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North Korea Nuclear Watch: Condoleezza Rice Promises United States Defense of Japan
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, shakes hands with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki prior to their talks at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006. Rice urged the swift and effective implementation of sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday, arguing that the United States had no desire to escalate the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear test.
AP: Rice promises U.S. defense of Japan
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the United States is ready to use the “full range” of its military might to defend Japan in light of North Korea’s nuclear weapons test, and her Japanese counterpart drew a firm line against developing a Japanese bomb.
The United States is concerned that Japan, South Korea or perhaps Taiwan may want to develop their own nuclear weapons programs to counter the threat from North Korea. Such moves would anger China, which already has nuclear weapons, and raise tensions in the region.
Part of Rice’s assignment on this week’s hastily arranged trip to China, Russia, Japan and South Korea is to lessen the temptation to develop separate national nuclear programs by reaffirming the U.S. intention to defend the nations most at risk.
In Japan, Rice said she reaffirmed President Bush’s pledge, made the day of the North’s test last week, “that the United States has the will and the capability to meet the full range — and I underscore the full range — of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan,” Rice said following discussions with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso.
Proliferation of nuclear weapons programs is not in the interests of these Asian countries. China is the BIG DOG in the area and have plenty of NUKES. An arms race of nuclear material does not make the region or world a safer place.
However, Japan and Taiwan are understandably alarmed at preemptive nuclear attacks from China via North Korea – or from North Korea alone.
This pledge of mutual defense is appropriate and timely.
Asian nations MUST now squeeze Kim Jong-Il with United Nations sanctions, force North Korea back to the 6-party talks and negotiate a stand-down of North Korea’s nuclear program – as North Korea has promised.
What doesn’t help are Jimmy Carter and George Soros playing the Bush BLAME GAME.
Stay tuned……
An elderly Chinese woman gestures as she chats with another near the flags of China and North Korea on the waterfront of Dandong in northeast China, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006. In 1950 China sends hundreds of thousands of ‘volunteers’ to the aid of North Korea which was nearly defeated by a combined force of United Nations, South Korean and U.S. forces. The war ended in a truce in 1953 and China had an estimated 945,000 dead and wounded, North Korea 522,00.
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North Korea Watch: United Nations Sanctions are a Declaration of WAR
Michael Ramirez on North Korean Appeasement
North Korea Watch: United States – A Return to 6-Party Talks is Insufficient
North Korea Watch: North Korea Wants 6-Party Talks to Continue
North Korea Watch: United Nations Imposes Arms Sanctions on North Korea
Michael Ramirez on China and North KoreaNorth Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: United Nations Sanctions are a Declaration of WAR
A North Korean soldier stands guard by the bank of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiju, October 17, 2006. North Korea denounced U.N. sanctions on Tuesday as a declaration of war, while across the border in Seoul an official said there were signs the reclusive Communist state may be preparing for a second nuclear test.
AP: NKorea: Sanctions are declaration of war
North Korea on Tuesday blasted U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing the country for its nuclear test, saying the measures amount to a declaration of war and that the nation wouldn’t cave in to such pressure now that it’s a nuclear weapons power.
The bellicose remarks — the central government’s first response to the U.N. measures imposed last weekend — came as China warned the North against stoking tensions and the American nuclear envoy arrived in South Korea for talks.
The North broke two days of silence about the U.N. resolution adopted after its Oct. 9 nuclear test, issuing a Foreign Ministry statement on its official Korean Central News Agency.
“The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war” against the North, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The North warned it “wants peace but is not afraid of war” and that it would “deal merciless blows” against anyone who violates its sovereignty.
The communist nation “had remained unfazed in any storm and stress in the past when it had no nuclear weapons,” the statement said. “It is quite nonsensical to expect the DPRK to yield to the pressure and threat of someone at this time when it has become a nuclear weapons state.”
If North Korea and Kim Jong-Il wishes WAR then there will be little the United States, South Korea or the United Nations can do. American soldiers and alot of innocent South and North Koreans will die.
