Posted on 05/07/2005 12:35:06 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
North Korea nuclear test would be 'provocative': White House
59 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States warned that any nuclear weapons test by North Korea would be considered a provocative act, as reports suggested the Stalinist state could stage an underground nuclear experiment.
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The New York Times said in a report Friday that US officials familiar with satellite and intelligence data believed North Korea was building a reviewing stand and filling in a tunnel, signs of a potential underground nuclear test.
"I don't want to get into discussing intelligence matters, but what I would say is that if North Korea did take such a step, that would just be another provocative act that would further isolate it from the international community," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
He said all countries in the region wanted a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
The United States and North Korea's neighbours had been working through multilateral talks to meet the objective, he added.
"And so we want to see North Korea come back to the six-party talks and discuss, in a serious way, how to move forward on the proposal we've outlined," McClellan said.
Talks between the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the United States on the North's nuclear programs have been stalled since a third round of talks last June.
The North has boycotted the talks, citing "hostile" US policy, and has publicly announced it has nuclear weapons and it could manufacture more.
NBC television, without citing sources, said the US military has drawn up plans for a possible preemptive strike against North Korea should Pyongyang appear ready to test a nuclear weapon.
The Pentagon has had B2 stealth bombers and F15e fighter jets on alert in the Pacific since September, as part of a contingency plan, the report said, adding that US allies in the region strongly oppose the military option.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei warned Friday that a North Korean test blast would be "nuclear blackmail" and world leaders should get on the phone to dissuade Pyongyang from going ahead with it.
North Korea needs "to understand that the international community has zero tolerance for any new country to go for a nuclear weapon," ElBaradei told AFP in an interview on the sidelines of a non-proliferation conference in New York.
Media reports have said that the North has been preparing an underground nuclear test since March and might conduct one as early as June.
A senior US intelligence official, who has seen recent satellite images taken of Kilchu, in northeastern North Korea, told the New York Times that tunnels for underground nuclear tests differed from those for mines as they need to be plugged up again to contain the powerful blast.
"You see them stemming the tunnel, taking material back into the mine to plug it up," said the unnamed official, a specialist in nuclear analysis. "There's a lot of activity," he added, "taking stuff in as opposed to taking it out."
Commenting on the report, acting State Department spokesman Tom Casey said "we certainly don't have any new assessment of North Korea's nuclear program."
A senior department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected the idea that the United States had "any new or startling assessment of what they may or may not be trying to do."
According to the Times report, the images also showed the construction of a reviewing stand, which officials said appeared luxurious by North Korean standards, several miles from the suspected test site.
A reviewing stand for visiting dignitaries is considered a significant clue to a possible nuclear test after Western intelligence overlooked one the North Koreans had built before they launched a missile in 1998.
North Korea is believed to have one or two crude nuclear bombs, according to US intelligence reports.
International jitters were heightened last Sunday when North Korea test-fired a short-range missile, although US, South Korean and Japanese officials refused to link the incident to Pyongyang's drive for nuclear arms.
"A few well placed missiles from our subs would suffice."
I'd expect ACM stealth cruise missiles launched from B52's far away would be used.
I've read that the North Korean's have constructed a 'reviewing stand'.
It'd be pretty funny if Kim Jong-Il attends the 'review' only to find that the device wasn't placed deep enough.
Maybe we'd report it as 'Kim Jong-Il nukes himself to a crisp'?
Maybe we could convince the Chinese to invade North Korea?
I really doubt that Kim Jong-Il would expect THAT.
I agree. But what do you think the odds are that Kimmy believes we are serious when we say we are going to take out a country after our work in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are necessary (albeit costly) precedents. It takes a single Boomer. No, it takes a fraction of a single Boomer. They don't even need to leave our territorial waters. Kimmy knows this. This game of chicken can only end badly for him.
Your probably right though, we'll file a big deal protest at the UN and N. Korea will maybe die laughing if we are lucky.
One reason not to which is in the forefront of the minds of those in a position to decide whether to strike or not.
N. Korea isn't laughing, less the 5% of the decision makers for the rest.
What is the chance that Iran is footing the bill for the N Kor nuke test?
We will do nothing.
" It's my understanding that one of their missles is capable of reaching Seattle.
Hey...I live near there.
Lovely."
Hey , I'm right across the sea from NK in Kyushu ! They could lob one at Fukuoka no problemo and if the winds blowing in our direction down here in Kumamoto it's over !
They could have some arrangement. That is, N. Korea does something for Iran, and vice versa.
It is also possible that they coordinate their provocation to maximize their gains, for example, causing troubles almost simultaneously, attempting to keep U.S. stretched thin.
That would be a lot easier said than done, and would also probably escalate rapidly. If we take that step, we'd better be prepared to for an all out war on the peninsula, because there's a good chance that's what would happen.
NBC. Hello?! Since when did we start listening to them???!
I am suprised there is not much news on this in whole.
I refer to the power in control and not the people of course.
Even the poor people of North Korea would have major problems with everyone. After all, they've been lied to for years.
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