Defiant North Korea 'to weaponize plutonium'

[Tab]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- North Korea said Saturday it would strengthen its nuclear capabilities, a defiant protest against the U.N. Security Council's move to tighten sanctions against it.

The U.N. Security Council votes for a resolution imposing sanctions against North Korea on Friday.

North Korea officials said they were enriching uranium and would weaponize all plutonium, according to KCNA, the state-run North Korean news agency.

When enriched to a high degree, uranium can be used for weapons-grade material. Plutonium can be used in atomic bombs.

These moves are in response to Friday's U.N. resolution, according to the news agency, which referred to the resolution as a blockade.

"No mater how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them," KCNA said.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Friday to expand and tighten sanctions on North Korea after the nation's recent nuclear test.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/un.north.korea/

[no_hypocrisy]

1. NK was going to do this and other stuff whether they were criticized or appeased.

When you have a "bomb", you get cocky.

[Lagomorph]

2. Now...

Japan is gonna want nukes, South Korea will want nukes, the Philippines will want nukes, Indonesia will want nukes, Australia will want nukes...

[Vidar]

3. Long as they don't make nuclear depth charges. We might hit them with a sonar array.

[Turbineguy]

4. I suspect the weapons are for internal consumption.

They cannot attack anybody and nobody wants what they have.

The guys who run that country need psychiatric care.

[BunkerHill24]

5. Why are we so quick to judge N. Korea

when our foreign policy is similar to that of a rogue nuclear state...


"Buried in the President's 2004 defense budget are two particularly troubling requests. The first seeks to repeal a 10-year-old ban on the development of smaller, lower-yield nuclear weapons, also known as mini-nukes. The second is a $15.5 million request to conduct research on a new bunker buster bomb called the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator."

<snip>

The Senate voted 51 to 43 to lift the ban on research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons. Actual production of the weapons would require the President to obtain congressional authorization. The House is expected to vote on the measure this week.


Read more: http://www.counterpunch.org/ciarrocca05292003.html

[Akoto]

6. Quick? Who's being quick?

North Korea's proud reputation of craziness is supported by years of evidence. I think someone up-thread summed it up quite nicely, too: they have nothing that anybody wants, and they wouldn't use the weapons offensively unless they intended to have their nation obliterated. So, why develop the nukes except to provoke a response and/or tighten their grip over the slaves of their cult state?

As if we needed any more evidence that they were nuts. The country's been run now by generations of people titling themselves "Dear Leader" and "Brilliant Comrade".

[BunkerHill24]

8. We have had 8 years of disaster foreign policy, and now every nation

feels threatened by us, hence nations like N. Korea feel vulnerable like Iraq in 2003. So we need to offer dialog and not more of the same sable-rattling for nations like N. Korea. We should also be careful states like India (NPT non-signatory), giving them unfettered access to cutting-edge US nuclear technology.

[Fearless]

7. And we honestly believe them?

They who couldn't get long range missiles to work and had to doctor the photos to save face. Every time they spurt a new statement consider that they want to be feared.