But, make no mistake the United States would defeat North Korea’s military within 60 days of the launch of the campaign. A declaration of war by North Korea against the United States would unleash massive fire power from the United States military arsenal.
And North Korea is preparing a second or a second series of nuclear tests.The Natural Resources Defense Council on October 13, 2006, released this satellite image of North Korea’s suspected nuclear bomb test site taken by GeoEye’s Orbview-3 satellite two days before the October 9, 2006 test.
This is unbelievable but understandable since their first test was more fizzle than POP.
Reuters: U.S. detects activity at North Korea test site: media
U.S. spy satellites have detected suspicious vehicle and people activity near the site of
North Korea’s nuclear test that may signal preparations for another test, U.S. television networks reported on Monday.U.S. officials said they could not be certain of what the North Koreans were doing in the area, but the activity there could be preparations for a second nuclear blast, NBC and ABC said.
In Seoul, a South Korean government official told Reuters on Tuesday: “The government is aware of signs related to North Korea’s possible second nuclear test. We cannot exclude the possibility of a second test.”
But he added there was no firm information on a possible new test.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on the eve of a trip to the region to try to stiffen the resolve behind U.N. sanctions on North Korea, said she hoped Pyongyang would not conduct a second nuclear test.
Stay tuned……..
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) inspects the Korean People’s Army unit 851 at an unidentified location in North Korea in this undated file photo released August 30, 2006. North Korea said on October 9, 2006 it had safely and successfully carried out an underground nuclear test, flying in the face of a warning from the U.N. Security Council.
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Michael Ramirez on North Korean Appeasement
North Korea Watch: United States – A Return to 6-Party Talks is Insufficient
North Korea Watch: North Korea Wants 6-Party Talks to Continue
North Korea Watch: United Nations Imposes Arms Sanctions on North Korea
Michael Ramirez on China and North KoreaNorth Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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Michael Ramirez on North Korean Appeasement
And Kim Jong -Il kept the Michael Jordan signed basketball (NOT JIMMY CARTER!). Madeliene NOT-Bright did alot of damage at Foggy Bottom.
Technorati Tags: KimJong-Il, MadeleineAlbright
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North Korea Watch: United States – A Return to 6-Party Talks is Insufficient
A protester shouts slogans denouncing North Korea’s nuclear device test in front of Russian embassy in Seoul October 16, 2006.
Reuters: U.S. looks to China, Japan to act on N.Korea sanctions
The United States said on Monday it expected China to implement U.N. sanctions against
North Korea despite misgivings, and warned Pyongyang that merely returning to nuclear talks would not be enough to halt the punitive steps.Japan said its Foreign Minister Taro Aso would meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon in Seoul on Thursday for a display of unity on North Korea, after Rice visits Tokyo earlier in the week.
“A return to six-party talks kind of doesn’t do it,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer told a small group of journalists. “You have to come to the six-party talks and agree on how you are going to implement the September 19 agreement.”
“If that implementation could then be verified by the international community, I think you would see walking back from the sanctions regime.”
North Korea agreed in principle at six-party talks in September 2005 to scrap its nuclear arms programs in return for aid, security assurances and promises of better diplomatic ties.
A very simple equation for Kim Jong-Il:
No nuclear weapons = No Regime change + No Sanctions + Foreign Aid and Investment
Stay tuned…..
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North Korea Watch: North Korea Wants 6-Party Talks to Continue
North Korea Watch: United Nations Imposes Arms Sanctions on North Korea
Michael Ramirez on China and North KoreaNorth Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: North Korea Wants 6-Party Talks to Continue
A North Korean soldier (C) looks at South Korean soldiers at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean peninsula last week. North Korea wants six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula to continue, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said Sunday following talks with his North Korean counterpart, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
AFP: N. Korea urges more talks on denuclearization of Korean peninsula: Russian
North Korea wants six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula to continue, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said Sunday following talks with his North Korean counterpart.
