N. Korea to Declare It Has Nuclear Arms (Tests Planned)

[Junkdrawer]

WASHINGTON - North Korea startled a six-nation conference in China on East Asian security by announcing its intentions to formally declare its possession of nuclear weapons and to carry out a nuclear test, an administration official said Thursday.

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il also told the gathering that his country has the means to deliver nuclear weapons, an apparent reference to the North's highly developed missile program.

More...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59136-2003Aug28?language=printer

Additional link:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/28/nkorea.talks/index.html

[bowens43]

1. Thank bushes diplomacy skills for this mess......

Is there ANYTHING this idiot can't f*ck up?

[LifeDuringWartime]

2. hm

will this be the new september product announcement?

[Spoon]

3. Oh man

Not good... Let's hope it's underground.

[Junkdrawer]

4. If N. Korea does an atmospheric test, and a missle test...

are we back to the 1949 Red Scare days? Does the CA Governor contest turn into a "who's stronger on defense" battle, with Star Wars defense contracts the sought after prize?

Imagine the scare as the radioactivity is tracked across the Pacific.

And imagine the reaction of Japan. This is not good.

[David__77]

5. Probably only a nuclear N. Korea is safe from US attack...

That's the paradox. US only goes after weak military powers. The message to the world is that if you want to maintain national sovereignty, you'd better get one damn big stick--perhaps the biggest being nukes placed on ICBM's. We certainly never screwed with the Soviet Union, that's for sure.

[Spoon]

8. Actually, NK isn't that weak, compared to Iraq anyway.

Their artillary can level Seoul from the DMZ in no time flat. Thay actually have a decent airforce, and a well equipped million man army. This is why we haven't done anything yet, and probably won't. (I apologize for the half dozen spelling errors)

[Turley]

17. NK airforce

is next to non-existant. Army well-trained.....that's up for discussion. They do have enough arty to level most of Seoul. Now that's a fact.

[WillyT]

6. Well, At Least We Can't Pre-Emptively Strike Them Now... I Hope !!!

OTOH - With Rummy running the show, Armageddon is still a distinct possibility!

:scared:

[ProfessorGAC]

30. That's What The Policy Of Pre-Emption Does!

It makes it absolutely critical that a nation has both WMD's (especially makes nukes desirable) and the means to deliver them on at least at medium range.

So, as soon as the neocon warhawks pursued pre-emption, this was inevitable as the only way to head off an attack by the U.S.

Nice going, boys! That's the good old short term 2 dimensional mind of the neoconservative for ya!
The Professor

[Ress1]

7. Could any administration be more incompetent?

Can we really blame NK because they understand a nuclear threat will prevent Bush from invading their country as he did Iraq? I'm beginning to think Bush invaded Iraq because he actually knew they were unarmed knowing he would be assured an easy victory.

[THUNDER HANDS]

11. well, to be somewhat fair

Clinton didn't do a great job negotiating with them either. I think Kim Jung Il is much more crazy than Saddam ever was.

This guy seems like he's itching for a fight, hell, what would be the point of having an army their size if it's just going to sit there and do nothing?

[Cocoa]

36. Best case scenario

imo, is if the Bushies go to Clinton's foreign policy people for advice, and do exactly what they suggest. That's the only hope to stave off disaster, imo.

[RamboLiberal]

9. Sh*t - Bet we're at war with N. Korea before Xmas

I'd bet money on a preemptive strike by AWOL. Remember his speech the other night to the vets! We better damn well get some cool heads into negotiations.

[berry]

10. Not good.

Talk about a bombshell!! I think maybe this could be explained by the clip below from another WP article. N Korea knew in advance that the hardliners in Washington had taken over. This is their reply. Heaven help us all. (I do find it easy enough to understand why they're doing this--if I were them, I'd be afraid of the US too.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56296-2003Aug27?language=printer

"A Chinese official said there was some concern in his government that the Bush administration's position had hardened to the point where compromise might be extremely difficult. He pointed to the recent resignation of Charles "Jack" Pritchard, the administration's special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, who had advocated a somewhat more conciliatory approach than the one now popular with the White House."

