war to defend the human cause of independence and the justice of the international community.” KCNA
As to the mystery of the misquote: The AFP quote about the statements made by the North Korean leadership seem to come from a website called North Korean Leadership Watch. They cite the statement as being published by KCNA, but AGAIN, like all the others, NKLW doesn’t provide a link to that KCNA article. 
However, they do make this statement: 
“DPRK state media published a statement (tamhwa) on 30 March (Saturday) from “the government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK.”  Unlike the recent volley of statements, or indeed most communications published and broadcasted in state media, the 30 March 2013 statement was not issued under the name of any specific organization (s).  The statement is not  cited as the work of the DPRK National Defense Commission, the KPA Supreme Command or Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces from the DPRK national security community…” NKLeadershipWatch 
According to the origin of the quote, the statement isn’t directly from the government of North Korea and I am having a hell of a time finding the original source. You can find the statement here at Rodong  and a few other sites as well. 
Take a look at how it is written in the context of what is said:
… The government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK solemnly declare as follows reflecting the final decision made by Kim Jong Un at the operation meeting of the KPA Supreme Command and the unanimous will of all service personnel and people of the DPRK who are waiting for a final order from him. 
----------------------------------------------------------
1.From this moment, the north-south relations will be put at the state of war and all the issues arousing between the north and the south will be dealt with according to the wartime regulations. 
--------------------------------------------------------->
The state of neither peace nor war has ended on the Korean Peninsula.
They are declaring they are at a state of war BEFORE given the order from Kim Jong Un? 
Now substitute what Ria Novosti thinks is the actual translation:
… The government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK solemnly declare as follows reflecting the final decision made by Kim Jong Un at the operation meeting of the KPA Supreme Command and the unanimous will of all service personnel and people of the DPRK who are waiting for a final order from him. 
-------------------------------------------------------->
1.from that time, North-South relations will enter a state of war and all the issues arousing between the north and the south will be dealt with according to the wartime regulations. 
The state of neither peace nor war has ended on the Korean Peninsula.
--------------------------------------------------------->
If you look at the other statements issued by the official parties of NK  you see a certain pattern. They have not declared war on the South though they fully expect the U.S. to instigate the conflict even more. 
They also clearly identify their posture as being in “defense” of their nation and not the aggressor, which given the circumstances, is rational.

