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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
An idiot's point of view:
By Bruce K. Gagnon (about the author)
opednews.com
The Advent vigils (four weeks in a row) began yesterday at Bath Iron Works (BIW) here in Maine. BIW is the place where Navy Aegis destroyers are built that are presently being used as part of the U.S.-South Korea (ROK) war games which are bumping up against the coastline of North Korea. I noticed that the USS Cowpens is a part of this U.S. naval battle group that is being led toward North Korea by the aircraft carrier named the USS George Washington.
I know about the USS Cowpens because it was the ship that fired the first shot (cruise missiles) in the 2003 U.S. shock and awe attack on Iraq. I know this because the woman who was driving the USS Cowpens at that historic moment has become a friend of our family and was at our home for Thanksgiving just three days ago.
This young woman was a Lieutenant in the Navy and was the Officer of the Deck at the time of the Cowpens attack on Iraq. She has since gotten out of the Navy and is now a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). She has not yet gotten over the pain of her role in that unprovoked, immoral, and illegal attack on Iraq.
North Korea knows all about the U.S. proclivity to attack smaller countries for no good reason. In years past the world has watched the U.S. beat up on Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Granada, Panama, Libya, Somalia, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. North Korea must wonder if their day is coming soon as well.
As I noted in other recent blogs on this subject, the U.S. and South Korea have been running aggressive military war games each month since last July and these massive drills are directed right at North Korea. North Korea must each time put their military and their population on alert because they can't take any chances. Having seen the U.S. record of attacking weaker countries they must consider that this time the war games could be for real.
As I stood on the sidewalk in front of BIW for the hour-long vigil today I held a sign with a picture of a train painted on it by one of our local artist friends. The sign read "Built in Bath". Some of the passing Saturday early-shift workers got the message and smiled as they drove home. The truth is that a number of those working inside BIW know that their "product" is a first-strike attack military machine. They'd rather be building rail systems or wind turbines. But we make weapons and we make war in America today and military production is one of the few jobs around in our declining economy. It's like those who worked in the death camps for Hitler's Army during WW II. It was a job and they wanted to believe that their country was right - Germany uber alles. In America we say - USA, USA, #1!
The U.S. is outfitting these Navy Aegis destroyers with "missile defense" systems and activists in South Korea and Japan clearly understand the role of these warships in U.S. military strategy. The U.S. intends to use these MD systems to pick-off retaliatory strikes after a Pentagon first-strike attack on North Korea or China. The U.S. is doubling its military presence in the Asian-Pacific region for a clear reason.
Like any bully, the U.S. military is poking a sharp stick at North Korea (and China) and basically daring them to fight back. The U.S. (and their junior partners in South Korea and Japan) are out to militarize the region and are just itching for a military response that would then "justify" an overwhelming response.
The U.S. weapons corporations love this game of hardball, or as it used to be called, gunboat diplomacy. The power tripping U.S. government intends to keep pushing North Korea into a corner and will keep pissing on them until they get another response. At the rate things are now going it likely won't take long.
The key factor in all of this is China. How long will China allow the U.S. to keep pouring gasoline on the hot fire in the Asian-Pacific? They hold our debt yet know that if they cut the U.S. loose then the entire global economy will suffer even more. But China is quickly getting fed up with U.S. military bravado in their back yard.
China must support North Korea because if that country is toppled then the U.S. would put military bases right on China's border. This was an important reason for the Korean War in the first place, the U.S. wanted to take control of the entire Korean peninsula and thus have bases right alongside Russia and China.
If the American people knew half of what was going on in their name they'd be freaking out but due to corporate control of the media, and generations of government brainwashing, most of our citizens are in the dark. Virtually all they know about any of what is going on right now in Korea is what they are told by the same people who are stirring the boiling pot of war.
Sadly most Americans have to learn the hard way. Hopefully it won't take a shooting war with China to wake the public up from their deep sleep.
-----------------------
Bruce Gagnon is the Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.
