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Korea

As Predicted, Scalia is Acting as Cheney's Personal Defender in Task Force Case
28-Apr-04
Korea

Boston Globe: "At a one-hour hearing on an appeal by Cheney, several of the justices were openly sympathetic to Bush administration concerns that disclosure of documents from the energy task force headed by Cheney would risk the president's ability to gather advice as he develops policies. Cheney's side in the argument drew some of its strongest support from Justice Antonin Scalia, whose participation had been challenged because of his relationship with the vice president; the two men were on a hunting trip together early this year, while the case was pending. Last month, Scalia rejected a demand by the Sierra Club, a party in the case, to disqualify himself from any role in deciding the controversy." Not content with stealing the election, the Felonious Five want to steal the Constitution!

North Korea Says Bush Has Pushed It to 'Brink of Nuclear War with the US'
09-Apr-04
Korea

Bush carelessly "struck a match," then walked off and left the world to burn as he hides on his ranch. Iraq is in the throes of rebellion. Rebels have recaptured territory in Afghanistan. Africa is exploding. Now North Korea says Bush has pushed it to the brink of nuclear war: Reports ABC.au online: "North Korea has issued its latest pronouncement in its diplomatic stoush with the United States, saying it is on the brink of nuclear war with the US. Pyongyang has dismissed the recent multilateral talks on the region as fruitless. The Korean Central News Agency says Washington is "driving the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war". It argues Pyongyang has no choice but to step up its push for nuclear weapons. "

US Nuke Expert: North Korea Highly Unlikely to Be Nuclear Threat in Near Future
25-Jan-04
Korea

The Taipei Times reports: "A prominent US scientist who visited North Korea's nuclear facilities said on Wednesday he was not convinced the communist state could turn its nuclear technology into a weapon or mount it on a missile. Hecker told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that North Korea probably could make plutonium metal, a key weapon ingredient, and that 8,000 spent fuel rods that could be used to produce fuel for nuclear bombs were missing from a storage area at the country's nuclear complex at Yongbyon. 'However, I saw nothing and spoke to no one who could convince me that they could build a nuclear device with that metal and that they could weaponize such a device into a delivery vehicle,' such as a missile, he said." In contrast, ElBaradei still considers North Korea to be a legitimate threat.

Cheney Sabotages Korea Negotations
23-Dec-03
Korea

"George Bush talked with Chinese President Hu Jintao by telephone at the weekend after revelations that [Cheney] had derailed diplomatic preparations for new talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons... The Knight-Ridder newspaper chain said a senior official had quoted Mr Cheney as telling the meeting: 'I have been charged by the President with making sure that none of the tyrannies in the world are negotiated with. We don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it.' The re-emergence of the word 'evil' and talk of defeat - recalling Mr Bush's January 2002 speech linking North Korea with Iraq and Iran in an 'axis of evil' - is likely to make the North Koreans even more distrustful of promising anything ahead of hard guarantees from the US and its allies... Diplomatic momentum is unlikely to rebuild for several weeks, unless Mr Bush's phone talk indicates the issue has been taken over Mr Cheney's head" - to who? Lynne Cheney?

While North Korea Threatens Nuclear War, Bush Pulls Troops to Send to Iraqistan
25-Nov-03
Korea

"The [Moonie] Times quoted unnamed military officials as saying that soldiers currently stationed in South Korea could soon find themselves in Iraq or Afghanistan. The paper said Washington was also planning to move most of the 7,000 people in its headquarters in Seoul out of the capital within a year... In a statement last week Rumsfeld and S Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-Kil reaffirmed a plan to withdraw US forces from camps near the frontlines with North Korea. Rumsfeld insisted any pullback would not weaken the US stance against the Stalinist state. 'We understand weakness can be provocative, that weakness can invite people to do things that they otherwise would not be inclined to consider,' Rumsfeld said. S Korea and the US last Monday agreed to a phased pull-back of some 15,000 troops close to the border with N Korea. The move is part of a sweeping reorganization of US troops across the region, including the 47,000 soldiers based in Japan." Bush is making America WEAKER.

CIA Warns of North Korean Missile That Can Reach Washington
15-Nov-03
Korea

"The CIA is sounding a new alarm that North Korea may be ready to flight test a nuclear capable multi-stage missile capable of reaching parts of the United States... The agency said in previous reports that in a regular two-stage set up, the Taepo Dong-2 could deliver a payload of several hundred kilograms to Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the continental United States. In an adapted three-stage configuration, the Taepo Dong-2 could in theory ferry a warhead to anywhere in North America. North Korea has said it will stick to its missile moratorium until the end of this year, but yet to commit to extending it into next year."

Hawkish Panel in Japan Calls Antiwar Japanese Constitution an 'Obstacle'
20-Sep-03
Korea

"In light of the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, the government should alter its interpretation of the Constitution and allow Japan to exercise the right of collective defense, according to a report compiled Thursday by an advisory panel to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi. 'The government's interpretation of the Constitution, barring the country from exercising the right of collective defense, is an obstacle,' the report says. It notes that many security experts believe Japan should change its interpretation to preserve the nation's peace and security. Touching on Japan's vow that it will 'not produce, not possess and not allow nuclear weapons into the country,' the report claims that the third principle is effectively violated by the port calls of U.S. ships carrying nuclear arms. Rather than clinging to these principles, however, Japan should explicitly allow U.S. vessels of this kind to call at Japanese ports, given the situation in North Korea, the report says."

Defense Minister Warns That Japan Will Attack if North Korea Aims Missile
15-Sep-03
Korea

"Japan's Defence Minister has stressed his country's right to strike North Korean missile sites if an attack is thought imminent. In an exclusive interview, Shigeru Ishiba told The Independent: 'The Japanese constitution permits my position. Attacking North Korea after a missile attack on Japan is too late. If North Korea orders its military to send a missile to attack Japan and the missile is raised to vertical in preparation for launch, then Japan will assume that an attack has begun and has the right to attack that particular missile launch site. What else can the missile be used for but to attack us?' Intelligence officials estimate that North Korea has at least 100 Rodong ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan.... The hawkish Mr Ishiba, who has earned a reputation for pushing the limits of Japan's debate on defence since taking office almost a year ago, has made clear he favours a much tougher stance than his predecessors toward Japan's Stalinist neighbour."

Bush's Former North Korea Envoy Slams White House Approach to Pyongyang
10-Sep-03
Korea

"A former key US State Department official involved in North Korean nuclear talks has attacked the Bush Administration, saying that unless its approach to negotiations is rethought, any prospect of success is 'very grim'. Charles Pritchard said the US must drop its opposition to one-on-one talks with North Korea and begin a 'serious and sustained dialogue' to try to defuse the crisis. Pritchard embarrassed the Bush Administration by resigning on the eve of the six-way talks on the Korean crisis in Beijing in late August.... Pritchard said he supported the US strategy of initiating multilateral talks with North and South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. But, he said, these could not achieve an outcome unless the US also opened bilateral talks with the North to address the security issues between the two countries.... 'We've got to get serious about this, rather than drive-by meetings that occur where we roll down the window and wave to the North Koreans and move on,' Pritchard said."

North Korea Says Beijing Talks Convinced It of Need for Nukes
30-Aug-03
Korea

Shortly after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James 'Taiwangate' Kelly said "all parties had gotten off to a productive start" in the first round of six-nation discussions, AFP reports, "North Korea angrily dismissed last week's six-nation talks in Beijing, saying it was now even more convinced of the need to strengthen its nuclear arsenal... The gathering was 'not only useless but harmful in every aspect,' a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement on the official Korean Central News Agency... 'We are now more convinced than before that we have no other alternatives but to continue strengthening our nuclear deterrence as a self-defensive measure to protect our sovereignty'... North Korea repeated during the talks its long-standing demand for a non-aggression pact with the United States, which it accuses of wanting to invade. It also demanded the normalization of diplomatic relations with Washington before it would abandon its nuclear ambitions."

Let the War Mongering Begin: Moderate on North Korea Resigns from State Dept.
26-Aug-03
Korea

"A top State Department expert on North Korea who advocated a policy of incentives as well as penalties to persuade the nation to abandon its quest for nuclear weapons has resigned. Jack Pritchard, the special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, is departing at a critical moment, days before six-nation talks begin in China to pressure North Korea to drop its efforts to reprocess spent fuel rods for weapons. He was criticized last week by a senator for being out of sync with the administration's policy. Mr. Pritchard's departure...points to a division in the administration over how best to handle the isolated, unpredictable and highly militarized government of Kim Jong Il.... North Korea experts said Pritchard was known to be uncomfortable with the evolving American policy. A 28 year veteran of the Army, Pritchard was a driving force behind President Clinton's trip to Vietnam in 2000, and he accompanied Madeleine Albright to North Korea for meetings with Kim Jong Il that year."