This statement which appears to say the North has declared war, is nothing of the sort, even if the Reuters translation is accurate. It is merely a statement of solidarity with their president at a difficult time. 
But at worst, this deliberate mistranslation is someone’s opportunistic attempt to create a narrative and a history that mistakenly directs the blame for yet another war on the leadership of North Korea. 
It is in that sense, blackmail, just of the sort the North Koreans have been complaining about. 
And given the fact that the leadership of the organizations signed onto the statement would NEVER openly declare war BEFORE given that order by their president, more than likely the Ria Novosti translation make much more sense. 
Therefore, given all of this, I conclude (until such time as I can read the KCNA article myself) that the much touted “state of war” declaration being presented to the American people is in fact a “faulty translation” 
The probably mistranslated statement reprinted below. 
DPRK state media published a statement (tamhwa) on 30 March (Saturday) from “the government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK.”
The moves of the U.S. imperialists to violate the sovereignty of the DPRK and encroach upon its supreme interests have entered an extremely grave phase. Under this situation, the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, brilliant commander of Mt. Paektu, convened an urgent operation meeting on the performance of duty of the Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People’s Army for firepower strike and finally examined and ratified a plan for firepower strike. 
The important decision made by him is the declaration of a do-or-die battle to provide an epochal occasion for putting an end to the history of the long-standing showdown with the U.S. and opening a new era. It is also a last warning of justice served to the U.S., south Korean group and other anti-reunification hostile forces. The decision reflects the strong will of the army and people of the DPRK to annihilate the enemies. 
Now the heroic service personnel and all other people of the DPRK are full of surging anger at the U.S. imperialists’ reckless war provocation moves, and the strong will to turn out as one in the death-defying battle with the enemies and achieve a final victory of the great war for national reunification true to the important decision made by Kim Jong Un. 
The Supreme Command of the KPA in its previous statement solemnly declared at home and abroad the will of the army and people of the DPRK to take decisive military counteraction to defend the sovereignty of the country and the dignity of its supreme leadership as regards the war moves of the U.S. and south Korean puppets that have reached the most extreme phase. 
Not content with letting B-52 make sorties into the sky over south Korea in succession despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK, the U.S. made B-2A stealth strategic bomber and other ultra-modern strategic strike means fly from the U.S. mainland to south Korea to stage a bombing drill targeting the DPRK. This is an unpardonable and heinous provocation and an open challenge. 
By taking advantage of the U.S. reckless campaign for a nuclear war against the DPRK, the south Korean puppets vociferated about “preemptive attack” and “strong counteraction” and even “strike at the commanding forces”, openly revealing the attempt to destroy monuments symbolic of the dignity of the DPRK’s supreme leadership. 
This clearly shows that the U.S. brigandish ambition for aggression and the puppets’ attempt to invade the DPRK have gone beyond the limit and their threats have entered the reckless phase of an actual war from the phase of threat and blackmail. 
The prevailing grim situation more clearly proves that the Supreme Command of the KPA was just when it made the judgment and decision to decisively settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists and south Korean puppets by dint of the arms of Military-First politics (So’ngun), because time when words could work has passed. 
Now they are openly claiming that the B-2A stealth strategic bombers’ drill of dropping nuclear bombs was “not to irritate the north” but “the defensive one”. The U.S. also says the drill is “to defend the interests of its ally”. 
However, it is nothing but a lame pretext to cover up its aggressive nature, evade the denunciation at home and abroad and escape from the DPRK’s retaliatory blows. 
The era when the U.S. resorted to the policy of strength by brandishing nuclear weapons has gone. 
It is the resolute answer of the DPRK and its steadfast stand to counter the nuclear blackmail of the U.S. imperialists with merciless nuclear attack and their war of aggression with just all-out war. 
They should clearly know that in the era of Marshal Kim Jong Un, the greatest-ever commander, all things are different from what they used to be in the past. 
The hostile forces will clearly realize the iron will, matchless grit and extraordinary mettle of the brilliant commander of Mt. Paektu that the earth cannot exist without Military-First  (So’ngun) Korea. 
Time has come to stage a do-or-die final battle.
The government, political parties and organizations of the DPRK solemnly declare as follows reflecting the final decision made by Kim Jong Un at the operation meeting of the KPA Supreme Command and the unanimous will of all service personnel and people of the DPRK who are waiting for a final order from him. 
  • 1.From this moment, the north-south relations will be put at the state of war and all the issues arousing between the north and the south will be dealt with according to the wartime regulations. The state of neither peace nor war has ended on the Korean Peninsula. Now that the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have entered into an actual military action, the inter-Korean relations have naturally entered the state of war. Accordingly, the DPRK will immediately punish any slightest provocation hurting its dignity and sovereignty with resolute and merciless physical actions without any prior notice.
  • 2. If the U.S. and the south Korean puppet group perpetrate a military provocation for igniting a war against the DPRK in any area including the five islands in the West Sea of Korea or in the area along the Military Demarcation Line, it will not be limited to a local war, but develop into an all-out war, a nuclear war. It is self-evident that any military conflict on the Korean Peninsula is bound to lead to an all-out war, a nuclear war now that even U.S. nuclear strategic bombers in its military bases in the Pacific including Hawaii and Guam and in its mainland are flying into the sky above south Korea to participate in the madcap DPRK-targeted nuclear war moves.The first strike of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK will blow up the U.S. bases for aggression in its mainland and in the Pacific operational theatres including Hawaii and Guam and reduce not only its military bases in south Korea but the puppets’ ruling institutions including Chongwadae and puppet army’s bases to ashes at once, to say nothing of the aggressors and the provokers.
  • 3. The DPRK will never miss the golden chance to win a final victory in a great war for national reunification.This war will not be a three day-war but it will be a blitz war through which the KPA will occupy all areas of south Korea including Jeju Island at one strike, not giving the U.S. and the puppet warmongers time to come to their senses, and a three-dimensional war to be fought in the air, land and seas and on the front line and in the rear.This sacred war of justice will be a nation-wide, all-people resistance involving all Koreans in the north and the south and overseas in which the traitors to the nation including heinous confrontation maniacs, warmongers and human scum will be mercilessly swept away. No force on earth can break the will of the service personnel and people of the DPRK all out in the just great war for national reunification and of all other Koreans and overpower their might. Holding in high esteem the peerlessly great men of Mt. Paektu, the Korean people will give vent to the pent-up grudge and realize their cherished desire and thus bring a bright day of national reunification and build the best power on this land without fail.
Scott Creighton’s report first appeared on  Global Research.
This article was posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 11:46 am


5 April 2013 | By JILLREILLY and DAILYMAIL REPORTER

'We will NOT back down': West slams North Korea after madman dictator is pictured brandishing a gun and warns that diplomats' safety is at risk after April 10 

  • Rogue communist state issued a deadline of April 10 to every government
  • Russia in 'contact with U.S., China and South Korea' about staff safety
  • About two dozen countries, including the U.K., have embassies in North Korea -although the U.S. has no diplomatic relations  
  • N Korea has moved second Musudan missile with 3,000km range
  • South Korea deployed two warships with missile-defence systems
  • Pyongyang releases footage of Kim Jong-un joining in with target practice 
Read more: HERE 





