North Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons and Rejects Talks

[tuffy109]

we just won two.

hahahahahahaha

[PNWbrit]

we just won two.

Iraq is all sewn up and done? Come on home boys!

[Will]

we just won two.

but seriously, why should we care? The country will implode soon enough. It would have already if Seoul wasn't acquiescing to extortion.

1) Because he might be crazy enought to use them before he goes down.

2) Because he might sell them. For money or for spite.

[assgasorgrass]

iraq
afghanistan

somewhere, your social studies teacher is crying.

and somewhere your geography teacher is weeping.

[mr_gyptian]

he isn't going to use them on us.

and he's already sold them.

paging Dr. Khan.

Dr. Khan to the white courtesy phone please.

oh wait, he can't reached at the moment. he is currently residing in a very uncomfortable place.

[ljm]

Will,

Stop making so much sense!

Seriously, the whole "let's just bitchslap him" idea = playing with fire.

LJM

[Will]

he isn't going to use them on us.

and he's already sold them.

paging Dr. Khan.

Dr. Khan to the white courtesy phone please.

oh wait, he can't reached at the moment. he is currently residing in a very uncomfortable place.

Oddly enough, I believe that non-American lives matter too. It's just one of those crazy beliefs I have.

And you've got yer facts wrong. Khan sold nuclear technology to N.K. Not the other way around.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/wo...istan/khan.htm

And if you consider a mansion in Pakistan where he's revered as a national hero "uncomfortable", then I would love to see what you think is "cushy".

[cj001f]

Gotta love people banking on rational behavior from a guy with a 7figure cognac habit.

And Gyptian, which wars have we "won"? Or can you win a war with your soldiers still dying?

[cj001f]

And you've got yer facts wrong. Khan sold nuclear technology to N.K. Not the other way around.

What's more frightening than knowing he sold stuff to North Korea, is
not knowing all the other countries he sold weapons too.

Gyptian-
to refresh your memory - clinton's policy assured that N. Korea's nuclear reactor was shut down, cutting production of nuclear weapons. Under bush they've restarted the reactors allowing them to build several weapons a year. Oh wait, those nasty facts are intruding again! Run back to Rush!

[FNG]

Wow...you guys completely missed the Princess Bride line. Inconcievable! Damn drought.

My point still stands that a war with Korea would be infinately more bloody than a war with Iran.

[cj001f]

My point still stands that a war with Korea would be infinately more bloody than a war with Iran.

Not to mention economically disastrous, especially for the tech sector. The last crisis substantially cut their tech investment - a war would be brutal.

[irul&ublo]

Kim Jong II Unfolds Into Giant Robot
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim Jong II Unfolds Into Giant Robot

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA—Responding to mounting pressure and increasingly confrontational rhetoric from the outside world, North Korean president Kim Jong Il unfolded into a 70-foot-tall, 62-ton giant robot Monday.



Above: Kim Jong Il marches through the streets of Pyongyang.


"The DPRK's nuclear program is very much its own business, as is its right to determine its own path of security," said Kim, his torso splitting along ventral seams as clusters of Taepo-Dong ICBMs rose from his shoulders. "Any attempt by Washington to decide our fate will surely result in a sea of fire being unleashed upon them."

As his arms and legs sheathed themselves in bulletproof Mecha-Muscle telescoping outward from his chest, Kim reiterated his refusal to bow to international demands.

"Constant criticism from outside indicates mistrust of our promise to refrain from missile tests," said Kim, speaking over the mechanical shriek of wingblades sprouting from his back. "Only trust from the U.S. that we will keep our word can prevent World War III."

"The imperialist West is holding my country to standards which it does not see fit to meet itself," continued Kim, his voice now a metallic, digitized boom emanating from somewhere within the titanium helmet sheathing his head. "This does not surprise me, as they are well-famed for their lies."

"Pyongyang Dynamo Power Punch!" added Kim, as he released his fist-modules skyward with twin robotic uppercuts.

While the Bush Administration remains publicly confident that a diplomatic solution can be reached, top officials admit that the situation has become more complicated.





Above: A South Korean border soldier eyes Kim Jong Il in the Demilitarized Zone.

"If we add Kim Jong Il's transformation into a giant robot to his already defiant isolationist stance and his country's known nuclear capability, the diplomatic terrain definitely becomes more rocky," U.S. envoy James Kelly said. "Kim has made it clear that, if sufficiently threatened, he will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons or his arm-mounted HyperBazooka."

Added Kelly: "We are also forced to consider the possibility that Kim may attempt to robo-meld with other members of the Axis of Evil, forming a MegaMecha-Optima-Robosoldier. Kim would make a powerful right arm—or even a torso—for such a mechanism."