Expert: Bush Policies are Pushing Reluctant N. Korea to Go Nuclear
24-Aug-03
Korea

"As David Kang, author of 'Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies,' wrote in the NY Times, 'North Korea clearly does not wish to go nuclear: if it wanted to, it would have done so long ago. N. Korea has consistently maintained that its foremost desire in return for scrapping its nuclear program is a security guarantee from the US.' Instead of responding to this opportunity, Bush & Co. want to humiliate the North Koreans by pressuring them into giving up the one trump card they have in any negotiations for a security treaty.... 'The most likely outcomes of this strategy are all negative,' says Kang. 'It could result in a war that could cost millions of lives, many of them American, and place the US and China against each other on the peninsula.' Another likely outcome ... is the 'chaotic, costly and violent' collapse of the current regime.... 'The least likely outcome from this policy is gradual North Korean economic and political reform and a reduction of tension.'"

Taiwangate Bagman Kelly to Lead Delegation in North Korea Talks
16-Aug-03
Korea

From Reuters: "U.S. Asst. Secretary of State James Kelly will lead the U.S. team at six-party talks in Beijing this month designed to persuade N. Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions... State Dept. spokesman Tom Casey declined comment on whether the team might include John Bolton, who has been derided as 'human scum' by N. Korea, which has said it will not deal with him... U.S., Japanese and S. Korean officials wrapped up two days of talks in D.C. on Thurs. to coordinate their positions ahead of the Beijing talks, something that appears particularly difficult given the conflict within the Bush administration over what stance to take. Some U.S. officials, believed to be chiefly at the State Dept., have floated the idea of offering incentives for N. Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions while others, notably at the White House, are resisting the idea." For details about James Kelly and his key role in Taiwangate, type "Taiwangate" in the Democrats.com search engine.

September Surprise: James 'WW4' Woolsey Puts US on Road to World War IV with North Korea
11-Aug-03
Korea

Every September, Bush has started a W-ar. Just before the planes hit the WTC on 9-11-01, Bush was given a plan for invading Afghanistan. In 9-02, Bush started the Iraq W-ar. And as 9-03 nears, we learn that Former CIA director James Woolsey, a Pentagon adviser and close ally of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, "has given details of a war strategy for invading North Korea and toppling its regime within 30 to 60 days, adding muscle to a lobbying campaign by U.S. hawks urging a pre-emptive military strike against Pyongyang's nuclear facilities. Less than four months after the end of the Iraq war, the war drums in Washington have begun pounding again. A growing number of influential U.S. leaders are talking openly of military action against North Korea to destroy its nuclear-weapons program, and even those who prefer negotiations are warning of the mounting danger of war." Woolsey was last seen championing World War IV (he considers the Cold War WWIII) - will he START it?

North Korea Calls Bolton 'Scum' -- Says He Cannot Attend Talks
04-Aug-03
Korea

WashPost reports: "The North Korean government, which last week agreed to hold talks with the United States and four other countries over its nuclear programs, Sunday denounced a senior U.S. official in highly personal and florid terms and said he could not be part of any U.S. delegation to the talks. John Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control, last week delivered a tough speech in Seoul that focused on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and his grip on the nation. The speech, titled 'A Dictatorship at the Crossroads,' described life in North Korea as 'a hellish nightmare' and called Kim a 'tyrannical rogue'... In a statement attributed to a spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry, Pyongyang said: 'We know that there are several hawks within the present U.S. administration but have not yet found out such rude human scum as Bolton. What he uttered is no more than rubbish which can be let loose only by a beastly man bereft of reason.'"

Bush Chases Faux Nukes in Iraq While North Korea Builds REAL Nukes
24-Jul-03
Korea

Joe Conason writes, "Faced with a paranoid, proto-nuclear dictatorship, Mr. Bush has exacerbated the problem with loud rhetoric and dithering policy. Unable to decide whether to negotiate or to seek 'regime change' in Pyongyang, his administration has done nothing useful to contain the Korean threat. The United States has no policy, no plan, no discernible purpose in its posture toward North Korea. What would we do for Pyongyang if its leaders decided to forswear nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in a verifiable agreement with its neighbors and the United States? And what are we prepared to do if Pyongyang refuses to negotiate a secure deal? Nobody knows, including the President himself. Or if he does know, he isn't telling anyone. Earlier this month, the North Koreans announced that they had finished converting 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into plutonium. If you feel safer because our troops are in Baghdad, you haven't been paying attention."

While US Soldiers Bake in Iraq, Bush Ignores Boiling North Korea
19-Jul-03
Korea

Tom Englehardt reports, "In recent days, there has been an exchange of gunfire at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Korean peninsula; according to unnamed senior American officials quoted in the New York Times, the North Koreans have informed the Bush administration they now have the nuclear fuel to make six nuclear bombs (in addition, assumedly, to the one or two that they are already believed to possess); the Chinese, evidently increasingly anxious about lack of diplomatic progress, have redoubled their efforts to kick-start talks that, within a multinational context, would allow the U.S. and North Korea to face each other one-on-one at the negotiating table; and the Washington Post has reported that William Perry, former defense secretary from the Clinton era, now publicly fears that the U.S. and North Korea are drifting towards war, possibly by the end of the year."

U.S. Can't Rule Out North Korea Strike, Perle Says
11-Jun-03
Korea

From Reuters: "The United States should be prepared to destroy North Korea's Yongbyon reactor if necessary to keep Pyongyang from trafficking in nuclear weapons, an influential member of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's advisory panel said on Wednesday. 'Whether we can effectively mobilize a coalition -- including China, Russia, the South Koreans, the Japanese, ourselves -- and so isolate them that they will abandon this program, that remains to be seen,' said Richard Perle, an architect of the U.S. invasion of Iraq... Asked whether the United States ultimately might resort to force, he said: 'It is too soon to say whether that's the only way we can prevent something I think we must prevent.' Perle said the situation in Iran, which Washington accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of building power-generating reactors, was very different from North Korea's. 'I think we should be encouraging its failure,' he said of the Iranian government."

Playing with Nuclear Fire: US Makes New Plans for War in North Korea
04-Jun-03
Korea

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: "The United States is said to be developing new plans for a war in North Korea that would bypass the demilitarised zone dividing the two Koreas and target the leadership in Pyongyang. The plan is based on the success of US-led forces in Iraq in quickly reaching the capital, Baghdad. US officials quoted by Reuters said the plan would involve the consolidation of the US and South Korean forces in two areas away from the demilitarised zone. If war broke out, the forces would skirt the demilitarised zone and head for Pyongyang. 'This is Kim Jong-il's worst nightmare,' one official said... The US has 37,000 troops in South Korea, including 15,000 members of the Second Infantry Division deployed near the demilitarised zone. But it appears likely they will be moved as part of a realignment of US forces in the country. Mr Wolfowitz said this realignment should not be delayed."

Pyongyang Warns US of 'Tougher Military Counteraction'
24-May-03
Korea

AP reports: "North Korea has warned the United States of 'tougher military counteraction' if Washington decided to use force to resolve a dispute over the North's suspected development of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, China called for more dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Last month, China sat with the United States and North Korea for three days of talks in Beijing to discuss the nuclear standoff. But the talks ended with no reported progress and no indication that they would resume."

Thanks to Bush's Antagonism, North Korea Threatens 'Disaster'
20-May-03
Korea

BBC reports: "North Korea has threatened the South with 'unspeakable disaster' if Seoul backs Washington's hardline approach to the nuclear crisis. The comments were made by the chief North Korean delegate at inter-Korean economic talks which opened in Pyongyang on Tuesday, and were publicised by the North's KCNA news agency. They are the first official response to last week's summit between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and US President [sic] George W Bush in Washington last week, which saw an apparent hardening of South Korean policy towards the North. Seoul and Washington threatened at the Washington meeting to take 'further steps' against Pyongyang, if it continued to escalate tensions on the peninsula."

Rummy's Role in North Korean Nuke Deal Questioned
01-May-03
Korea

Joe Conason writes: "Not only was Donald Rumsfeld a director of ABB, the Swiss firm hired by Kim Jong Il to build nuclear reactors in North Korea, but he may also have sought Washington's help to secure the contract for the construction conglomerate. In the current issue of Fortune, Richard Behar closely scrutinizes Rumsfeld's role in the North Korean nuke deal. What he discovered demolishes the rote denials served up by Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke, who has told reporters that her boss 'does not recall' any discussion of the $200 million project while he sat on the ABB board."

US Rejects Weapons Offer from N Korea
30-Apr-03
Korea

The UK Guardian reports: "The White House ruled out making broad economic concessions yesterday in return for a promise by North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme, sharply reducing prospects for a quick end to the crisis. Ari Fleischer, the resident's spokesman, said Pyongyang would not be rewarded 'for bad behaviour'. He said: 'What we seek is North Korea's irrevocable and verifiable dismantlement of its nuclear weapons programme. We will not provide them with inducements for doing what they always said they were going to do.'"

China Says N. Korea Offers to Scrap Nuclear Program; Gives Very Different Account than Bush Regime
28-Apr-03
Korea

"North Korea offered to scrap its nuclear program during talks with the United States in Beijing last week if Washington dropped its hostile attitude, Western diplomats briefed by a Chinese official said on Monday. Pyongyang also offered to suspend ballistic missile tests and stop missile exports, said the diplomats who asked not to be identified... It was unclear why China held the briefing for about 20 EU diplomats, a rare occurrence. U.S. administration sources said last week North Korean officials told Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly in Beijing it already had atomic bombs and could make more because it had reprocessed thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods. But the Chinese Foreign Ministry painted an entirely different picture of the April 23-25 talks... [The Chinese Diplomats] said they were told North Korean negotiator Li Gun did not make any threats about 'selling, testing or possessing nuclear weapons' during the formal sessions of the Beijing talks."