April 9, 2013

Pyongyang warns foreigners to evacuate S. Korea, threatens ‘thermonuclear’ war

Pyongyang has issued a warning urging foreign nationals to evacuate South Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The statement was followed by threats from North Korea of “thermonuclear” war on the Korean Peninsula. 
North Korea has warned all foreign nationals to prepare to evacuate the South in the event of conflict. “We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war,” Reuters quoted KCNA news agency as saying, citing the spokesperson for its Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. 
The warning was read out on North Korea’s state television: “all international organizations, businesses and tourists” were told to “work out measures for the evacuation”. 
The statement was followed by renewed threats of “thermonuclear” war on the Korean Peninsula, AFP reported. 
“The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war,” Pyongyang’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee stated. 
No evacuation in sight
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged N. Korea to refrain from “provocative rhetoric” and encouraged other countries to exercise their influence over Pyongyang. 
“The current level of tension is very dangerous. A small incident caused by miscalculation or misjudgment may create an uncontrollable situation,” Reuters quoted Ban Ki-moon as saying. 
The Russian Embassy in South Korea said that it has no plans to evacuate Russians from the country over Pyongyang’s warning. 
“At this point we are working out our position on the issue. But our preliminary response has no signs of plans related to evacuation,” RIA Novosti quoted Russian diplomatic spokesperson Nikita Kharin as saying. 
N. Korea issued another warning last week advising embassies there to consider evacuating in the event of war. Currently, about two dozen countries have embassies in North Korea; most have said there are no immediate plans to withdraw personnel. 
Despite the heavy rhetoric, the atmosphere in S. Korea remained calm with embassies, airlines, international offices and schools with foreign nationals operating normally, Reuters reported. 
China responded by saying that it does not want to see chaos in the Korean Peninsula and opposes further escalation, Reuters quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei as saying. 
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said that she was resolved to break North Korea’s “vicious cycle” of having their bad behavior rewarded with economic aid. 
“How long are we going to repeat this vicious cycle where the North Koreans create tensions and we give them compromises and aid?” she said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “North Korea must stop its wrong behavior and make a right choice for the future of the Korean nation.” 
The aggressive rhetoric from North Korea has motivated neighboring Japan to deploy Patriot missiles batteries to protect the 36 million people who live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air missile launchers have been stationed in the Japanese capital, reinforcing battery units on Okinawa and other Pacific islands, an official said Tuesday. 
The weapons were authorized to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards Japanese territory, Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori said on national television. 
On Monday South Korea said that  nuclear support from Washington is needed to protect against North Korea’s continued aggression and unpredictability, and to keep its neighbor in check. Rep. Chung Moon-joon suggested that South Korea needs nuclear weapons of its own – not just to intimidate Pyongyang, but also to send a strong message to China. 
The situation was worsened on Tuesday when North Korean laborers did not show up for work at the Kaesong joint industrial zone in the morning, effectively suspending operations. Earlier, Pyongyang refused to allow South Korean workers to enter the area, located a few kilometers inside the North’s territory.

Published: Wed, April 10, 2013
'North Korea has launched a missile', Japan mistakenly tweets attack to 40,000 followers

OFFICIALS in the Japanese city of Yokohama were left red-faced today after mistakenly announcing the launch of a North Korean missile to 40,000 followers on Twitter.
By: Charlotte Meredith
The city, south of Tokyo, prematurely fired its tweet, announcing "North Korea has launched a missile."
There were also blank spaces included where the exact time of the launch was supposed to have been written, indicating that the tweet was most likely meant to be saved as a draft for when the Pyongyang government does give its order to fire.
"We received a call from one of our followers who had noticed the mistake. We had the tweet ready and waiting, but for an unknown reason it was dispatched erroneously," said a city official.
The city retracted the tweet about 20 minutes later and apologised to followers of @yokohama_saigai, the official said.
We had the tweet ready and waiting, but for an unknown reason it was dispatched erroneously
Yokohama city official
Japan is on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea, with Patriot missiles stationed in its capital to protect the 30 million people who live there.
The country's defense minister has also reportedly put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert in the Sea of Japan.
"As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, co-operating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people’s lives and ensure their safety," he added.
Japan’s armed forces are authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, a defence ministry spokesman said.
"We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation," chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, though he and Ministry of Defense officials refused to confirm reports of a naval alert, saying they do not want to "show their cards" to North Korea.
Japan can also count on German solidarity in the face of the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said yesterday.
“There is a clear message from the government of our country… that Japan can count on solidarity and other peaceful countries can count on that solidarity,” Westerwelle said.
“It is very important that we send a clear message," he added. 'North Korea has launched a missile', Japan mistakenly tweets attack to 40,000 followers

Published: Wed, April 10, 2013

North Korea: US 'ready to intercept up to THREE missiles'
NORTH Korea has completed preparations for up to three missile launches, sources in Seoul have revealed, while the South has appealed to China and Russia to intervene over the provocations.
By: Charlotte Meredith

