NKorea Warns of Attack, Says (1953) Truce No Longer Valid

[tekisui]

Source: The Raw Story/AFP

SEOUL, (AFP) - North Korea said it was abandoning the truce that ended the Korean war and warned it could launch a military attack, deepening tensions two days after testing an atomic bomb for the second time.

The strongly worded announcement came amid reports the secretive North, which outraged the international community with its bomb test Monday, was also restarting nuclear fuel work that could make plutonium for an atomic weapon.

Defying international condemnation, the regime of Kim Jong-Il said it could no longer guarantee the safety of US and South Korean ships off its west coast and that the Korean peninsula was veering back to a state of war.

“Those who have provoked us will face unimaginable merciless punishment,” the statement on the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, blaming Washington and Seoul for the latest turn of events.

The North’s anger was provoked by the South’s decision to join a US-led international security initiative, established after the September 11 attacks, to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

South Korea joined the so-called PSI after the North Monday carried out a second nuclear bomb test which was far more powerful than the first test in October 2006.

The PSI, which includes more than 90 nations, provides for the stopping of vessels to ensure they are not carrying weapons of mass destruction or the components to make them.

“Any tiny hostile acts against our republic, including the stopping and searching of our peaceful vessels… will face an immediate and strong military strike in response,” the North Korean statement said.

It said its military would “no longer be bound” by the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean war — in which the United States fought on the side of the South — because Washington had drawn Seoul into the PSI.

more: http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/05/27/nkorea-warns-of-attack-says-truce-no-longer-valid/

[AndyA]

1. Why do I get the feeling that North Korea is getting very close to being deleted from history?

They surely seem to be pushing the "ATTACK US" button.

I don't think any country will chance another long term, expensive war at this point. I think any response to this situation will be short, intense, and not allow any response whatsoever from North Korea, militarily or otherwise.

:(

[cali]

2. If you're suggesting that we'd pre-emptively nuke N. Korea, I don't

think there's a chance of that. I'm not sure how any response could be insured to be short, intense and disallow for any N. Korean response.

[Rebubula]

6. The US

We are not the only ones with nukes plus there are several nuke powers that have much more to lose that are closer to NK than us.

I would be more worried about a Chinese response.

But...be sure, if NK launches a nuke or bio weapon anywhere - they will cease to exist in a short time.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Exactly

China may want to take care of that rabid dog in their own back yard

[TornadoTN]

37. The Chinese have been suprisingly aggressive in their response so far

We'll see if it holds out, but they seem to be even more pissed about this than most of the rest of the U.N.

Russia is even taking steps to ramp up security and response along their border and their interests in the region.

I'm not sure what North Korea thinks they have to gain by doing this. It seems that they believed China & Russia would remain silent or ambivalent, but at this point that seems to be a critical mistake. Yet, they continue to saber rattle and do more and more to provoke the rest of the world.

[tavalon]

17. Winnable nuclear war is something we gave up believing in many decades ago

Even an isolated nuclear exchange would be devastating for our whole world.

[pnutbutr]

10. level pyongyang

Half the city population is military, the other half government and it's businessmen. The rest of the 25 million people live in squalor with no rights, no way to leave or even contact the outside world. Nobody would miss that empty city. Problem is, China doesn't want NK to fall because it would be flooded with refugees.

[Rebubula]

3. I fear...

...that you are correct.

It is sad that millions of people are held hostage by this tyrannical dictator and will suffer greatly for his transgressions.

[Horse with no Name]

4. They couldn't hardly get their nuclear weapon off the ground

It's just a bunch of weinie-wagging.

[Echo In Light]

35. Agreed ... or perhaps are wagging on behalf of an actual power/threat

Because clearly they aren't, despite our media attempting to guide the public mind toward that conclusion.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Goddamn lunatics.

[Vickers]

7. Careful, Kim: I know you realize you are pretty much at the end of

your life and feel you have nothing to lose, but don't think you can lob one of these and not have North Korea totally obliterated.

[graywarrior]

9. How do sick demented leaders with overbloated egos manage to get this far in life?

[pnutbutr]

12. their fathers

save the country by throwing pine cones that magically turn into grenades in the air and repel the entire Chinese military.

[izquierdista]

22. Born into the right family

George W. Bush and Kim Jong Il under any other circumstances would be picking up dog poop.