North Korea Has Nukes! Well, er At Least According to Professional Liar James A. Kelly
26-Apr-03
Korea

The entire "North Korean Nuke Crisis" is based entirely on an unsubstantiatable statement heard by James A. Kelly in a hallway whilst "officials" were "milling about." The Pentapost states "US officials are still puzzling over the statement...." As well they might, especially given Kelly's total lack of credibility and proven track record for not only trying to foment trouble, but willingness to commit serious crimes and buy influence. There is quite a lot of evidence that the only reason Kelly has a position in the Bush administration in the first place is that he purchased it in the form of generous donations to the Bush campaign fund using stolen money obtained in the course of what is now called "Taiwangate." And, just last October, Kelly was making the same sort of inflammatory and unsubstantiatable comments re: No Korea, no doubt to get the ball rolling for the next "invasion of the Evildoers."

North Korea Admits Nuclear Weapons
24-Apr-03
Korea

MSNBC reports: "North Korea has admitted possessing nuclear weapons and threatened to boost its arsenal during talks with U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing, senior U.S. officials told NBC News. Although negotiators showed up for the last day of talks Friday, they left shortly thereafter, and North Korea's disclosure cast doubt on future, more substantive discussions."

Bush Regime Divided over North Korea; Rumsfeld Memo Calls for Alliance with China to Oust No. Korean Leadership
21-Apr-03
Korea

David E. Sanger writes: "Just days before Resident Bush approved the opening of negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld circulated to key members of the administration a Pentagon memorandum proposing a radically different approach: the United States, the memo argued, should team up with China to press for the ouster of North Korea's leadership. Mr. Rumsfeld's team, administration officials said, was urging diplomatic pressure for changing the government, not a military solution. But the classified memo, drafted by officials who are deeply opposed to opening talks that could eventually end up benefiting North Korea economically, shows how the handling of the crisis has become the newest subject of internal struggle over how to pursue Mr. Bush's determination to stop the spread of nuclear arms and other unconventional weapons."

North Korea's Statement about Plutonium was Mistranslated
19-Apr-03
Korea

From CNN: "A North Korean government statement indicating it could soon have enough plutonium for several nuclear weapons was the result of a botched translation, U.S. officials said Friday... But the correct translation suggests North Korea has stopped just short of the reprocessing operation, and the talks will go on, a senior administration source told CNN... 'The Iraqi war teaches a lesson that in order to prevent a war and defend the security of a country and the sovereignty of a nation, it is necessary to have a powerful physical deterrent force only,' the KCNA statement said. Wendy Sherman, the Clinton administration's policy coordinator for North Korea, called that comment 'more ominous than their usual negotiating tactics... I think instead of the North Koreans having blinked by the use of our force in Iraq, they have in fact decided the only way to deter the United States from going to war against North Korea is to have nuclear weapons -- and that is not a good sign.'"

U.S., North Korea, China to Hold Nuke Talks
18-Apr-03
Korea

AP reports: "The United States and North Korea will try to resolve their six-month standoff over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program in talks arranged by China, the communist North's closest ally, U.S. and South Korean officials said Wednesday. The Beijing talks could happen as early as next week, officials said. Japanese media, citing unnamed sources, said they would start April 23."

North Korea Says It Will Ignore UN on Nuclear Crisis
05-Apr-03
Korea

Reuters reports, "North Korea said on Saturday it would not recognize any ruling made by the U.N. Security Council on Pyongyang's nuclear standoff with the United States. The official KCNA news agency said it was ridiculous for the Council, which is to start discussing the North's suspected nuclear ambitions next Wednesday, to talk about the crisis. It said the United Nations had lost its mandate for failing to stop the U.S.-led war in Iraq...The United States says North Korea is part of an 'axis of evil' with Iraq and Iran... Pyongyang has resisted calls to allow nuclear inspections or to disarm, saying Iraq had made this mistake and was paying the price. North Korea has said it will be the next U.S. target...KCNA said the crisis had been started by the United States and the Council should indict and punish Washington."

Japan MISTAKENLY Claims N. Korea Test-Fired Missile - Thank Goodness We Didn't 'Retaliate'
01-Apr-03
Korea

AP reports: "Japanese officials contradicted each other and their allies over reports Tuesday that [North Korea] had test-fired a missile. The confusion came just days after Japan put its first spy satellites into orbit as part of a billion-dollar program aimed at monitoring moves by North Korea to develop missiles or nuclear weapons. North Korea denounced the satellite launch as a hostile act and hinted it might test-fire a missile in response. Early Tuesday Japanese military and government officials announced that North Korea had launched a shore-to-ship missile from its west coast into the Yellow Sea. The U.S. Defense Department confirmed the report...But South Korea said it had no evidence of a launch, and hours later officials in Tokyo weren't so sure themselves. A senior Defense Agency official issued a retraction Tuesday evening...A military analyst said the information probably came from U.S. officials."

Citing Iraq, North Korea Rejects Nuclear Inspections and Disarmament
30-Mar-03
Korea

Reuters reports, "North Korea vowed on Saturday to resist all international demands on the communist state to allow nuclear inspections or agree to disarm, saying Iraq had made this mistake and was now paying the price. 'The DPRK would have already met the same miserable fate as Iraq's had it compromised its revolutionary principle and accepted the demand raised by the imperialists and its followers for 'nuclear inspection' and disarmament,' the ruling party daily Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary."

North Korea Says Its On the 'Brink of Nuclear War'
23-Mar-03
Korea

Sun-Herald of Australia reports, "North Korea warned yesterday the situation on the Korean Peninsula was deteriorating to the 'brink of a nuclear war' because of US-South Korean war games. NK called military exercises being conducted by US Marines and South Korean forces 'a grave encroachment upon sovereignty', and accused the US of planning to attack NK once it had defeated Iraq. 'The violation of Iraq's sovereignty started with demanding disarmament by inspection and gradually led to war,' a spokesman at NK's foreign ministry told KCNA, the official news agency. The spokesman said the US-led war in Iraq should 'compel [NK] to do all it can to defend itself'. Separately, NK criticised Seoul's decision to put its military on heightened alert as 'an undisguised challenge and intolerable hostility'. South Korea said on Friday its military had stepped up its readiness to guard against possible NK moves to use the war in Iraq to spike tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "

North Korea Forces Japan to Think Nuke
17-Mar-03
Korea

North Korea continues to make itself the greater threat and Japan is taking them seriously. "Japan is preparing to launch spy satellites, speeding up development of missile defenses, building its commando forces and expanding the range of its air force in response to what it sees as a growing threat from North Korea. In addition, a few right-wing politicians here are suggesting that Japan build nuclear weapons to counter North Korea's aggressive moves. That idea has almost no public support in the only country ever to have been struck with nuclear weapons. But the topic is no longer taboo." This is but the tip of the iceberg regarding the theory that the Bush Doctrine will destabilize not only the Middle East, but the entire world.

North Korea Threatens Nuclear Retaliation Against NYC, DC and Chicago
09-Mar-03
Korea

Sydney Morning Herald reports, "North Korea would launch a ballistic missile attack on the United States if Washington made a pre-emptive strike against the communist state's nuclear facility, the man described as Pyongyang's 'unofficial spokesman' claimed yesterday. Kim Myong-chol, who has links to the Stalinist regime, told reporters in Tokyo that a US strike on the nuclear facility at Yongbyon 'means nuclear war'. 'If American forces carry out a pre-emptive strike on the Yongbyon facility, North Korea will immediately target, carry the war to the US mainland,' he said, adding that New York, Washington and Chicago would be 'aflame'... Mr Kim, who has written a text studied by North Korean military leaders, predicted North Korea would restart its reprocessing plant to make weapons-grade plutonium this month. A nuclear weapon would be produced by the end of next month, with another five by the end of the year, he said. This was on top of a suspected nuclear arsenal of 100 weapons."

Bush Let North Korea Get Nuclear Data
08-Mar-03
Korea

"The Bush administration has not suspended or revoked the authority of Westinghouse Co. to transfer documents related to nuclear technology to North Korea [in fact they extended it five more years], despite the fact that the Asian nation has admitted that it violated terms of a nonproliferation agreement it signed with Washington in 1994, US Department of Energy documents show. Some Republicans have blamed the Clinton administration for the nuclear standoff with North Korea, arguing that the 1994 agreement calling for an end to the North's nuclear program in exchange for food and fuel was hopelessly optimistic and naive." During the Clinton Administration, Donald Rumsfeld sat on the board of ABB that sold nuclear reactor equipment to North Korea. In his report that blasted Clinton over North Korea, Rumsfeld conveniently overlooked DIA documents reporting the billions that GOP and Bush benefactor Rev. Moon gave to North Korea's military leaders. (See Consortiumnews.com)

Bush May Attack North Korea this Summer
28-Feb-03
Korea

Nicholas Kristof is a serious reporter, which makes his latest column chilling. "Some of the most secret and scariest work under way in the Pentagon these days is the planning for a possible military strike against nuclear sites in North Korea. Officials say that so far these are no more than contingency plans. They cover a range of military options from surgical cruise missile strikes to sledgehammer bombing, and there is even talk of using tactical nuclear weapons to neutralize hardened artillery positions aimed at Seoul, the South Korean capital. There's nothing wrong with planning, or with brandishing a stick to get Kim Jong Il's attention. But several factions in the administration are serious about a military strike if diplomacy fails, and since the White House is unwilling to try diplomacy in any meaningful way, it probably will fail. The upshot is a growing possibility that Bush could reluctantly order such a strike this summer, risking another Korean war."