South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se confirmed today that North Korea has moved a mid-range Musudan ballistic missile to its east coast and Pyongyang is prepared to launch the missile "at any time."
"According to intelligence obtained by our side and the U.S., the possibility of a missile launch by North Korea is very high," Yun said, adding that North Korea can launch the missile "at any time from now."
The Foreign Minister said the Musudan missile has a range of 3,500 kilometers – which could hit the U.S. territory of Guam – and "it's up to North Korea how far it would fly."
South Korea fears Pyongyang could launch up to three missiles after weeks of threats, according to local reports.
One unnamed official told the Yonhap news agency: "There are clear signs that the North could simultaneously fire off Musudan, Scud and Nodong missiles."
Yun added that his government has asked China and Russia to help restrain North Korea from making military provocations as tensions on the Korean Peninsula mount over the expected mid-range missile launch by the North.
"Throughout close coordination with China and Russia, the Korean government has been continuing to make efforts to persuade North Korea to change its attitude," Yun told a parliamentary committee meeting.
South Korea and the United States have meanwhile upgraded their surveillance status in preparation for the imminent missile launch.
The United States "is ready" to intercept a ballistic missile launched by the North, the top US military commander in the Pacific has said.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said yesterday that she is exasperated by the "endless vicious cycle" of hostile behaviour from the North.
The worrying appeal to Russia and China from the South came as speculation heightened that North Korea has pulled its ambassador out of the UK after a shipping container was pictured outside the London embassy yesterday.
Boxes were seen being loaded onto a large lorry parked outside the pariah state's embassy - an ordinary home in Ealing, west London.
William Hague will today be discussing North Korea at meeting of G8 foreign ministers in London.
Mr Hague said: "This is about preventing conflict, resolving conflict, dealing with its consequences."
Today, the biggest border crossing between North Korea and China has reportedly been closed, a Chinese official has revealed.
"Travel agencies are not allowed to take tourist groups to go there, since the North Korean government is now asking foreign people to leave," an official at the Dandong Border Office said.
China has since ordered its travel agents to stop tourism into the North, according to reports.
Seoul revealed yesterday that foreign nationals in South Korea were told by the North to evacuate in case of a "merciless" war.
"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war," said the KCNA news agency, citing its Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.
"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermo-nuclear war," said the statement.
"Once a war is ignited on the peninsula, it will be an all-out war, a merciless, sacred, retaliatory war waged by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," it went on to say.
The remarks come as the communist country has repeatedly said it will turn Seoul and Washington into a "sea of fire" and launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks against its enemies at any time.
South Korea's defense ministry has stated that the launch could come at any point and that the South Korean military is on alert for any scenario.
South Korean forces have been on high alert for an imminent missile launch by the communist nation, which was seen moving two Musudan missiles to its east coast last week and mounting them on mobile launchers.
Speculation had been building that North Korea could carry out a missile test as early as this week after dictator Kim Jong-un warned he could not "guarantee the safety of foreigners" after April 10.
It is speculated the launch could take place on April 15 – the birthday of North Korea's founder – historically a time when it seeks to draw the world's attention with dramatic displays of military power.
Japan has responded to continuing threats from Pyongyang by deploying missile-defense systems at three sites around Tokyo ahead of the possible missile launch, officials confirmed.
The country's defense minister has also reportedly put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert in the Sea of Japan.
"As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, co-operating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people’s lives and ensure their safety," he added.
Japan’s armed forces are authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, a defence ministry spokesman said.
"We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation," chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, though he and Ministry of Defense officials refused to confirm reports of a naval alert, saying they do not want to "show their cards" to North Korea.
Japan can also count on German solidarity in the face of the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said yesterday.
“There is a clear message from the government of our country… that Japan can count on solidarity and other peaceful countries can count on that solidarity,” Westerwelle said.
“It is very important that we send a clear message," he added.
North Korea has called on foreigners living in South Korea to devise evacuation plans
Tensions have escalated further after North Korean authorities told embassies in Pyongyang they could not guarantee their safety from today - after saying conflict was inevitable amid joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end of the month.
However, no diplomats appear to have left the North Korean capital, despite a North Korean general reportedly warning diplomats at the weekend that the situation remained "grave".
North Korean labourers this week failed to turn up for work at a factory complex operated with South Korea, effectively shutting down the last major symbol of cooperation between the hostile neighbours.
Soaring tensions on the peninsula have been fuelled by North Korean anger over the imposition of U.N. sanctions after its last nuclear arms test in February, creating one of the worst crises since the end of the Korean War in 1953. North Korea: US 'ready to intercept up to THREE missiles'

April 10, 2013
It’s easy to make jokes about North Korea.  But North Korea’s threat to launch a test missile over Japan tomorrow has raised tensions substantially.
Does this mean nuclear war?
No.
Initially, both Japan and the U.S. are deploying missile defense systems which can shoot down any missiles which North Korea aims at Japan, South Korea or the U.S.
Moreover, as crazy as North Korea’s threats are, they are arguably in response to massive U.S. and South Korean war games … which simulate a nuclear attack on North Korea.
As the Wall Street Journal reported last month:
Some U.S. officials argued that the bomber flights would be unduly provocative and akin to recent North Korean actions, which these officials said have irresponsibly ratcheted up tensions. Defense officials acknowledged that North Korean military officers are particularly agitated by bomber flights because of memories of the destruction wrought from the air during the Korean War. [The United States Air Force demolished every target over one story during the Korean War. It also dropped more napalm than it did later in Vietnam.]
***
U.S. officials said they didn’t believe North Korea could detect the approach of the B-2s but couldn’t be certain. They noted that once the bombers passed over the Korean peninsula, they were no longer trying to hide their presence.
“We could fly it at night, but the point was for them to see it,” said a U.S. defense official.
The Journal reported this week:
After a high-visibility display of military power aimed at deterring North Korean provocations, the White House is dialing back the aggressive posture amid fears that it could inadvertently trigger an even deeper crisis, according to U.S. officials. 
The U.S. is putting a pause to what several officials described as a step-by-step plan the Obama administration approved earlier this year, dubbed “the playbook,” that laid out the sequence and publicity plans for U.S. shows of force during annual war games with South Korea. The playbook included well-publicized flights in recent weeks near North Korea by nuclear-capable B-52 and stealth B-2 bombers, as well as advanced F-22 warplanes. 
The U.S. stepped back from the plans this week, as U.S. officials began to worry that the North, which has a small nuclear arsenal and an unpredictable new leader, may be more provoked than the U.S. had intended, the officials said. 
“The concern was that we were heightening the prospect of misperceptions on the part of the North Koreans, and that that could lead to miscalculations,” a senior administration official said. 
We are not defending the North Koreans. The leadership lives an extremely lavish lifestyle … while most of the North Korean people are starving. 
And the North Koreans are out of line threatening nuclear attack, and ending the peace treaty with South Korea 
But given that the U.S. carried out preemptive war on Iraq, took out Libya’s Gaddafi, is in the process of taking out Syria’s leader, and has long branded North Korea as part of the “Axis of Evil” – and that North Korea has just undergone a transition of power and has a very young leader – many believe that North Korea is acting “mad dog crazy” to try to prevent an invasion by the U.S. … and that tensions will recede as soon as the annual American-South Korean war games are over. 
Like the small dog that rushes up and bites the ankle of the big dog to scare him away – because he is terrified of a real fight – North Korea is bluffing. 
Postscript: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is a steady hand. As long as he is in control of the American response – rather than people who might have other agendas (and see this) – things hopefully won’t spiral out of control from the American side.
April 11, 2013 


