Jihadi Du Jour

Monday, October 09, 2006

North Korea Detonates Nuke

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean government officials said North Korea performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test Monday, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korean officials could not immediately confirm the report.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun convened an urgent meeting of security advisers over the issue, Yonhap reported.

The North said last week it would conduct a nuclear test as part of its deterrent against a possible U.S. invasion.

[source]

This is getting real now.

UPDATE: North Korea Says Nuclear Tests Successful

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Monday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test. The country's official Korean Central News Agency said the test was performed successfully and there was no radioactive leakage from the site.

"The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the our military and people," KCNA said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the test was conducted at 10:36 a.m. (9:36 p.m. EDT Sunday) in Hwaderi near Kilju city, citing defense officials.

The Japanese government set up a task force in response to reports of the test, Kyodo News agency said Monday. Ministers and officials were urgently called to discuss the situation, the agency reported.

Officials at the Prime Minister's Office were not immediately available to confirm the report.

South Korean Intellegence Report:

South Korea said the country's state intelligence agency detected a 3.58 magnitude seismic tremor in the eastern remote area of North Hamgyeong province at 10:36 a.m. (0136 GMT), reported South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Earlier in the week the United States issued this statement to Pyongyang:

North Korea "can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Wednesday in remarks at Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute. It was the toughest response yet from the Bush administration, coming two days after Pyongyang announced plans to conduct its first nuclear test.

The U.N. Security Council said that any nuclear test done by North Korea would be a serious threat to world peace and security. The U.N.'s statement included that the Security Council would 'act consistent with its responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations.'

Australia Prime Minister John Howard
Australia's Prime Minister strongly condemned the test and stated that seismic activity confirmed the test had taken place. He stated that North Korea would not garner better bargaining power through these actions. “The test has destabilised the region, it's eroded North Korea's own security,” he said. “A strong international response is called for and Australia will give full support to that response.”

Mr Howard described it as outrageous that North Korea relied on the international community to feed its starving population while devoting scarce resources to nuclear programs.

South Korea has warned it wouldn't tolerate a nuclear armed North Korea.

Japan has said a any nuclear test by North Korea would be unforgivable.

China has urged North Korea to show restraint.

Japan and South Korea have been trying to put pressure on China to dissuade Pyongyang from following through with it's announcement that North Korea would test nukes this weekend.

North Korea can now be considered a nuclear power. It is a volitile and secretive state that has technically been at war with South Korea and the United States for about 50 years.

This is a perfect example of why we should not half-fight a war or leave a war unfinished. Whenever we've done that, it's come back to bite us.

This action by the North Koreans reveals an entirely new dimension to the War on Terror. The complexion of the war and the world has changed today.

Previous:
North Korea Announces Plans for Nuclear Tests
North Korea Has More Missiles Ready
Paper Bullets
North Korean Games
Kim Jong Il

crossposted at Blue Star Chronicles

Labels: Asia, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, Nuclear Terrorism, Nuclear Threat, South Korea

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Posted by Beth at 12:23 AM Permalink || |

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

North Korea Announces Plans for Nuclear Tests

Kim Jong Il is playing with his nuclear missiles again while his country starves. He's making a lot of people very nervous.

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea expressed its ``deeply serious concern and regret'' over North Korea's announcement it will conduct a nuclear test and told Kim Jong Il's regime to withdraw its plans.

``We reiterate our policy that we will not condone North Korea possessing nuclear weapons, and urge North Korea to cancel its plans to hold a nuclear test,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu Ho told reporters at a briefing today in Seoul. ``North Korea's mention of a nuclear test goes against relevant nations' ongoing efforts towards a peaceful resolution.''

South Korea is the latest country to condemn North Korea's announcement yesterday. The U.S. government said a nuclear test would ``pose an unacceptable threat'' to the world while Japan said a test would be ``unforgivable'' and require a severe international response.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan made a statement:

"It would bring universal condemnation by the international community and will not help (North Korea) achieve the goals expressed in its statement, particularly with regard to strengthening its security."

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton is urging the U.N. to take more convincing action with North Korea.

Bolton said he urged members to engage in "preventive diplomacy" and hold a brainstorming session "to come up not just with a knee jerk reaction ... but to develop a coherent strategy to convince them that it's not in their interest to engage in nuclear testing."

Experts believe that Pyongyang has enough plutonium for 11 nuclear bombs. The tests that Pyongyang conducted in July 2006, with complete disregard for the condemnation from the international community, proved it had the missiles, two of which are believed to be capable of reaching the United States.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been trying to get China and Russia to put pressure on North Korea to cease this taunting of the international community. Japan and South Korea have obvious reasons to be extremely concerned about what this irrational and unpredictable dictator might do.

While Kim Jong Il lives in obscene wealth and privilege, his country is starving. His military is taken care of, but the people are not.

If North Korea does indeed have the capability to test nuclear weapons then the game is on. Japan and South Korea will have increasing pressure from within their own countries to arm themselves and enhance their own capabilities for defense. China does not want to see a nuclear armed Japan but is reluctant to reign in North Korea.

All reasonable nations are concerned about what North Korea will do with nuclear weapons. In all likelihood, the weapons would find their way into the hands of Kim's new found friends in Iran and Venezuela.

I imagine that the Korean peninsula is surrounded by American submarines even as I write this. I certainly hope so.

When we see our troops being pulled out of South Korea, it's time to watch for the flash coming from the East.