North Korea conducts underground nuclear test

Prem Kumar · Post by **Prem Kumar** » 06 Apr 2013 03:23

pankajs wrote:
The Prime Minister said he was “very concerned” about the threat from North Korea and warned that Pyongyang now has capabilities to strike the United States and Britain.

Speaking to workers in Scotland the Prime Minister said the threat from North Korea showed that Britain needs to keep the Trident nuclear deterrent.{NoKo threat used to justify money spent on Trident program}

That's like Pakis begging for AMRAAMs to fight the Taliban

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 06 Apr 2013 05:19

Cameron will probable want the big one to deter NoKo!

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 06 Apr 2013 07:33

Aloha greetings from big island
Hope dear leader doesn't do any thing stupid
Next two weeks
TSP should be defanged along with NoKo

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 06 Apr 2013 19:17

Fidel Castro urges North Korea to avoid nuclear warfare

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 06 Apr 2013 19:23

U.S. amassing B-1 strategic bombers near North Korea

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 06 Apr 2013 20:32

By General Wesley Clark:
An accident, then war with North Korea?

Also from Forbes:
Can U.S. Defenses Cope With North Korea's Missiles?

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 06 Apr 2013 21:13

Gerard wrote:U.S. amassing B-1 strategic bombers near North Korea

Iran strike must be close. The US is already committed to increasing support FSA in Syria. Russia-China axis will try to deflect some of the pressure by raising tensions or starting small wars in economic hot spots.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 06 Apr 2013 21:18

North Korea is far from suicidal

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 07 Apr 2013 18:08

North Korea tension prompts US missile test delay

The Minuteman 3 test was put off over concerns it could be misinterpreted by North Korea, amid fears of a conflict. It could be postponed until May, in what correspondents say will be portrayed by Pyongyang as a victory.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 07 Apr 2013 20:43

china would definitely prefer not to see Noko cave in and american military presence on the doorstep of its heartland

considering how the americans do gubo to please chinese interest in east asia, I am sure they are both looking to save Noko from itself!

wouldnt put it past the genius of the great leader to paint himself into a corner though...a trait common to all chinese satellite states.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 07 Apr 2013 21:46

Was watching CNN. It was clear that the Americans were scared to take on NK as compared to their bombast against Iran. May be the memories of the Korean war and the PLA are a deterrant.

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 07 Apr 2013 22:39

^^
Yes, this looks like Operation Paul Bunyan part deux.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 07 Apr 2013 22:46

I feel bad for the South Koreans

all the hard work of decades can be destroyed by the lunatics next door with arty and rockets

as for the US - it is nervous - by what I cannot pin point

is it the mobile missiles?/

the nukes??

or some failings in its ABM which it cannot depend on

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 07 Apr 2013 22:58

The US can do two things: Declare all out war and win NoKo. Not happening, because China *will* get involved. Imagine a unified Korea with Nukes in China's borders? Must be unacceptable to China.

Or do punitive strikes against NoKo -- Again unworkable because NoKo arty can set Seoul on fire setting them back by decades. The other options left are economic sanctions (dont seem to work) and carrots (again dont seem to work).

So you have a range of options ruled out: From Non-violence (sanctions), to Sabre rattling (few pin point strikes) to all out invasion. What options does Unkil have left?

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 07 Apr 2013 23:02

Surya sir - I agree NoKo has WMD but do they have GMD to use it? Arty/WMD usage is basically the same in the context of the Koreas because Arty is going to hit the city's dev centres(heck Samsung's biggest plant is 33KMs from the DMZ) and will have the same effect as a WMD

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 07 Apr 2013 23:04

Marten saar, per a book on Mao, it was Mao who forced Eternal Leader to march into SoKo. Maybe lizard opening a second front, if Khan meddles in south china sea?

