Why should NK be intimidated by US rhetoric??? Peaceloving NK was actually the one threatening nuclear war (with their one or two bombs, which couldn't even escape the sea of Japan via the mighty tapedong-2 missle, LOL)
the missle actually malfunctioned according to a report I saw somewhere. C'mon, if the thing malfunctioned before getting too far away from NK, I *doubt* it will make it to the US.
Is it possible that the NK missile "accidently ran into" a US laser weapon during the initial boost phase? We definately have the technology to burn a 4 inch diameter hole in the side if the missile with a 150,000 watt laser weapon. Hmmm?
. July 6, 2006 SouthAmerica: Two days ago the BBC News interviewed a Chinese expert on North Korea (the fellow wrote a book about North Korea war machine capabilities) â He said that North Korea would need at least another 6 to 7 years to refine its long-range missiles for them to be able to reach the US mainland. The American public has been conditioned to react as âPavlov's dogâ and today they are afraid even of their shade. ********** Note: âPavlov's dogâ - is often used to describe someone who merely reacts to a situation rather than uses critical thinking. *********** âN. Korea has more missiles readyâ AP â Associated Press â July 6, 2006 SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea has three or four more missiles on launch pads and ready for firing, major South Korean newspapers reported Thursday. The missiles are either short- or medium-range, reported Chosun Ilbo, one of South Korea's largest dailies. It cited an unidentified senior South Korean official. Another major paper, JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report. The North has also barred people from sailing into some areas off the coast until July 11 in a possible sign of preparations for additional launches, Chosun Ilbo said. North Korea test-fired seven missiles on Wednesday, triggering international condemnation. The missiles apparently fell into the sea without causing damage or injuries. .
I was thinking about this... I wonder if it would be prudent to showcase our technology in this way. It would be cool it this is in fact what happened. Too bad we don't have any video of the missile as it failed. From my experience, when missiles fail... what they are really saying is - they explode.
. August 18, 2006 SouthAmerica: I am surprised that North Korea has not tested one of its nukes before. This is good news, since gives North Korea an equal status in negotiating with South Korea the merge of the two Koreas into one country. North Korea brings to the table its military strength including its nukes, and South Korea brings its economic strength and capitalist know-how. A merged Korea armed with nukes would have a higher status among the other countries around the world than a merged Korea without nukes. The fact that they have nukes put them in an elite league of countries that also are armed with nukes. The countries that donât have nuclear weapons are treated as if they belong to the second division or Serie-B in soccer. ********************** âNorth Korea Appears to Be Preparing for Nuclear Testâ U.S. Officials Tell ABC News That Evidence Points to an Underground Test By JONATHAN KARL - ABC News â August 17, 2006 Aug. 17, 2006 â There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News. "It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," said a senior State Department official. A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site. The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week. Even before this most recent intelligence, there has been growing concern within the U.S. government that North Korea has been moving toward a nuclear test. North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many as a dozen nuclear bombs, but it has never tested one. A successful test would remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power. "What does he have to lose?" asked one senior military official, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. On July 4, North Korea conducted seven ballistic missile tests, which provoked international condemnation, including a unanimous United States Security Council resolution condemning its actions. A nuclear test, however, would be seen as a much greater provocation than the missile tests. Only seven other nations in the world have ever conducted nuclear tests. U.S. officials fear a nuclear test could provoke a nuclear arms race in East Asia, forcing Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons. "A nuclear test is going to be alarming and troubling for everyone and would cause a very strong reaction I think from all of North Korea's neighbors," said former National Security Council official Michael Green, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. U.S. officials caution that the intelligence is not conclusive. Last year U.S. spy satellites picked up suspicious activity at suspected test sites in North Korea, leading some to predict an imminent nuclear test, but nothing happened. Underground nuclear tests are notoriously difficult to detect ahead of time. U.S. intelligence agencies, for example, failed to predict nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998. Officials say it is possible that North Korea may either be putting on a show for American spy satellites to get attention, or may conduct a nuclear test in an entirely different location. Some analysts believe Kim Jong Il may feel the only way to be taken seriously is to prove that North Korea is a nuclear power. Officials acknowledge that nobody really knows Kim Jong Il's intentions, but there is a belief among analysts that he is upset about the recent U.N. resolution condemning his missile tests and upset with the Chinese for supporting that resolution. "It is the view of most in the community that there is a 50-50 chance North Korea will conduct a nuclear test by the end of the year," said one analyst. Asked what the United States would do in response to a nuclear test, a senior U.S. official told ABC News, "We would try to hermetically seal the hermit kingdom." The official said the United States would immediately push for sanctions to cut North Korea's ties to the outside world. Another possible option would be a naval blockade of North Korea. But it is unclear how effective such efforts would be. North Korea is already the most isolated country in the world. .
. August 25, 2006 SouthAmerica: As far I am concerned North Korea can test as many nukes as they want - it does not bother me. I would not be too comfortable if Japan were testing a nuke. I bet a lot of Japanese still remember the 2 nukes that the United States dropped in Japan in 1945. I would not be surprised if some Japanese people think that some day they will be able to return the favor to the United States. ****************** âNorth Korean N-test would be a threat to Japanâ Times of India â August 25, 2006 TOKYO: Japan on Friday said that a nuclear test by North Korea would pose a grave threat to Northeast Asia, amid reports Tokyo is boosting surveillance of the communist nation after seeing vehicles entering a suspected test site. ... .