Chinese Professor: 70-80% Chance of War With North Korea
China abandoning its belligerent ally?

Paul Joseph Watson


As the reclusive state prepares another imminent missile launch, a professor with the Chinese Communist Party has warned that there is a 70-80% chance of war with North Korea.


“There is a 70 to 80 per cent chance that a war will happen because North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may want to use this opportunity to force a reunification of the Korean Peninsula,” Zhang Liangui, a professor of international strategic research at the Communist Party’s Central Party School, told the South China Morning Post. 
“The longer we delay fixing it, the more difficult the situation will become,” he added. “China needs to seriously consider how to tackle the problem.” 
Liangui’s comments arrive in the aftermath of speculation that China is becoming increasingly exacerbated with its belligerent ally and is looking to shift away from the Hermit kingdom. In February, a deputy editor of a newspaper affiliated with the Central Party School was suspended for writing a Financial Times piece in which he urged China to abandon North Korea. 
Observers are expecting another North Korean missile launch within days as reports emerge that rockets have been move into the firing position. South Korea has said that its missile defense system will intercept the rockets if they are aimed at South Korean territory. 
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters yesterday that America “is fully prepared to deal with any contingency, any action that North Korea may take or any provocation that they may instigate,” adding that Kim Jong-un was “skating close to a very dangerous line.” 
Last month, North Korea threatened to launch “all out nuclear war,” aimed at the United States and South Korea. 
While tensions with North Korea continue to build, financial experts are also predicting that a new world war is on the horizon due to a number of economic factors. 
“All too often war is the manifestation of simple economic entropy played to its logical conclusion. We believe that war is an inevitable consequence of the current global economic situation,” writes Karl Bass. 
Former Goldman Sachs technical analyst Charles Nenner also warned of “a major war starting at the end of 2012 to 2013,” which will crash the stock market. 
Billionaire investor Jim Rogers is also predicting that continued bailouts in Europe “could ultimately spark another world war.”


11 Apr 2013
'US want regime change in North Korea, not war'

U.S. Wants Regime Change in North Korea, Not War . | Watch : HERE 
North Korea could launch a ballistic missile test at any moment—so says South Korea's Foreign Minister, at least. It's feared Pyongyang will conduct the launch to mark a series of national occasions. Thursday is the first anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un becoming First Secretary of the Workers Party. South Korean and U.S. forces have been on increased military alert, while Japan has deployed Patriot missile interceptors in Tokyo. 
Anti-war activist Brian Becker says the U.S. is trying to destroy historic political ties between Pyongyang and China by creating a military confrontation. 
The UN may be worried that any wrong steps in the crisis could spin the situation on the Korean peninsula out of control. But the organization is failing to bring the sides to the negotiating table, raising questions over its influence or usefulness as an international peace broker. | RT LIVE : HERE

Published: Thu, April 11, 2013

North Korea warns US and South they are 'unaware of what miserable fate awaits them'

AS South Korea and the United States brace for a possible missile launch by North Korea, the reclusive state has issued a chilling warning to its enemies.





