North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map

[GaryC 7]

N. Korea threatens US; world anticipates missile

AP

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 9 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.

Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship, accused of transporting banned goods in the past, is believed bound for Myanmar, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

The new U.N. Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to provoke another Korean War.

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in state of war.

The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities.

Tensions have been high since North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April and then conducted its second underground atomic test on May 25.

Reacting to U.N. condemnation of that test, North Korea walked away from nuclear disarmament talks and warned it would fire a long-range missile.

North Korea has banned ships from the waters off its east coast starting Thursday through July 10 for military exercises, Japan's Coast Guard said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday that the North may fire a Scud missile with a range of up to 310 miles (500 kilometers) or a short-range ground-to-ship missile with a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers) during the no-sail period.

A senior South Korean government official said the no-sail ban is believed connected to North Korean plans to fire short- or mid-range missiles. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

U.S. defense and counterproliferation officials in Washington said they also expected the North to launch short- to medium-range missiles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

South Korea will expedite the introduction of high-tech unmanned aerial surveillance systems and "bunker-buster" bombs in response to North Korea's provocations, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified ruling party members.

Meanwhile, a flurry of diplomatic efforts were under way to try getting North Korea to return to disarmament talks.

Russia's top nuclear envoy, Alexei Borodavkin, said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart that Moscow is open to other formats for discussion since Pyongyang has pulled out of formal six-nation negotiations.

In Beijing, top U.S. and Chinese defense officials also discussed North Korea. U.S. Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy was heading next to Tokyo and Seoul for talks.

South Korea has proposed high-level "consultations" to discuss North Korea with the U.S., Russia, China and Japan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_koreas_nuclear

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Gotta believe even Russia and China are concerned about NK's insane leadership.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Good luck North Korea! After the US is wiped out, what about the allies?

[SMOKE 1,426]

Gotta believe even Russia and China are concerned about NK's insane leadership.

they better get concerned. if they don't step up soon there will be nukes in Japan

Edited June 24, 2009 by SMOKE

[doodlebugg 10]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

They're just talking out of their butts.

[GaryC 7]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

They're just talking out of their butts.

This is true but if N. Korea lights off even one nuke and the US responds it could draw China into the fight. That would be a huge disaster.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

They're just talking out of their butts.

This is true but if N. Korea lights off even one nuke and the US responds it could draw China into the fight. That would be a huge disaster.

No such thing is going to happen. To say it like Cheney: NK is in the last throes.

[GaryC 7]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

They're just talking out of their butts.

This is true but if N. Korea lights off even one nuke and the US responds it could draw China into the fight. That would be a huge disaster.

No such thing is going to happen. To say it like Cheney: NK is in the last throes.

A desperate country in its last throes tend to do very stupid things. If they feel they are done they may want as much as they can with them.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

China probably has as much of an interest in keeping NK under control as we do. A war is in noone's best interests atm.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Their last few missile launches ended up horribly so how on earth would they reach the US?

They're just talking out of their butts.

This is true but if N. Korea lights off even one nuke and the US responds it could draw China into the fight. That would be a huge disaster.

No such thing is going to happen. To say it like Cheney: NK is in the last throes.

A desperate country in its last throes tend to do very stupid things. If they feel they are done they may want as much as they can with them.

I had heard that China and the US cannot publicly come to an agreement for a contingency plan where both militaries might meet in N. Korea, but I can't imagine that either one of us thinks it would be good for either the US or China to botch that, and I believe that we have to have the diplomatic skills necessary in our government to come to an understanding outside of the public eye.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

China wants to handle the NK "problem" since it's in their 'hood.

(from my understanding of the back and forth)

But I agree with GaryC - I think NK will use nukes if they feel like they have nothing to lose....

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

They don't exactly have a stellar track record though - more likely to blow themselves up than anyone else.

[NickD 202]

Thought I read someplace in history books where China and the USSR were our allies during WW II. Certainly that was a mistake as just a couple of years later, they were our greatest enemies because of some country nobody around here even heard of called Korea? And not just a Korea, but a North and South Korea with an imaginary line drawn called the 38th parallel. They were having some kind of a civil war.

Not sure how sides were chosen, maybe a flip of the coin, but the USSR decided to help the North and we got the South. A general, forgot his name, but was the acting emperor of Japan at the time that shall return, but I forgot where. But think it was a country that was offered statehood, but rejected it. This general was doing pretty good just fighting the USSR, but then our former allies, China that we saved from the Japanese decided to join the fight, but not with us, but the USSR. So our then president, Trueguy I think his name was, canned this general and somehow a peace treaty was arranged.

Sixty years go by and still the same old #######, but back then, the Japanese awoke a sleeping giant, and a giant we were, but that was 60 years ago, lots of politics since then with our leaders giving away our country. Today, South Korea has a huge share of our ship building, automotive, electronic, and clothing industry where back then was all rice patties.

I feel the South Koreans are in far better shape to deal with the North Koreans than we are. Heard the USSR is no more, but China has become more powerful than ever, and if they join the North, and we the South, again, or yet, we never left there, where would Wal-Mart get all of it's stuff from? We really have to think about Wal-Mart.

Though choices, is it South Korea or Wal-Mart? Glad that I am not Obama, but with other presidents the choice would be clearer, whichever gave them the most campaign funds.

When you think about it, all of the world leaders that gave us problems could have been put in a small boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and sunk, that even includes some of our own. My neighbor lady is Korean, one of the sweetest most gentlest woman I have ever met, but during a conflict, it's people like her that are the first ones killed, while the rest of us stand by and watch. Feel the major problem is the rest of us.

[GaryC 7]

They don't exactly have a stellar track record though - more likely to blow themselves up than anyone else.

You have to admit that the danger is real that this could all end up very badly.