Free Republic

In North Korea, the military now issues economic orders By Blaine Harden Tuesday, November 3, 2009 SEOUL -- North Korea's military, whose nuclear program vexes the Obama administration, has grabbed nearly complete command of the nation's state-run economy and staked out a lucrative new trade in mineral sales to China to make money for its supreme commander, Kim Jong Il. As it deepens its dominance over nearly every aspect of daily life, the Korean People's Army is also deploying soldiers to take first dibs on all food harvested in the isolated, chronically hungry country, according to the latest assessments of...

(LEAD) N. Korea appears to have restored plutonium-generating plant: officials By Sam Kim SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has apparently restored its facility used to produce weapons-grade plutonium at its main nuclear complex that had been mothballed under a six-nation accord, officials here said Monday. "The reprocessing factory appears to have been restored to its earlier conditions," a senior defense official said, citing satellite photos that also showed a continuous stream of workers in and out of the site in Yongbyon, 90km north of Pyongyang.

North Korea presses US to accept direct talks Sun Nov 1, 10:36 pm ET SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea pressed the United States to accept its demand for direct talks on the communist regime's nuclear program, saying Monday "we will go our own way" unless Washington agrees. North Korea's Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on its comment, which appeared to be a threat to enlarge its nuclear arsenal. The ministry statement came as North Korea's No. 2 nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, wrapped up a rare trip to the U.S. where he met with the chief American nuclear negotiator, Sung...

MOSCOW -- Russia is not ready to agree to a proposed new round of arms control talks that were to begin after a deal is reached on extending the START 1 nuclear treaty, a U.S. nuclear expert said Tuesday. The comments by former U.S. diplomat Richard Burt came after discussions in Moscow between Russian foreign ministry officials and representatives of Global Zero, a nongovernment nuclear disarmament group that includes more than 200 political leaders and military officials from around the world. "I think it's fair to say they're not ready to commit to a new

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration expressed mild disappointment Friday that Iran withheld a decision on whether to accept a U.N.-coordinated plan that could ease fears about Iran's potential for making a nuclear weapon. The U.S., along with Russia and France, officially endorsed the plan Friday. The State Department said it was unhappy that Iran was not ready to embrace the plan, which calls for Iran to ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and eventual use as fuel for a research reactor in Tehran that makes medical isotopes and is under regular monitoring by a U.N....

Kingdom’s uranium prospects ‘promising’ By Taylor Luck AMMAN - After less than a year of exploration, the Jordanian-French Uranium Mining Company (JFUMC) is reporting promising results for the potential location of the Kingdom’s first uranium mine, company officials said on Tuesday. Over the last nine months, drilling and geological mapping carried out by the firm, a joint venture between French mining company AREVA and Jordan Energy Resources Inc., has revealed large amounts of high-grade uranium close to surface levels. Operating within a 1,469-square-kilometre concession area, the JFUMC has focused on a 100-square-kilometre fertile zone in Swaqa as well as the...

This is the latest installment art video on my understanding of God and how he plays out in strange and mysterious ways. Humour and pathos are all too frequently missed in religion and I'm trying to make up for it. I say that now but I might change my mind. For the budding theologians, please help me out, for I know not what I have done... Any comments would be appreciated.

Hadron Collider physicist Adlene Hicheur charged with terrorism A French physicist with the European atomic research centre near Geneva was charged with terrorism offences by a Paris judge last night after investigators said that he offered to work with the North African branch of al-Qaeda. Adlène Hicheur, 32, who is of Algerian origin, was arrested last week with his younger brother after intelligence agents intercepted his alleged internet contacts with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The physicist, who works at the giant atomic collider at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research), which straddles Swiss and French territory, told the Islamic...

