U.S.-U.N. Command: North Korea violated Korean War armistice

USA Today / AP ^ | 12/27/2002 | AP Staff

[1bigdictator]

The doctrine of pre-emption suggests we first strike with conventional force in order to incapacitate the potential threat of their nuclear capabilities... do you agree?

[RightWhale]

When N Kor attacks, the first sign will be the sound of motorized vehicles starting up way north of the DMZ. They will roll south joining up with other units as they go and cross the border in as large a mass as possible. If the northern movements aren't noticed right away, the attack will seem to begin abruptly and massively. As the troops approach the DMZ, massive shelling will commence, and that will include rockets. All offensive weapons will be used simultaneously. If there are any nukes available, they will be used in the first onslaught.

The defensive line in the south will try to delay the advance and fall back to prepared defensive positions when necessary. The entire operation will be over in three weeks, by which time N Kor will either own the entire penninsula or will have lost the war.

[SamAdams76]

Yes. We need to send some of those smart bombs into those nuclear facilities ASAP. I also think we need to deal with Pakistan's nukes pre-emptively. We should trust no Islamic nation with nukes.

[crypt2k]

We need to send some of those smart bombs into those nuclear facilities ASAP

we should be alert to the existence of any doomsday weapons - particularly designed to throw up radioactive fallout.

[relee]

From the Sydney Morning Herald

A fan of Godzilla the nuclear newt makes White House uneasy

...The depth of North Korea's ignorance and isolation cannot be exaggerated. Visiting the capital, Pyongyang, is like travelling to a parallel universe: a grey, fearful world in which the Berlin Wall never fell and truth has no place...

[1bigdictator]

We made are bed w/ Pakistan when we sought Musharaf's full support in our war w/ Al Qeada and the Taliban. Bush won't go back on his word... at least not while their cooperation is still necessary to track OBL in Pakistan.

[crypt2k]

Consider that the NKs put most of their effort into such a doomsday device(s). The initial explosion occurs in their territory, but the wind carries the fallout to South Korea, Japan, etc. What are the prevailing winds in that region?

[crypt2k]

We should pull out now...

We do not have the conventional forces to stop a land invasion. Even trying to disrupt their command and control with new methods may not be effective in the short term.

[snippy_about_it]

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2000

WORLD,US, North Korea warily eye détente

A historic meeting this week in Washington signals possible thaw in a lingering cold-war relationship.

By Justin Brown (brownj@csps.com) Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON

While the world's attention has been focused on revolt in Yugoslavia and violence in the Middle East, a quiet but historic change is being signaled from another part of the globe.

North Korea this week sent a senior official to meet with President Clinton in what is thought to be the highest-level meeting ever between the two countries.

US officials are careful to emphasize, however, that the process of North Korea's opening to the rest of the world is only beginning. President Kim Jong Il is considered to be unpredictable, and so far the détente has been characterized more by words than by actions.

"This is a good start," says a US official, "but we're not sure where it's going."

Vice-Admiral Jo Myong-rok alternated between business and military attire as he made the Washington rounds and called for a new relationship with the US based on "friendship and cooperation."

OVERTURES: President Clinton greets North Korea’s Jo Myong- rok at the White House in a prelude to possible normalization of ties between their two nations. REUTERS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three-day visit, which concluded yesterday, could be a prelude to normalized diplomatic relations between the US and North Korea, who until recently have been locked in a diplomatic and military stalemate.

Near the conclusion of Mr. Jo's visit, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced that she would make a return visit to Pyongyang before a new administration takes office January 20. President Clinton may also visit.

If normal diplomatic ties are eventually established, as many experts predict, the change could have a significant impact on US national-security strategy.

For one, new questions would likely arise about the presence of some 37,000 US troops on the Korean peninsula, which are there both to protect US ally South Korea and to lend general stability to the region. The US fought against the North in the Korean War, from 1950 to 1953.

"We're moving toward the normalization of diplomatic relations [with North Korea]," says Donald Gregg, a former US ambassador to South Korea. "The sooner we start thinking about [adjusting our troop levels in Korea], the better."

Also, improvement in US-North Korea relations could affect US plans to build a national missile defense, a project stalled for the moment but likely to resurface during the next US administration.

North Korea is often cited as the most immediate threat to US security, since it is believed to have nuclear capabilities and some of the missile technology to carry a warhead to US soil - although both programs are supposed to have been halted.

If North Korea is no longer considered a "rogue state," some of the logic of a missile-defense system would be undermined. First and foremost, the North Koreans are pressing the US to remove them from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

According to the State Department, North Korea continues to provide a safe haven for a group of "Red Army" communists who in 1970 hijacked a Japanese airplane en route to North Korea.

