My Way News is reporting:
North Korea threatened military action Wednesday against U.S. and South Korean warships plying the waters near the Koreas' disputed maritime border, raising the specter of a naval clash just days after the regime's underground nuclear test.
Pyongyang, reacting angrily to Seoul's decision to join an international program to intercept ships suspected of aiding nuclear proliferation, called the move tantamount to a declaration of war.
"Those who provoke [North Korea] once will not be able to escape its unimaginable and merciless punishment," North Korea's official news agency said.
Reuters is reporting that Russia fears that a conflict with North Korea could go nuclear:
Russia is taking security measures as a precaution against the possibility tension over North Korea could escalate into nuclear war, news agencies quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.
North Korea has responded to international condemnation of its nuclear test and a threat of new U.N. sanctions by saying it is no longer bound by an armistice signed with South Korea at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
It looks like Obama's diplomacy is working out well. Talking to North Korea's leaders is tantamount to talking sense to a mad dog.
UPDATE: The Japan Times is reporting:
The [Japanese] government Tuesday welcomed the U.N. Security Council's quick opposition to North Korea's nuclear test but continued to scramble for a fresh response to Pyongyang's latest provocation.
Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed during a phone conference in the morning that Pyongyang's nuclear test was "a serious threat to the peace and stability of Northeast Asia and the international community," and that a swift adoption of a U.N. resolution against the reclusive state is necessary.
They also confirmed that Japan, the U.S. and South Korea will cooperate more closely over North Korea and stressed the importance of coordinating with China and Russia.
This is the stuff which keeps me awake at night. I worry about alot of things such as abused animals, global warming, and inflictions on the human race. But this is just scary. And it is funny, I debated with science teachers that this year we should instead of teaching about global warming show Gojira and learn about post-war Japan and the effects of nuclear war. What a time this would be.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think that Kim Jong-Il's family likes Godzilla. They did not learn anything. No a thing.
This has me scared. Sometimes I think, "What if I just mailed a copy of Gojira to all of the world leaders to watch." After all, other than global warming, Nuclear War is the #1 threat to this plannet and it's inhabitants.
Although the nuclear card Kim Jong Il is threatening to play isn't really much of a real concern to the US, *other* weapons that they DO have are even more frightening than if they had a whole arsenal of nukes. It's not well known, but in the 1970s and 80s Russia created very effective weaponized strains of smallpox which, if released, could easily kill half the population exposed to it. North Korea is strongly suspected by the CIA of having this weaponized smallpox which is deadlier, more infective and resistant to inoculation, and all they would need to effectively disable or perhaps even destroy our society is to have a few suicidal agents in this country with some vials of the stuff. There's not a whole lot of doubt that they actually could and maybe do. You can be certain that Obama is well aware of this threat.
ReplyDeleteFor those who might doubt that a weapon of this type would really be effective, read "Demon In The Freezer" by Richard Preston. By itself, without any enhancement, smallpox can easily be 30% lethal, and the disease itself is debilitating and painful to an extreme degree. The inoculations that older people (like me) had in earlier life will be likely ineffective even against an outbreak of normal smallpox. Kim Jong Il is crazy enough to actually do such a thing, but he's not stupid. He wouldn't do it unless he actually believes he or the NK regime is threatened. Since he's paranoid, however, he may come to think so even if it's not a fact. Don't be fooled into thinking that he is not a real threat against us. His posturing with nuclear weapons is only a cover for what he would actually do, which would be much worse than firing a nuclear warhead or three at us.