Bush* seems to be treating Kim Jong-il the same way he treated Saddam Hussein--assuming that they are liars who can never be believed about anything, and therefore there's no point in negotiating. So the goal is regime change (a lot of the pressure for this, besides the neo-cons, comes from the Christian right). The N Koreans know this. Oh, and as for the untrustworthiness of the N Koreans WRT the 1994 agreement, it is almost never mentioned that the US also (maybe first) failed to keep its commitments (the GOP Congress got balky about some of the provisions, especially the nuclear power plants). Anyway, the US position seems to be that N Koreans (or the leadership, at least) are inherently evil and so they need to be eliminated. And the background buildup against N Korea--sanctions and blockade--also would make negotiations a little difficult. Hard to imagine that the N Koreans would be able to trust in the "good faith" of the US, reading this:

"Some Bush administration officials have said they do not believe the government of Kim Jong Il has any intention of abandoning its nuclear program, no matter what Washington does. They contend that North Korea has already violated one agreement -- a deal struck with the Clinton administration in 1994.

"While it is talking with North Korea in Beijing, the Bush administration is leading the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of 11 nations that would seek to weave a naval net around North Korea to stop it from exporting any weapons of mass destruction or related technology. The United States is also considering asking the U.N. Security Council to impose economic sanctions on the North's already moribund economy."

Given everything else that is going wrong, could these neo-con creeps REALLY be contemplating war in Korea??? This is insane. And they are so butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth innocent of all provocation?--HAH! I think the N Koreans are taking a dangerous risk--playing chicken with the US. But they ARE in a corner, and they are pretty desperate. What is the US's excuse for playing these games?

NB--all the quotations are from the same article.

[NNN0LHI]

12. Think we had better hold our water until someone reliable reports this

So far all we are getting is a report from an unnamed administration official. There are 6 countries involve here. Lets see if any of them heard the same thing as Bolton claims he heard before this starts getting reported as fact. I see no gain from making threats like this for NKorea? If they had them they would just explode one. That would be the end of all of this pussyfooting around. As far as I am concerned they don't have them until the test one. And detonating a nuke is not a simple task.

Don

>>>"Reports back to us from the delegation are that they (North Korea) said they were preparing to declare themselves a nuclear nation and contemplating testing," the administration official told CNN Thursday.<<<

[Junkdrawer]

13. A Japanese diplomat reported the same thing in July. Deadline Sept. 9

Saturday, July 26, 2003 Posted: 3:11 AM EDT (0711 GMT)

TOKYO, Japan -- North Korea is prepared to conduct a nuclear test unless the United States responds positively to its proposals for resolving a row over Pyongyang's weapons ambitions, Japanese and North Korean sources were quoted as saying by a Japanese newspaper on Saturday.

The Asahi Shimbun said this had been conveyed to U.S. envoy Jack Pritchard by a North Korean official in a secret meeting between officials from the two nations earlier this month.

Earlier this week, diplomatic sources in Tokyo told Reuters that the North was ready to declare itself a member of the nuclear club, opening the way for possible tests and increased production of weapons, unless the nuclear crisis is resolved by September 9 -- the anniversary of the communist nation's founding.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/07/26/us.nkorea/index.html

[NNN0LHI]

15. As I said lets wait for someone reliable. The Japanese government...

...has been carrying Bush's water since he took office.

Don

[Junkdrawer]

16. Well, if N Korea did say that, I'd say Sept 9 is put-up-or-shut-up time...

Because I think this admin. will call the bet.

[NNN0LHI]

19. Just remember that these are the same kinds of lies and distortions...

...that has us stuck in the Iraq quagmire right now. And Bush and his minions did it with the assistance of our media too. I don't trust these scoundrels trying to get us into another war while we are still fighting two other ones at the present time. I can't believe anyone would? N. Korea has had nukes since 1989 according to our own CIA and government. And it was old man Bush's CIA and government who told us back then about them having nukes on top of that. Don't that take the cake? So whats the big deal now? What is the big surprise all of a sudden like? I don't get it?

Don

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0827/p07s01-woap.html

How serious is North Korea's nuclear threat?

<snip>Does North Korea have the bomb now?

Perhaps. The mystery dates back to 1989, when North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon for 70 days. During this time, the regime removed some of the plant's fuel rods and extracted plutonium through what's called reprocessing. Plutonium is the key element needed to make the type of bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945.

The regime claimed it reprocessed rods only once for a tiny amount of plutonium. But tests by outside inspectors showed several rounds of reprocessing.

