Just to put in my 2 cents the reason we don't invade places developing nuke technology like Iran,N Korea, China and so on is because put it simply we don't have the power to. The N. Korean military out numbers our military 12 to 1 we are simply out numbered. If we were to invade it would be a devestation war to America and our allies that say they would invade with us would site back and watch. We could win a war with these countries don't get me wrong but at what cost to American lives. That's why it is such a tricky situation for the President and his advisors to make a hasty decision on this. Also if we invade N.Korea it will piss off so many other Asian countries and there will be an all out world war. Same with Iran we cant invade there either b/c of the backing that Iran has right now. If we invade Iran, Saudi will attack us and so will so many other middle east countries. So for all the people say lets invade N.Korea is it really worth the lives of 10's of thousands of American soldiers over a few missles that we have no clue what the intentions will be. I agree they are a threat but I also believe we need to stay out of it till we know what's going to happen.....
North Korea Test Fires Missiles
- Thread starter arlo
- Start date
News, not sure if you have read this.
SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea angrily mocked international criticism of its multiple missile tests, threatening on Thursday to fire off more rockets.
In the face of nearly unanimous world condemnation of the seven missile tests on Wednesday, Pyongyang's foreign minister released a blustery statement declaring that it had the right to develop and test its weapons and vowing unspecified retaliation against anyone who tries to stop it.
"Our military will continue with missile launch drills in the future as part of efforts to strengthen self-defense deterrent," said the statement, carried in state-run media. "If anyone intends to dispute or add pressure about this, we will have to take stronger physical actions in other forms."
The statement did not specify what actions North Korea would take.
The aggressive stance from Pyongyang coincided with intense diplomatic activity in world capitals to formulate a response to the tests. Washington and its allies particularly Japan clamored for sanctions against the North, but struggled against resistance by China and Russia.
North Korea set off an international furor on Wednesday when it tested seven missiles, all of which landed into the Sea of Japan without causing any damage. The blasts apparently included a long-range Taepodong-2 that broke up less than a minute after takeoff and splashed into the sea.
On Friday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei their nations' senior negotiators on North Korea conferred on the missile tests.
Hill and Wu exchanged pleasantries before their meeting. After its conclusion, Hill was scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, before the U.S. envoy heads for Seoul.
A Japanese newspaper reported Friday that North Korea had targeted South Pacific waters in the vicinity of Hawaii with the long-range missile. The conservative daily Sankei cited unnamed U.S. and Japanese and officials as saying Japan's Defense Agency and the U.S. military reached that conclusion after analyzing the missile's path from data collected from intelligence equipment. The report couldn't be immediately independently confirmed.
The statement threatening more tests came as South Korean officials said intelligence reports showed continued activity at Northern missile sites, suggesting further firings could be in the works.
It was unclear if or when the missiles would fly. Japanese officials said they had no indications another Taepodong test was being prepared, and South Korean officials said the launches were not imminent.
Still, the North pulled no punches in its statement, hailing the launches on Wednesday as a success and making no mention of the Taepodong-2 failure.
"The successful missile launches were part of our military's regular military drills to strengthen self defense," said the statement. "As a sovereign country, this is our legal right and we are not bound by any international law or bilateral or multilateral agreements."
The ministry also denied it had violated a missile moratorium, saying it was only in effect when Pyongyang was in dialogue with the U.S. The statement also blamed the Japanese for making an international issue out of North Korea's unsolved kidnappings of Japanese citizens.
Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday that Australia has decided to curtail its diplomatic ties with North Korea over the tests.
The report said that Michael L'Estrange, head of the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said departmental dealings with North Korean officials will be canceled.
The report did not elaborate and calls to the department seeking confirmation were not immediately returned.
Australia is one of a handful of countries that maintains limited diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea angrily mocked international criticism of its multiple missile tests, threatening on Thursday to fire off more rockets.
In the face of nearly unanimous world condemnation of the seven missile tests on Wednesday, Pyongyang's foreign minister released a blustery statement declaring that it had the right to develop and test its weapons and vowing unspecified retaliation against anyone who tries to stop it.
"Our military will continue with missile launch drills in the future as part of efforts to strengthen self-defense deterrent," said the statement, carried in state-run media. "If anyone intends to dispute or add pressure about this, we will have to take stronger physical actions in other forms."
The statement did not specify what actions North Korea would take.
The aggressive stance from Pyongyang coincided with intense diplomatic activity in world capitals to formulate a response to the tests. Washington and its allies particularly Japan clamored for sanctions against the North, but struggled against resistance by China and Russia.
North Korea set off an international furor on Wednesday when it tested seven missiles, all of which landed into the Sea of Japan without causing any damage. The blasts apparently included a long-range Taepodong-2 that broke up less than a minute after takeoff and splashed into the sea.