Between 1983â€"1998 Bruce was the State Coordinator of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice.
He was the organizer of the Cancel Cassini Campaign (launched 72 pounds of plutonium into space in 1997) that was featured on the TV program 60 Minutes.
Bruce has been featured by artist Robert Shetterly in his collection of portraits and quotes entitled Americans Who Tell The Truth. In 2006 he was the recipient of the Dr. Benjamin Spock Peacemaker Award.
In 2003 Bruce co-produced a popular video entitled Arsenal of Hypocrisy that spells out U.S. plans for space domination. His latest video, shot in 2006, is entitled The Necessity of the Conversion of the Military Industrial Complex.
In 1968 Bruce was Vice-chair of the Okaloosa County (Florida) Young Republican Club while working on the Nixon campaign for president.
Bruce is a Vietnam-era veteran and began his career by working for the United Farm Workers Union in Florida organizing fruit pickers.
OpEdNews Member for 178 week(s) and 6 day(s)
(Note from Rick... *I* am not his ONE fan by the way, that's probably himself. LOL!)
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Backstop
Yes - wishful thinking there won't be a WWIII.
As a nation, we're weak - financially, militarily, and the President is......
.. now - or soon - is the perfect opportunity ..
These Commie monsters know no compassion or mercy. Did you hear the latest: Chicoms now want everyone to return to six-way round table talks!:eek: This is just a gambit to disarm the naive and lower our leaders' guard.
I would like to quote an old adage: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Last night I viewed opera "Tosca" (2001 London Royal Opera House production) with Canadian Soprano Angela Gheorghiu in title role. Ruggiero Raimondi's Scarpia (Tosca's tormentor) is perfectly villainous and bloodthirsty. A pound of flesh is not enough for him. His actions result in death of three innocent people. His lust for Tosca, power and the proclivity to use his high office in Rome for endless sexual conquests, bring about his own end. Death comes from his own dinner knife aimed perfectly at the heart by Tosca. His duplicity is such that he manages to deceive Tosca cruelly even after his own murder, driving her to suicide.
Mind games that these monstersplay are beyond belief. Scarpia did not have nukes, rockets and 1.2 million men army backing him up. He was just a bit player by today's standards.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
I am actually on the same page as Backstop.
Tensions ARE enormous and there is considerable political puffery going on, yet all sides know a war there will not end well for anyone in the theater or many places in the world. It seems to me the only way this will escalate and be flipped to the other side to finish cooking, is if a key player goes on a pride rant.
Still, that is just a reasoned thought, but not the only possibility. Having supplies to withstand a period of conflict, should it arise, is wise.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
RFN, we are ripe for the picking.
If the TAA doesn’t do something now, or soon, it most certainly will confuse me.
Because I don’t think there will be as lucrative a chance again in the near future.
Maybe they're waiting for our economy to get worse, which I surely think it will.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Serial Number on N.Korean Shell Strengthens Cheonan Evidence
A handwritten serial number found on one of the 122 mm North Korean artillery shells that fell on Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday has reminded investigators of a key piece of evidence that implicated the North in the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan.
A similar handwritten serial number was found on debris from the torpedo that sank the Cheonan in March. The military is analyzing the artillery shell and has yet to determine the origin of the ink and how the serial number was applied.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/...12901072_0.jpg Left: The handwritten serial number on one of the 122 mm North Korean artillery shells that fell on Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday; Right: The similar serial number on debris from the torpedo that sank the Navy corvette Cheonan in March.
South Korean netizens said the find disproves skeptics who claimed that it makes no sense for North Korea to number high-tech ordnance with a magic marker, because it shows that the North does exactly that. Conspiracy theorists claimed that it was South Korean investigators who put the serial number on the torpedo to put the blame on North Korea. "They said any traces of magic marker on a torpedo should have disappeared in the heat of the blast, but how do they explain the clear, handwritten serial number this time?" one netizen asked.