While the communist nation has reportedly been moving several missiles repeatedly on its east coast today in an apparent attempt to interfere with intelligence monitoring, the Pentagon told the North it is "very close to a dangerous line."
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, has ramped up its rhetoric in response to the rising tensions, declaring "it is utterly silly for the south Korean puppets to want to evade from a shower of our nuclear strike under the nuclear umbrella of their U.S. master."
In a convuluted and fiery rant, the newspaper said the North's nuclear shower "will break the U.S. nuclear umbrella so mercilessly that the warmongers cannot even repent of anything."
Contrary to much public speculation, the North said the recent escalation in tensions "is not a mere saber-rattling, but a prelude to war."
"The U.S., noisily advertising about its commitment to provision of nuclear umbrella, is stuffing its latest nuclear war equipment into south Korea," it states.
"Unaware of what a miserable fate is befalling on them, the south Korean puppets are running headlong into an adventure of attacking the DPRK on a nuke war chariot of the U.S.
"Now, the U.S. cannot afford to take care of its stooges.
"Backed by outside forces, they are hell-bent on igniting a nuclear war against the DPRK."
The warning was the latest in a line of similarly-themed rants against the US, with videos depicting New York in flames after an apparent missile attack and US hostages in the South also issuing disturbing messages in a war of propaganda.
The North will break the U.S. nuclear umbrella so mercilessly that the warmongers cannot even repent of anything
Rodong Sinmun
The remarks come as the communist country has repeatedly said it will turn Seoul and Washington into a "sea of fire" and launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks against its enemies at any time.
According to intelligence analysis, the North has today moved two Musudan intermediate missiles, which had been concealed in a shed in the eastern port city of Wonsan, in and out of the facility, with one reportedly being in a "ready to fire position."
The US has today raised its official threat level and tested its emergency alert system after warnings from North Korea identifying Guam as a potential missile target, according to reports.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government source saying Pyongyang might be preparing "multiple" launches, after other launch vehicles were reportedly detected carrying shorter-range SCUD and Rodong missiles.
The military alert status is now at "vital threat" level before an expected North Korean missile test as the Pentagon warned a bellicose Pyongyang it was "skating very close to a dangerous line".
The North last week told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had until April 10 to consider evacuation, fuelling speculation of a launch between April 10 and April 15, during birthday celebrations for late founder Kim Il-Sung.
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said the United States military was ready for the "worst case" scenario.North Korea warns US and South they are 'unaware of what miserable fate awaits them' 


by: Paul Joseph Watson
Amidst reports that North Korea now has nuclear-equipped ballistic missiles as experts warn a conflict on the Korean peninsular is more likely than not, it’s important to remember who armed North Korea with nuclear weapons in the first place – namely the U.S. government and the CIA. 
A portion of a Defense Intelligence Agency report revealed yesterday by Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado states the DIA is moderately confident that, “the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.” 
Although subsequently denied by White House and Pentagon officials, the revelation arrives amidst continued threats and posturing by the Hermit kingdom to launch attacks against the United States and South Korea. 
However, while bellicose threats are being carelessly traded by both sides and eagerly regurgitated by the mainstream media, the question of how exactly North Korea acquired its nuclear capability in the first place has been completely ignored. 
Both the Clinton and Bush administrations played a key role in helping the late Kim Jong-Il develop North Korea’s nuclear prowess from the mid 1990′s onwards. 
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presided over a $200 million dollar contract to deliver equipment and services to build two light water reactor stations in North Korea in January 2000 when he was an executive director of ABB (Asea Brown Boveri). Wolfram Eberhardt, a spokesman for ABB confirmed that Rumsfeld was at nearly all the board meetings during his involvement with the company. 
Rumsfeld was merely picking up the baton from the Clinton administration, who in 1994 agreed to replace North Korea’s domestically built nuclear reactors with light water nuclear reactors. Clinton policy wonks claimed that light water reactors couldn’t be used to make bombs. Not so according to Henry Sokolski, head of the Non-proliferation Policy Education Center in Washington, who stated, “LWRs could be used to produce dozens of bombs’ worth of weapons-grade plutonium in both North Korea and Iran. This is true of all LWRs — a depressing fact U.S. policymakers have managed to block out.” 
“These reactors are like all reactors, they have the potential to make weapons. So you might end up supplying the worst nuclear violator with the means to acquire the very weapons we’re trying to prevent it acquiring,” said Sokolski. 
The U.S. State Department claimed that the light water reactors could not be used to produce bomb grade material and yet in 2002 urged Russia to end its nuclear co-operation with Iran for the reason that it didn’t want Iran armed with weapons of mass destruction. At the time, Russia was building light water reactors in Iran. According to the State Department, light water reactors in Iran can produce nuclear material but somehow the same rule doesn’t apply in North Korea. 
In April 2002, the Bush administration announced that it would release $95 million of American taxpayer’s dollars to begin construction of the ‘harmless’ light water reactors in North Korea. Bush argued that arming the megalomaniac dictator Kim Jong-Il with the potential to produce a hundred nukes a year was, “vital to the national security interests of the United States.” Bush released even more money for the same purpose in January 2003. 
Bush released the funds despite the startling revelation, reported by South Korean newspapers, that a North Korean missile warhead had been found in Alaska. 
Construction of the reactors was eventually suspended, but North Korea had an alternative source through which they could obtain the nuclear secrets vital to building an atom bomb arsenal – CIA asset and international arms smuggler AQ Khan. 
In 2004, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s atom bomb program, admitted sharing nuclear technology via a worldwide smuggling network that included facilities in Malaysia which manufactured key parts for centrifuges. 
Khan’s collaborator B.S.A. Tahir ran a front company out of Dubai that shipped centrifuge components to North Korea. 
Despite Dutch authorities being deeply suspicious of Khan’s activities as far back as 1975, the CIA prevented the Dutch from arresting him on two separate occasions. 
“The man was followed for almost ten years and obviously he was a serious problem. But again I was told that the secret services could handle it more effectively,” former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers said. “The Hague did not have the final say in the matter. Washington did.” 

