North Korea Officially Declares Itself a Nuclear Power (U.S. Official Confirms N.K. Nuclear Test)

[Lunatic Fringe]

Just reported on CNN via South Korea television news.

[buwaya]

No he didn't. Their nuclear reactor/reprocessing plants were home grown/Soviet derived via China. The actual reactor design, optimized to make plutonium, was copied from the British (its a British Magnox design) via Soviet versions.

Clinton promised him a nuclear power plant (a US PWR) as an incentive, not very useful for nuclear weapons production, but the US never delivered one as the NK's didn't keep their side of the bargain wrt missiles.

[rfp1234]

--Clinton and Jimmy enabled North Korea--

That's a two-fer for Dhimmi Carter: he also enabled the Iran ayatollocracy to gain power in the first place.

[George W. Bush]

You are spot on but do not tell it to freeper "the crusader" whom sounds more like he wants to blame GW.

You can toss rocks at The Crusader if it makes you feel good. But you should know the general public will not likely go for a Clinton-lost-North-Korea blame game. It just won't sell after six years of Bush and GOP dominance.

Clinton was a gullible enabler, as was idiot Carter. But Bush has been more focused on the Mideast than on Asia. Or on the budding Leftists in South America under Castro's and Chavez's tutelage.

Personally, I've lost what little confidence I had in the current National Security Council and Secretary Rice. Powell was no better. It's been very disappointing.

The average voter following foreign news and events can't help but notice that there the growing threats to American foreign policy besides the dismal prospects in Iraq: a proliferating North Korea, regimes of the Left rising in Central and South America, the failed Pali initiative which has harmed Israel's security, the grim prospects of doing anything to bring regime change in Iran or deter the mullahs from acquiring nukes in the next few years.

Our ability to conduct foreign policy, normally a Republican strength, will be questioned. I expect to see this kind of criticism not just from the NYT and the usual drive-by media but from WSJ and National Review.

[dfwgator]

Oh, nooooooooooooo, not a resolution!

Followed by the dreaded "Letter of Deep Concern."

[rfp1234]

--Their nuclear reactor/reprocessing plants were home grown/Soviet derived via China--

China had oodles of opportunities to get sensitive technology info. from the U.S. for the duration of the BJ regime. That also includes advances in missile delivery systems that went from the U.S. to China (and likely through to NK).
See for example:

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/9/29/25139.shtml

[Rain-maker]

[George W. Bush]

If China didn't want Kim to do this, he wouldn't have, it's that simple.

China does not want any nuclear neighbors. Especially Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, all of whom will arm now if they have any brains. Japan could field nukes on good missiles in just a few months. And China's leverage with Kim is weak if he is determined. What can they do to his country and his people that he has not already done in spades?

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Am I alone in thinking that the most likely result of this is a Chinese invasion of NK?

Quite.

[festus]

Also a revokation of their parking pass and pool priveleges.

[festus]

And no one needs tell me I fouled up the spelling in that last post ( and most of my other ones as well........ )

[dfwgator]

Also a revokation of their parking pass and pool priveleges.

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark.

[Talking_Mouse]

Cite? This is the first I had heard that we, through Albright, had not given NK their nuclear capacity.

[buwaya]

None of this is necessary for bomb-making NK-style.

This is 1950's technology.

It is a problem that the Chinese have H-bomb simulation info and missile guidance tech, but this is not necessary for the NK's to be a problem. The NK's aren't going to bother simulating H-bombs and they don't need to hit a missile silo in North Dakota. A city-size target is all they need to hit, and they can do that already, if their missile can get there at all.

It just makes the Chinese nuclear weapons program (#2 on the planet these days) cheaper.

[TheCrusader]

"dmBut Clinton and Jimmy enabled North Korea and the Bush administration didn't have many options because of it. Other then nuking the whole damn country I suppose, but given China has their backs that wasn't a great option."

So instead the Bush Administration decided to grant China "most favored nation" trading status, and turn them into a powerhouse economy so they could build their military. All the while they added tarriffs to our exports, willfully creating a huge trade imbalance with them. Our response was to, well, do nothing. Our grande strategy with NK and Iran seems to be about the same..... nothing.

[buwaya]

Never delivered. The agreement broke down.

Check the NTI site for a listing of all NK facilities -

http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/NK/Nuclear/45.html

No US LWR/PWR reactors.

The only functional reactor they have of any size is the 5MW unit at Yongbyon.

[danamco]

Madame Half-Bright doling out your tax-dollar$

[rfp1234]

-As weird as this might seem, I don't think that NK detonating a nuke will bump the Foley garbage off of the headlines of our wonderful MSM.--

Let the Maim Scream Media go ahead, and push their piles of sex-scandal sewage forward as much as they want. They will look like imbeciles to all but the Koolaid-drinking, Olbermann-buttkissing, Howie Dean-hero-worshiping, two-inch crowd.

[Pepper777]

** I agree. China, and Russia, are waging 'proxy war' against us thru Iran, Iraq, NK. Their strategy, I believe, is to have these little guys wear us down, and hope for an opening.**

Exactly. NK has submarines. Tonights news is hideous.

[dcrider182]

.. thank you.. but God Bless us all for being Americans!

[divine_moment_of_facts]

Drudge has been very cautious since that time he posted Pope Paul was dead.. before he actually died!