North Korea accused Washington of seeking to "provoke a second Korean War" as the regime prepared to hold maritime military exercises off the eastern coast.
U.S. and regional authorities were watching closely for signs that North Korea might fire short- or mid-range missiles during the June 25 to July 10 timeframe cited in a no-sail ban for military drills sent to Japan's Coast Guard.
North Korea had warned previously it would fire a long-range missile as a response to U.N. Security Council condemnation of an April rocket launch seen as a cover for its ballistic missile technology.
An underground nuclear test last month drew more Security Council action: a resolution seeking to clamp down on North Korea's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring U.N. member states to request inspections of ships carrying suspected cargo.
In a first test of the new resolution, a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons was sailing off China's coast with a U.S. destroyer close behind.
The Kang Nam, which left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago, is believed bound for Myanmar, South Korean and U.S. officials said.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was unable to discuss intelligence on the vessel, said Wednesday that the ship had already cleared the Taiwan Strait.
He said he didn't know how much range the Kang Nam has — that is, whether or when it may need to stop in some port to refuel — but that the Kang Nam has in the past stopped in Hong Kong's port.
North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war, and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to start 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," a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency said.
The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The brutal fighting ended after three years in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula divided and in a state of war. The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities.
On Wednesday, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp, praised soldiers from U.S.-led U.N. forces who died fighting the "tyranny" of communist North Korea decades ago.
"A North Korean victory in the Korean War would have brought the nightmare of tyranny to this great land, thrusting the citizens of the Republic of Korea into a darkness that their northern counterparts have yet to emerge from," he said a commemoration ceremony Wednesday, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
Reports about possible missile launches from the North highlighted the state of tension on the Korean peninsula.
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.
Yonhap reported 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.
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 lawmakers.
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.
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
tough words, I doubt its possible as the U.S must have like a million missile defence systems set up around to counter this kind of stuff. I also doubt that north korea will have enough wmd's anyway
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
What is up with countries wanting to wipe other countries off the map? Seriously now, people need to get over their power trips, and try to peacefully coexist rather than eliminate all opposition.
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
Lets be honest North Korea isn't going to wipe America off the map any time soon. It's countries like these whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs.
‘Say: If the ocean were ink wherewith to write out the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted, even if We added another ocean like it.’~Al Qu'raan (18:109)
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
They should be more subtle and give Mexico and Canada arms so that they can make settlements on US soil, eventually using military force to get rid of all Americans and denying their right to return to the land.
Anyways. The US is the only country ever to have used a nuke. Noone is going to be wiping it off the map... anytime soon. Maybe China when it gets more powerful but not NK.
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
So, there seems to be agreement that North Korea is posturing and not going to wipe the USA off the map. But what should the USA do if North Korea does actually launch a missile at the USA (or anyone else for that matter)? I'm curious what the non-Americans here think would be an appropriate response?
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Grace Seeker
So, there seems to be agreement that North Korea is posturing and not going to wipe the USA off the map. But what should the USA do if North Korea does actually launch a missile at the USA (or anyone else for that matter)? I'm curious what the non-Americans here think would be an appropriate response?
Go to the UN and call for action through the international law - rather then fighting an illiegal war like Iraq or terrorizing innocent civilains like North Korea would be doing.
Do you think the pious don't sin?
They merely:
Veiled themselves and didn't flaunt it
Sought forgiveness and didn't persist
Took ownership of it and don't justify it
And acted with excellence after they had erred - Ibn al-Qayyim
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by AntiKarateKid
They should be more subtle and give Mexico and Canada arms so that they can make settlements on US soil, eventually using military force to get rid of all Americans and denying their right to return to the land.
Anyways. The US is the only country ever to have used a nuke. Noone is going to be wiping it off the map... anytime soon. Maybe China when it gets more powerful but not NK.
China wouldnt be able to do that because over trillions of dollers of China's wealth is tied up in the US economy.
Do you think the pious don't sin?
They merely:
Veiled themselves and didn't flaunt it
Sought forgiveness and didn't persist
Took ownership of it and don't justify it
And acted with excellence after they had erred - Ibn al-Qayyim
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Zafran
Go to the UN and call for action through the international law - rather then fighting an illiegal war like Iraq or terrorizing innocent civilains like North Korea would be doing.