“The North Korean side several times returned to the point that the six-sided process should continue, that it is not rejecting six-sided negotiations, and that the aim of the full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula remains,” Interfax news agency quoted Alexeyev as saying.
Alexeyev made the comments in Beijing en route to Seoul from Pyongyang, where he held talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Ky-kwan.
“My North Koreans colleagues several times mentioned that Pyongyang would not under any circumstances pass on its nuclear capabilities to another country, or use it against anyone,” Alexeyev said.
Quoting Alexeyev, RIA Novosti news agency said: “They said that only after analysing the UN resolution would they plan the subsequent character of their actions and set the outlines of the steps and measures that will be taken, including in relation to the resumption of the six-sided process in the near future.
Have the United Nations Security Council sanctions worked already?
Doubtful
Perhaps Kim Jong-Il needs to stock up on his Russian Caviar and French Cognac…….. or…….?
Stay tuned……….
The following would be sanctioned under the United Nations Security Council’s resolution:
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North Korea Watch: United Nations Imposes Arms Sanctions on North Korea
Michael Ramirez on China and North KoreaNorth Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: United Nations Imposes Arms Sanctions on North Korea
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton raises his hand during a Security Council vote Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006 at the United Nations in which the Security Council voted unanimously to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, declaring that its action posed ‘a clear threat to international peace and security.’
Reuters: U.N. imposes stringent arms sanctions on North Korea
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose financial and weapons sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test, which the resolution called a “clear threat to international peace and security.”
The U.S.-drafted resolution allows nations to stop cargo going to and from North Korea to check for weapons of mass destruction or related supplies. It was adopted after the United States, Britain and France made some modifications to dealt with last-minute objections from Russia and China.
“Today we are sending a strong and clear message to North Korea and other would-be proliferators that there will be serious repercussions in continuing to pursue weapons of mass destruction,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told the Security Council’s 15 members.
The resolution requires all countries to prevent the sale or transfer of materials related to Pyongyang’s unconventional weapons programs. And it demands nations freeze funds overseas of people or businesses connected with North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
In a concession to China, the resolution specifically excludes the use of force, but allows economic sanctions and a restriction on naval and air transport.
But by allowing cargo inspection, the document still puts an international imprimatur on the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative. This was launched in May 2003 and encourages countries to interdict weapons from North Korea,
Iran and other states of concern.The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to impose financial and weapons sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test.
The text of the resolution is here.
Flap is surprised that the United Nations Security Council passed any resolution today. Now, the question is: is the resolution meaningful?
North Korea immediately opposed the UNSC action.
North Korea’s U.N. ambassador said his country “totally” rejected the Security Council’s resolution.
North Korean ambassador Gil Yon Pak then ‘walked out” of the UNSC chambers. American Ambassador John Bolton was nonplussed.
Allah has the Bolton video here.Will North Korea respond in this manner?
An Act of War? More nuclear tests?
South Korean ambassador Choi Young-jin, speaks to the U.N. Security Council as North Korean ambassador Gil Yon Pak, top right, leaves after the security council voted unanimously on Saturday Oct. 14, 2006 to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, declaring that its action posed ‘a clear threat to international peace and security.’
Iran is next on the UNSC agenda.
Stay tuned for the North Korea response later in the day……
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Michael Ramirez on China and North Korea
North Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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Michael Ramirez on China and North Korea
But, was the North Korean nuclear test a set-up and a FRAUD?
Results from an initial air sampling after North Korea’s announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said Friday.
In the meantime at the United Nations.
Members of the U.N. Security Council agreed Friday on the wording of a resolution that would clamp sanctions on the communist country. The draft, which U.S. officials said they hoped would be approved on Saturday, would authorize non-military sanctions against the North, and says that any further action the council might want to take would require another U.N. resolution.
Diplomacy takes time and time is what many diplomats have.
Stay tuned…….
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) shakes hands with former Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan before talks in Moscow October 13, 2006. Russia and China oppose ‘extreme sanctions’ against North Korea, Lavrov said on Friday.