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 08 Apr 2013 01:17

A unified Korea is not going to have nukes unless NK wins which is unlikely. I think it is combination of the unpredictability of the NK leadership and the chance of the PLA getting involved that is deterring the USA. I think it is more psychological. For China except some third-rate African countries they have no influence other than NK. Makes them feel important.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 08 Apr 2013 01:28

suryag

WMD was more from a Guam \Hawai perspective

although nothing prevents the lunatics from lobbing something in Soko (at US troop concentration ) and then run across the border to pandas cosy arms for asylum

who cares if the rest of the country is nuked - that bunch of leaders have never cared for their people

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 08 Apr 2013 01:37

A strike against Iran is the most easy option for uncle
Israel happy
Sunni Arabs and their stooges happy
Russia unhappy
PRC unhappy
Iraq unhappy
Uncle happy easy way out
NoKo deterred and one potential customer lost

So Iran watch out its operation Sadddam redux

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 08 Apr 2013 18:22

That is a red herring. Iran and Pak will not test. Why should they test and face the flak when the dumbos in NK will test for them? They are running rings around the USA.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 09 Apr 2013 03:53

How fast can North Korea 'restart' its nuclear plant?

Virendra · Post by **Virendra** » 09 Apr 2013 14:37

http://en.rian.ru/images/18051/23/180512377.jpg

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 09 Apr 2013 21:38

Japan Puts Missile Defense in Tokyo

TOKYO — The Japanese Army set up a battery of interceptor missiles on the grounds of the Defense Ministry in central Tokyo on Tuesday, as the nation girded itself for a possible missile test by North Korea, maybe as soon as this week.
...
The Patriot antimissile battery was deployed after the defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, issued standing orders to the Japanese military on Sunday to shoot down any North Korean missile that threatened to hit Japanese territory.
....
The ministry said warships carrying the Aegis radar and interceptor missiles had been deployed as a shield in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Patriot battery, an American-supplied system that is also deployed at two Japanese military bases near Tokyo, will be the second line of defense, the ministry said.
<snip>

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 09 Apr 2013 21:42

Virendra wrote: <The range of NK Missiles etc ..>

Also from NYtIMES:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013 ... l?ref=asia

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 10 Apr 2013 21:43

NY Times:

North Korea Warns It Is on Brink of Nuclear War With South

As North Korea warned foreigners on Tuesday that they might want to leave South Korea because the peninsula was on the brink of nuclear war — a statement that analysts dismissed as hyperbole — the American commander in the Pacific expressed worries that the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, might not have left himself an easy exit to reduce tensions.
<snip>

CBS:
Northeast Asia on edge ahead of possible North Korean missile test

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 10 Apr 2013 22:01

I dare north korea walk the talk.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 12 Apr 2013 06:22

Pentagon Says Nuclear Missile Is in Grasp for North Korea

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 12 Apr 2013 06:32

^^ Madam, do you have any other source other than NYTimes, CNN, Fox, BBC etc.? BRFites don't believe that these news organizations are committed to delivering facts...

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 12 Apr 2013 08:19

Now that G8 F'heads (foreign ministry heads) meeting seems like over in London, IMO, the media coverage of NoKo will either be dramatically subdued or taken out of air altogether.

They had some nice hot topic to chit-chat. In a way it is not bad for us that they discuss NoKo else they would be planning for and discussing AIDS a.k.a population "control" in Africa and Asia.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 12 Apr 2013 08:39

It also remains to be seen what implications will the NOKO upping the ante have on US's plans to increase its military presence in the east. Earlier, Obama made annoucements regarding increased focus in the east even as they vacate Afghanistan and reduce presence in middle-east.

Is it time for the US to do a king side castel and secure king (draw down and secure mainland) or continue move material to put pressure on the opposition?

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 12 Apr 2013 16:10

I think we are going to see the war soon. You can not continue this edgy of the seat drama without some one starting something somewhere which will create a chain reaction. It in fact surprising that nothing happend so for.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 12 Apr 2013 19:43

You can not continue this edgy of the seat drama without some one starting something...