So, you think that if the US responded militarily to a direct act by North Korea against the US that doing so would be a violation of international law?
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Grace Seeker
So, you think that if the US responded militarily to a direct act by North Korea against the US that doing so would be a violation of international law?
Lets just say you went in Iraq - which became a mess.
You went in Afghanistan which became a mess.
we dont want another mess.
what would you say if Iraq wanted to bomb the US becasue the US attacked them - would you like that? would that be fair?
Do you think the pious don't sin?
They merely:
Veiled themselves and didn't flaunt it
Sought forgiveness and didn't persist
Took ownership of it and don't justify it
And acted with excellence after they had erred - Ibn al-Qayyim
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Zafran
Lets just say you went in Iraq - which became a mess.
You went in Afghanistan which became a mess.
we dont want another mess.
what would you say if Iraq wanted to bomb the US becasue the US attacked them - would you like that? would that be fair?
I wouldn't like it any more than you would like it if Iraq were to attack England. Would it be fair? I rarely experience fairness as operational during war. I thoroughly expected an attempt by Hussein at the time, and am surprised that nothing happened.
As far as Afghanistan goes, my understanding is that that was done in accordance with international law.
Perhaps my memory is slipping, but that doesn't excuse your dodge of my question: Do you think that if the US responded militarily to a direct act by North Korea against the US that doing so would be a violation of international law?
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Grace Seeker
I wouldn't like it any more than you would like it if Iraq were to attack England. Would it be fair? I thoroughly expected an attempt by Hussein at the time, and am surprised that nothing happened.
As far as Afghanistan goes, my understanding is that that was done in accordance with international law.
Perhaps my memory is slipping, but that doesn't excuse your dodge of my question: Do you think that if the US responded militarily to a direct act by North Korea against the US that doing so would be a violation of international law?
well we are in a war with Iraq - thats what US AND UK did to Iraq - why cant Iraq do the same thing? dont you think thats hypocricy?
But you failed to find Bin Laden which was the whole point
thats why i said
Go to the UN and call for action through the international law
If they want you to attack go for it - go - If they dont - dont - but like america i dont think you would care anyway.
ps - its well known that Bush lied about the WMDs. It was also the weakest nation in the region and stopped its nuclear programe years ago. Before the 1990 war.
Last edited by Zafran; 06-25-2009 at 04:45 AM.
Do you think the pious don't sin?
They merely:
Veiled themselves and didn't flaunt it
Sought forgiveness and didn't persist
Took ownership of it and don't justify it
And acted with excellence after they had erred - Ibn al-Qayyim
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
OK. That's one point of view. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Are there other non-Americans who might care to also respond, please:
There seems to be agreement that North Korea is posturing and not going to wipe the USA off the map. But what should the USA do if North Korea does actually launch a missile at the USA (or anyone else for that matter)? I'm curious what the non-Americans here think would be an appropriate response?
If North Korea were to attack your country, what would you want your country to do?
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
north korea is far different from iraq or afghanistan. in iraq and afghanistan, there are many very devout muslims willing to give their lives. and a good minority, even majority in some areas, support these people and see them as hero's. not only that, but a lot of people fighting in iraq aren't even from iraq. they are from neighboring countries. likewise, in afghanistan(especially many from pakistan.)
north korea to the contrary is very isolated. china has had its problems with them(many immigration issues), south korea is totally different and the people support america more than north korea, russia is a rather mute country and they wouldnt do anything militarily to stop any war or take sides, japan is as much concerned as america is about north korea, etc etc.
if north korea launches a missile at the USA, or any nation for that matter, with the purpose of destroying lives, then the USA has every right to defend themselves and launch a war. hopefully they would do a full fledged air invasion, destroying military bases and government places and then hope it will deter north korea from doing anything else stupid. then, the USA should consult with the UN on any further action. of course troops should be stationed at the border in south korea, because we all know that south korea is vulnerable for an attack.
if north korea did something like this, then it would be much different than what the USA did in iraq and afghanistan. afghanistan firstly did nothing to the USA; and in fact the USA supported militants when they were fighting the soviets. osama bin laden did, but not the afghani government. iraq is different too because they never attempted to do anything like this. not only that, but the UN was already in iraq searching for WMD's.
