North Korea Threatens Attack Amid Escalating Nuclear Dispute
by Christian Oliver and Daniel Dombey, Financial Times
North Korea threatened yesterday to attack the South if Seoul intercepted any of Pyongyang's ships to check for weapons shipments - further raising tensions on the peninsula after a nuclear warhead test on Monday.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df2388f2-4b1f-11de-87c2-00144feabdc0.html
* Commercial Satellite Imagery of 2009 Nuclear Test Site in North Korea (PDF)
http://isis-online.org/publications/dprk/NorthKoreaTest_27May2009.pdf
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NORTH KOREA
N. Korea Seen Moving Missile to Launchpad - Blaine Harden, Washington Post. North Korea, which launched a long-range missile over Japan in April, appeared Saturday to be moving another one to a launchpad. Reports that a large rocket was moving by train toward North Korea's east coast punctuated a tense week on the Korean Peninsula. It began Monday with the North's underground test of a nuclear device, included the firing of six short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, and featured a declaration by the government of Kim Jong Il that the truce that ended the Korean War was null and void. In Singapore at a regional defense meeting, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates signaled that the United States and many of North Korea's neighbors are getting fed up.
Gates, Allies Discuss Response to North Korea - Peter Spiegel, Wall Street Journal. Defense Secretary Robert Gates Saturday began to lay the groundwork for building up US and allied military defenses in East Asia should the Obama administration fail to convince China and Russia to join in a multilateral diplomatic response to North Korea's nuclear test. In closed-door meetings with the defense ministers of US treaty allies Japan and South Korea - and a separate half-hour discussion with a senior Chinese general - Mr. Gates said the US preferred for the five countries that have engaged Pyongyang in talks on its nuclear program to present a unified front to punish North Korea. But according to US defense officials who attended the meetings on the sidelines of a major international security conference here, Mr. Gates also told the Asian leaders the US was obligated to begin planning for new defensive measures in case such talks fall through.
US, Asian Allies Gear Up for Tougher Stance Toward N. Korea - Julian Barnes, Los Angeles Times. The US and its Asian allies are laying the groundwork for a tougher stance toward North Korea should negotiations with China and Russia fail to yield a new strategy to force the government in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program, defense officials said Saturday. In a meeting Saturday, US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told his South Korean and Japanese counterparts that they should begin thinking about measures the three countries could take unilaterally if the so-called six-party talks continued to founder. "The secretary raised the notion that we should think about this as we are pursuing the six-party talks," said a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic protocol. "We ought to think about what more we need to do should they not prove successful."
Gates Warns North Korea of Buildup - Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates raised the idea of a tougher approach toward North Korea’s recent nuclear test in meetings here with Asian allies on Saturday, including the prospect of building up United States military forces in the region should six-nation diplomatic talks with North Korea fail, American defense officials said. Mr. Gates raised “the notion that we should think about this as we are pursuing the six-party talks,” said a senior defense official who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. “We ought to think about what more we need to do should they not prove successful.” But another defense official cautioned that talk of any military buildup was premature and that it was merely a “prudent option” in terms of “what should we be thinking about in the event that we need to start enhancing our posture, our defenses?” On Friday Mr. Gates said that the United States had no plans to reinforce some 28,000 American troops based in South Korea.
Gates Issues Tough Warning to N. Korea - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday said North Korea had a stark choice - to remain a pariah or "chart a new course" - but suggested that the Obama administration would not return to a policy of trying to bribe Pyongyang to stop building nuclear weapons. In a closely watched speech before Asian defense ministers, military chiefs and diplomats five days after North Korea tested a nuclear device for the second time, Mr. Gates issued a tough warning to the reclusive state. "The choice to continue as a destitute, international pariah, or chart a new course, is North Korea's alone to make," Mr. Gates said. "The world is waiting." The defense secretary, a holdover from the Bush administration and a former CIA chief, said the US would protect itself and its allies if North Korea escalates further. At the same time, he suggested that the Obama administration would not pursue a policy followed by its two predecessors.
Gates: 'Painful' Sanctions May Be Required Against North Korea - Daniel Schearf, Voice of America. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says "painful" sanctions against North Korea may be the only way to peacefully end its nuclear program. Speaking to a summit of Asian defense leaders in Singapore, he also urged Asian support for Afghanistan. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized North Korea Saturday for recklessly pursuing nuclear and missile capabilities while many of its people starved. North Korea on Monday exploded a nuclear device and tested a series of missiles in defiance of the international community. Gates told Asian defense officials they were all familiar with North Korea's tactic of creating a crisis and then demanding payment to end the crisis. He said the United States and its allies were still open to dialogue with North Korea, but would not bend to provocation.
Gates Calls North Korea’s Actions ‘Reckless, Ultimately Self-destructive’ - Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service. In some of his strongest words on the subject to date, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today said the United States will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state and promised to defend US allies in the region. “We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region – or on us,” Gates said at the opening of the “Shangri-La Dialogue” Asia security summit here. This comes on the heels of yet another reported missile test by North Korea yesterday. North Korea reported conducting both nuclear and missile tests this week and threatened to attack US and South Korean warships.
US and China must stand up to N. Korea - Martin Malin and Hui Zhang, Boston Globe opinion. Shockwaves continue to emanate from the Korea peninsula following North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests. Time is not on the side of those who want to put an end to the dangers posed by North Korea. The longer the crisis lasts, the more nuclear-capable North Korea will become; the risk of confrontation will increase, as will the price of getting North Korea to step back from the brink. The key to moving beyond the current impasse is coordinated action by the United States and China in the Security Council and beyond. Washington holds what Pyongyang most wants and China has the most direct leverage on North Korea. North Korea wants direct engagement with Washington toward a normalization of relations.
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