Posted on 10/06/2006 10:24:04 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
TOKYO - Japan is ready for North Korea to carry out its threatened nuclear test as soon as this weekend, officials said yesterday. Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi, on a visit to Washington, said Pyongyang's resolve to test its first atom bomb should not be underestimated.
"We discussed the possibility that the test would occur this weekend," Mr Yachi said after talks with US Deputy National Security Adviser Jack Crouch. North Korea issued a statement on Tuesday saying it would test a nuclear bomb, dramatically raising the stakes in its standoff with the US on its quest for atomic weapons. "They will probably go ahead and do it as they had that tone in their declaration," Mr Yachi said.
"It possibly means they are already very prepared." North Korean leader Kim Jong Il reportedly gathered top military commanders for a rally yesterday, urging them to bolster defences.
Attendees responded with cheers of hurrah and chanted slogans such as, "Let's fight at the cost of our lives for the respected Supreme Commander comrade Kim Jong Il". Tomorrow is the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party in 1997. In Tokyo, the Government said it was ready for a test by the arch-rival communist state. "We are making preparations keeping any possible scenario in mind," chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said. Japan would know immediately if there was a test, he said. Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would try to find common ground with his counterparts from China and South Korea when he saw them on his first foreign trip, which starts tomorrow. "We need to send messages together to stop the north before they make such a reckless action," Mr Abe said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Bill Richardson and all the other grandstanding do-gooders (who are responsible for this situation in the first place) are probably booking their tickets to Beijing and then on to Pyongyang, to come in at the last minute for the big save.
First, you have not previously pledged to your neighbors that you would not own firearms. North Korea has pledged to not own nukes. Second, you do not loudly threaten your neighbors' health and well-being. North Korea does.
Can anyone explain how testing something spells trouble.
In international relations, it's one thing to do "concealed carry" (for example, Israel or pre-1990 South Africa), but testing is akin to brandishing (witness how hot things got between India and Pakistan in the wake of their nuclear tests--it damn near turned into a nuclear war shortly after 9/11).
Which is why there has to be an example made of N. Korea...
They've pretty much already announced they were "in the club" a few years ago. Oh, they may not have any nukes assembled and deployed, but it's safe to assume that they're only a couple of screw-turns away.
What about Ithaca?
Radiation is so over rated, I don't see people in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, dropping like flys.
I've just got to hope that you left off your /sarcasm tag....
This will confirm once and for all they have them...
That was in the sparse desert. Chernobyl wasn't exactly a nuclear explosion, but enough of a radiation leak can do tremendous harm. Unfortunately, the biggest loser, no matter what the outcome, remains the average citizen of N. Korea. And any kind of ensuing human catastrophe would probably not make it to the eyes and ears of the rest of the world.
St. George, Utah and vicinity had one of the highest cancer rates in the country from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. It's directly downwind of the Nevada Test Site.
Correct ....but you have to balance the reaction to the fact they can take out Seoul in minutes and kill millions.
But it didn't and these countries were already shooting at each other.
I guess after NK tests the USA will send them more aid and tax dollars to make them not do it again.
Now I'm confused! I thought he did the Foley thing to het Woodward's book off the front pages!
What is directly down wind of the NK test site, just more North Koreans, I don't think the test site will be on their border.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want the NK's to have a nuke, but a test is not a war or an attack.
For thirty years, the government denied that there was a problem. The citizenry trusted the word of their government.
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise! Turns out there was a problem.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want the NK's to have a nuke, but a test is not a war or an attack.
It's a gross violation of international agreements that we are a party to. We need to let the world know that we're not joking around.
This is true. So, really, what are our options? The country lives in misery to begin with. There doesn't seem to be anything we can hold over their heads at this point.
I don't know..
Have things gotten so bad for Kim Jong-il that this is his only way to get anyone to pay attention to him outside of North Korea?
About the size of it.
We could have side bets on whether or not it fizzles and another pool on how long it takes Japan to have a deliverable nuke after the test (I'll take 6 months).
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