if north korea attempted to launch a missile at innocents, than they would be guilty for actually carrying out such an action. there would be no excuse. the USA would not only have a right to defend itself, but an obligation. of course, the UN must play a heavy part in all this too, much more than they did in iraq and afghanistan because we need to make sure no breaches in international law occur, and of course we dont want the USA to take maximum measures; any measures(military-wise) should be minimal just to ensure NK doesnt do it again and that they compensate somehow for their actions(the easiest way would be to overthrow their crazy leaders.)
but i am not an expert in all this. this is all purely hypothetical. perhaps a full-fledged air invasion would not be the best way. i cant really say, just saying what i would do with my very limited knowledge i have on NK and all.
however, i think the most important question we can ask right now is not what the USA should hypothetically do if something like this were to happen. rather, the question is what diplomatic means can the USA implement to stop NK from saying all this rhetoric in the first place.
by the way i am an american citizen but ethnically albanian and born in albania. i am also a revert to islam, alhumdullillah
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
To destroy US it’s not necessary to attack her directly. US, in pride of strength or what soever, has deployed her Armies around the globe. At this point we may not speak of the purpose of these deployments as only Bush/Obama or top officials know it the best. For NK US troops in South Korea can be easy targets. US Air Craft Carriers or any other establishments near to NK can be an easy target to shock US. Wipe a country off the Map is not possible otherwise Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan would be stories of the past. I am sorry but I think US deserve a good lesson on how to use power for well being of mankind. And who knows NK or Iran may do this, someday!
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Tilmeez
To destroy US it’s not necessary to attack her directly. US, in pride of strength or what soever, has deployed her Armies around the globe. At this point we may not speak of the purpose of these deployments as only Bush/Obama or top officials know it the best. For NK US troops in South Korea can be easy targets. US Air Craft Carriers or any other establishments near to NK can be an easy target to shock US. Wipe a country off the Map is not possible otherwise Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan would be stories of the past. I am sorry but I think US deserve a good lesson on how to use power for well being of mankind. And who knows NK or Iran may do this, someday!
has the USA not already learned its lesson on iraq? come on, we've got a president who doesn't support the war and a congress with the majority of people not supporting it either. we have the majority of people recognizing it was a mistake.
and if someone SHOULD teach a lesson to the USA, it should be someone who has been unjustly affected by the USA. north korea has not been unjustly treated by the USA.
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
has the USA not already learned its lesson on iraq? come on, we've got a president who doesn't support the war and a congress with the majority of people not supporting it either. we have the majority of people recognizing it was a mistake.
and if someone SHOULD teach a lesson to the USA, it should be someone who has been unjustly affected by the USA. north korea has not been unjustly treated by the USA.
I am sorry brother but i do not agree. Obama not only continue but stricken the policies on Afghanistan. And only Obama can not clean the S*** Bush and company has made.
if north korea attempted to launch a missile at innocents
Are only US citizens innocent? What about poor Afghans and Iraqi people? Think about a family who’s only provider is out for earning something to eat for whole family and then in the evening he comes in pieces. You have not seen children with halves of there bodies torn apart. You have not seen ladies… leave it man. I have personally seen these people in Afghan refugee camps and they live a worst life than an American can think.
Re: North Korea Threatens to Wipe the U.S. off the Map
format_quote Originally Posted by Tilmeez
I am sorry brother but i do not agree. Obama not only continue but stricken the policies on Afghanistan. And only Obama can not clean the S*** Bush and company has made.
on afghanistan yes and perhaps the USA needs a lesson on that. but on iraq the USA has learned. t
Are only US citizens innocent? What about poor Afghans and Iraqi people? Think about a family who’s only provider is out for earning something to eat for whole family and then in the evening he comes in pieces. You have not seen children with halves of there bodies torn apart. You have not seen ladies… leave it man. I have personally seen these people in Afghan refugee camps and they live a worst life than an American can think.
i understand, and what the US military has done is disgusting and unacceptable. but what you are mentioning is not about north korea, it is about iraq and afghanistan, two different issues altogether. im sorry but i dont want to see anyone innocent(regardless of creed, race, gender, ethnicity, etc) be injured and hurt in such ways.
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