Tehran accuses US in case of missing Iranian nuclear scientist DEBKA file Special Report October 8, 2009, 6:23 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki charged Wednesday, Oct. 7 that Tehran had "documents that prove US interference" in the disappearance of the nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri during a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. He spoke after attending an Iranian cabinet meeting. Six days after meeting the six powers on its nuclear program in Geneva, Tehran appears to be preparing a new crisis. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly denied having any information "on this individual." Some Saudi sources claimed...

The latest reports of senior nuclear scientists defecting from Iran to the West have caused considerable embarrassment and concern to the regime in Tehran. The reports first broke in Londown-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, and were followed up in the Iranian media. The reports suggest that at least one scientist, Shahram Amiri, who worked on nuclear research and development, defected several months ago to the west during the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. One more person, whose identity and specialization remains unclear - he may have been a scientist or held another key position in Iran's nuclear program - may have...

U.S.: North Korean Tactics Won't Work For Iran By Corey Flintoff Published September 28, 2009 4:23 PM The U.S. says Iran won't get anywhere by copying North Korea's pattern of provocative actions, but it's not clear whether Tehran's latest missile tests or the revelations about its secret nuclear enrichment facility will draw tougher international sanctions. Iran showed its military prowess with two days of missile tests that culminated Monday with the launch of a rocket said to be capable of reaching Israel or U.S. bases in the Middle East. The show of force comes just days before Iranian negotiators are...

LONDON – Deep-cover MI6 agents who have described the workings of the once-secret underground uranium enrichment plant near the Iranian city of Qom now have discovered a staggering five more similar operations, according to a report....

Iran warns West against "past mistakes" Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:02am EDT By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday it would refuse to discuss a newly declared nuclear plant at forthcoming international talks and cautioned Western powers it could curb cooperation further if they repeated "past mistakes." An Iranian MP suggested that parliament might advocate withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Thursday's Geneva talks with major powers fail and "if the Zionists (Israel) and America continue their pressure on Iran" -- a reference to policies including economic sanctions. Washington has suggested possible...

The Daily Express in the UK is reporting that the Saudi's will OK the use of their airspace to Israel for an attack on Iran's nuke facilities. The site is seen as a major threat by Tel Aviv and Riyadh. Details of the talks emerged after John Bolton, America’s former UN ambassador, told a meeting of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel’s use of Saudi airspace.

An aerial image of the suspected nuclear facility in Qom Barack Obama raises spectre of nuclear conflict as Allies find site near Iran holy city Catherine Philp in New York and Francis Elliott in Pittsburgh Britain, France and the United States set the stage for a dramatic confrontation with Iran when they revealed the existence of a secret nuclear site inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom as evidence of Tehran’s efforts to deceive the international community. The coup de théâtre came at the opening of the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh after three days of intense diplomacy...

Riyadh concerned over potential threat from Tehran MI6 chief Sir John Scarlett has been told that Saudi Arabia is "seriously considering" whether Israel should be given permission to fly over the kingdom to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The sites are seen as a major threat by both Tel Aviv and Riyadh. The matter was discussed at a meeting between Scarlett, Meir Dagan, the ebullient chief of Mossad, and Saudi Arabian officials. The meeting ostensibly was for Scarlett to introduce Dagan to Sir John Sawyers, who officially takes over MI6 in November.

Venezuelan site could give Hezbollah door to atomic mischief Iran may consider a proposal from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to build a backup "nuclear village" in his nation to produce nuclear energy and also to have a safe fall-back production capability in case there is an attack by Israel or the United States on nuclear facilities in Iran, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Chavez, in a visit last week to Iran, proposed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the idea of building a project in Venezuela. Security sources have confirmed such a "nuclear village" could become the...

Russian President hints at U-turn over Iran sanctions Richard Beeston in Moscow President Medvedev gave the first hint yesterday that Russia was prepared to perform a significant policy U-turn and support US moves for sanctions against Iran. Speaking in Moscow, the Russian leader went out of his way to be more conciliatory with the West before his visit this month to the US where he will attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York and the G20 summit of economic powers in Pittsburgh. A key issue on the agenda will be efforts by America, Britain and France to...