North Korea and Bush: The Dangers Caused by a Policy of Preemption
27-Feb-03
Korea

Ash Pulcifer writes: "This is where the danger lies in the Bush administration's policy of arm bending diplomacy. North Korea, knowing that the Bush administration is trying to keep the North's issues on the backburner right now, will attempt to pressure the White House into giving up great concessions to Pyongyang. If the Bush administration refuses to meet the North's demands, then the North will probably just continue to work on building their nuclear arsenal. The North figures it is a no-lose situation. Either Pyongyang will secure large economic concessions from the United States, or they will increase their nuclear forces. In the case that North Korea creates or increases their nuclear arsenal, it will simply provide them with even more bargaining chips for the future. It is more difficult for a powerful nation like the United States to manhandle a nuclear capable country, especially when 37,000 U.S. troops...on its border" are easy targets for No. Korea nukes.

Japan Threatens 'Pre-Emptive' First Strike on North Korea
15-Feb-03
Korea

"Japan is prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea if it believes the communist state is preparing a missile attack against it. In Tokyo's toughest military stand since the end of World War II, the Defence Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said Japan would make the strike if it detected that North Korea was fuelling missiles for an attack. 'It is too late if [a missile] flies towards Japan,' he said in an interview with Reuters. 'Our nation will use military force as a self-defence measure if [North Korea] starts to resort to arms against Japan.' Mr Ishiba, a hawk who was appointed defence chief last September, was at pains to portray such a strike as an act of self-defence, in line with Japan's postwar constitution, which forbids military aggression." Thanks Dubya for antagonizing North Korea - now JAPAN is threatening military action!

Red Alert: North Korea has Missile that Could Nuke the US
12-Feb-03
Korea

At worst, Saddam may have a few battlefield shells with VX or Mustard gas. But CIA's George Tenet revealed that "North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of hitting the US... Moments earlier Tenet said it was likely that North Korea had been able to produce as many as two plutonium-based nuclear weapons." And the IAEA just referred NK to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions; "North Korea has said such a move would amount to a declaration of war." Are you scared to death yet? Impeach Bush Now!

North Korea Warns Its People about 'Nuclear War' and Stages Air Raid Drills
07-Feb-03
Korea

"An increasingly belligerent North Korea has warned of 'total war' with the US, predicting it would develop into the horror scenario of a nuclear conflict. Marking a further deterioration in the crisis, the chairman of the North's army joint chiefs of staff, Kim Yong-chun, has also warned his generals to prepare for a 'final showdown' with the US... The stepping up of the North Korean warnings is in response to the news that the Pentagon is prepared to deploy 24 B-52 and B-1 long rang-range bombers to the US air base at Guam... This latest rhetoric has a new intensity and comes amid reports from Pyongyang that the regime is preparing its people for war, this week staging air raid drills. The threat of a nuclear war was raised by the official North Korean newspaper, [which] said the build-up of US forces meant that 'a new war will inevitably break out on the Korean peninsula and it will develop to be a nuclear war'. It said that North Korea would answer 'total war with total war'."

Bill Clinton Offers Plan to End the Korean Crisis
07-Feb-03
Korea

On Larry King (2-6-03), Bill Clinton outlined a plan to persuade North Korea to end the current crisis. "We'll make an omnibus agreement if you'll end both nuclear programs, let testing in so you can't start any thing again, end the missile program, something that they had not agreed to do. And we'll make sure you got enough food and energy. We'll teach you how to grow food and we'll give you a non-aggression pact. They want this non-aggression pact, I think that's a no-brainer. Why? Because if we ever had to attack it would be because they did some thing that violated the non-aggression pact... You cannot let them become a nuclear arsenal, because the pressure on them to sell these bombs will be overwhelming. They have no other way to make money... If we can make a comprehensive settlement that says, Here's the way you can be part of the East Asian community. Here's the way you can be part of the world community. And here's what you have to do. That's what I think we ought to do."

While Iraq Asks for Peace, North Korea Escalates Crisis by Threatening a Pre-emptive First Strike against the U.S.
06-Feb-03
Korea

UK Guardian reports, "North Korea is entitled to launch a pre-emptive strike against the US rather than wait until the American military have finished with Iraq, the North's foreign ministry told the Guardian. Warning that the current nuclear crisis is worse than that in 1994, when the peninsula stood on the brink of oblivion, a ministry spokesman called on Britain to use its influence with Washington to avert war. 'The US says that after Iraq, we are next', said the deputy director Ri Pyong-gap, 'but we have our own countermeasures. Pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the US.' His comments came on a day when tension was apparent in Pyongyang, with an air-raid drill that cleared the city's streets and the North's announcement that it has begun full-scale operations at the Yongbyon nuclear plant, the suspected site of weapons-grade plutonium production. Anxiety in North Korea has been rising since Washington announced plans to beef up its military strength in the area."

Refusing to be Upstaged by Powell, North Korea Worsens Crisis by Restarting Nuclear Reactor
05-Feb-03
Korea

Reuters reports, "North Korea said Wednesday it had restarted and put on a 'normal footing' the atomic facilities at the center of its suspected nuclear weapons program. The move raises the stakes in a crisis Pyongyang said the US had triggered by threatening the isolated communist state... North Korea's latest defiant move came as international attention was focused on Secretary of State Colin Powell address to the U.N. Security Council designed to persuade the council and world opinion that U.N. weapons inspectors cannot disarm Iraq and that war may be the only resort. The late-night statement was issued five days after U.S. officials said American satellite surveillance had shown North Korea was moving fuel rods around the reactor complex at Yongbyon, including possibly some of the 8,000 spent fuel rods that experts consider a key step in building bombs."

Bushevik Says North Korea Could Make Plutonium In March - But Says Nuke-Free Iraq is a Bigger Threat
04-Feb-03
Korea

"Depy. Sec. of State Richard Armitage told senators that North Korea's recent moves toward restarting a plutonium reprocessing facility could enable the country to build four to six new nuclear weapons within months. Armitage also predicted that North Korea would have sufficient bomb-grade plutonium to sell or trade to 'a nonstate actor or a rogue state.' 'I believe that the arms race in North Korea pales next to the possibility of proliferation, which is our major fear, from North Korea - that she would pass on fissile material and other nuclear technology to either transnational actors or to rogue states,' Mr. Armitage said. [Yet despite this dire nuclear threat], Armitage replied that 'it's quite a different situation in [non-nuclear] Iraq,' saying that Saddam Hussein wanted to 'intimidate, dominate and attack' his neighbors. 'We're not quite sure that's the motivation of Kim Jong Il,' Mr. Armitage said. 'I think he wants to use it for economic benefits - sell, barter, whatever.'"

Bush Knew about North Korea's Uranium Program in 11/01, But Hid the Facts until Congress Passed the Iraq War Resolution
02-Feb-03
Korea

WashPost writes, "In November 2001... the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory... concluded that North Korea had begun construction of a plant to enrich uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons... The findings meant that North Korea was secretly circumventing a 1994 agreement with the US in which it promised to freeze a nuclear weapons program... Although the report was hand-delivered to senior Bush administration officials, 'no one focused on it because of 9/11' ... These findings were confirmed in a June 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, a major assessment by the CIA and all other intelligence agencies. These reports are part of a complex and hidden trail of intelligence about the North Korean effort that has raised questions about why the Bush administration waited until early October 2002 to confront officials in the capital, Pyongyang, with the intelligence - and to go public several weeks later - when details had been accumulating for more than two years."

BushCheney want Kim Jong Il's 'Head on a Platter'
20-Jan-03
Korea

Is the North Korean situation a real crisis, or will Bush resume meaningful negotiations? Veteran intelligence reporter Seymour Hersh offers a very disturbing assessment in the New Yorker: "One American intelligence official who has attended recent White House meetings cautioned against relying on the day-to-day Administration statements that emphasize a quick settlement of the dispute. The public talk of compromise is being matched by much private talk of high-level vindication. 'Bush and Cheney want that guy's head' - Kim Jong Il's - 'on a platter. Don't be distracted by all this talk about negotiations. There will be negotiations, but they have a plan, and they are going to get this guy after Iraq. He's their version of Hitler.'" Given the incredible sensitivity of North Korean leaders, this quote alone could stir up a major crisis. Impeach Bush Now!