But a military spokesman said more analysis of the writing and pattern on the artillery shell is needed.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
U.S. Sen. John McCain: Time for regime change in North Korea
28 November 2010
Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain said Sunday that the time for regime change in North Korea may be near.
“I think it’s time we talked about regime change,” the Arizona senator said on CNN Sunday morning. “I do not mean military action, but I do believe that this is a very unstable regime.”
The comment comes in the midst of rising tensions in the Korean peninsula. The U.S. States joined South Korea in a series of war games expected to last through mid-week. North Korea has warned both parties to remain outside of disputed coastal territory near its border.
Mr. McCain said nations, other than the U.S., should exert pressure on North Korea. He said the U.S. continues to be the only nation willing to take a leadership role in addressing the crisis.
“The key to this is China,” Mr. McCain said, adding “unfortunately China is not behaving as a responsible world power.”
He noted that he does not think it is in China’s best interest to see the dispute continue.
According to Wikileaks documents, U.S. officials have been discussing the possibility of a unified Korea should North Korea’s economic condition worsen, causing a collapse of the country.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Lee calls N. Korea's attack 'inhumane,' calls for national unity |
http://news.asiaone.com/a1media/site/common/blank.gif |
President Lee Myung-bak on Monday strongly condemned North Korea's recent shelling of a South Korean border island, calling it an "inhumane crime."
"A military attack on civilians is a crime against humanity strictly prohibited even during a war," Lee said in a televised speech.
He pointed out that among the North's numerous provocations, its bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea last Tuesday marked the first direct strike on the South's territory since the end of their 1950-53 Korean War.
The shelling killed two marines and two civilians and wounded nearly 20 others.
Artillery rounds pounded an area just about 10 meters away from a school, Lee said.
"I can't contain my anger over the North Korean regime's cruelty that ignores even the lives of children," Lee said. "(South Korea) will make North Korea pay the due price by all means for its provocation from now on."
The president said South Korea is running out of patience, although it has endeavored to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis through dialogue and cooperation and has lavished its communist neighbor with humanitarian aid.
"What has returned to us is nuclear development and the artillery shelling of Yeonpyeong Island" after the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, in March, he said.
"Now, we know that it is difficult to expect North Korea to abandon its nuclear (weapons) and military brinkmanship on its own," he said.
Lee appealed to the South Korean people for unity, saying a "unified people" would take national security to its strongest level.
He said the people displayed unity against the North's attack on Yeonpyeong, unlike when the nation was divided earlier this year following the sinking of the Cheonan, which was blamed on Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, Lee offered a public apology for security loopholes.
"As the president, I stand here today with a sense of full responsibility" for the failure to protect the lives and property of the people, he said.
-The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
SKorea leader vows consequences for future NKorea attacks
FOSTER KLUG Associated Press
11/29/2010 | 09:37 AM
http://images.gmanews.tv/section_tit...r_icon_new.jpg http://images.gmanews.tv/section_tit...t_icon_new.jpg http://images.gmanews.tv/section_tit...share_this.jpg
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UPDATED 11:45 a.m. - SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president on Monday took responsibility for failing to protect his citizens from a deadly North Korean artillery attack last week, vowing tough consequences for any future aggression and expressing outrage over the "ruthlessness of the North Korean regime."
He didn't offer specifics about what consequences the North would face, and he offered few details on what actions South Korea will take in response to last week's attack, other than promising to strengthen the military.
"If the North commits any additional provocations against the South, we will make sure that it pays a dear price without fail," Lee said. "The South Korean people now unequivocally understand that prolonged endurance and tolerance will spawn nothing but more serious provocations."
"I feel deeply responsible for failing to protect my people's lives and property," Lee said. In South Korea, it is not rare for top officials to resign, apologize or express responsibility when their government faces public criticism.
Lee Myung-bak's short speech to the country came as a nuclear-powered U.S. supercarrier and a South Korean destroyer participated in joint military exercises, a united show of force nearly a week after an artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong island killed four, including two civilians.