If you look at and read past newspaper headlines, then unbelievable as it may seem, this kind of drama with NK has happened before.., more than once..and each time NK situation was defused with bribes given to NK... (last time, after the test, and very similar statements by NK that they will destroy SK etc..NK agreed to shutdown (actually destroy one of the reactor's water tower) reactor, stop Pu production etc in return of fuel supply and promise of two nuclear reactors from US..(yes I know unbelievable but can easily be checked out)

The difference, IMO is:

1. The past players in NK were father and grandfather of this guy.. so we may not know how this 30 year old will behave..

2. China, this time, in public, is more critical of NK then it has been in the past.

3. Players in "track 2 diplomacy" may not have more voice in Obama as well as NK's present administration.

****

A few days ago, Jimmy Carter (Past president of US who went to NK at the time of Clinton administration to negotiate with present guy's grandfather) was being interviewed, and he said that he negotiated with NK (signing the peace treaty with US in return of completely stopping nuclear programs, allowing inspectors etc) but by this time, Clinton was replaced by Bush,...(And of course, now NK has completely new players too)

Though there are a few people in Obama administration who may like to bribe NK again, but many are saying "enough is enough" and this time it may be different from other times..

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 12 Apr 2013 20:41

Oped from Washington Post
Kim’s dangerous game
Excerpts:

One unlikely benefit of the North Korea crisis is that the world may be getting fed up with the country’s pugnacious young leader, Kim Jong Un. In his belligerent talk of war, Kim appears to have crossed a line, upsetting traditional allies such as China and Russia as well as the United States and South Korea.

U.S. analysts doubt that Kim actually intends to attack. Instead, they predict he will seek some “culminating event,” such as another missile test, after which he will declare victory and step back from the brink. But because Kim has never managed one of these cycles of threat and de-escalation before, officials fear he may not find the exit ramp.

Kim has deliberately created war fever over the past two months, following a North Korean nuclear test in February. He renounced his country’s armistice with South Korea and cut the hotline, advised diplomats to leave Pyongyang and then urged foreigners to leave South Korea. He threatened a nuclear strike on the United States and displayed crude maps for a rocket attack, which would have been laughable if they weren’t a sign of Kim’s recklessness.

The Obama administration has kept its cool publicly, partly because North Korea’s actions on the ground have been less warlike than Kim’s propaganda campaign. But the United States has quietly moved to counter any military threat: Missile-defense systems are in place near North Korea, and the United States will shoot down any missile launched toward an American base or other friendly target.

Kim’s biggest miscalculation may have been in assuming that Beijing and Moscow would indulge his rhetoric. That has usually been the case for North Korea. But this time “the little upstart,” as some Chinese officials are said to describe Kim, appears to have gone too far.

China’s new president, Xi Jinping, warned last weekend that no Asian country should be allowed to create “chaos for selfish gain.” Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference Monday: “I would make no secret about it: We are worried about the escalation on the Korean Peninsula.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country has “no differences” with the United States over the situation.

What upsets the Chinese and Russians is that Kim’s belligerent language is triggering responses from the United States and South Korea that could affect the security balance in northeast Asia.

Missile defense is one example, but the United States is also reinforcing its submarine and air forces in the region.

The Pentagon has updated “Operation Plan 5027” for the Korean Peninsula, which envisions a quick and decisive defeat of North Korea, should it be reckless enough to attack. American and South Korean commanders, based at Command Post Tango, hope to quickly neutralize North Korean artillery tubes that threaten Seoul and to destroy North Korean air defenses.

One former official argues that the United States should go further and shoot down any new North Korean missile launch, invoking as its justification U.N. resolutions condemning the missile program. The Obama administration has no such plans — unless the missiles are aimed at U.S. targets.

Tougher moves were proposed this week in Washington by M.J. Chung, the controlling shareholder of the Hyundai conglomerate and a member of the South Korean parliament. He told a Carnegie Endowment conference that the United States should redeploy the tactical nuclear weapons it removed from South Korea in 1991 and delay a planned 2015 transfer of military operational control to South Korea. He also argued that South Korea should begin development of its own nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip for denuclearization of the peninsula or, failing that, as a deterrent.