During a visit Monday to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean peninsula, Kim stressed that his transformation was not an act of aggression, but rather an attempt to defend his nation's autonomy.

"The DPRK must not be subject to the whims of an international coalition with no regard for the welfare of the Korean people," said Kim before stomping the ground with his foot, unleashing a devastating ring of energy that vaporized nearby reporters and military vehicles. "Catastrophic Valiant Kim-Chee Earthquake Stomp-Kick!"

[Viva]

Some of you may recall that the last time we invaded North Korea, the Chinese came down from above with warm puddle of spew.

We're not doing squat in North Korea unless China's in on it.

[DJSapp]

Wow...you guys completely missed the Princess Bride line. Inconcievable! Damn drought.

My point still stands that a war with Korea would be infinately more bloody than a war with Iran.

No, I got the quote, the irony in your statement was too good to pass up.

And I do agree, Korea = 99999999999999X more blood.

[mr_gyptian]

Will, good work.

however, while Khan's panache with the jazmine bush is duly noted, he is hardly living it up:

"Not long ago, Abdul Qadeer Khan used to walk into a wooded park across the street from his mansion in Pakistan's capital city and feed the monkeys who lived there. That was when he was a national hero and a multimillionaire, owner of a fleet of vintage cars and properties from Dubai to Timbuktu. But Khan, 68, no longer crosses the street to feed the monkeys. These days he is almost never seen outside. His house, which lies just over a grassy hillside from Islamabad's King Faisal Mosque, is modern, squat and dark, its facade concealed behind a vine-covered wall. To the casual observer, the house provides just one clue to its owner's sinister profession. At the end of his driveway sits a large jasmine bush, trimmed into an odd but unmistakable shape: that of a mushroom cloud.

When President George W. Bush identified the main threats to global security in his State of the Union address last week, the name A.Q. Khan was not on the list. In some respects, that's not surprising.

Khan is under house arrest, his every move monitored by Pakistani government agents. He is said to be in failing health, and will probably live out his days a recluse. And yet one year after Khan appeared on Pakistani television and confessed to selling some of that country's most prized secrets, the world is only beginning to uncover the extent of his treachery—and comprehend how one man did more to destabilize the planet than did many of the world's worst regimes."

interestingly are we supposed to care about the numerous NK's that are starving to death or dying in labor camps? Or are we supposed to protect the South Koreans that openly reject our presence on their part of the peninsula? That is until Rummy says we're leaving or Jong rattles a sabre. Are we supposed to leave it to Japan? A country that regards Koreans, North and South, as people less than vermin.

Short of nuking them there is nothing we could do. Foreign affairs just came out with an essay saying the bush administration pulled an Iraq and misconstrued facts to forward and agenda that the North Koreans had nukes. which foreign affairs claims they did not and were only producing low, non weapons grade plutonium. well, it seems they do have nukes. we'll see how responsible the Asia Pac countries are with their region.

[Free Range Lobster]

we just won two.

Funny, the latest one still isn't "finished".
And I certainly wouldn't call it a "win".

[Jumper Bones]

I find it really funny that invasion is pretty much the only military option in you people's minds...

I'm not sure negotiation would have amounted to dick either. What do you think they're going to negotiate - to lay down their arms and have elections and freedom? And have Kim and all of his cohort thugs suddenly out of a job? Hah!

no, this is a problem that I'm pretty sure won't go away no matter what...until Jong Il dies anyway, I'm not sure if he has heirs or not...

this is a fine 50-year-old, and now more complicated, mess we've got here.

Wonder if we'll be pulling out of Korea per Rummy's plans now?

[Platinum Pete]

Some of you may recall that the last time we invaded North Korea, the Chinese came down from above with warm puddle of spew.

We're not doing squat in North Korea unless China's in on it.

Yup, that and the threat to Asian economy and manufacturing in thhe region.

What we're really doing is manufacturing a coup, arming assassains, starving thhe people into rebellion, and offering back-handed bribes. I'd bbe surprised if we weren't launching some bio-terror and fabricating reasons for China to betray DPRK. Covert shit.

[SLCFreshies]

After what we did to Iraq, how are we EVER going to convince any "axis of evil" country to give up its WMD? I mean Iraq had NO WMD, and did that matter? Nope, we still invaded it and deposed Saddam.

If you were in the shoes of Iran and North Korea, would YOU give up your WMD? Let's see...if I give them up, I'll still get invaded, a la Iraq. If I develop a nuclear weapon, who is going to "pre-empt" me now?

The cat is out of the bag. By showing the world that we would pre-emptively attack anyone we please, we encouraged the other "axis of evil" countries to continue their nuclear weapon programs to fruition for the sake of self-defense.