Bush Prolongs North Korea Crisis by Refusing Direct Talks
19-Jan-03
Korea

AFP reports, "North Korea rejected world diplomatic efforts to harness its nuclear program, saying it would negotiate only with the United States, but Washington insisted it was an international issue. The Stalinist state said it would not allow the United States to 'internationalise' the dispute, and specifically said the United Nations should not be involved in trying to resolve the crisis. 'The DPRK (North Korea) and the US should sit face-to-face to solve the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula,' the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted first vice foreign minister Kang Sok-Ju as saying in Pyongyang. 'The internationalisation of this issue would make the prospect of its settlement more complicated and gloomy.' But Secretary of State Colin Powell and other US officials insisted Washington would continue to work with other nations to end the crisis."

Clinton Tried to Bomb North Korean Reactor, But South Korea Said No
18-Jan-03
Korea

AP reports, "South Korea's president during the 1993-94 nuclear crisis with North Korea said Friday he argued with then-President Bill Clinton about a proposed U.S. attack and warned that South Korean troops would not be sent to back up the American military effort. Kim Young-sam, speaking at a news conference, said Clinton told him in a telephone call that the United States was about to bomb the Yongbyon nuclear complex in North Korea and that the United States was moving one aircraft carrier and seven cruisers and destroyers up the east coast of the communist country. 'Clinton told me that he would launch an immediate bombardment on the Yongbyon area. Clinton was very determined about it, but I argued to him that such an attack should never take place,' said Kim, president from 1993-98... Finally I told him that if the United States attacks North Korea, I cannot send one single member of South Korea's 650,000 armed forces into battle.'"

North Korea's Gamble with the United States Pays Off
17-Jan-03
Korea

Erich Marquardt writes with Matthew Riemer for YellowTimes.org: "Carefully playing its cards, North Korea may have successfully brought the United States to the negotiating table. Angry over being labeled as part of the 'axis of evil,' along with the failure of the U.S. to live up to its energy commitments agreed to in 1994, Pyongyang took advantage of the looming war in Iraq to complicate U.S. strategic goals and to thrust North Korea's political and economic concerns on to the global stage."

Bush Wants Peace in Korea So He Can Wage W-ar in Iraq
15-Jan-03
Korea

For the Busheviks, peace is always the LAST option, only to be used when W-ar fails. This utterly insane attitude is on full display in Korea. When the North Korean crisis emerged, Bush tried to end the crisis with threats of economic and political sanctions. But that only escalated the crisis, so Bush was forced to decide whether he was ready to escalate the rhetoric towards W-ar. Of course, Bush can't afford W-ar in Korea right now, because he is trying to keep CNN and the NY Times focused on Iraq. So instead of W-ar, Bush is now offering North Korea peace, in the form of food and fuel aid. From Bush's viewpoint, there's only one problem with this strategy - it sounds EXACTLY like Bill Clinton's 1994 "Agreed Framework." Since anything resembling a Clinton policy is anathema to the Busheviks, they've come up with a radically different policy. What's it called? The "New Arrangement." Hey Karl - that's PATHETIC! Bring Back Clinton!

George W. Bush Waived the Nuclear Inspections Required for North Korea
14-Jan-03
Korea

"In your recent BuzzFlash Reader Commentary regarding Rumsfeld and North Korea, you included an article at the end that cited Bush giving North Korea $95 million in April of 2002. I was shocked that in quoting that article you left out the next paragraph which told how Bush WAIVED the nuclear inspections required under the 1994 Framework, as he handed $95 million of our money to the 'evil' people!"

A Crisis by Any Other Name is Just as Dangerous
14-Jan-03
Korea

Martin Schram breaks down the nuclear crisis with North Korea in words we can all understand, even the current resident. In a fruity exchange, he compares Iraq and North Korea in words beyond apples and oranges. Since the rethugs are so good at using code words rather than speaking the truth, Schram offers a new addition to their politically correct dictionary: kumquat. Find out why a kumquat is an even greater threat than a banana. This article will not only inform you, but also entertain and tickle the funny bone.

In April, Bush Gave North Korea the Green Light to Hide Plutonium - Impeach Bush Now!
13-Jan-03
Korea

On 4-3-02, BBC reported: "The US Government has announced that it will release $95m to North Korea as part of an agreement to replace the Stalinist country's own nuclear programme, which the US suspected was being misused. Under the 1994 Agreed Framework an international consortium is building two proliferation-proof nuclear reactors and providing fuel oil for North Korea while the reactors are being built. In releasing the funding, George W Bush waived the Framework's requirement that North Korea allow inspectors to ensure it has not hidden away any weapons-grade plutonium from the original reactors. Bush argued that the decision was 'vital to the national security interests of the United States.'" In other words, Bush gave North Korea a GREEN LIGHT TO HIDE WEAPONS-GRADE PLUTONIUM. Impeach Bush Now!

Bush Blames Clinton for North Korea Crisis
13-Jan-03
Korea

There he goes again! Whenever Bush f**ks up and creates a policy disaster, he screams "It's All Clinton's Fault!" - and the media whores dutifully publish it. According to WashPost, "A senior Bush administration official suggested yesterday that the nuclear crisis with North Korea was the predictable result of a flawed 1994 agreement signed by the Clinton administration with Pyongyang that 'frontloaded all the benefits and left the difficult things to the end' -- for the next president." Remember "Clinton Fatigue"? Well, we feel an urgent case of "Blame Clinton Fatigue" coming on. Or is it "Bush Fatigue"? Hey George - if you can't cope with the responsibilities of the office you stole, then do the world a favor and quit!

Richardson Urges Bush to Talk to North Korea
11-Jan-03
Korea

"Gov. Bill Richardson, concluding three days of unofficial talks with two North Korean envoys, said today that the discussions had 'eased tensions a bit' between North Korea and the United States. Speaking just hours after a North Korean diplomat in China warned that his country might resume missile tests, Mr. Richardson called on the Bush administration to engage in its own direct talks with the North. 'I think what now needs to happen is that the governments need to talk to each other,' Mr. Richardson said." Hey George - can you hear Bill now?

Faced with Real Crisis, Team Bush Descends into Chaos
11-Jan-03
Korea

NY Times reports that Gov. Bill Richardson's negotiating "difficulties are made worse by the administration's inner divisions on the question of whether to enter serious talks with North Korea before it dismantles its two nuclear programs. Some officials have pressed for a greater openness to diplomatic talks; others have argued for an even harder line toward the North Koreans... Some in the administration say the impoverished North is looking for a face-saving deal in which it might return to respecting international restraints, in return for economic benefits. Others say North Korea is determined to possess nuclear weapons at any cost, because it fears American aggression once the Iraq situation is resolved. These opposing views have led to mixed signals, with some hard-line officials at the Pentagon and White House suggesting that penalties or at least a tighter economic isolation will be imposed down the road, and Mr. Powell insisting that no one is contemplating such action."

North Korea Cancels Nuclear Treaty and Threatens War - Hey George, is it a 'Crisis' Yet?
10-Jan-03
Korea

NY Times reports, "North Korea announced today that it was withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a decision that set off a flurry of diplomatic activity and condemnation. In a statement carried by its official news agency and monitored here, North Korea said it was acting in self-defense because it was 'most seriously threatened' by the United States... At the United Nations this morning, North Korea's ambassador said that Pyongyang would consider any attempt by the Security Council to impose sanctions on North Korea over the nuclear crisis would be a 'declaration of war.'" North Korea is building nukes and threatening war - hey George, is this a crisis yet? Maybe it is - Bush has enlisted a DEMOCRAT, New Mexico Governor (and Clinton's UN Ambassador) Bill Richardson to start a dialogue. It just goes to show - Republicans CREATE crises, Democrats END them. Impeach ALL Republicans!

Bushwell Denies Korean 'Crisis' to Conquer Iraq
08-Jan-03
Korea

Nicholas Kristof writes, "Unless the administration switches gears, here's what may happen: North Korea will reprocess spent fuel at its Yongbyon reactor, giving it enough plutonium for five to eight nuclear warheads by May 1. The North will also resume construction of a much bigger reactor at Taechon, accelerate its enriched uranium program, possibly drop out of the Nonproliferation Treaty, and test a Taepodong 2 missile that, in three stages, could reach New York (although it might be so inaccurate that it would miss and wipe out Newark). In five years, North Korea could have 100 nuclear weapons and be churning out more like a fast-food chef. With nothing else to keep its economy going, North Korea will peddle them to the highest bidder ('One free Taepodong 2 missile with every three warheads you buy!') ... And this is, as Colin Powell calls it, 'not a crisis'?" Bushwell is denying this crisis to keep the focus on conquering Iraq. Impeach Bush Now!

