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Korea
North Korea: Blockade Could Lead to War
2003-06-17
North Korea warned Tuesday that any economic blockade by the United States and its allies against the communist state could lead to a war that would include Japan.
They are persistant, I'll give them that. And, threatening a relatively defenseless Japan, isn't the worst idea.
On the other hand, if Japan decides not to be defenseless, they've brought themselves a real problem.
The warning came as the United States, Japan and Australia, began cracking down on the North Korean trade in illicit drugs, weapons and counterfeit money — believed to be key sources of hard currency for Pyongyang to buttress its regime and its suspected nuclear weapons programs. North Korea's main state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday charged that the United States is "laying an international siege to the North and putting a blockade against it as a premeditated scheme to start a new war on the Korean peninsula."
Ummm, It's not a "new" war. But, then again, we can't expect the Norks to check any facts.
North Korea will take "physical retaliation," including "all means and methods an independent country can take," if it concludes that the recent moves by the allies violate its sovereignty, Rodong said in a commentary monitored by South Korean news agency Yonhap. "There is no guarantee that this blockade will not lead to such a serious condition as a full-scale war," said Rodong. "If war breaks out between the North and the United States, it will not be limited to the Korean Peninsula but all the areas where aggressors are lurking will become our targets." North Korea accused Japan of turning itself into the "base camp for U.S. aggression against Korea." Separately, the mayor of Hiroshima has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to attend this year's memorial of the 1945 atomic bombing in protest of Pyongyang's plans to pursue nuclear weapons.
Man, how do we deal with that if he goes? We can get rid of him then, but how do we justify nuking Hiroshima twice?
I think the idea might be for him to see what those nukes he's so fond of would actually do. They don't think he comprehends it, and they're probably right.
Posted by:Mike N.

#13  Here are two links, to ponder upon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,968846,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/13/nkorea.nuclear/index.html

And, maybe this as well.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/04/korea.brink/
Posted by: tipper   2003-06-17 21:30:53  

#12  tu3031,

"KRE's" was pretty good, but I thought it was an MRE packet of "Baby au Juche".
Posted by: Hodadenon   2003-06-17 15:25:54  

#11  The last thing Beijing wants is a nuclear Japan. It seems that by standing aside and letting the Nkors do their thing, Beijing is ushering in exactly what they don't want. Secondly, I'm not sure we want a fully militarized Japan.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono   2003-06-17 12:50:19  

#10  I wouldn't even be so sure they haven't got nukes, Mike. They certainly have the industrial, scientific and engineering capability, all that's required is the will to produce weapons.

And if they do, they'll NEVER admit it.
Posted by: mojo   2003-06-17 12:33:04  

#9  I just hope they've got enough dehydrated kid to fit into their mess kits for a sustained offensive. KREs: "Kids: Ready to Eat". They taste great cooked over a "sea of fire".
Posted by: tu3031   2003-06-17 12:08:02  

#8  This is starting to get spooky for those of us who live on the West Coast. The Norks are a serious, if nutty, bunch -- they are definately not like the Iraqis in most ways. If Saddam was the Riddler, than Kim Jong II is Lex Luthor.
Posted by: Secret Master   2003-06-17 11:59:16  

#7  North Korea is going to mess around here and get Japan angry enough to amend their constitution enough to build a full-scale army, navy, and air force. THAT would put the fox among the chickens throughout Asia. Taking an additional half-million young Japanese from the unemployment rolls might even stimulate Japan's economy enough to have it stage a recovery.

I don't know what game the Koreans are trying to play, but they're doing it at a very inopportune time. Thailand is beefing up its armed forces and developing a special operations capability to counter what it sees as the growing Muslim threat to peace. Australia just got a good lesson in modern land warfare in Iraq, and will probably incorporate many of the lessons learned there. The Philippines have finally asked for help dealing with THEIR Muslim terrorist problems, and it seems the training the US Special Forces has been conducting is showing considerable progress. Mainland China's increased saber-rattling has gotten the attention of the Taiwanese, who are looking everywhere for modern equipment to increase the effectiveness of their armed forces. NKorean drug exports to Australia have been confirmed with the recent capture of the NK trawler delivering heroin. Burma and Laos are upset over the growing competition. Kim needs to be very careful, or he could have more than one Asian adversary to deal with!
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-06-17 11:59:03  

#6  I was only refering to nuclear capability. I see that I should have clearified myself.
Posted by: Mike N.   2003-06-17 11:43:27  

#5  "Self Defense forces", yes, and anybody who decides to mess with the Japs in their own back yard is probably gonna get beaten up. And I wouldn't be so sure that the Japanese are all that defenseless. Sneaky and underhanded, yeah. Defensless? No.
Posted by: mojo   2003-06-17 10:19:31  

#4  Actually, I read an interesting article the other day about the japanese military. I will try to find a source, but the gist of the article was that Japan is second only to the US in defense expenditures and that they have a pretty significant military capability hidden under their "Domestic Defense Squad" or something like that. I think if NK were to involve Japan in a war, they would get a very unpleasant surprise.
Posted by: mjh   2003-06-17 09:35:01  

#3  The last thing Beijing wants is a nuclear Japan. It seems that by standing aside and letting the Nkors do their thing, Beijing is ushering in exactly what they don't want. Secondly, I'm not sure we want a fully militarized Japan.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono   6/17/2003 12:50:19 PM  

#2  I was only refering to nuclear capability. I see that I should have clearified myself.
Posted by: Mike N.   6/17/2003 11:43:27 AM  

#1  "Self Defense forces", yes, and anybody who decides to mess with the Japs in their own back yard is probably gonna get beaten up. And I wouldn't be so sure that the Japanese are all that defenseless. Sneaky and underhanded, yeah. Defensless? No.
Posted by: mojo   6/17/2003 10:19:31 AM  

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