The sunset of South Korea's 'sunshine policy' Two leaders reached out to the North and got nothing but disappointment and lies. By Donald Kirk August 20, 2009 No South Korean leader generated such dreams as did Kim Dae-jung, who died on Tuesday. His five-year presidency, and his "sunshine policy" of reconciliation with North Korea reached its spectacular height in June 2000, when he flew to Pyongyang for the first-ever inter-Korean summit. North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il hosted him in an atmosphere of confidence that the half-century of war and confrontation between the two Koreas was nearing an end....

(Kim Death) (LEAD) Former President Kim dies at 85 SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- Former President Kim Dae-jung died at Seoul's Severance Hospital at 1:42 p.m. Tuesday after a long battle with pneumonia and related complications, hospital officials said. He was 85. Kim, who served as president from 1998-2003, was admitted to Severance Hospital in western Seoul on July 13 with pneumonia and put on a respirator three days later. He underwent surgery on his bronchial tubes in late July as part of procedures to facilitate his breathing. Beginning late Monday night, Kim's health condition suddenly deteriorated, with his heart...

U.S. sees growing backing for N.Korea sanctions 14/08/2009 01:01 By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea after its nuclear test in May are gaining growing support from countries and banks, a senior American official said on Thursday. Ambassador Phil Goldberg, the U.S. coordinator for implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, said efforts to inspect North Korean vessels for illegal weapons and to curb financial transactions by Pyongyang entities suspected of proliferation were winning widespread backing.

India Searches Detained North Korean Ship For Nuclear Materials 8 hours ago (RTTNews) - Indian scientists and police on Monday carried out extensive search operations for nuclear materials on board a North Korean ship, which India seized last week, said officials on Monday. Indian officials said that they have not found any nuclear material in the search operations so far, but added that the North Korean vessel would be released only after the experts are satisfied there is nothing wrong with the consignment. According to Indian officials, the North Korean vessel appeared to be carrying a consignment of sugar. They...

Sixty-four years ago today: "On Monday, August 6, 1945, the nuclear weapon Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by the crew of the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000-140,000. Approximately 69% of the city's buildings were completely destroyed, and 6.6% severely damaged." - Hiroshima I would imagine that if you repeated those grisly facts to most of the people of the world today they'd express either some polite sadness, a bit of political high dudgeon, or the classic contemporary rejoinder, "Whatever."...

N.Korea 'helping Myanmar build nuclear plant': report Sat Aug 1, 11:03 am ET SYDNEY (AFP) – North Korea is helping Myanmar build a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant to build an atomic bomb within five years, a report said on Saturday, citing the evidence of defectors. The nuclear complex is hidden inside a mountain at Naung Laing, in Myanmar's north, and runs parallel to a civil reactor being built at another site by Russia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The revelations come just weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concerns that Pyongyang was transferring...

Tough talk is fine. But ACTIONS speak louder![VIDEO AT SITE] From Politico:Hillary Clinton: "What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions, that if you're pursuing nuclear weapons for the purpose of intimidating, of projecting your power, we're not going to let that happen," Clinton said. "First, we're going to do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But your pursuit is futile, because we will never let Iran — nuclear-armed, not nuclear-armed — it is something that we view with great concern, and that's why we're doing...

Sound the Alarm How to stop Burma from getting nukes. BY CATHERINE COLLINS | JULY 24, 2009 When senior Chinese officials arrive in Washington on Monday for bilateral talks on strategy and the economy, they will find a new item near the top of the agenda: U.S. concerns that North Korea is supplying nuclear weapons technology to Burma. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of this possibility speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum this week in Thailand -- a threat she said the United States takes "very seriously." So seriously, in fact, that Clinton will raise...