[zorahopkins]

32. Look At Bush

Our last pResident, Bush The Tyrannical WarMonger, was sick, demented, and had a way overblown ego.

His father was part of the reason he got as far as he did in life.

Same with Kim Jong Il.

[smirkymonkey]

36. I ask myself that question every day.

My head is bloody from banging it against the wall so much.

[KharmaTrain]

11. They Must Be In Desperate Need...

This country usually sabre rattles when it wants attention or money. Reality says that a North Korean attack on South Korea would be suicidal. This isn't 1950...there is Soviet Union or Red China to pour money and troops in to prop up Pyongyang. While the North could rain missles and havoc on the South, it doesn't have the capacity to win any war and risks being totally alienated. There's no Uncle Joe or Mao to say "go for it". Quite the contrary.

I think this indicates problems within the North Korean power structure. A good offense covering a weak defense. Since world attention fell on the nuclear program, again, someone in that draconian country wanted to double down...hoping to get headlines and create yet another "crisis" that means money and other goodies to "calm down".

[pnutbutr]

14. Which is why we need to cut them off

Unfortunately that means even less for the tens of millions of people the North Korean government doesn't care about.

[KharmaTrain]

19. This Is Also Sticky...

For several years I worked with Korean groups. They are some of the most homogenous, family-oriented people you'll ever meet. The division of their country cuts deep. Think of the truce line being within an hour's drive from Seoul. One of the most popular television shows in South Korea featured reuniting families torn apart during the war. While the regime in Pyongyang needs to be totally cut off, and I'd bet you'd find 99% of people in support, they also see the suffering going to their disconected families first. It's more than cutting off millions...it's cutting off uncles, aunts, cousins...it drives the effort to reunite or to accomodate.

[WeDidIt]

24. I agree, cut them off and let the chips fall where they may

It'll be painful in the short run, but will be a better plan for the long run as you would keep them from building up a nuclear arsenal while talks go on.

[pnutbutr]

25. no more talks

is part of cutting them off. Talks haven't worked for almost 2 decades. North Korea isn't really interested in it and there is no indication of a change.

[tekisui]

16. At what point does the International community say 'no more'?

Like a petulant child, they threaten and test and push. They have had that behavior reinforced for far too long. When and how does the rest of the world tell them they are cut off, and on their own?

I know they are one of the most isolated regimes, but they are far from self-sustaining. I feel for the people of NK, but don't see how aid can continually be given to such an erratic regime.

[KharmaTrain]

18. It's More China's Problem Than It's Ours...

You are correct...NK is like the petulant child and its parent is Beijing. It's long been its lifeline for the Kims. Things have changed in the past 20 years, but China still is Pyongyang's major source of food and "trade". A total collapse of North Korea could mean a massive flood of refugees across the Yalu river that could stir up unrest inside China. As we've seen in many other areas of that country, China will try to pacify rather than confront...keep the threat away from their borders.

Russia also offers support, but their interests fall heavily on the Japanese and South Koreans...the North offers nothing.

The catch here is that the North Korean regime has always been about its own preservation at the expense of its people. Any real strangulation of its economy would hit the people before it would affect those making the decisions.

I've long felt that in time North Korean's regime will implode due to its largess and incompetence. Sadly, it's people are beaten down so badly they can't rise up, but, as we saw in Eastern Europe, total government corruption can be the ultimate catalyst of change.

Cheers...

[RT Atlanta]

13. Seriously...

NK couldn't pound its chest any louder at this point and it is making a serious mistake on the world stage should it follow through with its threats.

There is no doubt to me Kim is bat-shit crazy and he has surrounded himself by a bunch of "yes" men just as crazy as him.

[riverdeep]

15. Is this a way to for NK to get direct talks with the US?

It's said that NK does not like the seven nation talks, but would rather negotiate directly with the US.

What some people may not know, is how close the world came to war with NK in 1994. NK was posturing like it is now, and Bill Clinton, to show he was a strong leader, was close to pulling the trigger. The guy that averted that possible war- Jimmy Carter.

Clinton's cabinet was divided over whether to let Carter go. Officials who had served under Carter--Clinton's secretary of state, Warren Christopher, and national security adviser, Anthony Lake--opposed the trip. Carter, they warned, was a loose cannon who would ignore his orders and free-lance a deal. Vice President Al Gore favored the trip, seeing no other way out of the crisis. Clinton sided with Gore. As Clinton saw it, Kim Il Sung had painted himself into a corner and needed an escape hatch--a clear path to back away from the brink without losing face, without appearing to buckle under pressure from the U.S. government. Carter might offer that hatch.

