courtesy of mutter's.
Now, how do you think this ties in with the "disappearance" of little Kim?
North Korea threatens to strengthen deterrent against US
(AFP)
20 December 2004
SEOUL
North Korea, which says it deserves nuclear weapons for self-defence, vowed Monday to strengthen its deterrent if the United States holds on to a “hostile” policy on the communist country.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman condemned the recent US legislation of a human rights law on North Korea as part of the US policy to bring down the communist regime.
Stalinist North Korea has been locked in a standoff with the United States and its allies for years over its nuclear weapons drive. Negotiations are deadlocked.
“If the United States... pursues its hostile policy to isolate and stifle (North Korea) under the pretext of the “nuclear issue’ and “human rights issue’... the latter will react to it by further increasing its self-defensive deterrent force,” the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“It is deplorable for the US to style itself an international ’judge of human rights,’ unaware of its position. By nature the US is the worst human rights graveyard in the world.”
The United States passed a law in October to “help promote human rights and freedom” in North Korea, according to a White House statement at the time. Pyongyang said the legislation aimed to topple the communist leadership.
Washington denies seeking to bring down the reclusive Pyongyang regime.
North Korea has been under growing pressure to return to multilateral negotiations on curbing its nuclear weapons drive.
The two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have held three rounds of talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear ambitions since the standoff erupted in October 2002.
North Korea boycotted a fourth round of the talks scheduled for Beijing in September, citing what it called the hostile US policy and other issues.
China, North Korea’s closest ally, has been trying to re-start the talks.
Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by North Korea’s ruling communist party, on Monday called for unity and consolidation under leader Kim Jong-Il in a renewed pledge to strengthen the country’s armed forces.
“It is... necessary to continue to strengthen the People’s Army, the driving force of the Songun (army-led) revolution,” Rodong said in an editorial carried by KCNA.
www.khaleejtimes.com/Disp...world&col=
Plus----Chinese troops are massed on the North Korean border.
THIS sounds REALLY bad....who is going to control those Paki nukes? Didn't the US have a plan to take control of the nukes if something like this were to take place? No wonder India had been on high alert- they must have gotten wind of this some time ago:
Islamists to mark Jan 1 as ‘black day’(PLOTTING TO DUMP MUSHARRAF)
Web posted at: 12/20/2004 1:47:3
Source ::: Reuters
ISLAMABAD:
Islamists vowed yesterday to resist plans by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to stay on as head of the army, breaking his pledge to quit the post by the end of the year.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a central leader of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Islamic alliance, said the Islamists would mark January 1 as a “black day” if Musharraf did not keep his promise.
“Musharraf has become a security risk for the country,” Hussain told a rain-soaked anti-government rally of about 5,000 people in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
“We will observe a black day on January 1 if Musharraf keeps the uniform of army chief,” Hussain told the crowd, who chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) and “Down with Musharraf.”
Hussain said the Islamist alliance would meet on December 24 to announce its future plan of action.
The rally was part of the public campaign the alliance launched last month in an effort to force Musharraf to step down from his leadership of the army.
Analysts said the political temperature was likely to rise after Musharraf’s statement on a private television network on Saturday that he would stay on as army chief after December 31.
Musharraf pledged last year to shed his military uniform by the end of 2004 in return for support for constitutional changes validating his rule as president and giving him extensive power under a deal with an alliance of Islamist parties.
Parliament, where pro-military groups have a majority, passed a bill last month allowing Musharraf to keep the dual offices of president and army chief.
In the television interview Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, also promised to tell Pakistanis within days why he had changed his mind.
He had previously signalled that he believed quitting as army chief would undermine Pakistan’s support for the U.S.-led war on terror and his efforts to make peace with India.
He has also said an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis want him to remain chief of the powerful military.
Musharraf also faces challenges from opposition groups, including the Pakistan People’s Party of self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
But political analysts said the protests were unlikely to pose a threat to Musharraf’s rule because the ruling party was pro-military, its allies had a parliamentary majority, and opposition groups were disorganised.
Political commentator Najam Sethi said Musharraf’s statement was not surprising and it was unclear if the opposition could unite enough to launch an effective challenge.
“The ball is now squarely in the opposition’s court,” he told Reuters. “Musharraf will keep his rule firm with support from the United States and the military, as there is no possibility of a mass uprising.”
Western countries have criticised Musharraf’s democratic credentials, but not too loudly because of his role in the US-led hunt for al Qaeda militants held responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half the 57 years since independence from British colonial rule.
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com...201473.xml