"That immediately raised suspicions," says Charles Ferguson, scientist-in-residence at the Washington office of the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "Did they separate more than what they were saying?"

Experts can only estimate how much plutonium might have been processed in that month. The consensus among US experts and CIA officials is that it got enough plutonium for one or two bombs.

more

[Junkdrawer]

20. That's right. Korea has been playing the "Nuclear Card" since 1989...

Clinton cut a deal in 1994, the Republican congress reneged on the deal, and now Bush has decided he wants regime change.

I see an atmospheric test benefiting N. Korea and the neocons. I don't think it will lead to an invasion, but it will get more money for Star Wars and, eventually, for Kim Jong Il. A win-win for the nuts and bad news for the rest of the world. In other words, par for the course.

[Zolok]

14. I've been predicting this for months...

North Korea will field test a nuclear weapon as a curtain-jerker to the multilateral talks.
I hope we have smart people at that table...really smart people.
www.chimesatmidnight.blogspot.com

[NNN0LHI]

18. Now it's been downgraded to N. Korea "may" declare itself ‘nuclear nation’

http://www.msnbc.com/news/956870.asp?vts=082820031215&cp1=1

N. Korea may declare itself ‘nuclear nation’

<snip> “Some of this is really nuanced stuff. We heard both things,” another official said. “This is characteristic of the North Koreans. They are all over the place. Either they do have or don’t have nuclear weapons, depending whom you talk to.”

more

[varun]

21. North Korea has been selling its missiles to many nations

this is an eye opening article...India had intercepted a N. Korean ship with missile making factory! (yes in the ship) in June 1999...
most probably these missiles were headed to Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan already uses the N. Korean Nodong missiles (called Shaheen and Ghauri) that can reach Israel.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56111-2003Aug13.html

On North Korean Freighter, a Hidden Missile Factory

By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 14, 2003; Page A01


First of two articles

NEW DELHI -- Tae Min Hun, the dour captain of the North Korean freighter Kuwolsan, glared icily from the bridge as tempers around him soared in the midday heat. On June 30, 1999, as customs agents in India's northwestern port city of Kandla waited impatiently to board the vessel, Tae received urgent instructions from Pyongyang: At all cost, let no one open the cargo boxes.


The Indians tried to look anyway, and a melee erupted. Tae and his crew rained blows on inspectors and barricaded the doors with their bodies, according to witness accounts and video footage of the encounter. A few agents who managed to slip into the cargo bay were horrified to find North Koreans sealing the hatches, trapping them inside.

When the ship's doors were finally reopened at gunpoint, the reason for the extreme secrecy became clear. Hidden inside wooden crates marked "water refinement equipment" was an assembly line for ballistic missiles: tips of nose cones, sheet metal for rocket frames, machine tools, guidance systems and, in smaller crates, ream upon ream of engineers' drawings labeled "Scud B" and "Scud C." The intended recipient of the cargo, according to U.S. intelligence officials, was Libya....

[NNN0LHI]

22. The USA is the largest International arms dealer in the world

http://editors.sipri.se/pubs/yb03/ch13.html

Chapter 13. International arms transfers

Major conventional arms transfers in the period 1998–2002 remained at a post-cold war low. Despite an increase in the period 2000–2002, the five-year moving average for 2002 was the lowest so far. The five largest suppliers in the period 1998–2002 accounted for about 80% of major conventional arms transfers. While the trend for Russia has constantly increased since 1998, that for the USA has constantly decreased. France, Germany and the UK show varied trends over recent years.

The USA was the largest supplier in 1998–2002 with 41% of global deliveries. Russia accounted for 22% of total arms transfers, which gave it second place. However, for the second year in a row, Russia was the largest supplier, with 36% of global deliveries in that year. China was the fourth largest supplier in 2002, which was a major change from previous years. It accounted for 5% of all deliveries—mainly as a result of its deliveries of combat aircraft to Pakistan.

more

[Betty]

23. So they admit to having WMD's.....

why aren't all the idiot Americans who still think invading Iraq was justified clamoring for the invasion of N. Korea????