New Dynamics in U.S.-Korean Relations: A New So. Korean President, Rising Anti-Americanism and Bush's Unilateral Policy
08-Jan-03
Korea

Jeffrey Robertson writes for Foreign Policy in Focus: "The victory of the liberal Roh Moo-Hyun in the December 19th South Korean presidential elections has been presented in the western media as a source of future tension in South Korean-U.S. relations. Roh, a long-time liberal and human rights advocate, when compared to his more conservative opponent, Lee Hoi-Chang, does represent a more challenging partner for future South Korean-U.S. relations. Roh's stated aims include continuing the 'Sunshine Policy' of engagement with North Korea, renegotiating the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) for the 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea, and maintaining a more independent foreign policy in international and regional affairs. However, it is difficult to argue that anything Roh does could place more tension on the South Korea-U.S. relationship than the Bush administration's unilateral foreign policy."

Bush Takes the Worst Possible Course on North Korea
05-Jan-03
Korea

Michael Hammerschlag writes that Bush has taken the worst course possible on North Korea. "Bush labeled them 'an axis of evil' (an axis with no spokes) in January and cut off their fuel oil, in response to recent revelations, Rumsfeld clumsily warned of our ability to wage two wars at once (uh huh). Now Bush, via Colin Powell, claims that this is just a 'diplomatic problem', and that the North already has nukes, so there is nothing to worry about; and his Commander's misbegotten Iraq invasion can proceed apace. Oh, and it's all Clinton's fault. But trying to project chess like rationality onto the erratic, lying, and vicious NK leaders is a fool's errand. They already have furnished missile and nuclear technology to Pakistan (and missiles to Iran) that may yet result in the first real nuclear war. If they crank up their plutonium generation, they can distribute it widely enough that some of it will result in a man-made sun dawning on an American city."

What Game is Bush Playing in Korea?
04-Jan-03
Korea

Paul Krugman writes, "Put yourself in Kim Jong Il's shoes. [Bush] has denounced you. It broke off negotiations as soon as it came into office. Last year, though you were no nastier than you had been the year before, Bush declared you part of the 'axis of evil.' A few months later Mr. Bush called you a 'pygmy,' saying: 'I loathe Kim Jong Il - I've got a visceral reaction to this guy'... Moreover, there's every reason to take Mr. Bush's viscera seriously. Under his doctrine of pre-emption, the U.S. can attack countries it thinks might support terrorism, whether or not they have actually done so. And who decides whether we attack? Here's what Mr. Bush says: 'You said we're headed to war in Iraq. I don't know why you say that. I'm the person who gets to decide, not you.' L'etat, c'est moi. So Mr. Bush thinks you're a bad guy - and that makes you a potential target, no matter what you do."

Foreign Policy Loses Its Logic: It Doesn't Make Sense to Target Iraq when N. Korea Poses a Greater Threat
01-Jan-03
Korea

Robert Scheer writes: "...all being readied for a 'regime change' war against Iraq promoted as a way to rid the world of an arsenal Saddam Hussein doesn't seem to have. That United Nations inspectors, even after American intelligence briefings, are coming up empty-handed is embarrassing enough, but then North Korea had to steal the show by taking the wraps off its far more advanced nuclear weapons program. That's pretty scary because American intelligence agencies believe that bizarre, unpredictable North Korea already has enough plutonium and tested bomb technology for one or two functioning nuclear warheads that can easily be lobbed at our ally South Korea, home base of 37,000 U.S. soldiers. Pyongyang in 1998 fired one of its long-range Taepodong missiles over Japanese territory. American intelligence officials believe that the regime is working on missiles capable of reaching Hawaii and beyond. Yet we have made it clear we are not planning to go to war with North Korea."

Powell Rejects Direct Negotiations with North Korea and Shifts Blame to President Clinton
29-Dec-02
Korea

Secretary of State Colin Powell rejected North Korea's demand for direct negotiations, by offering only indirect negotiations - which North Korea has already rejected. "North Korea has said it would address U.S. concerns about its nuclear program if Washington signs a nonaggression pact. But the Bush administration has ruled out talks unless Pyongyang first gives up its nuclear ambitions." But Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Bush was wrong to have cut off talks with North Korea when he took office. "We should not be afraid to talk," Levin said on ABC. Powell, however, said North Korea had restarted its nuclear weapons program during the Clinton administration, which the US learned about last October. Hey Colin - North Korea's nuclear program began under Bush I, when YOU were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff! And Bush/rightwing backer Rev. Moon gave billions to North Korea's leadership! (See ConsortiumNews.com for details).

From 'Bold Approach' to 'Tailored Containment', Bush's Korea Policies are a Disaster
29-Dec-02
Korea

President Clinton devoted tremendous efforts to dismantling North Korea's nuclear program through negotiations that led to the "Agreed Framework." But Bush repudiated Clinton's achievements so it could justify wasting countless billions of OUR money on "Star Wars." In 2002, Bush developed a policy called the "Bold Approach" which died in utero. In response to North Korea's renewal of its nuclear weapons program, Bush has now adopted a plan called "Tailored Containment," to increase financial and political pressure on North Korea - a strategy which has utterly failed for two years. Bush's adamant refusal to continue President Clinton's policy of negotiating with North Korea is creating a grave world crisis - Impeach Bush now!

North Korea Warns the U.S. to Negotiate or Risk 'Catastrophe'
26-Dec-02
Korea

On 12-24-02, "North Korea warned of an 'uncontrollable catastrophe' unless the U.S. agreed to a negotiated solution to a standoff over its nuclear energy and weapons programs... 'There is no need for any third party to meddle in the nuclear issue on the peninsula,' said North Korea's ruling-party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun... 'The issue should be settled between [N. Korea] and the U.S., the parties responsible for it. If the U.S. persistently tries to internationalize the pending issue between [N. Korea] and the U.S. in a bid to flee from its responsibility, it will push the situation to an uncontrollable catastrophe.' Going even further, the North Korean defense minister, Kim Il Chol, warned of 'merciless punishment' to the U.S. if it pursued a confrontational approach. 'The U.S. hawks are arrogant enough to groundlessly claim that North Korea has pushed ahead with a 'nuclear program,' bringing its hostile policy toward [N. Korea] to an extremely dangerous phase.'"

Bush is Paralyzed by a Real WMD Crisis in North Korea
23-Dec-02
Korea

The Crisis in Iraq was whipped up by Karl Rove's White House disinformation office. But now Bush faces a REAL crisis in North Korea, as its plutonium-reprocessing program was suddenly revived. North Korea already has enough plutonium to make 2 bombs. Senator Biden said, "If they lift the seals on these canisters, they're going to be able to build four to five additional nuclear weapons within months if they begin that reprocessing operation." How will Bush handle this real - not phony - crisis? Take a very deep breath...

Huge Anti-American Protests in South Korea Demand Change in U.S. Policy or Complete Withdrawal of Troops
16-Dec-02
Korea

"In Seoul, an estimated 50,000 people crowded into the streets surrounding City Hall, waving banners and giant US flags ready to be torn apart, and chanting slogans calling for changes to the controversial Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which regulates relations with the 37,000 US troops in the country. Student radicals among the crowd demanded the outright withdrawal of all US troops. Activists said Bush has fallen short of demands that included a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement that governs the legal status of US soldiers in South Korea. The accord has been twice revised, and US officials oppose any further immediate revision. Protesters have demanded a direct apology for the girls' deaths from Mr Bush, who has apologised once through his ambassador in Seoul." So reports the Strait Times.

Repost: In 1998, Rumsfeld's Report on the North Korea Threat Overlooked (Bush Family Benefactor) Rev. Moon's Billions to North Korea
12-Dec-02
Korea

Writes Robert Parry: "In 1998, Rumsfeld headed a special commission, appointed by the Republican-controlled Congress, that warned that North Korea had made substantial progress during the decade in building missiles that could pose a potential nuclear threat to Japan and parts of the United States...Yet, during the early-to-mid 1990s, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was monitoring a series of clandestine payments from Sun Myung Moon's organization to the North Korean communist leaders who were overseeing the country's military strategies...In late 1991, the Japanese yen traded at about 130 yen to the U.S. dollar, meaning Moon's investment would have been about $3.5 billion, if the DIA information is correct... Republicans have used Rumsfeld's report to club President Clinton and Vice President Gore for alleged softness toward a recalcitrant communist enemy." Moon has paid Bush Sr. up to $10 million. He also bailed Jerry Falwell out of debt. (Enter 'Moon' in our search engine.)

Coalition of 130 South Korean Civic Groups Launch Massive Attack on White House Website to Protest Acquittal of U.S. Soldiers
02-Dec-02
Korea

Led by a coalition of 130 civic groups, South Korean activists attacked the White House computer server on Dec. 1 with electronic mail bombs to protest the acquittal of two US soldiers accused of killing two schoolgirls in a road accident. Meanwhile four people were arrested breaking into a US army base and riot police stopped 300 protestors from marching on the American embassy in Seoul. It was not known how many people were involved in the cyber attack. Some 25 million people, more than half of the South Korean population, have access to the Internet and regularly use email.

'Americans Are Not Welcome Here': A Sign of the Times - and in Store Windows in South Korea
29-Nov-02
Korea

South Koreans are enraged by this week's U.S. military court verdict that absolved two American soldiers from responsibility for crushing two 13-year-old girls to death beneath their armored vehicle as the girls walked in a village. "I don't want to give a drop of water to Americans," said Seoul restaurant owner Lee Chang-yong, who posted a sign in his window "Americans are not welcome here." The Bush/Blair-supporting BBC made sure to note that the signs were (allegedly) not widespread - but admitted that in recent days, molotov cocktails have been thrown at U.S.-owned buildings. The Bush attitude - Americans are above the law, reflected in the military - is making the world much less safe for our troops and travelers.