Report: N. Korea Facing Worst Crisis Since 1994 JULY 18, 2009 08:14 North Korea is facing its worst situation since the time of the death of its founder Kim Il Sung in 1994, the leading state-run think tank in South Korea said yesterday. The Korea Development Institute said in a report that North Korea is saddled with a string of problems, including the internal problems of supreme leader Kim Jong Il’s poor health and power succession and external matters of international sanctions and stalled inter-Korean relations. “When comprehensively considering the situation in North Korea, the North is facing a grave...

"North Korea Entering a New Phase: 'We Are Not Interested in the U.S. Anymore'" By Amii Abe Introduction Six days before the DPRK conducted their recent second nuclear test, an official of the DPRK government strongly declared, "We are expanding. We will conduct nuclear tests and missile tests again, and sell our nuclear arms to other countries to achieve equal power with the U.S." As long as we understand North Korea's perspective, their provocative actions are not surprising. Rather, all of them are foreseeable. The government of the DPRK has already reached a new stage in their foreign policy strategy,...

N.Korea's No. 2 Leader Says Nuclear Talks Are Over North Korea's Kim Yong-nam says the six-party nuclear talks are over for good. The reclusive regime's second-highest official told delegates at the Non-Aligned Meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that there can be no dialogue or negotiations "where the principles of respect for sovereign rights and equality are denied." Kim claimed Pyongyang had no choice but to take "decisive measures" to further strengthen its nuclear deterrence. The six-party nuclear dismantlement talks were suspended late last year and Pyongyang declared this April it was not returning to the talks after...

Doubts in White House on approach to N. Korea Though official policy is to pursue talks, some aides believe the focus should be on containment, to prevent the communist nation from selling nuclear know-how or parts. By Paul Richter July 14, 2009 Reporting from Washington -- American diplomatic efforts on North Korea are coming under fire within the Obama administration from officials who consider talks futile and instead want to focus on halting the regime's trade in nuclear weapons and missile equipment, U.S. officials said. The administration's official goal has been to coax the Pyongyang government back into the six-nation...

Examiner Columnist | 7/6/09 10:44 PM News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher. President Barack Obama returns from Russia this week with a verbal commitment in hand from President Dmitry Medvedev to slash stockpiles of nuclear weapons as a preemptive strike against one of the top five potential causes of man-made global warming -- unrestrained atomic fission. "Our conflicting notions of national security made previous nuclear arms reductions difficult," said Mr. Obama, standing next to his Russian counterpart at a news conference, "but our shared concern over the threat of global warming has brought us together this week. Dmitry and...

(LEAD) S. Korea to build defenses against nuclear EMP waves by 2014 By Sam Kim SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will spend tens of billions of won by 2014 to protect against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves unleashed by a nuclear blast, an official said Friday. The plan for the construction of anti-EMP facilities was recently inserted into a long-term defense reform plan after North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test in May, Brig. Gen. Jang Gi-yoon said. "The spending will not top 100 billion won (US$78 million)," Jang said in a briefing, declining to be more specific....

After the Internet, the next big thing will be cheap and clean energy. Coal, oil and gas pollute and are increasingly expensive: We need alternatives. Because nuclear energy (stored among particles inside atoms) is millions of times more dense than chemical energy (stored among atoms in molecules), nuclear reactors belong high on our long list of energy alternatives. Nuclear energy is released during fission and fusion. During fission, large elements like uranium are split into smaller elements. During fusion, small elements like hydrogen are combined into larger elements. These two processes have occurred naturally since the beginning of time --...

/begin my translation Iranian Delegation were Present at N. Korea's Nuclear Test Tokyo - Chae Myung-suk 2009-06-25 Iranian delegation of seven people visited N. Korea late last May when it conducted (2nd) nuclear test, according to Japanese media. Quoting a credible source on N. Korea, Sankei Shimbun of Japan reported on June 25 that Iranian delegation visited N. Korea late last May when the nuclear test was conducted. The delegation came at the invitation of N. Korea. Seven people delegation stayed for a week and watched the test on May 25. It reported that Iranian delegation also came when N....