Lubbers stated that Khan was allowed to slip in and out of the Netherlands with the blessing of the CIA, eventually allowing him to become the “primary salesman of an extensive international network for the proliferation of nuclear technology and know-how,” according to George W. Bush himself, and sell nuclear secrets that allowed North Korea to build nuclear bombs.
“Lubbers suspects that Washington allowed Khan’s activities because Pakistan was a key ally in the fight against the Soviets,” reports CFP. 
“At the time, the US government funded and armed mujahideen such as Osama bin Laden. They were trained by Pakistani intelligence to fight Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Anwar Iqbal, Washington correspondent for the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, told ISN Security Watch that Lubbers’ assertions may be correct. “This was part of a long-term foolish strategy. The US knew Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons but couldn’t care less because it was not going to be used against them. It was a deterrent against India and possibly the Soviets.” 
In September 2005 it emerged that the Amsterdam court which sentenced Khan to four years imprisonment in 1983 had lost the legal files pertaining to the case. The court’s vice-president, Judge Anita Leeser, accused the CIA of stealing the files. “Something is not right, we just don’t lose things like that,” she told Dutch news show NOVA. “I find it bewildering that people lose files with a political goal, especially if it is on request of the CIA. It is unheard of.” 
In 2005, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf acknowledged that Khan had provided centrifuges and their designs to North Korea. 
Through their policies in aiding North Korea to build light water reactors, and via the CIA asset AQ Khan who was protected at every step of the way while he helped provide North Korea with the means to build a nuclear arsenal, the U.S. government itself was directly complicit in providing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il and now his successor Kim Jong-un with the nuclear weapons that have now caused an international crisis with the Korean peninsula on the brink of war. 
Given the documented history of the United States’ role in arming North Korea with the very weapons the reclusive state is now threatening to use against Americans, the constant drumbeat of fearmongering by the US media about North Korea’s intentions is missing a huge part of the story. HERE — with Jon Corbett. by: Paul Joseph Watson 
Published: Fri, April 12, 2013

North Korea: 'US and South Korean war maniacs are gravely mistaken if they expect victory'

WAR can break out at "any moment," North Korea warned today, as the US has declared they will retaliate if necessary.
By: Charlotte Meredith


"The puppet group of south Korea is resorting to smear propaganda campaign to seek its comfort by forcing others into death like itself," KCNA said today.
Warning of impending nuclear war, the chilling rant by the state run news agency continued: "The arrows indicating the merciless retaliatory strikes have already been drawn directing at the U.S. mainland, U.S. military bases in the Pacific and all other bases where the U.S. imperialist aggression forces station.
"The powerful strike means of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have been put in their places and the coordinates of targets put into the warheads.
"Just pressing the button will be enough to turn the strongholds of the enemies into the sea of fire."
"The U.S. and south Korean war maniacs are gravely mistaken and misjudged if they think they can have lucky chance."
Meanwhile, US secretary of State John Kerry has said North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power and will come to the defence of the South if necessary, in talks over the escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula today.
North Korea would be making a "huge mistake" if it launched one of its medium-range missiles during the current standoff between it, the United States and South Korea, Mr Kerry warned.
Mr Kerry is discussing the crisis with President Park Geun-hye and his South Korean counterpart as well as US military commanders in the country.
North Korea will gain nothing by threatening tests of its missile or nuclear programs, Mr Kerry said, emphatically stating the U.S. and its Asian ally won't accept the North as a nuclear power.
The US Secretary of State warned that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un needs to understand "what would be the outcome of any conflict."
If North Korea were to launch missiles "it would contribute to an already volatile, potentially dangerous situation," he added.
He said: "It would indicate who was being provactive with an exclamation point again.
"We will defend our allies. We will stand with South Korea, Japan and others. We will defend ourselves.
Mr Kerry said US preference would be to get into talks on the North Korean nuclear issue "to ultimately diffuse the situayion," but the reclusive state must be serious about denuclearisation.
As U.S. and South Korean troops braced for what some feared may be an imminent North Korean missile launch, President Barack Obama demanded an end to the escalating war rhetoric from Pyongyang.
In his first public comments since North Korea warned of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, Obama called it time for the isolated nation "to end the belligerent approach they have taken and to try to lower temperatures."
"Nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean Peninsula," Obama said yesterday, speaking from the Oval Office alongside U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Intelligence reports from the Japanese, South Koreans and Americans have indicated that a North Korean missile test could take place at any time, though there has been silence from the leadership in Pyongyang. North Korea: 'US and South Korean war maniacs are gravely mistaken if they expect victory' 

