North Korea (Superthread)

[OldSolduer]

Yes the Dear Leader must be very "Ronry" now!

That's "Lonely"  ;D

 

[aesop081]

If anyone is surprised by this, you need a reality check.

We ( the international community "we") have encouraged them to do this little song and dance.

 

[Sub_Guy]

I almost forgot about North Korea, Lil Kim just wants to be in the headlines for a while,  Russia and those Somali Pirates were hogging all the attention.

 

[gun runner]

Does any one have an opinion? And if he is dead, what does this potentially mean to the west?

 

[1feral1]

I am sure "it's" alive.

Sometimes its better the devil we know, then the devil we don't.

OWDU

 

[a_majoor]

If he is dead, then the potential for regional instability is staggering. The South Koreans and Chinese would have to deal with millions of starving North Koreans trying to escape, while the North Korean military might end up being the only institution able to maintain any sort of control, which might make dealing with North Korea even more difficult (especially if their leadership starts fighting amongst themselves).

South Korea might get stuck with the task of rebuilding a totally imploded economy, while the Chinese will be doing all in their power to extend their influence over the entire Korean peninsula, creating more friction in the region (trying to absorb one of the "Tiger" economies into their political sphere is probably a big mistake in my opinion).

You can go on with second and third order effects

 

[Run away gun]

No doubt there is somebody in North Korea that is being/has been groomed for leadership when Kim Jong Il kicks the bucket.

 

[Old Sweat]

According to this story in today's National Post, no one was groomed to take over the reins - or if one of my awful puns can be forgiven in this case, the reigns.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=784936

 

[geo]

While no one was groomed to replace him, he does have 3 sons who have their own followings within the North Korean military.

That being said, still believe that, over the next decade, North & South Korea will get back together again.

 

[TacticalW]

Let's hope that will be the case, but Kim Jong is a very unpredictable man...

From what I've heard he might have had a seizure, and if that's the case who knows, he could be dead, he could be slowly recovering but okay or he could be a vegetable... or he could be replaced by a "clone" o.o

 

[gun runner]

I have heard too that he has several body doubles...like Hussein had. But will this only delay the inevitable(possible war between the north and south) or could this be a ploy to confuse the western nations while they cook up something for the south? 

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I have a hundred more important things to worry about.

Like if my lawn needs to be cut today or later this week.

Just sayin'.

 

[Mike Baker]

North Korea preparing to restart nuclear facility

PANMUNJOM, Korea - North Korea said Friday it was preparing to restart its nuclear reactor, accusing the United States of failing to fulfill its obligations under an international disarmament-for-aid agreement.

It was the first time the North has confirmed it has begun reversing what it has done so far to roll back its nuclear program, though it has warned it would do so in anger over Washington's failure to remove it from the U.S. terrorism blacklist.

"We are making thorough preparations for restoration" of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the deputy director-general of North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hyun Hak Bong, told reporters. He did not say when Yongbyon might begin operating again.

Hyun spoke to reporters in the border village of Panmunjom before sitting down for talks Friday with South Korean officials on sending energy aid to the North as part of the six-nation disarmament deal.

Under the landmark 2007 pact — involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — North Korea pledged to disable its nuclear program in a step toward its eventual dismantlement in exchange for diplomatic concessions and energy aid equivalent to 1 million tons of oil.

North Korea began disabling the Yongbyon complex last year, and the process was 90 percent complete, with eight of 11 key steps carried out "perfectly and flawlessly," Hyun said.

Major progress was made in the agreement in late June when North Korea submitted a long-delayed declaration of its nuclear activities and destroyed the cooling tower at Yongbyon in a show of its commitment to denuclearization.

But the accord ran aground in mid-August when Washington refused to take North Korea off its list of states that sponsor terrorism until the North accepts a plan to verify its nuclear declaration.

North Korea responded by halting the disabling process and is now "proceeding with work to restore (Yongbyon) to its original status," Hyun told reporters.

More on the link.
-Dead

 

[The Bread Guy]

A rittle mo'....

Map of North Korea's nuclear plant in Yongbyon ©AFP - Afp Graphics

Associated Press:  "US urges NKorea not to restart nuclear reactor"

The United States on Friday urged North Korea not to continue preparations to restart its nuclear reactor, saying the country must decide whether it wants to have a better relationship with the world or "keep themselves isolated." ....