Al Qaeda says would use Pakistani nuclear weapons 21 Jun 2009 21:01:19 GMT Source: Reuters By Inal Ersan DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - If it were in a position to do so, Al Qaeda would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired on Sunday. Pakistan has been battling al Qaeda's Taliban allies in the Swat Valley since April after their thrust into a district 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the capital raised fears the nuclear-armed country could slowly slip into militant hands. "God willing, the...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Only one in five Israeli Jews believes a nuclear-armed Iran would try to destroy Israel and most see life continuing as normal should their arch-foe get the bomb, an opinion poll published on Sunday found.

North Korea in 'early phase of all-out confrontation with US' North Korea has pledged to begin work "weaponising" plutonium to create another nuclear bomb as it delivered a furious response to a UN resolution ordering a fresh round of sanctions against the rogue Stalinist state. By Peter Foster in Beijing Published: 12:00PM BST 13 Jun 2009 The Yongbyon complex nuclear facility, some100 km (60 miles) north of Pyongyang, North Korea Photo: EPA The regime of the ailing dictator Kim Jong-il said it was now in the "early phase of all-out confrontation with the US" as it sought to raise tensions...

/begin my excerpts If U.S. Accepts N. Korean Nuke, Calls for Nuclear Sovereignty Could Spread (message to US) Ju Yong-joong 2009.06.13 02:51 Presidential Office: "Won't discuss it at the upcoming summit. Could cause misunderstanding if we link it to N. Korean nuclear test." On June 12, ruling party's policy committee publicly called for both S. Korean and U.S. governments to allow the 'Restoration of Peaceful Nuclear Sovereignty,' on the eve of S. Korea-U.S. summit, which is viewed as a prelude to things to come. Instead of pushing S. Korean government to 'raise this issue right now at the upcoming summit,...

BANGALORE: Search operations have been intensified to trace a senior scientific officer of the Kaiga atomic power plant in coastal Karnataka after he went missing Monday, police said Thursday. Scientist, Lokanath Mahalingam, 47, left home in the Kaiga township Monday morning for a walk but did not return since then. "We have formed a special search team to find the scientist. Combing operations are on in the dense 1,000-acre Mallapur forest and fringe areas for any sign of his presence," Uttara Kannada District Superintendent of Police Raman Gupta told IANS on phone from Kaiga, about 500 km from here. Personnel...

N. Korean paper defines nuke deterrent as means of aggression SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday described its nuclear weapons capability as means of both self-protection and "merciless aggression" towards those violating its sovereignty, the first acknowledgment by the country that it may use its nuclear weapons other than for defensive measures. "Our nuclear deterrence capability is a powerful defensive measure to secure the peace and stability of the Joseon (Korean) peninsula and nearby regions. It will become a vehicle for merciless attacks on those who even slightly infringe upon our sovereignty," said Minju Joson, North Korea's...

/begin my excerpts North Korea to Do 3rd Nuke Test This Year One last step for completing nuke-tipped ICBM (Beijing = Yonhap News) Cho Sung-dae = N. Korea set the goal of completing the development of ICBM with nuclear warhead by the end of this year. To do this, they could carry out the third nuclear test this year. Diplomatic and national security sources in Beijing said on June 5 that N. Korea has been pursuing the development of ICBM with a nuclear warhead, led by its military and is on the verge of success. Sources believe that N. Korea...

Was N. Korea`s 2nd Nuke Test Faked? JUNE 04, 2009 08:20 Suspicion is rising over whether North Korea really conducted a nuclear test last week since no krypton-85, a radioactive material produced after an atomic detonation, has been detected. Radioactive materials not found in nature such as krypton-85 and xenon-135 are released after a nuclear test. Krypton-85 remains in the air for several decades and thus presents clear evidence of a nuclear test. In October 2006, a U.S. WC-135 scout plane detected radioactive materials over the East Sea a couple of days after the North conducted its first nuclear test....