<snip>

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 12 Apr 2013 21:03

North Korea vowed to restart a nuclear reactor capable of making one bomb's worth of plutonium per year in an act of brinksmanship even China called "regretful." But the Yongbyon reactor, a Soviet-era relic that has been idle for six years, is no spring chicken. Is it even operable? How much of a fixer-upper is it? Experts who've studied satellite imagery and visited the Yongbyon site's facilities disagree on the timetable for getting the reactor up and running (some say six months, others say longer than a year).

From FP:

How fast can North Korea 'restart' its nuclear plant?

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 12 Apr 2013 21:11

Interview with Siegfried Hecker: North Korea complicates the long-term picture

Article Highlights
North Korea expert Siegfried Hecker assesses the near- and long-term threats represented by North Korea's aggressive rhetoric and its announced plans to restart its nuclear facilities, including a plutonium-producing reactor. North Korea does not have the capacity to carry out its recent threat to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, Hecker says. Pyongyang's announcement that it will restart plutonium-production facilities indicates that its nuclear arsenal is severely limited by a lack of fissile materials with which to make weapons. With this announcement, Hecker says, North Korea is telling the world that it intends to make more bomb fuel. The announcement does not change the immediate threat posed by the North Korea but complicates the long-term security picture.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 13 Apr 2013 00:27

In a Fox interview Prof Xerox Khan declares "North Korea is not very stupid"

pakistani-expert-doubts-not-too-stupid-north-korea-will-deploy-nukes

From his luxurious home in Islamabad, Khan, whose newly found political party is inserting itself into the Pakistan’s upcoming elections, said he did not think the North Koreans are “trigger happy.”
In an exclusive 30-minute phone interview, Khan told Fox News: "Oh, no, no, no, they (the North Koreans ) are not very stupid … few people blow it up and get hype, blow it against proportion. North Korea is such a small country, if America drops a single bomb, there won’t be any North Korea on the map of the world. The North Koreans know it very well and the Americans know it very well, but for sheer propaganda and publicity both play the game.”
North Korea’s last nuclear test on Feb. 11 was described as a miniaturized atomic bomb of six-seven kilotons mounted on a Nodong missile, technology brought to Pakistan from North Korea by Khan in the early 1990’s.
“Officially we had a program with them," Khan said in his interview with Fox. "I went there twice…we had a missile program.”
It has been widely reported Khan visited North Korea more than a dozen times to secure the Nodong missile design, which he renamed as the Ghauri. Pakistan first demonstrated its successful nuclear detonation in Chagai in May 1998, under Khan’s supervision.
His lab research center, Khan Research Labs (KRL) in Kahuta,
Khan’s client list includes Libya, China, Iran and others. Despite his 2004 confessi quickly became known worldwide for selling and spreading nuclear weapons technology. Khan became a “nuclear Johnny Appleseed," spreading weapons technology to anyone who would pay the price. on on Pakistani national television, Khan continues to blame several high-ranking military and government officials including Benazir Bhutto, who was twice elected prime minister before being killed in a suicide bomb attack in December 2007.
Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardar, is currently serving as the current president of Pakistan.
And now, as Khan steps into a roiling political election season, his party - TTP, for Tehreek –e-Tahaffuz - has chosen a missile as its symbol.
Khan told Fox News his party’s name means “safety of Pakistan.”
“Since I have been associated with the nuclear program … I took the missile because everyone said I should choose the missile … it is very simple and easy for the people to remember.”
There are more than 85 million registered voters in a nuclear armed country of 180 million people. Pakistan is struggling with Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist franchises.
Its citizens have spent the past decade in a never-ending cycle of sectarian violence, unemployment, chronic food and energy shortages.
In addition, the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan is looming.
One of the biggest Western concerns has been of that of a “dirty bomb” manufactured from stolen fissile material of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, which is under the control of the country’s Strategic Planning Division. SPD has assured the international community several times over the years that these concerns are unwarranted.
Washington fears nuclear weapons may be vulnerable to militant attacks or suspected rogue elements within Pakistan’s powerful military.
When asked by Fox News if the Pakistani nukes are safe, Khan responded confidently that “they are quite safe.”
TTP is also the acronym for the Pakistani Taliban, which has vowed to disrupt the upcoming May elections with what has been described in a recent published report as a “tsunami of violence.”

