Yet another N.Korean threat thred.

[DEAD ZONE]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030116/D7OJHJC80.html

"South Korea said Thursday it was preparing for a "worst-case scenario" in North Korea's nuclear standoff with the United States, and a top U.S. envoy warned a resolution of the confrontation would be a "very slow process."

The chief U.N. atomic weapons watchdog, meanwhile, attacked the isolated communist country for engaging in "nuclear blackmail."

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jun told a parliamentary hearing there was a "high" possibility North Korea would target South Korea if it builds a nuclear bomb. U.S. officials believe the communist regime already has one or two nuclear bombs.

"I believe a war on the Korean Peninsula would be inevitable if the North's nuclear issue could not be resolved peacefully and the United States attacks North Korea," Lee said."

[DEAD ZONE]

NBC News has investigated conditions in North Korea's prison camps. Among the findings:

At one camp, Camp 22 in Haengyong, some 50,000 prisoners toil each day in conditions that U.S. officials and former inmates say results in the death of 20 percent to 25 percent of the prison population every year.
Products made by prison laborers may wind up on U.S. store shelves, having been "washed" first through Chinese companies that serve as intermediaries.
Entire families, including grandchildren, are incarcerated for even the most bland political statements.
Forced abortions are carried out on pregnant women so that another generation of political dissidents will be "eradicated."
Inmates are used as human guinea pigs for testing biological and chemical agents, according to both former inmates and U.S. officials.
At the risk of sounding simplistic, this is evil.

[Phreakmeister]

Official statement of the North Korean regime:

Truth behind nuclear issue

By Kim Ho PT

Last year, nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, essential for global peace and security, was the focus of the world public attention.
Then who is the author of a nuclear threat to the Korean peninsula?
James Kelly, the special envoy of the US President, who visited Pyongyang in October, last year, alleged that Pyongyang was pushing forward the enriched uranium development programme. With this as a momentum, the US started launching campaign for putting military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the DPRK.
Many countries were doubtful of "the DPRK's nuclear development" which startled the world. The US, however, failed to provide any evidence to prove it.
In the face of the US unilateral attitude, the DPRK stated that US brigandish logic could not work and that it had been exposed to the US nuclear threat nearly half a century ago.
As historical facts show, the US, the first nuclear developer which inflicted nuclear disaster upon humankind for the first time in world history, declared its readiness to equip its troops in south Korea with nuclear arms in April 1957 and the following year began to ship a variety of nuclear bombs and warheads for missiles.
Then followed the deployment of 725 nuclear weapons in 1976 and 1,720 in 1985. South Korea is now the greatest nuclear arsenal in the Far East.
It is the intention of US hardliners to use strategic nuclear weapons if another Korean war breaks out. In accordance with this policy, nuclear war rehearsals targeted against the DPRK gathered speed every year. In 1993, Team Spirit 93 was staged, involving nuclear means of attack, B-1B strategic bombers, F-117 Stealth bombers and others.
The Bush administration which is hostile towards the DPRK has branded the latter as part of an "axis of evil" and continues to make public surprise statements against the DPRK.
In addition, it defined preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK as its state policy by using the "DPRK's nuclear issue" as a pretext and frequented the large-scale military exercises such as Rimpac-2002 and Ulji Focus Lens.
To cope with the US nuclear threat, the DPRK government has made every effort to make the country a nuclear-free and peace zone and settle the nuclear issue peacefully.
It joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in December 1985, concluded with the IAEA a safeguards agreement pursuant to the treaty in January 1992 and honestly implemented it.
After the adoption of the DPRK-US Agreed Framework in October 1994, Pyongyang strictly observed its duty despite the loss of a colossal amount of power.
Even after the US came up with the unjustified nuclear issue the DPRK showed patience to settle the issue in a peaceful way by concluding a non-aggression treaty.
As to the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces stated that the assertion of the DPRK's threat to the US was groundless.
The world conference on the cause of independence in the 21st century and the sixth symposium of the world political parties on the building of a new society called on the governments, and international and regional organizations to smash the moves of the US that aggravates the tensions on the Korean peninsula with reckless remarks.
More than 200 media in over 100 countries, 100 political parties, international and regional organizations and individuals in over 70 countries and regions branded the US as the very author of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula and gave full support to the DPRK's principled stand.
In the final analysis, the US invention aimed to stifle the DPRK has a boomerang effect, revealing its true colours as a real author of the nuclear threat in the eyes of the world.

[nacho cheese]

Official statement of the North Korean regime:
This is worth as much as the official statesment of the US goverment about the Iraq situation... :smash

[DEAD ZONE]

You really beleive that Phreak?

The u.n. was there for a reason.The N.Koreans violated every agreement they made ,not just with the u.s.

There was no threat against them unless they threatened others.

The only way the u.s. is responsible is that "we" were dumb enough to beleive they could be trusted at their word.Thus giving them what they needed to make the nukes.

Never appease a tyrany.

The north is part of the axis of evil.They sale weapons to anyone.That is not disputed.

[Phreakmeister]

I don't believe that at all. That's why I posted it: to show the twisted views they have. That's also why I posted the Pyongyang Times thread.

[nacho cheese]

They sale weapons to anyone
Afganistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone...And the USA doesn't? :smash

[Phreakmeister]

A decent analysis of the current situation concerning North Korea.

From Bad to Unimaginable

January 10, 2003
By Mike Shannon

It is with no small degree of trepidation that one attempts to apply logic to the workings of politics. The invariable and thoroughly unpredictable twists and turns of political machinations being what they are routinely defy any and all attempt to predict what will happen next; particularly in a geopolitical environment that is as fluid as the one we find ourselves in at the moment.