[Zech Marquis]

25. you see

NK will actually fight back--don't know about their Air Fore, but that million ma strong army is seriously hard core. Plus, with most of our military stuck in Iraq, :wtf: will we have o stop them with?Korea is very mountainous and hilly, no nice open spaces like Iraq. Plus, you have China right there...hell, there's NK's air force in the form of China's.

:nuke: if * and Rummy think NK wll just roll over abd play nice, they need to be locked up with Charles Manson!

[Junkdrawer]

24. Kick

:kick:

[VolcanoJen]

26. kick!

:dem:

[Muddleoftheroad]

27. What is the surprise?

Virtually everyone ASSUMES NK has nukes. The only difference is them going public about it.

[NNN0LHI]

28. Un-named US officials are the only ones saying that they have went public

None of the other countries involved in these talks have reported they heard what the US is reporting what Bolton and his fellow criminals are saying N. Korea supposedly said. I find that odd?

Don

[Robin Hood]

29. Axis of Evil is responsible for this.

Good goin dumbass...

[bushisanidiot]

31. Meanwhile, AWOL Golfs, BBQ's, & Fundraises

Look for the idiot in chief to talk pre-emption after the democratic primaries are over. It's all a photo-op to him..

[phgnome]

32. US Nukes in South Korea

I heard something different the other day -- I heard that the whole thing is about the US military having nuclear missiles in South Korea. This is why the North Koreans are upset. And they are rightfully upset -- let's face it, no one likes missiles right beside them and pointed at them. Look how upset the US got when it found out that Russia had nukes pointed at the US during the Cuban missile crisis.

We have one of two choices: either we have no nuclear weapons in the world and everyone disarms all at once on the count of three; or, someone else other than the US has to publicly claim that it has nuclear weapons to maintain the balance of power.

China has nuclear weapons but I don't think China will ever threaten to use them -- it has too much to lose in terms of international public opinion at this point (political reforms moving towards a socialist democracy, 2008 Olympics, 2010 Expo, the move to try to build a high-speed train connecting Shanghai and Beijing). But, at the same time, it needs to help maintain political order by balancing arsenal power. I have no doubt that North Korea will not do anything without blessings from China.

On edit: I'm not 100% certain about US missiles in South Korea. I've only heard it from one source.
What the US needs to do is to withdraw its bases and troops from South Korea (which South Korea has been asking the US to do anyway because no one likes a foreign country's military bases on their soil). What was it that Noam Chomsky said in one of his lectures about what the US should do about the Middle East -- "do nothing". If left alone, the problem will likely work itself out. If things don't work out by themselves, China's got enough influence in Asia to settle the matter diplomatically because it's got a lot to gain from keeping the peace in the region.

The US government ought to stop being such a busy-body because it really needs to focus its attention and efforts on DOMESTIC policy. It needs to mind its own business until it can get economic and social order back within its own borders. Too many people are shooting each other -- there's too much chaos going on within our own borders. It's got enough work to keep it busy (like stabilizing the greenback, generating economic activity, restructuring its own economy for the changing global economic environment) for a long time within its own borders and has no business minding other people's business at this time. Let's deal with our own problems first before sticking our nose somewhere where it doesn't belong. It badly needs to adopt this attitude when developing foreign policy.

[Character Assassin]

33. With ICBM and boomers, that isn't necessary

Nukes in S. Korea would be redundant and serve no real purpose.

[NNN0LHI]

34. Then why do all of our warships have nukes on board them I wonder? n/t

[Muddleoftheroad]

35. Wow, so much I disagree with

First off, we don't really have peace with North Korea, we have a lack of war. So if we have nukes in South Korea, that is too bad. The U.S. and South Korea didn't start the last war, so those nukes are there to prvent another.

As for your two choices, several nations already have nuclear weapons and all of them -- including Pakistan and India -- act more responsibly than North Korea.

I am glad that you not only trust China, but also trust that China has control of the mad dog in North Korea. I don't and many others would agree with me.

Yes, some people in South Korea wish the U.S. to withdraw forces. If the South Korean government wishes that, it is their choice. They have not voiced that request. And when the idea was floated on this side of the ocean, they freaked out.

Personally, I am all for leaving North Korea alone. Let's let them twist in the wind. No trade. No aid. No communication. Nada.

Actually, the U.S. can't ignore foreign policy for domestic. That kind of attitude brought us 9-11.

And, until we leave South Korea, that border and what goes on there ARE our business.