Amid the heightened tension, classified U.S. State Department documents leaked Sunday by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks showed the United States and South Korea discussing possible scenarios for reunification of the peninsula, and American worry over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Under pressure to take stronger action in dealing with the defiant North, Lee lashed out at Pyongyang.
"Only a few meters away from where shells landed, there is a school where classes were going on," Lee said. "I am outraged by the ruthlessness of the North Korean regime, which is even indifferent to the lives of little children."
Lee has come under withering criticism for what opponents have called lapses in South Korea's response to the attack. Lee has replaced his defense minister, ordered reinforcements for the 4,000 troops on Yeonpyeong and four other Yellow Sea islands and upgraded rules of engagement.
Minutes after Lee finished his speech, North Korea issued a fresh threat to attack South Korea and the United States, calling the allies' joint war drills "yet another grave military provocation."
The maneuvers are an "intentional plot" by the United States and South Korea to prepare for war against North Korea, Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.
The North will launch counter attacks without hesitation on South Korea and U.S. forces if they engage in provocation again, according to the commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
China, the North's only major ally, has belatedly jumped into the fray. Beijing's top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, called for an emergency meeting in early December among regional powers involved in nuclear disarmament talks, including North Korea.
Seoul gave a cool response to Beijing's proposal, saying it should be "reviewed very carefully" in light of North Korea's recent revelation of a new uranium-enrichment facility.
The troubled relations between the two Koreas, which fought a three-year war in the 1950s, have steadily deteriorated since Lee's conservative government took power in 2008 with a tough new policy toward the North.
Eight months ago, a South Korean warship went down in the western waters, killing 46 sailors in the worst attack on the South Korean military since the Korean War. Then, last Tuesday, North Korean troops showered artillery on Yeonpyeong, a South Korean-held island that houses military bases as well as a civilian population — an attack that marked a new level of hostility.
Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed and 18 others wounded in the hailstorm of artillery that sent residents fleeing into bunkers and reduced homes on the island to charred rubble.
North Korea blamed the South for provoking the attack by holding artillery drills near the Koreas' maritime border, and has threatened to be "merciless" if the war games — set to last until Dec. 1 — get too close to its territory.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, U.S. Sen. John McCain said it was time to discuss "regime change" in North Korea, but the former Navy combat pilot didn't say how he advocates changing its government.
McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was not suggesting military action against the North. He said the Chinese, the North's closest ally, should rein in its neighbor, and he accused Beijing of failing to play a responsible role in either the Korean peninsula or the world stage.
North Korea has walked a path of defiance since launching a rocket in April 2009 in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and abandoning the disarmament process in protest against the condemnation that followed.
However, in recent months Pyongyang has shown an eagerness to get back to the talks, and has appeared increasingly frustrated by U.S. and South Korean reluctance to restart the negotiations.
Seoul has said it wants an acknowledgment of regret for the sinking of the Cheonan warship in March as well as a concrete show of commitment to denuclearization.
North Korea, which cites the U.S. military presence in South Korea as a main reason behind its drive to build atomic weapons, routinely calls the joint exercises between the allies a rehearsal for war.
Washington, which keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect the ally, insists the routine drills were planned before last Tuesday's attack.
The documents leaked by WikiLeaks showed deep U.S. worries about North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs.
The New York Times published documents that indicated the United States and South Korea were "gaming out an eventual collapse of North Korea" and discussing the prospects for a unified country, if the North's economic troubles and political transition lead it to implode. - GMANews.TV
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
I have to say that I just can't see Korea as unified.
There are some serious differences in the thought processes between those of the South and North.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Backstop
I have to say that I just can't see Korea as unified.
There are some serious differences in the thought processes between those of the South and North.
There's nothing that a few years in a re-education camp can't fix. With Captain Zero at the helm, we'll see Seoul blasted and 10s of thousands of South Korean nationals abducted and placed in those camps.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Backstop
I have to say that I just can't see Korea as unified.
