North Korea Watch: North Korea Threatens to “Mercilessly Wipe Out†US Forces In Case of War
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspects the three-revolution red flag women’s company of the Korean People’s Army Unit 292 in North Korea , in this undated photo released by Korea News Service April 8, 2006. The United States and Japan warned North Korea against a missile launch as some officials said Pyongyang appeared to have finished fuelling for a test flight that could possibly reach as far as Alaska.
The Peninsula: N Korea threatens to ‘wipe out’ US forces
North Korea yesterday threatened to “mercilessly wipe out†US forces in case of war during a national meeting to mark leader Kim Jong-Il’s 42 years’ work at the ruling party.
The threat, in a ruling party report carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came as North Korea was reportedly preparing to test-fire a long-range missile despite strong protests from the United States and its allies.
Choe Thae Bok, a ranking Workers’ Party official, said Washington was “hell-bent on provocations of war of aggression†in the report to mark the 42nd anniversary of Kim’s start at the party, KCNA said.
“If the enemies ignite a war eventually, the Korean army and people will mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and give vent to the deep-rooted grudge of the nation,†Choe was quoted as telling the meeting.
So, will the North Koreans launch their multi-stage Taepodong-2?
And what will be the United States and Japanese response?
Will the United States attempt to destroy this missile in mid-flight? Or will the United States bomb North Korea or take other retaliatory actions?
Japanese and South Korean media said North Korea was planning a missile test for this week.
North Korean technicians have already reportedly assembled a multi-stage Taepodong-2, with a range of 3,500 km to 6,000 km.
CBS News reported that South Korea’s ambassador to the US, Lee Tae-sik, had told Korean correspondents in Washington that Pyongyang may have fuelled a missile already. “Satellite photos confirmed scores of fuel tanks near the missile launch pad,†he said. “We are not sure whether they had already completed fuelling or located (the tanks) there to fuel it.â€
Japan warned North Korea yesterday of “a harsh response†from Tokyo and Washington if it went ahead with the launch of a long-range missile.
Amid reports that a launch was imminent, a Japanese official quoted by the Sankei Shimbun daily said North Korea’s leadership had told people to raise the flag at 0500 GMT and monitor television for a “message to the peopleâ€.
Update #1:
AFP: Pentagon warns a North Korean missile launch would be ‘provocative’
The US Defense Department warned that a North Korean launch of a long-range missile would be a “provocative act.”
“The United States government as a whole has been consulting with allies in the region and has made clear than a North Korean missile launch would be a provocative act,” he said.
Whitman noted that the United States has limited missile defenses but would not say whether it intends to use them against a North Korean missile launch.
However, he pointedly used the term “launch” rather than “test” to describe the North Korean preparations and said Pyongyang’s intentions were not clear.
“A test would imply that you would know the intentions,” he said. “We don’t know the intentions.”
Update #2
ASSociated Press: Rice warns North Korea on missile test
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea on Monday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States.
“It would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile,” Rice said amid indications that the North Koreans could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any moment.
The senior U.S. diplomat said the United States would talk to other nations about action should the North go ahead, and “I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness.”
President Bush briefly discussed the missile test with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an 18-minute phone call the Russian official placed to the American president on Monday. The leaders plan to remain in touch on the missile issue, said Kate Starr, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries have urged North Korea to abandon any missile firing, but there was no sign of backing down. U.S. officials said Monday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, giving the North a launch window of about a month.
Unlike other preparatory steps the United States has tracked, the fueling process is very difficult to reverse, and most likely means the test will go ahead, one senior administration official said.
The precise timing is unclear, the official said.
Stay tuned……
A commercial satellite photo of North Korea’s Nodong missile launch site taken on by a Digital Globe satellite and annotated and released by analysts at GlobalSecurity.org on May 24, 2006. The United States and Japan warned North Korea on Monday against a missile launch that experts say could reach as far as Alaska and threatened harsh action if the test flight goes ahead.
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