Posted on 09/23/2004 3:34:27 PM PDT by HAL9000
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea threatened Thursday to turn Japan into a "nuclear sea of fire" if the United States attacks it with nuclear weapons.The threat -- one of the most searing against Japan -- followed a report in Tokyo North Korea's military appears to be preparing to test-fire a missile that can cover most of Japan.
North Korea is currently in deep conflict with Japan over a number of issues, including Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The communist country has long complained that Japan blindly supports Washington's campaign to isolate and stifle it.
North Korea's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the large U.S. military bases in Japan would come under its attack in case a nuclear war breaks out in this part of the world. About 70,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan.
"If the United States ignites a nuclear wear, the U.S. military bases in Japan would serve as a detonating fuse to turn Japan into a nuclear sea of fire," the paper said in an article.
The article, carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, claimed that the danger of a nuclear war in Northeast Asia keeps increasing as a result of Washington's push to realign its military presence in this part of the world.
"The U.S. selection of Japan as the most important vantage point in implementing its Korean and Asian military strategy is designed to put into practice its long-range attack strategy," it said.
The article gave no direct mention of the North's nuclear capability. When the North refers to its nuclear capability, it says only that it has "nuclear deterrent."
U.S. officials believe that the North may already have one or two atomic bombs and possess enough weapons-grade plutonium to make several more.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported in its Thursday edition that Japanese and U.S. intelligence officials have determined from satellite images and other methods that military vehicles, soldiers and missile scientists were converging around multiple Rodong missile launch sites in the North.
The paper cited multiple government officials as confirming the North's activities.
The brisk North Korean military movements, the paper said, could be part of the communist country's preparations to test-fire a missile.
In 1998, North Korea sent shock waves through the region by test-firing a missile which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. It has since been suspected of developing longer-range missiles.
North Korea's missile development has been regarded as a major threat to regional security, on top of its recent suspected nuclear weapons drive.
Pyongyang declared a moratorium on missile tests in September 1999 and in May 2001 extended the decision until 2003.
In a historic summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September 2002, and again in May this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il promised to continue to keep the moratorium.
However, South Korean officials downplayed the Japanese report, saying that the North's military activities could be part of its annual training exercises.
"Recently, activities related with missiles have been detected and it's highly likely that it could be a routine and annual exercise," Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo told reporters.
South Korean defense officials also gave a similar assessment. Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-yeon, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said earlier that the militaries of South Korea and the United States were closely cooperating to monitor the North Korean move.
The North's Rodong missiles have a range of up to 1,300 kilometers, a distance that covers most of Japan, except the southernmost island of Okinawa.
If North Korea is really preparing to test-fire a missile, it would take from several days up to two weeks to put it into action, Yomiuri Shimbun said.
In response, Japan has deployed an Aegis-guided destroyer and intelligence collectors, such as EP-3 aircraft, to the East Sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the paper said.
Intelligence officials are also paying keen attention to the possibility of the North test-firing a longer-range Taepodong-2 missile, since a Taepodong launch site is near the Rodong missile sites, the report said.
Taepodong-2 missiles are believed to be capable of striking a target within a range of 6,000 kilometers, which means that it can also hit far-western parts of the United States, such as Alaska and Hawaii.
NK is small, but not that small. They've only got a few cities worth a "city buster" type nuke. They do have lots of tunnels and other dug in stuff that is hard to kill, even with a nuke. Of course you can make it so they can't get the stuff out of the tunnels.
As wrong, wrong, wrong as your comment was, you raise an interesting point. Imagine if, at some point in the future, two American cities had been nuked, and some lunatic dictator threatened to do so again.
It would be like the Ayallatollahs of Iran telling us, 'We're going to hijack some planes, and crash them into your skyscrapers'. We'd take it a lot more seriously, because it would be not only a threat of violence, but a cultural insult.
The Pyongang Chia Pet wants some attention.
The original Godzilla, if you can get past the outdated Japanese special effects, is a pretty frightening movie, particularly when viewed in the context of the Japanese experience.
I do not believe Japan will tolerate being threatened in this manner.
It amazes me that Jimmy Carter, after all the damage he has done to the world, including negotiating the treaty that allowed this madman to get ahold of nuclear weapons, has the nerve to criticize anyone about foreign policy.
You are correct in that individual nations should look after their own security interests. However most know that for 50+ years, Canada,Japan,South Korea and most of west europe have spent a small % of their g.n.p. on defence knowing that they have had the U.S. to foot the bill.
Why isn't Bush arming Japan and South Korea with nukes?
It would seem that might force China to bring their dog to heel.
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