On Friday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei their nations' senior negotiators on North Korea conferred on the missile tests.
Hill and Wu exchanged pleasantries before their meeting. After its conclusion, Hill was scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, before the U.S. envoy heads for Seoul.
A Japanese newspaper reported Friday that North Korea had targeted South Pacific waters in the vicinity of Hawaii with the long-range missile. The conservative daily Sankei cited unnamed U.S. and Japanese and officials as saying Japan's Defense Agency and the U.S. military reached that conclusion after analyzing the missile's path from data collected from intelligence equipment. The report couldn't be immediately independently confirmed.
The statement threatening more tests came as South Korean officials said intelligence reports showed continued activity at Northern missile sites, suggesting further firings could be in the works.
It was unclear if or when the missiles would fly. Japanese officials said they had no indications another Taepodong test was being prepared, and South Korean officials said the launches were not imminent.
Still, the North pulled no punches in its statement, hailing the launches on Wednesday as a success and making no mention of the Taepodong-2 failure.
"The successful missile launches were part of our military's regular military drills to strengthen self defense," said the statement. "As a sovereign country, this is our legal right and we are not bound by any international law or bilateral or multilateral agreements."
The ministry also denied it had violated a missile moratorium, saying it was only in effect when Pyongyang was in dialogue with the U.S. The statement also blamed the Japanese for making an international issue out of North Korea's unsolved kidnappings of Japanese citizens.
Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday that Australia has decided to curtail its diplomatic ties with North Korea over the tests.
The report said that Michael L'Estrange, head of the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said departmental dealings with North Korean officials will be canceled.
The report did not elaborate and calls to the department seeking confirmation were not immediately returned.
Australia is one of a handful of countries that maintains limited diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Ultimately, war is politics by other means. War is expensive, and the main reason the US doesn't agitate to war with these "belligerent" nations is the very serious regional destabilization that would follow. I don't think the US government pays much mind to worries about conflicts spreading (at least in the short-term), but does worry about economic loss through inflation, reduced world markets, and the ensuing economic contraction following. There is no unilateral call for aggressive posturing in dealing with North Korea, and until there is such there is no real possibility of military action. Sadly, the cost of a human life pales next to a drop in the Dow Jones ...
Iran was engaged in open conflict with Iraq for 8 years. They were unable, despite a larger population and larger economic base, to defeat them. The US destroyed a dis-spirited Iraqi defense in days. I am certain the Iranian government saw this and realized they cannot go head to head with the US unless they have a death wish. One may be inclined to paint all Muslims as having such, but trust me, they DO NOT. I don't think defeating them in military terms would be a problem. The problem would be the host of other problems (see above) that would pop up afterwards.
The solution is in impressing upon Russia and China that a controllable, sedate North Korea is in their interests. Remove their cloying support for Kim Jong-Il, and watch the neutered dog shrink from a sharp stick.
J
Don't forget about Air power. Although outnumbered on the ground. We still have air superiority and rapid response global reach. Speaking from the standpoint of someone who has to support and fight these current and potential wars, i dont want it. Ill go when they say go, and ill fight when they say fight, but im tired....we are tired.. but we will go when they say go, and fight when they say fight. To all of those who serve, have served, and will serve...fight the good fight, and come home safely.
Not that I condone the missile testing, because I don't,but does it not seem hyprocritical to you guys that all these countries that have the weapons, and have done countless more missile tests in the past to come out and condemn North Korea?
Where were the threats to nuke and invade France when they were doing LIVE nuclear testing in the Pacific in the 80's?
Am I naive or is this a case of that question of people in glass houses........?
Where were the threats to nuke and invade France when they were doing LIVE nuclear testing in the Pacific in the 80's?
Am I naive or is this a case of that question of people in glass houses........?
agreed
and i also think convincing russia and china to stop backing n korea is a very good idea.
good point, thats probably the stance n korea is taking to justify itself. i think n korea is gettin all these threats of invasion because of how messed up it is. the people of n. korea have only one channel to watch, are starving, have no way to escape the nation and no rights. a country this fcked up trying acquiring nuclear weapons is definetly going to get some attention, imo its time to liberate the poor ppl of n. korea. i dont think france had people starving in their country when they conducted nuclear testing in their country, but i agree with u, for the usa, a country with nukes to codemn other countries with nukes or who are trying to get nukes is pretty dam hypocritical. we can now see the consequences of inventing missiles that can blow up half the planet.
nukes are bad mmmmmmmk?
how is that hypocritical
i mean nuke them so everyone is dead and the country is destroyed death and destruction make for a good afternoon
i bet you didnt know that we where secretly at war with korea during vietnam, it wasnt an official war, but we had N.korean partols crossing the 38th and running into our boys= fire fight!.