. October 5, 2006 SouthAmerica: Right now North Korea is just having fun at the expense of the United States - and the rest of the world is watching it. You donât announce in advance to the world that you are going to have a nuclear test when you are really serious about doing it. You have the test first then you announce to the world that you just had a nuclear test. We know for a fact that the United States is not going to do anything if North Korea finally has its nuclear test. The ball is on North Korea's court and they have to prove to the world that they really have the nuclear capability that they claim â and just a nuclear test would confirm that fact. I know that today we have idiots running US foreign policy in Washington, but public opinion in the United States would not allow the United States government to nuke anyone including North Korea â The American people would support a nuclear attack by the US only if some other country managed to nuke a US city first. If anything the North Koreans must be laughing on how easy it has become to push the United States around for the entire world to see it. The North Koreans know that the current crew in Washington who are making the decisions regarding the US foreign policy - they are âextremely incompetentâ â and today the Bush administration could not wage an effective war even against a country such as Haiti. It is time for the North Koreans to stop talking about a nuclear test - and just go ahead with the test for the entire world to see it. If they don't do it very soon - the entire world will start doubting that they actually have the nuclear capabilities that they claim to have. ************ India Times â India October 5, 2006 âUS warns North Korea against nuke ambitionsâ WASHINGTON: Without getting into the specifics of what it may or may not do, the United States has issued a blunt warning to North Korea that it can either have a future or nuclear weapons. "It cannot have both," US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said capping a day of high drama played out in world capitals, at the United Nations and in Washington. The senior administration official did not specify as to what steps the United States will take but stressed that Washington will do all it can to dissuade North Korea from the nuclear test it has threatened. "We are not going to live with a nuclear North Korea, we are not going to accept it," Hill told the US-Korea Institute by way of a response to North Korea's announcement that it would conduct its first nuclear test. "We passed a message of our deep concern about this test. We did not receive any answer of course. They just took the message." At the State Department, Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said Washington was working at different levels to come to terms with the issue and that it was imperative to end these threats and get back to the six party talks framework. "We are working in the Security Council. We certainly hope to see some action there in the near future. And we'll be continuing to work both bilaterally and multilaterally with our partners in the region, in Europe and elsewhere to try and convince North Korea to do the right thing," Casey said in his regular briefing. "And the right thing is to end these kind of provocations and end these kind of threats and to go back to the six-party talks, which is where we all want to be to come up with a viable solution to North Korea's nuclear programme," he said. He also stressed that the sudden announcement coming out of Pyongyang did not impact or complicate any other pending matters like the Iranian issue. "... The issue has been something that we've been dealing with for some time and I don't see this as particularly changing or complicating any of the other dynamics that are out there with Iran or any other country" Casey said. "A provocative action of this nature would only further isolate the North Korean regime and deny the people of the North the benefits offered to them in the Six Party Talks that they so rightly deserve," The White House has said. The US top envoy at the United Nations, John Bolton, maintained that the notion that North Korea is even threatening to conduct a nuclear test is a "grave provocation" and as the first step, the international community has to make it clear to the reclusive regime in Pyongyang that this threat has to be withdrawn. .
. October 9, 2006 SouthAmerica: Congratulations to North Korea for a successful nuclear weapons test. I was watching CNN News when they broke the news that North Korea had announced that they had achieved a successful nuclear weapons test. Then they interviewed some American expert on the subject and immediately he was trying to minimize North Koreaâs achievement by saying that if they had only one test that was not a big deal â it would be a big deal if the North Koreans had multiple tests because that would mean that they were trying to improve their nuclear weapon. What a spin!!!!!!!!!!!! If a little test was not a big deal then why the United States has been whining about North Koreaâs nuclear weapons test? In my opinion, South Korea should not overreact about North Koreaâs achievement. If anything this is a good opportunity for both Koreas to start talks about unification into one country. North Korea brings to the table their nuclear arsenal and South Korea brings to the table its economic strength and capitalist know how. A merged Korea armed with nuclear weapons would be a Korea with a lot more clout on the international arena than a Korea without nukes. The South Korean stock market should not overreact about the North Korean nuclear weapons test and overreact at it as a negative. And if the stock market takes a beating today they should show to the world that the overreaction came from the outside and not from the traders in South Korea. The South Korean people should give the North Koreans a vote of confidence, because I believe they are not going to use such a nuclear weapon against the South Korean people. Maybe Japan should feel a little nervous, but not the South Koreans. Just keep in mind that reunification it will benefit the people from both Koreas and with the explosive growth that we are going to have in China in the coming years - a merged Korea right next door from China will benefit greatly. A lot of people still are living on the 1950"s, but today the rest of us are living in 2006, and we have a new game in town - we are in the age of globalization - and China is on the leading edge of this global economic revolution. . .
Soon to be heard from SA: "Congratulations to Iran for a successful nuclear weapons test." "Congratulations to Syria for a successful nuclear weapons test." "Congratulations to Libya for reviving their nuclear weapons program." "Congratulations to Al Qaeda for acquiring a nuclear weapon." "Congratulations to whoever just took out the Big Apple. Please leave me alone here in Jersey."