Agence France-Presse:  "NKorea moving closer to restarting nuclear plant: US"

North Korea has not restarted its nuclear plant at Yongbyon but is moving "closer and closer" to doing so, the US State Department said Friday.  North Korea, accusing Washington of breaking a six-country nuclear disarmament deal, said Friday it is working to restart its atomic reactor and no longer wants US concessions promised under the pact.  North Korea is moving "closer and closer to that point of operationalizing Yongbyon again," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.  "They haven't got that point yet and we would urge them not to get to that point," he added during the daily briefing.  "They have a choice. They can go down the pathway of having different and better relationship with the world... or they can keep themselves isolated, move the process backward. So we'll see," he said.  "I don't think we're to the point yet of there having fully reversed what they have done," he said.....

Reuters:  "North Korea not yet made Yongbyon operational"

The United States said on Friday that North Korea had not yet made its Yongbyon plant operational despite threats and urged Pyongyang to agree to a mechanism to verify its nuclear claims.  "They have not got to that point yet. We would urge them not to get to that point," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack when asked about North Korea's statement that it was working on starting its Soviet-era nuclear Yongbyon plant.  "They continue to move to the right, to get closer and closer to that point where they are operationalising Yongbyon again," he added....

And from Secretary of State Rice, in an op-ed in the 26 Jun 08 Wall Street Journal

....  Considering North Korea's track record, verification is essential, but still it must be asked: What if North Korea cheats? The answer is simple: We will hold North Korea accountable. We will reimpose any applicable sanctions that we have waived – plus add new ones. And because North Korea would be violating an agreement not only with us, but also with all of its neighbors, those countries would take appropriate measures as well ....

 

[OldSolduer]

How about the .50 cal solution.....sorry I'm in a rotten mood.

 

[dangerboy]

How about the .50 cal solution.....sorry I'm in a rotten mood.

OldSolduer  get with the times it is now the 25mm solution.

 

[OldSolduer]

Sounds good to me dangerboy.

 

[a_majoor]

The solutions range from messy and dangerous to FUBAR. What is the price we are willing to pay for the "just" messy and dangerous? Read Robert Kaplan's "http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200610/kaplan-koreaWhen North Korea Falls" to see where we are at.

 

[rtangri]

N U K E EM ! I know Im gonna get hell for this, but god damnit this is so repetetive

 

[CougarKing]

Meanwhile..back in the DPRK /North Korea:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/24/nkorea.nuclear.plant/index.html

North Korean nuclear plant seals removed
Story Highlights
IAEA: N. Korea nuclear plant seals have been removed

U.N. nuclear watchdog will no longer have access to the plant

N. Korea had agreed to abandon its atomic weapons program for energy aid
(CNN) -- North Korea has made another move toward possibly restarting its suspended nuclear program, the U.N. nuclear agency reports.

At the reclusive nation's request, the International Atomic Energy Agency has removed surveillance equipment and seals from the Yongbyon nuclear facility, agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

The move clears the way for North Korea to reintroduce nuclear material to the facility. The North has told the IAEA that it will do that in a week or so.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog will no longer have access at Yongbyon and will not be able to monitor any activities at the nuclear reprocessing facility.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that agency inspectors had observed that "some equipment previously removed by (North Korea) during the disablement process has been brought back."

ElBaradei said then that he was hopeful that conditions could be developed for North Korea "to return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty at the earliest possible date and for the resumption by the agency of comprehensive safeguards."

Last week, a South Korean news agency reported that North Korea was restoring a reactor at Yongbyon nuclear complex and no longer wanted to be removed from a U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

Hyun Hak-Bong, a chief North Korean negotiator at the six-nation talks aimed at halting the country's nuclear program, told reporters his country was "thoroughly preparing to restart" the reactor and that reporters would "know soon" when his country would do that, the Yonhap news agency said.

But a senior U.S. diplomat has said the announcement could simply be a bargaining ploy in the long-running negotiations. The U.S. had seen no indications North Korea was actually rebuilding its reactor, the diplomat said.

The U.S. envoy to North Korea addressed the fresh standoff with reporters Monday, saying the U.S. was still trying to strike a deal with Pyongyang to come clean on its nuclear claims.

"The six-party process has had its difficult moments and we are certainly experiencing one now," Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill told reporters.

Although North Korea has threatened to restart its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, "We don't expect any dramatic developments in the next few days," he said.

Hill said U.S. officials had the impression North Korea wanted to reach agreement with Bush administration before it left office.

Earlier, a senior State Department official told CNN that in recent weeks the North Koreans had taken a "harder-line stance toward the six-party talks."

U.S. intelligence officials told CNN last week that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been suffering serious health problems, and may have had a stroke.

North Korea had agreed to disable the Yongbyon nuclear complex by October in exchange for a pledge from the U.S. to lift some sanctions and remove North Korea from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

And the blackmail cycle has begun again. :