Relations with South Korea Worsen as US Soldiers are Acquitted for Crushing Two Girls
28-Nov-02
Korea

Angry South Koreans have firebombed buildings at a U.S. base, while hundreds are protesting in the streets - all in response to this week's U.S. military court verdict that found two soldiers innocent in the deaths of two 13-year-old schoolgirls. The soldiers crushed the girls beneath an armored vehicle five months ago as the girls walked along a village road. U.S.- So. Korean relations are now at an all-time low - yet Bush has set up an antagonistic situation with No. Korea that leaves thousands of U.S. troops caught in very vulnerable situation. Stratfor.com reports that bases have already received threatening warnings.

Bush Threatens North Korea with Humanitarian Disaster, Refusing to Send the Country Oil as the Brutal Korean Winter Looms
15-Nov-02
Korea

Winters in Korea, as any soldier ever stationed there will tell you, are COLD, brutally cold sometimes. Yet as of November 14, with the Korean winter just now settling in, Bush has decided to "punish" North Korea for having a nukes program he has known about for years by refusing to provide the country with oil. So whom is this punishing exactly? The Korean civilians who will now either pay jacked up prices to stay warm - or do without. Making this idiotic Bush decision even more inexplicable, whom do you think the Koreans will be forced to buy oil from? The Arabs, most likely. And then, of course, Bush can point to that transaction and say "See! I told you they were part of the Axis of Evil!" Congress must stop this humanitarian disaster in the making!

In April 2002, Bush Gave North Korea $95 Million - Despite Knowing About Its Nuclear Weapons Program
10-Nov-02
Korea

In June 2001, Bush discovered that North Korea received nuclear weapons technology (probably centrifuges) from Pakistan (http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4356687.htm). But Bush kept this terrifying news a secret to protect Pakistan after 9-11. And then in April 2002, Bush ignored this grave threat and gave North Korea $95 million to proceed with construction of nuclear power reactors. Was this money released for the benefit of ABB, the Swiss technology giant that is building the plant - on whose board Donald Rumsfeld served until 2001? We demand an investigation!

Why Iraq and Not North Korea?
31-Oct-02
Korea

What? Wait a second? Didn't North Korea just say that they HAD the ability to build the bomb? Didn't they fire a missile over Japan a few years ago? Haven't we had hostilities with them for 50 years now? Why in the world would we still focus on Iraq??? Obviously, Iraq must have something that North Korea doesn't have. Iraq must somehow be more important to the U.S., or a greater threat, or something like that, for the Bush administration to focus on getting rid of Saddam Hussein when North Korea declares that they could produce the bomb.

Damn Inappropriate
31-Oct-02
Korea

Brian Balta writes: "The Bush Administration had the information about North Korea's weapons for the entire month that Congress was debating both the defense appropriation bill and a War Powers Resolution on Iraq. That information could have had a direct affect on both of the votes that the Congress made. The information was purposely withheld, under the justification that Mr. Bush needed time to consider what it meant. Democracy only works when the people voting are informed. By holding back this information, Bush has managed to ensure that the debate focused entirely on Iraq, and whether or not we should invade Iraq. There was no debate on whether or not North Korea was a greater threat than Iraq or if the administration was focusing on the right target."

Bush Knew About North Korea Nuclear Program A Year Ago
26-Oct-02
Korea

The San Jose Mercury News reports that "the Bush administration had detailed knowledge for more than a year about North Korea's program to covertly make uranium fuel for an atom bomb...North Korea's admission that the country's secretive, authoritarian government was pursuing a new route to nuclear weapons sparked international alarm last week. But interviews with experts and former Clinton administration officials, and a review of little-noticed statements by Bush officials, raise questions about why the administration waited so long to deal with this threat, now the subject of intense diplomatic efforts."

Tres Tyrants: Bush Withholds NKorea Nuclear Info So Congress Has No Distracting Revelations
21-Oct-02
Korea

Mary McGrory writes: "George W. Bush, who had been doing a credible imitation of Alexander the Great conquering the known world, was stopped in his tracks by North Korea. Yes, representatives of Pyongyang's demented leader told a State Department envoy, they are working on a nuclear bomb. Iraq, Bush's obsession, has been six months away from a nuke for years, and Bush wants to bomb, invade and occupy it. But here's North Korea's Kim Jong Il, who fits perfectly Bush's description of Saddam Hussein as 'a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction.' Bush doesn't want to raise a finger against him....Bush is moving fast these days. The commander in chief spends all his time waging war on Democrats. He should perhaps pause long enough to explain to those in Congress why he withheld the news about North Korea's nuclear program from them for 12 days, making sure that the war resolution was safely passed without any distracting revelations."

In 1998, Rumsfeld's Report on the North Korea Threat Overlooked (Bush Family Benefactor) Rev. Moon's Billions to North Korea
20-Oct-02
Korea

Writes Robert Parry: "In 1998, Rumsfeld headed a special commission, appointed by the Republican-controlled Congress, that warned that North Korea had made substantial progress during the decade in building missiles that could pose a potential nuclear threat to Japan and parts of the United States...Yet, during the early-to-mid 1990s, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was monitoring a series of clandestine payments from Sun Myung Moon's organization to the North Korean communist leaders who were overseeing the country's military strategies...In late 1991, the Japanese yen traded at about 130 yen to the U.S. dollar, meaning Moon's investment would have been about $3.5 billion, if the DIA information is correct... Republicans have used Rumsfeld's report to club President Clinton and Vice President Gore for alleged softness toward a recalcitrant communist enemy." Moon has paid Bush Sr. up to $10 million. He also bailed Jerry Falwell out of debt. (Enter 'Moon' in our search engine.)

Incomparable Dangers: Bush Chose Not To Reveal North Korean Nuclear Capability Because of Congress' Iraq Debate
19-Oct-02
Korea

WashPost.com reports: "One senior official said Bush and his senior advisers effectively decided more than a week ago to pursue a diplomatic approach to the revelations. But the official said that while they briefed selected members of Congress in the past week, they chose not to reveal it publicly while debate was underway in the House and Senate on the Iraq war resolution. 'We were waiting for it to leak,' one official said. 'But nobody was paying attention because of Iraq.'...But the North Korean admission left the administration with another foreign policy headache. 'The president said we do not need another crisis now,'' an official said, 'but I'm not sure we can avoid it. This could get volatile in a minute,'' depending on North Korea's next move."

Bush Plays Partisan Politics with No. Korea Nuke Info
19-Oct-02
Korea

WashPost reports that Bush "withheld North Korea's admission about a nuclear weapons program from key Democrats until after Congress had passed its resolution authorizing war with Iraq, prompting complaints on Capitol Hill that the administration has let politics influence its conduct of foreign affairs. Several senators said through their aides that ... Rumsfeld did not mention North Korea's covert nuclear weapons program during a classified briefing held in a secure chamber less than three hours before two senior administration officials revealed the news in a conference call with four reporters. [Tom] Daschle (D-S.D.) said he learned about the weapons program from newspaper articles the next morning, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) said he was told about two hours ahead of the press. At least two REPUBLICAN senators said they had earlier received individual briefings from [James] Kelly." Bush cares more about POLITICS than defending America!

CIA Knew About North Korean Nukes For TWO Years - So Why Did Bush IGNORE the Problem?
19-Oct-02
Korea

WashPost reports, "The first signs came in 2000. But the 'dots weren't connected' by intelligence analysts until the summer of that year, one administration official said. And the information was not reaching the highest levels of government... Shortly after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell met briefly with his North Korean counterpart at an international conference in... Brunei in July of this year, senior officials became aware of a consensus among intelligence analysts that North Korea had a secret weapons program." Was the CIA not telling Bush - in which case George Tenet should be fired - or was Bush not listening because he was so focused on stealing Iraq's oil - in which case Bush should be impeached?

Why Is Bush Negotiating with North Korea - a Much Bigger Threat to the US - While Demanding W-ar Against Iraq? It's the Oil, Folks!
18-Oct-02
Korea

Marc Erikson writes: "Some time between October 3 and 5 one of Kim's officials confessed to visiting US assistant secretary of state James Kelly that North Korea, in material breach of a 1994 agreement, had an active nuclear-weapons program. So what's next? Kim's professing that he's indeed a major missile-technology proliferator and proud of membership in George W Bush's axis-of-evil threesome?...The US Central Intelligence Agency believes that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for at least one, quite possibly two or three nukes. And, of course, it has the proven ballistic-missile capability to deliver them to Japan, even Alaska.... The Bush administration wanted the Iraq war authorization from Congress signed, sealed and delivered before having to face nasty questions on why it is prepared to continue talking to a nuclear-armed Pyongyang but not to Saddam Hussein, who - at least in plain material capability - would appear to pose a lesser threat."