Both sides in this internal debate turned out to be right. Kim agreed to back down. And Carter went way beyond his instructions, negotiating the outlines of a treaty and announcing the terms live on CNN, notifying Clinton only minutes in advance.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0405.kaplan.html

Nice overall article on how we got where we are with NK; part of it is that we ignored NK when they weren't being belligerent.

[WeDidIt]

20. I think war is now inevitable

There's no way out. Obama has no means of insuring Kim Jong-Il can save face and without that pressure release, war will happen.

The key will be to allow NK to initiate hostilities, then everybody pounce on the fuckers at one time.

[iamthebandfanman]

21. so thats what the tests were about...

and they were successful this time werent they?


hope hes not feeling froggy.

nobody wants the crazy bastard to leap.

[zorahopkins]

23. Time For Diplomacy and Negotiations

Clearly, North Korea is upset.

So NOW is precisely the time to engage North Korea in meaningful diplomacy and negotiations.

NO saber-rattling or acts of agression towards North Korea.

War is NEVER the answer.

Peace, Diplomacy, and Negotiation WILL Work.

[WeDidIt]

27. I disagree

Cut them off.

Entirely.

[TornadoTN]

38. I agree with you - cut them off

We've offered pretty much everything to them in the multi-party talks that have taken place over the years. They take it and then turn right back around and start this all over again - and NONE of it goes to the people of North Korea. Kim Jong Il essentially leads a cult in that nation.

This is one instance where I am for tough diplomacy and leaving all options on the table. The events that are taking place now affect much more than our own interests - the North Koreans are destroying any ties that they had with the Chinese and the Russians this time. The only question is if they will back down or just go all out since they have nothing left to lose anyway.

[AngryAmish]

31. To NK this is negotiating

Whenever they need something they act like they want to go to war. Then they get it. Food aid. Nuclear concessions.

I be darned if I know what to do.

Negotiate and all that...fine.

The best thing to do is evacuate Seoul(!) and rebuild it one hundred miles south. Seoul is in artillery range and we know NK has a lot of artillery.

No good options. Nobody wants NK to fail - since no one wants to take care of millions of tiny, barely literate peasants. North koreans for the most part have huge trouble living in the modern world. They will be dependants all their lives.

[Harry Monroe]

26. "Will saber rattle for food"

Its just posturing, unless Kim Jong Il is batshit crazy. He has to know he'll be wiped off the map if he ordered a first strike.

[MicaelS]

28. They must be starving again up there

And a major famine well under way. If we promise we'll ship them several million tons of food and it will be peace and harmony again.

[Ganja Ninja]

29. If they try to invade SK they'll get their ass kicked.

They may have some initial success but they'll get a taste of what we gave the Republican Guards in Iraq before it's over. We've tested our weapons in battle and pretty much have all the bugs worked out. They on the other hand haven't fought a war in almost 60 years and are bound to have problems. There's no way I see them winning and if it goes nuclear nobody wins. Lil'Kim better watch what he's wishing for.

[Raskolnik]

33. The trouble is that NK has about 10k artillery pieces just north of the DMZ

all zeroed in on Seoul, and about a million soldiers that the regime would lose no sleep over sacrificing in human wave attacks. There isn't any way that NK can "win" if they try to invade and occupy SK, but they probably can cause a few million casualties in short order.

[NeedleCast]

34. Yup, exactly

The north simply doesn't have the fuel reserves to fight any sort of protractive war. When I was stationed in Korea, it was estimated that the north, barring foreign support from Russia or China, would have the fuel reserves to fight for about two weeks. In short order, the US (and friends) would also have total air superiority and be able to easily set a total naval blockade in place, meaning that what supplies the North were getting would have to come overland through China...which China may or may not allow, depending on their mood that day.

I think the North understands they have no chance of winning an offensive war but 11 million people in Seoul would be in grave danger. The North's gambit would have to center on causing massive civilian casualties and forcing the South and it's allies to the table as quickly as possible.

[michreject]

39. Remember that we have US troops along the DMZ

An invading army would engage US troops 1st. It would be an act of aggression. We would go to war.

[NeedleCast]

30. Some is Desperate for Attention: North Korea, I'm Looking at You...