Published: Fri, April 12, 2013

North Korea states 'nuclear war is unavoidable' as it declares first target will be Japan
NORTH KOREA has warned Japan that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, as it increased threats of an attack.
By: Charlotte Meredith
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers prepare its missile interceptor
In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the communist country lashed out at Tokyo's standing orders to destroy any missile heading toward Japan, threatening such actions will result in a nuclear attack against the island nation.
If Japan executes its threat to shoot down any North Korean missile, such a “provocative” intervention would see Tokyo — an enormous conurbation of 30 million people — “consumed in nuclear flames”, KCNA warned.
“Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first,” the report added.
An official at Japan’s defence ministry said that the country “will take every possible measure to respond to any scenario”, while the US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that a North Korean missile launch would be a “huge mistake”.
“The rhetoric that we are hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standards,” he told a news conference in Seoul alongside South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se.
“The United States, South Korea and the entire international community… are all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power,” Kerry added.
Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army
KCNA
However, the North has declared it is "confident of final victory" against its enemies.
"The enemies should know that it is the era of the great Marshal Kim Jong Un, leader of the most powerful country and invincible great Paektusan nation," KCNA stated.
"The DPRK has won victories in confrontation with the U.S. in spirit and is waging an all-out action with it, with confidence in final victory."
The torrent of war cries is seen outside Pyongyang as an effort to raise fears and pressure Seoul and Washington into changing their North Korea policies, and to show the North Korean people that their young leader is strong enough to stand up to powerful foes.
South Korea fears Pyongyang could launch now launch multiple missiles after weeks of threats, according to local reports.
Observers believe a launch is most likely in the build-up to Monday’s anniversary of the birth of late founder Kim Il-Sung, for which celebrations are already well under way in Pyongyang.
The Korean Peninsula has "been reduced to the biggest nuclear hotspot in the world", the North said in more fiery rhetoric today, "making the outbreak of a nuclear war on this land unavoidable."
The reclusive state is dedicated to "defending the sovereignty and dignity of the country with its own strike mode and means," it said.
"No force on earth can block the just cause of the army and people of the DPRK," the chilling message concluded.

Saturday, April 13, 2013, 14:14
North Korea has no N-missile capability: White House

Washington: The White House has said that Washington did not believe North Korea had the capability to deploy a nuclear-armed missile. 
" 
First of all, I want to be clear that North Korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear-armed missile," White House spokesman Jay Carney on Friday told reporters at a briefing.  
But he noted that the US continued to closely monitor North Korea's nuclear program, reported Xinhua. 
Carney once again called upon Pyongyang to honour its international obligations. 
"We have responded to the series of provocative actions, as well as the stepped-up bellicose rhetoric emanating from Pyongyang, by taking a series of prudent measures to ensure that our homeland and our allies are defended," he said, citing the step of enhancing the missile defence system. 
On Thursday, US Representative Doug Lamborn said at a hearing that intelligence indicated North Korea might have acquired the capability to deliver a nuclear warhead with its ballistic missile. 
Tensions have been heightened on the Korean Peninsula since North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February 12 in protest against joint military drills between South Korea and the US. 
IANS 
Thursday 18 April 2013 19.50 BST 


North Korea demands US withdrawal from peninsula before resuming talks


| Pyongyang wants withdrawal of all UN sanctions and US pledge not to engage in 'nuclear war practice' with South
Tania Branigan in Beijing
guardian.co.uk

South Korean soldiers take part in a drill in Sejong. Photograph: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images
North Korea has issued a detailed statement on its terms for dialogue with the United States, after weeks of tensions.
The demands from the North's top military body include the withdrawal of all UN sanctions imposed due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, and a US pledge not to engage in "nuclear war practice" with the South. It said denuclearisation of the peninsula should begin with the withdrawal of US weapons.
Seoul was swift to dismiss the North's conditions as incomprehensible and illogical. The foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said: "We again strongly urge North Korea to stop this kind of insistence that we cannot totally understand and go down the path of a wise choice."
The Japanese news agency Kyodo said the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, had called for increased pressure on the North.
Leonid Petrov, an expert on the North at the Australian National University, said of the North's statement: "It's a good sign, they are prepared to negotiate, but they are demanding an exorbitant and impermissibly high price … The game will continue."
Pyongyang has issued threats against Seoul and Washington, withdrawn workers from an industrial complex it runs with the South and appears to have prepared for a possible missile test. It was angered by the tightening of sanctions over its third nuclear test in February and joint US-South Korean military drills.
"Dialogue and war cannot co-exist," the North's national defence commission said in a statement carried by the official news agency KCNA on Thursday. "If the United States and the puppet South have the slightest desire to avoid the sledge-hammer blow of our army and the people … and truly wish dialogue and negotiations, they must make the resolute decision."
It said the UN resolutions imposing sanctions had been "fabricated with unjust reasons". "The denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula can begin with the removal of the nuclear war tools dragged in by the US and it can lead to global nuclear disarmament," it added.
South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, told foreign diplomats on Wednesday: "We must break the vicious cycle of holding negotiations and providing assistance if [North Korea] makes threats and provocations, and again holding negotiations and providing assistance if there are threats and provocations."
In Washington, John Kerry insisted: "I have no desire as secretary of state and the president has no desire to do the same horse trade, or go down the old road."
Barack Obama earlier sent a similar message, suggesting the North was likely to engage in more "provocative behaviour" and warning: "You don't get to bang … your spoon on the table and somehow you get your way."
But Kerry has said the US is prepared to reach out if the North shows it is serious about meeting previous commitments.
Petrov added: "I would predict the status quo will prevail. North Korea won't be recognised as a nuclear state; the US will continue its joint military drills; periodically, tensions will escalate, probably once or twice a year."
The North Koreans may be able to set a higher price than in the past, he suggested. "It looks like their successful nuclear test [in February] and [rocket] launches changed the rules of the game." | HERE


Share on Google Plus

About octadandy

    Blogger Comment
    Facebook Comment

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

Langganan: Posting Komentar ( Atom )