Read more: " We are not Very Stupid "

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Apr 2013 03:21

Would the NoKo be mad enough to air burst a nuke in the ocean?
They seem to be crying out for attention.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 13 Apr 2013 06:08

North Korea Says Tokyo Is Target No. 1

N. Korea warns Japan against hostile stance

North Korea warned Japan Friday that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula if it continues to maintain its hostile posture.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Apr 2013 01:38

This is the paki threat.

Just as Islumabad says New Delhi is No.1 target no matter who hits them!!!

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 14 Apr 2013 01:58

Bhamasur Dance to Trans Each Other
US, China pledge efforts for nuclear-free NKorea

BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China committed Saturday to a process aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, with the Obama administration gaining at least the rhetorical support of the only government that can exert significant influence over the reclusive North.The question now is whether Beijing will make good on its pledge to uphold "peace and stability" and work with Washington on achieving the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.The declarations from both nations' foreign policy chiefs came as North Korea appears to be readying a missile test that has caused grave concern for the U.S. and its two close Asian allies, South Korea and Japan."We are able — the United States and China — to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Beijing before having dinner with State Councilor Yang Jiechi.Kerry and Yang said they'd seek a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear standoff, which has only grown worse in recent months under its young leader Kim Jong Un.Since testing an atomic device in February, the North has threatened new tests of its missile capacity and even talked about launching nuclear strikes against the United States, while expanding its U.N.-outlawed uranium and plutonium enrichment program."We agreed that this is of critical importance for the stability of the region and indeed for the world and indeed for all of our nonproliferation efforts," Kerry said. "This is the goal of the United States, of China" and of other countries that hope to resume nuclear talks one day with North Korea."From this moment forward we are committed to taking actions in order to make good on that goal," he added. "And we are determined to make that goal a reality. China and the United States must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula. And today we agreed that further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal."Kerry said U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and representatives from U.S. intelligence agencies would travel to Beijing later this month. Kerry also is sending his deputy at the State Department, William Burns, as part of the effort to "make sure that this is not rhetoric but that it is real policy that is being implemented."
Yang said his government's position was clear.
"China is firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula," he said through an interpreter."We maintain that the issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue," Yang said, adding that China would work with the United States and other nations to resume six-party talks with North Korea that fell apart for good four years ago.
Amid almost daily North Korean threats, the U.S. has been counting on China to force its unruly neighbor to stand down. It's a strategy that has produced uneven results over decades of American diplomacy, during which the North has developed and tested nuclear weapons and repeatedly imperiled peace on the Korean peninsula.But with only the counter-threat of overwhelming force to offer the North Koreans, the U.S. has little other option.In their statements delivered side by side, neither Kerry nor Yang specifically addressed the immediate crisis: a North Korean test of a missile with a range of up to 2,500 miles that the U.S. believes could happen any day. Later, Kerry said at a news conference that Washington and Beijing "both call on North Korea to refrain from any provocative steps and that obviously refers to any future missile shoot."
.China has the greatest leverage over North Korea, a country that like few in the world actually cherishes its isolation.The Chinese dramatically have boosted trade ties with their neighbors and maintain close military relations some six decades after they fought side by side in the Korean War. They provide North Korea with most of its fuel and much of its food aid.And China has a history of quickly reversing course after talking tougher with North Korea. In late 2010, as American officials were praising Beijing for constructive efforts after the North shelled a South Korean island, a Chinese company agreed to invest $2 billion in a North Korean industrial zone.