A joint statement by North Korean and US officials, however, indicates that Pyongyang may soon be removed from the list. "[The] US and [North Korea] intend to exchange information regarding international terrorism and to resolve outstanding issues in the this regard between the two sides," says the statement, released before Mr. Jo's visit.

Another potential stumbling block for the resumption of official ties between the US and North Korea is the complicated strategic balance of power in Asia. The US can open up to North Korea only as fast as Pyongyang opens up to other members of the so-called trilateral coordination and oversight group, which includes South Korea and Japan.

But, while South Korean President Kim Dae Jung initiated the process and orchestrated a historic summit in Pyongyang in June, the Japanese have been slower to mend ties with the North, analysts say.

"Japanese relations are more stalled than the others," says Robert Dujarric, a Korea expert at the Hudson Institute in Washington. "And the US has to take that into account."

In addition to being concerned about the North Korean weapons programs and the Red Army hijackers, the Japanese accuse North Korea of kidnapping 10 Japanese citizens in the '70s, allegedly to use them for military language training. The two countries are expected to hold a new round of talks beginning Oct. 30.

From the US perspective, the dramatic improvement in relations with Pyongyang has caught many observers by surprise.

One unusual twist was finding out how North Korea feels about having US troops in the region. Ironically, the North says it wants the US there. Mr. Kim has reportedly said he fears a power vacuum if the US leaves, in which case China or Japan could exert heightened influence on the peninsula. So far, the US is more than willing to oblige - since the Korean buildup offers them a strong foothold in Asia.

Another surprise has been the speed of the reconciliation process.

"Now that they've established some momentum, I think the North Koreans want to move forward fairly quickly," says Joel Wit, a former State Department official. "They're not going to let this sit for months."

For further information: North Korea -- Special Envoy Visit Korean Central News Agency Seoul welcomes U.S.-N.K. rapprochement Korea Herald

Please Note: The Monitor does not endorse the sites behind these links. We offer them for your additional research. @csmonitor.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society.

[irish_lad]

If NK attacks..our men on the front will die...people will then blame bush. He better understand this..it will be the end of his admin...Just when he thinks hes got things under control this could bring him down. He needs to pull our guys out immed..tell china ans sk to handle it..then politically he can still blame on Klinton policy. If he doesnt act the press and even right thinking people can place blame on him, Comments?? Yes, You are full of shit. If NK attacks, it will justify President Bush's labeling them as part of the "axis of evil." Obviously, you are a liberal pacifist faggot.

[AmusedBystander]

We should pull out now...

Not gonna happen.

The worst thing we could do would be to withdraw, this will only encourage the North to attack. Strength and willpower are the only deterrents we have. Bush would be impeached if he even thought about withdrawing troops in the face of threats. He's got steel in his spine which is why he's so popular in spite of what the socialists would have you believe.

[crypt2k]

At what point will the bent one blame the new admin. for the "break in relations"?

[crypt2k]

The worst thing we could do would be to withdraw

The word used would be "redeployment".

[crypt2k]

Are the SKs capable of an offensive in the north direction?

[MonroeDNA]

NK will NOT launch an attack. They know they will get wiped out in days if they do.

They are bluffing, as usuall, trying to blackmail the US. It worked with Klinton; it won't work with Bush.

BTW, Kissinger predicted this years ago.

Also, Bush doesn't care much about his re-election, as he does about doing the right thing. Once again, people underestimate him.

Communism must always be allowed to implode. Reagan showed us how it works.

Kunsan AFB (Wolfpack) '83.

[orfisher]

>>He needs to pull our guys out immed..tell china ans sk to handle it..then politically he can still blame on Klinton policy. If he doesnt act the press and even right thinking people can place blame on him<<....Blaming Clinton will do nothing for Bush politically. It's now his watch. He's got more war on his plate than he can handle what with the WOD,WOT,WOI,WOE and now WOK.

[MonroeDNA]

"Im sounding like one of those crazy libs but does anyone disagree?? "

Too easy to touch. ;)

NK is dying as a country. The people there are eating grass. Their military is starving, too. They have a few nukes.

They are going down the tubes even faster, since they revealed their nuclear program, and we then cut off their oil. They will implode on their own, and soon.

We should stay right there, do nothing to provoke, just watch the self destruction of another blustering communist country go out in a poof.

They won't spend what little they have on starting a war that will assuredly result in the death of their leader and his entire power structure there within days. None of them will be spared, and they know it.

Better for the leadership to slowly starve everyone, and wait until the revolution comes, than to most assuredly die in a month.

Be calm. Trust Bush. The adults are back in charge.