North Korea 'Could Nuke Japan'

Ananova ^ | 7-1-2003

[blam]

North Korea 'could nuke Japan'

The CIA believes North Korea has the technology to build mini nuclear warheads to fit missiles capable of hitting Japan.

Spy satellites have identified equipment that could create the sophisticated weapons within a year, United States intelligence officials told the New York Times.

"This would give them the range they never had before, and the chance to spread their threat far beyond South Korea," one official said.

The miniaturised warheads would be light enough to put on to North Korea's growing arsenal of medium and long-range missiles.

The extended range of the new weapons would also put the 60,000 US troops based in Japan at risk.

Previous intelligence suggested Pyongyang had not received enough outside help to attempt the precise steps needed to create the warheads.

But recent satellite photos have identified a suspected advanced nuclear testing site with the technology to compress a plutonium core and set off a compact nuclear explosion.

In January, North Korea began reprocessing nuclear rods at a plant where they had been frozen since a 1994 non-proliferation agreement.

The stockpile of 8,000 rods is capable of producing enough plutonium to make four or five nuclear weapons, although only a few hundred are believed to have been converted.

But some US officials said that the CIA's apparent overestimate of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's alleged banned arms meant the new intelligence about North Korea's nuclear programme should be treated with scepticism.

One said: "After Iraq, who knows how good those estimates are?"

Story filed: 16:17 Tuesday 1st July 2003

[blam]

US Identifies Nuclear Testing Range In North Korea

[EggsAckley]

Why do we have 60,000 troops in Japan? Just watching N. Korea?

[Bill Davis FR]

BUMP for bringing the troops home

[backhoe]

-The Atomic Genie- what we know about North Korea's Nuclear program--

[stumpy]

The troops in Japan (and Okinawa is now part of Japan) are our fast reaction and support troops for all of the Western Pacific region.

During the Viet Nam war, most of us spent time in Japan or Okinawa prior to or just after going to Viet Nam. I was on my way home from Viet Nam when the North Koreans captured the Pueblo, and expected to go fight in Korea.

Prior to going to Viet Nam, I was on Okinawa when the "6 day war" started in the middle east and my unit began packing to go to that fight, but the war was over as we prepared to go aboard ship.

[mathurine]

If they ever would do it. I hope we would nuke those particular stupid gooks to the point where none survived to tell the story of the most retarded and useless nation in the history of mankind, and the most easily expendable. These people either want to be destroyed or don't want to exist any more. They certainly deserve to be destroyed. The only question is when? Do we wait until their egregious judgement leads them to do something exceptionally hostile and evil, or do we take the peckerheads at their word and assume they intend to do evil, and therefore just knock them off one way or another. I have seen little about North Korea which offers any redeeming value. I say just surprise them with a massive strike and destroy those stupid sons of Kim -il- something -or -other and be done with them.

[jim_trent]

Neither Japan nor South Korea want the US servicemen there. I say bring them home. Let Japan and South Korea defend themselves.

[Monty22]

One of these days we're gonna strike them. I think sooner than later.

I don't think we're going to be able to do the kind of build up we did with Iraq either, it's *very* possible that it'll be all B2 and B1's using B61's or *shudder* B83's.

Low yield B61's on a tactical level to clear out the artilery and so on to save Seoul, and possibly B83's on Pyongyang itself set to the highest yield (1.2 megatons).

B61's on low yield setting on all their processing plants.

It'll be a bolt from the blue.

[blam]

Nah. We won't use nukes. Expect a big 'accident.'

[EggsAckley]

Thank you both. I wasn't sure whether I was thinking in the right direction. Now I know I am. Thanks.