[tuffy109]

and somewhere your geography teacher is weeping.

you had a geography teacher?

[Rik]

silly facist!

[WHISKA]

If you were in the shoes of Iran and North Korea, would YOU give up your WMD? Let's see...if I give them up, I'll still get invaded, a la Iraq.

Iraq never offered to give up anything- because they had nothing. North Korea cannot claim to have nothing now. Only if NK had not admitted to having nukes and if Iraq did offer to give something up would your analogy work. Nice idea though.

EDIT: actually that's no analogy- my b

[Lane Meyer]

Just posted on CNN:

Friday, February 11, 2005 Posted: 11:08 AM EST (1608 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. has reaffirmed its opposition to two-way talks with North Korea in response to the communist state's recent announcement that it will abandon six-party negotiations on its nuclear weapons program and bolster its arsenal.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Friday if Pyongyang wants to talk directly to the U.S. envoy, it must happen on the sidelines of six-party talks, which have been on hold since North Korea withdrew last year.

The Bush administration has consistently opposed bilateral talks with North Korea in favor of multilateral negotiations. North Korea has insisted on a bilateral nonaggression pact with the United States before it will consider dismantling its nuclear program.

As a result of direct talks, North Korea and the United States signed an agreement in 1994 in which Pyongyang pledged to freeze and eventually dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for international aid to build two power-producing nuclear reactors.

North Korea eventually broke that agreement and the White House says if there is a new agreement it must be signed by North Korea's neighbors, as well as the United States.

North Korea's envoy to the United Nations, Han Sung Ryol, told a South Korean newspaper that Pyongyang will consider multilateral negotiations only after bilateral talks with the United States.

"We will return to the six-nation talks when we see a reason to do so and the conditions are ripe," Han told Seoul's Hankyoreh newspaper, in an interview published Friday.

Han, a senior diplomat at North Korea's U.N. delegation in New York, was the first North Korean official to speak to outside news media since Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry declared Thursday that the country has nuclear weapons as a deterrent against a U.S. invasion and does not intend to rejoin six-nation disarmament talks any time soon.

International leaders quickly condemned the announcement and urged Pyongyang to return to multilateral negotiations.

In the six-party talks since 2003, the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia have held three rounds of talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. But no significant progress was reported in those talks, all hosted by China, North Korea's last remaining major ally.

A fourth round of talks scheduled for last September did not take place because North Korea refused to attend, citing what it called a "hostile" U.S. policy.

"We have wanted the six-party talks but we are compelled to suspend our participation in the talks for an indefinite period 'til we have recognized that there is justification for us to attend the talks and there are ample conditions and atmosphere to expect positive results from the talks," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said.

"The U.S. disclosed its attempt to topple the political system in the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) at any cost, threatening it with a nuclear stick. This compels us to take a measure to bolster its nuclear weapons arsenal in order to protect the ideology, system, freedom and democracy chosen by the people in the DPRK."

In his inaugural address on January 20, U.S. President George W. Bush did not mention North Korea by name, and he only briefly mentioned the country in his February 2 State of the Union address, saying Washington was "working closely with governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions."

Bush's tone was in stark contrast to his State of the Union address three years before, when he branded North Korea part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq.

The new, more restrained approach raised hopes for a positive response from North Korea. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun agreed to push for an early resumption of the six-nation talks.

But in a statement Thursday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry, according to KCNA, said, "We have shown utmost magnanimity and patience for the past four years since the first Bush administration swore in."

And Pyongyang lashed out at Bush's Jan. 20 inaugural speech, in which he emphasized the effort to spread freedom, which Bush called an "untamed fire" that "will reach the darkest corners of our world."

Pyongyang called it a diabolical U.S. scheme to turn the world into "a sea of war flames."

CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King contributed to this report

[summit]

I think there is a logical problem with trying to talk governments like N. Korea into disarming.

Basically:
U.S. - We want you to give up nuclear weapons.
N. Korea - But you have nuclear weapons.

The reason the U.S. does not want N. Korea to have nuclear weapons is because it is not a responsible government- sort of like saying the juvenile delinquent is not responible enough to have a b.b. gun.

However, if the N. Korean government were wanting to engage the world and make concessions to disarm, that would mean that the N. Korean government IS being responsible and wouldnt be all that dangerous with nuclear arms.

What would Joseph Heller call this?

[thephatkid]

the whole world is going to hell and frankly im afraid for the future generations of mankind assuming that there will be future generations
so i just say fuck it smoke a bowl and go out and make some turns because no matter how much we dont like whats going on there really isnt so much that we can do to stop it
so we should just try to have fun while there is still fun to have