Current Actions for Jong Woon's Gain By Yang Jung A [2009-06-03 17:06 ] Member of the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly and Grand National Party member Lee Cheol Woo said on Wednesday, “North Korea’s consecutive hard line actions have all been in order to manufacture achievements for the successor. When North Korea publicizes the choice of successor, they can attribute such achievements to him.” Lee explained on a radio program, “After Kim Jong Il was designated the successor to Kim Il Sung, the authorities propagated the idea that he was behind the success of the Pueblo Incident in 1968...

China reconsidering North policies after nuclear test June 04, 2009 BEIJING - A Chinese government source told the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday that China has begun overhauling its North Korean policy following the North’s nuclear test last week. The source said he believes Chinese President Hu Jintao wielded some influence on this change of course. Hu is also the chair of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group, a Communist Party organ that handles foreign policies of the country. Xinhua News reported that Hu spoke to the U.S. President Barack Obama by phone to discuss North Korea, and the agency said the...

China anger with North Korea echoes in the press Tuesday, June 2 10:47 am Chris Buckley The top item on the Chinese website of Beijing's embassy in Pyongyang is a condemnation of North Korea's nuclear test. That, and a recent blast of blunt criticism of North Korea in China's state-run press, suggest the rancour that officials feel towards their communist neighbour -- anger likely to bring Beijing behind a U.N. resolution condemning the May 25 test and threatening fresh sanctions. North Korea's second nuclear test took place 85 km (53 miles) from China's border, and the tremors from the blast...

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) published last month a detailed 268-page dossier disclosing the addresses and specifications of hundreds of U.S. nuclear-weapons-related facilities, laboratories, reactors and research activities. The document, which was removed from the Web on Tuesday, is a draft declaration of facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, required under agreements that the United States signed in 2004. It is considered highly sensitive though technically not classified. The vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican, said the disclosure revealed "a virtual treasure map for terrorists."

The Axis of Madness 03 June 2009 By Yulia Latynina North Korea tested a nuclear bomb near Russia's border, but the Foreign Ministry advised Russians not to panic. North Korea is a totalitarian state led by a man who makes Josef Stalin and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong look like Cub Scouts. This is a country where people die from hunger. Many of the roads lack asphalt, but hordes of North Koreans come out every Sunday on a "voluntary" basis to level the surface. If the volunteers don't show up for work, they could be shot. North Korea's coastline is...

Leaders live in luxury while North Koreans starve to pay for nuclear bomb Satellite images of North Korea have revealed the luxury lifestyle of dictator Kim Jong Il and his inner circle, replete with palaces, golf courses and swimming pools with giant waterslides. Leonard Doyle in Washington and David Blair in Singapore Last Updated: 11:55AM BST 31 May 2009 North Korea Uncovered pin point Kim Jong Il's manicured residence and swimming pool in an area reserved for North Korea's ruling elite They appear to show that the country's secretive elite, who sparked a fresh nuclear crisis last week by test...

North Korean nuclear program sign of 'dark future,' Pentagon chief says Sat May 30, 6:28 PM North Korea's progress in developing nuclear weapons is a "harbinger of a dark future," U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday. Gates was speaking in Singapore at an annual meeting of defence and security officials. His comments follow North Korea's underground nuclear test last Monday, its short-range missile launches later in the week and its declarations about resuming its nuclear program. Gates said the North's nuclear program does not "at this point" represent a direct military threat to the United States and he does...

U.S. team to speak more about N. Korea than listen: Seoul officials Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- An inter-agency team of ranking U.S. officials, on a rare tour of Northeast Asia, is expected to "talk" more about the Barack Obama administration's stance on North Korea than "listen to" those of other regional players, officials here said Monday. The delegation, led by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, arrived in Tokyo on the weekend before visiting South Korea, China, and Russia. It also includes Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levy, Wallace Gregson, assistant...