Bush Concealed North Korean Nukes for 2 Weeks to Trick Congress into Iraq W-ar Vote - Impeach Bush Now!
18-Oct-02
Korea

NY Times reports, "There were conflicting explanations today about why the administration kept the North Korean admission quiet for 12 days. The White House said it simply wanted time to consult with Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations, and with members of Congress, before deciding its next step. But some of the administration's critics suggested that the real reason was that the administration did not want to complicate the debate over Iraq in Congress and the United Nations." In other words, Bush knew Congressional opponents of the Iraq W-ar would demand to know why Bush wanted to invade Iraq - which has only a slight possibility of possessing nuclear weapons - instead of North Korea, which ADMITS having nuclear weapons. Bush was willing to RISK AMERICAN SECURITY to get authorization to invade Iraq. Impeach Bush Now!

Bush Silent on North Korea's Real Nuclear Threat While Demanding W-ar Power Over War-Weary, Sanction-Sapped Iraq
18-Oct-02
Korea

Stratfor.com reports: "The State Department chose to wait two weeks after Pyongyang's admission to reveal it, issuing its report on the eve of Kelly's Oct. 17 visit to Beijing....This renewed U.S. focus on North Korea is in part a tactic toward getting China's cooperation on, or at least acquiescence to, a United Nations resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. In essence, Washington is telling Beijing that if the United States doesn't get to deal with Iraq, a key member of the so-called axis of evil, then it will turn its sights on North Korea, another "evil axis" charter member. Washington also is sending a message to China that if Beijing expects to be treated like a big power -- part of what Jiang's Texas trip is intended to establish -- then Washington will give China something to take care of: North Korea. The Bush administration is telling China's leadership that it must rein in the North Korean regime as proof of its commitment to global order."

Did Bush Envoy Deliberately Provoke North Korea into Nuclear Posturing to Expand Bush W-ar?
17-Oct-02
Korea

From Oct. 3 to 5, about the time that it was becoming extremely clear that public sentiment against war with Iraq was growing, Bush sent an envoy to North Korea for "security talks" - the first since Bush took office. There are now allegations that the envoy, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly (last seen up to his elbows in the Taiwangate scandal) made provocative comments. "He made very arrogant and threatening remarks that if North Korea did not take any action first to solve the concerns about security, there would be neither dialogue nor improved relations," said North Korea's official news agency, KCNA.

North Korea Announces Nuclear Capability to Deter Bush from Invading Them After Iraq
17-Oct-02
Korea

Rev. Sun Myung Moon's UPI writes, "North Korean officials have made the bombshell admission to U.S. diplomats that their country for years has continued a nuclear development program in secret, even though this was in clear contravention of its 1994 commitments to the United States... Why did they make such an admission at all? And above all, why did they make it now? ... North Korean leaders have made the calculation that only the fear that they already possess nuclear weapons will deter Bush from taking major military action against them at some point soon. Indeed, they may well already be convinced that Bush has already made up his mind to launch U.S. armed forces against them after Iraq is conquered. If that is the case, it would follow that only indicating obliquely but still clearly that they may already possess a nuclear deterrent will be sufficient to keep Bush off their backs."

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il Invites President Clinton to 'Cool the Rhetoric' from Warmonger Bush
28-Apr-02
Korea

"North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has invited former U.S. President Bill Clinton to visit Pyongyang to play a mediating role and to cool the rhetoric from Washington, a North Korean official said on Monday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to specify whether the reclusive Kim had issued the invitation to Clinton before or after President [sic] George W. Bush's speech in January in which he branded North Korea part of an 'axis of evil' along with Iraq and Iran. 'The plan of the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il is that Mr. Clinton should end the rhetoric,' the official said." What a sorry commentary on Bu$h's failure in foreign policy!

North Korean Threatens End to 7-Year Nuclear Freeze Due To Bush Policy
17-May-01
Korea

Wednesday evening, North Korea gave the U.S. notice that it was ready to dissolve the 1994 nuclear freeze deal it made with us. Why? Because Bush is making it clear the U.S. doesn't plan to honor its nuclear treaty obligations to Korea or anyone else, for that matter. Earlier in the week, Shrub tried to buy the famine-plagued Koreans off with a donation of 100,000 tons of food. It apparently didn't work - maybe because Shrub is dealing with countries and lives now, not corporations and "product."

U.S. Bully Routine Getting Older By the Day for Our Neighbors Around the World
11-May-01
Korea

In just under 4 months, the Bush regime's arrogant supremist stance has alienated nearly every ally we have. Now even South Korea's respect for us has waned and they are demanding our accountability for using the Korean countryside for target practice for the past half-century. Under Shrub, it's becoming an embarrassment to admit you're an American, unless you quickly add "But I voted for Gore!"

South Koreans Protest 'Star Wars' Plan
10-May-01
Korea

US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage arrived in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss a proposed US missile defence shield and North Korea as activists staged a boisterous anti-US protest. Some 50 demonstrators representing 44 civilian bodies marched through the airport terminal chanting "Yankees go home" and waving banners. They accused Washington of forcing Seoul to take part in the controversial missile plan. "We oppose the visit by Armitage, the envoy of death," the activists said. "The world is confused over which country is the real rogue state."

North Korea Warns That Bush And The GOP Are Risking War
20-Mar-01
Korea

Earlier this month, Bush told South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung that the US would not be pursuing missile reduction talks with North Korea. This put a considerable chill on relations with North Korea for both countries. Now the North Korean news service has "cited reports that conservative U.S. lawmaker Jesse Helms was urging the abandonment of the agreement, under which Pyongyang [No. Korea] agreed to freeze its nuclear program in return for two light-water reactors and annual supplies of fuel oil." The North Korea broadcast stated "If this is the attitude of the United States, we will have to adopt an extreme hard-line stance. If the U.S. imperialists demand war, we will respond a thousand-fold." Once again, we see that Bush and the far right will undermine foreign relations to justify their ridiculous NMD plan for their Defense Industry overlords.

Bush Sure Gave Us One Pathetic Performance on the Koreas
16-Mar-01
Korea

"Bush's shabby treatment of Kim Dae Jung of South Korea remains a mystery, but the first political returns are in: North Korea, obviously bent on rubbing in Kim's humiliation in the Oval Office, has canceled scheduled peace negotiations with Seoul. Outside the White House, Kim Dae Jung is much admired. He is seen as a great man, in a class with Nelson Mandela, another valiant visionary who endured a lifetime of sacrifice and suffering to realize a patriotic dream. Kim's breakthrough visit to North Korea won him the Nobel Peace Prize - but not, for some reason, the regard of George W. Bush. Not only did the resident withhold his endorsement of Kim's risky but promising "sunshine policy" to bring the two Koreas together, he went out of his way, in body English to convey how cross and bored he was with his visitor." So writes Mary McGrory of the Washington Post.

North Korea Denounces Shrub
14-Mar-01
Korea

In response to Bush's statement that he would delay missile reduction talks with North Korea, North Korea leaders cancelled peace talks with the South Korean cabinet. The Bush administration wants to take an unnecessarily hostile stance towards North Korea in order to justify its Star Wars boondoggle, keep 40,000 troops in South Korea, and cater to Sun Myung Moon. Bush's policy announcement was also a humiliation of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who favored the missile reduction talks. North Korea denounced Shrub's policy, saying the US "only intends to step up its hostile policy to isolate and stifle" North Korea, according to the official news agency.

Why Shrub Stabbed Kim Dae Jung in the Back
13-Mar-01
Korea

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung visited Shrub last week to gain support for continuing peace talks with North Korea - which had neared a breakthrough at the end of the Clinton administration. But the enemies of peace within the Bush administration need a justification for Star Wars - and for keeping 40,000 US troops near China.

Bush Seeks to Block Peace Between Two Koreas
11-Mar-01
Korea

"Bush told President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea today that he would not resume missile talks with North Korea anytime soon." In so doing, Bush has struck a dissonant chord in the otherwise improving relations between North and South Korea - that President Clinton had worked hard to facilitate. Bush's team seems intent on re-igniting Cold War paranoia to justify their foolhardy NMD ("Son of Star Wars") plan. Bush and Rumsfeld want to keep North Korea as a bogeyman so they can use the NMD plan to payback their Defense Industry overlords. How does Bush benefactor Reverend Moon fit into Bush's policy? As Robert Parry reported in "Consortium News", Moon has been giving North Korea's leaders millions in defiance of US sanctions. Rumsfeld's 1998 report on North Korea conveniently ignored this fact, while it attacked the Clinton administration's policies. Improving relations with North Korea would only undermine Moon's leverage as a covert benefactor.

Rumsfeld's North Korea Report Concealed Rev. Moon's Millions
07-Feb-01
Korea

In 1998, Bush's new Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld released a report attacking the Clinton Administration for not checking North Korea's military build-up. Yet DIA documents show that the Reverend Moon -- a key Bush and Republican benefactor -- actually funneled millions of dollars to North Korea's leaders during the '90's. (Check out the hypocrisy of Moon's "Washington Times" in casting the blame). Once again, the American public is being pitched a "Star Wars" program to protect us from enemies that Republican elements have financed -- just like the good ol' Iran-Contra and Iraqgate days.

 


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