Posted on 03/21/2003 1:29:52 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo
"FReepranslation" by "AmericanInTokyo" (Iraq War: Day Two)
Summary from original Asian sources (as of 16:45 Eastern Time)
Day Two, Folks. Just took a brief tour of a number of reputable Japanese, Korean and English news websites, looking for any threatening action or threats made by communist North Korea in response to the ongoing Iraq conflict. (This is an ongoing daily report for FR.)
Asian news sources viewed were (from Korea): Choson Ilbo Daily, Hanguk Ilbo Daily, Dong-A Ilbo Daily, YTN TV, KBS TV, Yonghap News, Yahoo News Korea and (from Japan): Kyodo News, Yomiuri News, Mainichi News, Sankei News, Nikkan Fuji, TBS TV, NTV TV, Fuji TV, Yahoo Japan News.
Summary report below.
--KCNA, the main propaganda agency and Korea's sole official voice on the web, is nearly frozen in their English articles. They have not updated their articles for several days. They make no reference to the attack on Iraq by the US/UK in their English dispatches.
--A spokesman from the DPRK Foreign Ministry, through Central News Agency, has finally made a statement. His points are that the US action is a major interference in the affairs of a sovereign nation.
--The DPRK spokesman said that the attack on Iraq is dress rehearsal for an invasion of the DPRK, and that in self defense they must do something to protect the Republic.
--The communist party daily "Rodong Shinmun" said that this is an illegal act by the imperialists, and that they only way to stop them may be to resort to defensive military power.
--North Korean statements claim that the US military has moved to "DEFCON 2" in South Korea, and the interpret this as a provocation and a pretext for invasion of North Korea (typical rhetoric).
--Reporter Zielinzeger for Mercury Papers says that various specialists think North Korea may now feel "nothing to loose" and therefore excelerate nuke production or cause some kind of provocative attack now that Saddam Hussein is being seriously hit by the USA.
--The US elint aircraft 'Cobra Ball' is now back on station at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and will be patrolling the Sea of Japan looking for evidence of a North Korean ballistic missile launch. Fuji TV carried the report.
--That's about all.
Until next time (or until something significant happens),
Somewhere deep in the bowels of North Korea, there are some staffers cursing the satellite TV and asking "Why haven't the Iraqis been able to coordinate their attacks"?!
... And their bosses are all sweating bullets thinking "Sheesh, the Americans knocked out the Iraqi command and control centers in mere minutes this time."
In the packed press conference at the Japanese 'White House', PM Koizumi said he did not care what the Japanese people think, he said Japan could also be under terrorist threat, that the USA is correct, he is convinced enough Iraq is a threat, and he will support the US completely; then, get this:
Koizumi said at least four times that I can recall, "this is what we, the US and Japan in a strong alliance, MUST do to 'dictators' who get their hands on weapons of mass destruction who threaten the world community or their neighbors'.
He said it in that way, KNOWING North Korea's Kim Jong il was listening live, and that he would intrepret it as a bold pre-emptive threat from Japan, backed up by the full force and good name of the Government, Military and People of the United States.
Koizumi rocks, by the way. I refuse to short Japanese stocks because of him, out of sheer alliance-inspired patriotism.
And he and everybody else in Asia now knows we will back it up. Some lights have hopefully gone on in Beijing as well as Pyongyang.
Also, with Soddom dead or circling the drain Kim doesn't see any more money coming from Iraq.
S. Korean and American military are still in Defcon 4, and in Watchcon 3. The garbled statements by S. Korean Presidential spokeswoman led some media outlets to surmise that we are in Watchcon 2, or Defcon 2. Apparently Pyongyang got suckered into the confusion, too.
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