Posted on 09/24/2004 2:16:05 AM PDT by BigDoom
Friday, September 24, 2004 at 07:16 JST
SEOUL — North Korea threatened Thursday to turn Japan into a "nuclear sea of fire" if the United States attacks it with nuclear weapons, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting a North Korean newspaper report.
Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea's Workers Party of Korea, said U.S. military bases in Japan would come under its attack in the event of a nuclear war.
"If the United States ignites a nuclear war, 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, according to Yonhap. .......... (snip)
Yep.
North Korea makes these kinds of specific threats about once every year or two, and makes more minor threats on a daily basis. Actually, most of it is just boiler plate language used in past press statements and speeches.
Not to mention not entirely different from Kennedy's response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. I note that Krazy Kim didn't say he'd nuke Japan if the US invaded NK using only conventional weapons.
True. As much as I'd like to turn Pyongyang into a parking lot, we just can't do that.
I disagree - the day may come when missiles simply no longer pose a significant threat.
That said, I suspect we do not need to attack North Korea, but merely to stop sending them food.
...your theory sounds good but what if you can defend your self from nukes with SDI.
MAD only works if both sides consider their people non-expendable.
Repeating the same woeful thought over and over doesn't make the argument stronger or correct.
Since when? So America is nutjob if it attacks NK for ANY reason?
THis is PC schizophrenia at its worst.
Yeah, let us just ignore the threats and our options... (sarcasm)
Once upon a time, I worked with / for some Japanese.<.br> While the ones I have worked with are Westernized to some extent, they are still Orientals 'at heart'.
Corollaries to this are:
a) they will have a greater understanding of NK than we do
b) as stated, they have a deep sense of honor and identity.
They also are the only people to have been on the
receiving end of nukes. They will not let it happen again!
IOW, we have the technology.
If the timing was due to Bush's early push for missile defense, it was a great choice of priorities.
November 3rd...TORA,TORA,TORA!
This is EXACTLY why you pre-empt your adversary.
Once the democRATS give them nuclear technology it's too late.
How much faith does GW have that he was willing to sacrifice his presidency (not that it will come to that, but 2 years ago, Iraq was a that large of a gamble) to make sure another NK isn't developed? He took down a country so the Dems couldn't give ANOTHER country nuclear capabilities.
Can't wait for the Israeli fireworks over Tehran.
God bless George Bush.
Oh, good move North Korea -- get the Japanese pissed off. However bad the Japanese economy may be, they've got 10,000 times the resources of NK -- Japan will not take this threat lying down. I lived in Japan for 2 years in the late 1980s. Japan's been "dormant" compared to its historical outlook toward the world -- but if it chooses to, it can wipe NK from the map.
Look for Japan to become a major developer of anti-missile technology and/or partner with the U.S. in perfecting it. And something I've been predicting for some time may come true soon -- that the Japanese constitution will be revised to allow for a more proactive military presence in the world.
Japan's current defense policy:
http://www.jda.go.jp/e/policy_.htm
nice perspective mr George... I wonder how that MIRACL project stands today too ;)
Your baseless opinion is dangerous for this country.
FWIW, I think that EO was de facto done away with when they started the war by blowing the hell out of Saddam's "last known locations".
I'm far from being a pacifist, but we shouldn't go around blowing everyone who threatens us to bits. Libya should and can be an example to the rouge nations of the world, of how it benefits THEM to dismantle their WMDs. If that doesn't work, then, well, ... Of course I realize that some nations look to be beyond redemption. Still, force should always be the last resort.
The Japanese kicked Korea's @## numerous times in the past.
Given a little help from us and the opportunity, they will turn that two bit little punk in North Korea into a piece of sushi.
Such a scenario can also be viewed as a Sophie's Choice.
If you have a sociopath developing the capability of mass destruction, there is a point where you face the risk of losing losing one million Americans next year or a hundred million Americans six years from now when the North Korean nuclear arsenal and delivery capabilities has vastly expanded.
In such a scenario, no "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" will be asked for in order to avoid warning the North Koreans. The War Powers Act recognizes "The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated ..."
The strike will accomplished before there rest of the world knows about it.
"How is this being handled in the news over there?"
I haven't been watching, and I don't want to turn on the TV at this hour.
Let me fire up my Japanese-language computer and Google it.
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