There are some serious differences in the thought processes between those of the South and North.
I agree. And beyond the human cost of regime change and integration, the economic cost to bring North Korea into the 21st century will be staggering. Minimal infrastructure, low power supplies, no compeditive factory output to speak of, 1950's 60's farming structure, low education levels, few technically skilled workers... the cost of integration and bringing N. Korea up to speed will be measured in the trillions of $$$. It'll make the money pumped into Iraq look like chump change.
Then there's the angle of how easy picking they'll be for organized crime. A backwards isolated population now seeing the relative wealth the world lives in and how poor they are. Organized crime moves in and waves money around... it'll catch quite a few eyes. Wads of fast cash for smuggling, drug trade, prostitution... you name it.
Post regime change will not be pretty in many aspects. It needs to happen, but we need to be critically aware of the economic and social landmines that will be left behind.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Well... Status quo is not going to be a good thing either....
I don't have all the answers, but honestly, I think there should be something done about the North.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
North Korean Belligerence Could be Part of Leadership Succession
Steve Herman | Seoul 29 November 2010
[IMG]http://media.voanews.com/images/480*293/AP+N+Korea+Kim+Jong+Un+29Nov10+480.jpg[/IMG] Photo: AP
Kim Jong Un attends massive military parade (file photo)
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The most frequently heard question in the wake of a North Korean attack on a South Korean island is "why?" Those who have devoted their careers to studying North Korea, one of the world's most opaque nations, say it is difficult to get a clear answer. One theory ties the artillery attack last week to efforts to establish the son of leader Kim Jong Il as his successor.
Last Tuesday's shelling of a community on a South Korean island was not the first time North Korea has lashed out at its neighbor since the Korean War in the 1950s.
And, a number of experts on North Korea say, it will not be the last. Indeed, several say South Korea and the United States, which has 25,000 troops in the country, may have to contend with additional military actions by North Korea in the months and years ahead.
Military first
They say it is an inevitable part of the transition of leadership in a country that has declared a "military first" policy for its scant resources.
[IMG]http://media.voanews.com/images/230*230/Gen+John+Wickham+Jr.jpg[/IMG]US Army
Retired General John Wickham Jr. (file photo)
Retired General John Wickham Jr. shares that view. The former U.S. Army Chief of Staff and commander of U.S. forces in South Korea says the North Korean military is critical to a successful leadership transition in Pyongyang.
"It's conceivable that Kim Jong Il has given more independence to the military as a quid pro quo - 'if you will support my initiative here, which you may not like, my efforts to put my son in to follow me," Wickham said.
Seeking support
In the past few months, North Korea's government has established leader Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor. The younger Kim, who is about 28 years old, was made an army general in September, although he has no military background. Some North Korea scholars think that by allowing, or even encouraging, the military to strike out at South Korea, the elder Kim hopes to secure support for the succession.
Although two South Korean civilians and two marines died in the shelling last week, Seoul responded only with a limited amount of return fire, and announcements of new military training with the United States. The training includes naval maneuvers that started Sunday and involve a U.S. aircraft carrier.
More strikes ahead?
While some critics say Seoul and Washington responded too softly, Wickham says they may have no choice but to continue with a restrained response. He expects Pyongyang's military, which is believed to have a few nuclear weapons, to conduct more limited strikes.
"This could be a manifestation of the North Korean military exercising its independence and exercising some of the military prowess that they have to demonstrate that 'we are strong and we are - for our own purposes and for neighboring countries' purposes - capable of defending our interests," Wickham said.
[IMG]http://media.voanews.com/images/230*230/VOA+ICG+Analyst+Daniel+PInkston+230.jpg[/IMG]VOA - S. Herman
ICG NE Asia analyst Daniel Pinkston
Northeast Asia analyst Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group says there should not be any expectations that influential moderate voices, if there are any in Pyongyang, will be heard.