Still, if you expect both friend and adversary alike to have a working understanding of your direction and aims there must be some sense of conformity to established norms and procedures. Or at least you would think so. However, it is becoming increasingly self evident that the words and actions of the Bush Administration are often very much at odds. You could say that what we have here is a failure to reconcile.

Since That Day President Bush has been praised ad nauseam for throwing down a well defined and apparently inalterable gauntlet. His declaration of a clear delineation between who the good guys are and who are the bad quickly became his rhetorical weapon of choice. And as a rhetorical tool used to express the outrage of a grievously wronged people it was extremely effective. As an articulation of United States policy it has been remarkably ineffective.

Nowhere is the breakdown between what has been spoken and what has been done been more glaringly revealed to be at loggerheads than with the rapidly deteriorating - or is it escalating? - situation between the US and North Korea.

Even allowing that the conundrum the Washington finds itself it at the moment is entirely self induced, it is only fair that policy makers be permitted the latitude to address different scenarios on the basis of their individual characteristics and relative merit. So, if North Korea was a problem that had been off the radar screen only to suddenly appear due to an unimagined series of circumstances that would be one thing. But as we all know that is absolutely not the case.

North Korea has been a charter member of the axis of evil since Mr Bush first uttered the words in early 2002. While their designation as such came as a surprise to many, upon closer examination the regime of Kim Jong Il has proven itself to fit the bill of what the President defined as states hostile to the security and best interests of the United States to a T. As a matter of fact; North Korea can well lay claim to being the most potentially dangerous of the lot.

If you were to list the criteria for inclusion in the triad of evil; wanton disregard for the basic human rights of its own people, despotic rule, proven inclination to the projection of hostile force against neighboring nations, and most importantly, the production of vast stores of weapons of mass destruction, North Korea is guilty as charged.

Not only are the North Koreans producing WMD, they rely on the sale and exportation of such devices as a major source of state revenue. The Times of London writes in their online edition of December 30, 2002, " North Korea raised $560 million dollars from weapon sales in 2001 alone." Included in that total are the sales of missiles and missile technology; as was so undisputably proven by the recent seizure, and subsequent release, of a ship load of scud missiles on their way to Yemen. And whereas Yemen is considered an ally in our war against terrorism, North Korea's other clients - again quoting the Times, "North Korea's customers are believed to include Iran, Lybia and Syria" - are most assuredly not.

As dangerous and destabilizing as these sales may be they are unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg. By the admission of the intelligence services of the United States, North Korea has most likely already produced one or two nuclear warheads. With the expulsion of UN nuclear inspectors and the restarting of their nuclear plant, this number may double or triple in the very near future.

This potentially catastrophic development is precisely what Mr Bush was referring to when he declared that the United States retains the right to take preemptive action against any nation - particularly the Evil Three - that attempts to acquire a nuclear capability. It is also what the President meant when he said, "to wait is to run the risk of waiting too long".

So has the United States turned its gun sights away from Iraq and towards this much more formidable and dangerous foe? Hardly. As these words are being written it seems as though, however begrudgingly, the Bush administration has decided that this challenge does not have a military solution. While this decision may seem to be in direct contradiction to the oft stated policies referred to above it is the right one.

The thought that comments along the lines of these are tantamount to wanting the US to engage North Korea militarily are ridiculous. On the contrary; choosing to negotiate is the only rational way to deal with such a threat. Unless, of course, one adheres to the abhorrent philosophy that there is such a thing as a winnable nuclear war.

The problem here transcends North Korea or any other single nation. For far too long the world community has deluded itself into thinking the nuclear genie could be kept in the bottle. The only surprise that we are now seeing a renewed round of nuclear proliferation is that it has taken this long to happen. Now that it has it will only serve to spur other nations into repeating the same unforgivable sin.

This is no longer an issue between the United States and its enemies. Nuclear weapons are a real and present danger to human civilization itself. There is no sand deep enough to bury our heads in to escape that reality. For the sake of all who inhabit this planet we must put aside political considerations and deal with this problem on an international basis. Permitting ourselves to allow our words to lead us into actions of incalculable horror are simply not an option.

[DEAD ZONE]

Originally posted by nacho cheese

Afganistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone...And the USA doesn't? :smash

No .we dont.We sale them but not to anyone and everyone.Iran North Korea, sudan libya cuba ect. ect. ect.

[DEAD ZONE]

http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,877841,00.html


By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, January 17, 2003; Page A23


The Bush position on North Korea is in total collapse. In less than a month we have gone from "tailored containment" to shoeless appeasement. It usually takes longer.

It began when the Bush administration responded to North Korea's brazen nuclear breakout by immediately -- and explicitly -- taking the military option off the table. This was a serious mistake. There was no need to bluff, but there was equally no need to advertise our helplessness. Not even Bill Clinton did that when he tried to buy off Kim Il Sung nine years ago. Clinton at least held out the possibility of destroying the plutonium plant in Yongbyon.

Instead, the Bush administration came up with a new policy of "tailored containment." One has the image of a nicely trimmed, neatly hemmed, shoulder-padded straitjacket for the deranged Kim Jong Il.

Economic sanctions and political isolation were not bad ideas. Yet when South Korea and China criticized them and North Korea threatened war if sanctions were imposed, the administration took a huge dive. Within days, the vaunted program of nonmilitarily squeezing North Korea into compliance went down the memory hole. You hear not a word about it today.

Instead, we went into high appeasement mode. As in the classic kind of the 1930s, every violation, every threat from the enemy was met with yet more conciliation. The logic for taking the military option off the table was not just that our preoccupation with Iraq would make the threat not credible -- in which case we should at least have said nothing about it, rather than explicitly renouncing it (ambiguity, even implausible ambiguity, is preferable to renunciation) -- but also that the North Koreans were motivated by paranoia and fear of American power and thus would be reassured and more pliant if we told them they had nothing to fear.