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North Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: China and Russia Oppose United Nations Sanctions on Korea
****UPDATE****Â
U.S. Offers N. Korea Resolution at U.N.Â
A new U.S. draft Security Council resolution circulated Thursday night would authorize only non-military sanctions against North Korea and require a new U.N. resolution for any further action, a key demand of China.
The draft, obtained by The Associated Press would only allow non-military sanctions such as economic penalties, breaking diplomatic relations or banning air travel.
It also eliminates a previously proposed blanket arms embargo. And it urges North Korea to speedily implement a September 2005 agreement in which it pledged to give up its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
A fairly weak sauce resolution. But, will China and Russia EVEN support this one?
Perhaps
Certainly, this is not a provocative action but is it TOO WEAK?
Absolutely, but for the United Nations this may be all that can be accomplished. If it is, then, the United Nations sinks into the abyss of the League of Nations.
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A South Korean activist holds a placard during an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul. China and the United States looked set for a stand-off over North Korea’s atomic test after Beijing softened its line on sanctions, while a top defector warned the North already had several nuclear weapons.
AP: Russia, China oppose N. Korea sanctions
Russia and China on Thursday opposed tough sanctions the U.S. wants to impose against North Korea this week for its claimed nuclear test, saying they want more time to work out a more moderate response to Pyongyang’s nuclear brinkmanship.
The United States and Japan, which has already imposed tough unilateral sanctions on the North to protest the reported test Monday, had initially hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote on Thursday. But if Washington wants to get China and Russia — the two council nations closest to Pyongyang — on board, a vote could be delayed until early next week.
China, the North’s closest ally, opposes any mention of the U.N. Charter’s Chapter 7, which authorizes punishments including economic sanctions, naval blockades and military actions. China and Russia want to see sanctions focus primarily on reining in North Korea’s nuclear and weapons programs.
The United Nations is IRRELEVANT.
The United States and Allies, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia should prepare their own sanctions and enforcement – NAVAL BLOCKADE.
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North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: New Poll – South Koreans Want Nuclear Weapons
A satellite image from the U.S. Department of Defense of the Korean Peninsula at night, showing the lights of South Korea and the relative darkness of North Korea (TOP), is shown at a news briefing by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon in Washington, October 11, 2006.
Reuters: Most S.Koreans now want nuclear weapons: survey
Apparently the South Koreans wish to be prepared to LIGHT UP North Korea.
A South Korean activist holds a placard during an anti- North Korea rally in Seoul. China and the United States looked set for a stand-off over North Korea after Beijing signalled it would take a softer line on sanctions against the North for testing an atom bomb.
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North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations
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North Korea Watch: China Reluctant to Support United Nations Sanctions
A North Korean soldier reacts to a photographer on a passing boat, on the waterfront at the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong Thursday Oct. 12, 2006. The United States on Thursday began pushing for a new U.N. resolution that adds a travel ban on North Korea, while South Korea said it detected no abnormal levels of radioactivity after the North’s claimed nuclear test.
AP: China reluctant to back Korea sanctions
China appeared to shy away Thursday from backing U.S. efforts to impose a travel ban and financial sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, saying any U.N. action should focus on bringing its communist neighbor back to talks.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said North Korea should understand it had made a mistake but “punishment should not be the purpose” of any U.N. response.
U.N. action “should be conducive to the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula … and the resumption of the talks,” he told reporters. “It’s necessary to express clearly to North Korea that … the international community is opposed to this nuclear test.”
In other words, China WILL NOT sanction their neighbor and major trading partner, North Korea.
So, how IRRELEVANT is the United Nations?
Why bother?
Even the LEFT is asking the question…….
Stay tuned.
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North Korea Nuclear Watch: North Korea Threatens War Against the United States
Michael Ramirez on Nuclear North Korea
North Korea Nuclear Watch: McCain vs. Clinton
North Korea Nuclear Watch: Kick North Korea Out of the United Nations?
North Korea Nuclear Watch: United States Proposes United Nations Sanctions Against North Korea
Technorati Tags: NorthKorea, UnitedNations