"[For] any of the military leaders that are on the rise and that have influence in the North Korean government to counsel restraint or to show weakness could result in their political demise. So it's very dangerous at the moment, I think," Pinkston said.
Certainly, the talk out of Pyongyang is tough.
Joint exercises
A North Korea television newscast describes the U.S. aircraft carrier leading the exercises with South Korea as the spearhead aggressive force targeting Pyongyang.
The announcer reads an official statement that calls the maneuvers "nothing but an attempt to stubbornly light the fuse of war by inventing a justification of aggression by whatever means."
Both the U.S. and South Korea are hesitant to push North Korea too far. A miscalculation could lead to a war that leaves, by some estimates, more than a million people dead, and would devastate South Korea's robust economy.
Motivations
Despite Pyongyang's tough talk, other regional analysts theorize North Korea does not realistically expect to defeat South Korea's military or force Washington to back off.
Rather, they say, Pyongyang hopes to bring South Korea down a notch by creating so much uncertainty that its economy is damaged. Or Pyongyang is trying to convince South Korean voters it would be better to replace the current conservative government with one resembling preceding administrations.
The previous two South Korean governments tried to better relations, and gave substantial aid to North Korea, hoping that would persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programs and peacefully co-exist.
The current government of President Lee Myung-bak, however, has taken a tougher line, cutting off most aid to the impoverished North until it makes progress on its pledges to halt its nuclear weapons programs.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Had a chance to talk to a couple guys this morning who were army in the South Korea area over the years.
They have two widely different views.
One thinks like I do.... this might just escalate based on what China says (or doesn't say) and the other says, "The country is full of a million man staving army. Scarecrows with guns. The South has a military force which is light years ahead of the North. The North has a few artillery pieces. The South could stomp them into the mud."
I pointed out they have nukes as well - and he shrugged and said "So do we...."
I didn't bother to point out they aren't there in South Korea though - but oh well.
The second guy says this is all part of the standard operation pattern for DPRK and they are hungry, want money for food and are willing to piss off people to get it so they can shut up for awhile.
They are just poking a little harder this time.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Japan says 6-way talks on North Korea unacceptable: report
Factbox
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Analysis & Opinion
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TOKYO | Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:50am EST
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said that holding six-party talks on North Korea is "unacceptable" unless Pyongyang makes concessions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
"It's unacceptable for us to hold six-party talks only because North Korea has gone amok," the Wall Street Journal's online edition quoted Maehara as saying in an interview.
"We must first see some kind of sincere effort from North Korea, on its uranium enrichment program and the latest incident."
(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka, editing by Andrew Marshall)
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
Mal and Toad - you both see things exactly as I do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rick Donaldson
I don't have all the answers, but honestly, I think there should be something done about the North.
I have an answer:
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/...-bomb-test.jpg
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
I was kinda thinking the same thing, Backstop.
/chuckles
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Residents on the front-line South Korean island bombarded by North Korea last week have been told to take shelter tomorrow. A South Korean military official says that forces on the island will conduct new live-fire artillery drills. An official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says artillery rounds will not be fired toward North Korea.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
SKorean leader talks tough on NKorea; military plans new artillery drills from tense island
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president took responsibility Monday for failing to protect his citizens from a deadly North Korean artillery attack last week, expressing outrage at the North and vowing tough consequences for any future aggression.
Hours after Lee Myung-bak's nationally televised speech, South Korea's military announced it would conduct new drills — including live-fire exercises — on Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday morning, and issued a warning over loudspeakers for residents to take shelter in underground bunkers by 9:30 a.m.
Artillery rounds will be fired into the waters southwest of Yeonpyeong Island, not toward North Korea, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
Similar live drills by South Korean troops one week earlier triggered the deadly bombardment of artillery by North Korea that decimated parts of Yeonpyeong Island, which lies just 7 miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores. Two marines and two civilian construction workers were killed, and 18 others injured.
The renewed live-fire drills may serve to underline Lee's attempts to be more forceful with the North, or be a move to test new weapons being installed on the island.
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Re: North And South Korea On The Brink Of War, Russian Diplomat Warns
South Korea Warns Of Consequences For Aggression
by NPR Staff and Wires
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010...1291037170&s=4South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (right) was joined by U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of American forces in Korea, during a visit to a U.S. base in Seoul as the two countries take part in joint military exercises.
November 29, 2010
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took responsibility for failing to protect his country against attack and threatened retaliation against any further provocation by North Korea.
Lee, making his first public statement since the North shelled Yeonpyeong island a week ago, expressed remorse for the deaths of two South Korean marines and two civilians and called the attack "a crime against humanity."
"If the North commits any additional provocations against the South, we will make sure that it pays a dear price without fail," he warned during Monday's televised speech from the presidential Blue House in Seoul.
Minutes after the national address, Pyongyang renewed its own threat to attack, calling ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises in the Yellow Sea another grave military provocation.
In a sign of disarray hours after Lee vowed to get tough on the North, South Korea's military announced provocative new artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island, then immediately postponed them Monday. Similar live-fire maneuvers by Southern troops last week triggered the North's bombardment that decimated parts of the border-zone island and drew return fire in a clash that set the region on edge.
Lee has come under withering criticism for what opponents have called lapses in South Korea's response to the attack. Lee has replaced his defense minister, ordered reinforcements for the 4,000 troops on Yeonpyeong and four other Yellow Sea islands and upgraded rules of engagement.
http://media.npr.org/news/graphics/l...f?t=1290530471 NPR
INTERACTIVE: Click The Map To Read About The History Of The Conflict Between North And South Korea And Each Side's Military Capabilities
In his speech, Lee made no mention of China's offer to broker talks between the Koreas. Pyongyang's closest ally made the offer Sunday during a hastily arranged news conference.
"I would like to stress that although the proposed consultations do not mean the resumption of the six-party talks, we do hope they will help create conditions for the relaunch of the six-party talks," China's deputy foreign minister, Wu Dawei, said through an interpreter.
Japan responded that it will not attend such talks, according to a Kyodo news agency report citing the country's chief spokesman. South Korea said it would consider the proposal very cautiously. Meanwhile, a U.S. spokesman said Pyongyang needs to take clear steps to demonstrate a change in behavior.
China has so far failed to condemn North Korea's attack. But intense international pressure has produced a flurry of diplomacy: Beijing has sent a senior official to meet with Lee and is preparing to receive North Korea's parliamentary chief Tuesday.
Some experts dismiss China's call as a face-saving measure. But Zhu Feng of Peking University says it represents a change in policy.
"Such an emergency call for consultation shows Beijing's new activism," Zhu said. "I also see some sort of Chinese dilemma. We are always embarrassed by some sort of failed balance between maintaining our traditional relations with Pyongyang, and how to address the very important concern about security and stability to South Korea, U.S. and the international community."
Others, however, believe calls for Beijing to rein in Pyongyang are little more than wishful thinking.
"I think we tend to exaggerate China's influence over North Korea in order to rationalize our own inactivity. No country can have much of an influence on the domestic politics of an ultranationalist state," said North Korea expert Brian Myers of Dongseo University in South Korea.
As the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington takes part in massive military exercises with South Korea, it is interesting to note that China hasn't protested more. Beijing was livid earlier this year when such exercises were suggested.
China's relative silence — coming against a backdrop of growing nationalism — speaks volumes, according to Zhu.
"My interpretation is that it's some sort of signaling: If North Korea will continue to provoke so very recklessly, then Beijing will not show any support," he said.
Inside China, the voices of discontent are growing. Some commentators are openly suggesting that North Korea's erratic actions have canceled out its use as a buffer zone for China. But Pyongyang has crossed red line after red line without losing Chinese support — and no one is prepared to guess where Beijing's bottom line might be.
Doualy Xaykaothao in Seoul and NPR's Louisa Lim in Beijing contributed to this report, which also contains material from The Associated Press.