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Subscribe to RSSThe communist nation of North Korea threatened this morning to launch a pre-emptive strike, after accusing the United States of using military drills in South Korea as preparation for its own nuclear strike.
The United Nations Security Council slapped new sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test hours after Pyongyang threatened to exercise its "right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack" Thursday.
"Now that the U.S. is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war, the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK will exercise the right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors and to defend the supreme interests of the country," the North's foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency. "The U.S. is massively deploying armed forces for aggression, including nuclear carrier task force and strategic bombers, enough to fight a nuclear war under the smokescreen of 'annual drills'."
Later on Thursday, the U.N. Security Council passed sanctions aimed at North Korea's financial transactions and illicit cargo shipments, and its criminal activities such as drugs and counterfeiting.
After the vote, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that the "entire world stands united in our commitment to the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula and in our demand that North Korea complies with its international obligations."
White House spokesman Jay Carney addresses reported nuclear threats made by North Korea on Thursday.
The vote was passed unanimously by the 15 members of the Security Council, including China, the North's one major diplomatic ally.
China’s ambassador to the U.N., Li Baodong, said China hoped to see the resumption of diplomacy to try to reduce tensions.
"We need wisdom, we need persistence, perseverance, we need teamwork … to bring down the heat," Li said. "This is our focus."
South Korea’s envoy Kim Sook said North Korea choosing the wrong path could lead to its "self-destruction."
"We all have seen (today's) announcement coming out of Pyongyang, which is very hostile," he said.
Responding to questions about Pyongyang's threat to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear attack, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that "DPRK will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to achieve peace and stability," in the region. He added: "I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack."
KCNA via EPA
North Korean soldiers cheer during combat training at an undisclosed location on Wednesday.
Earlier, a spokesman for South Korea's defense ministry told Reuters that the military was "watching the North's activities and stepping up readiness."
Saber-rattling?
On Wednesday, the South Korean military said it would strike back at North Korea and target its top leadership if Pyongyang attacks.
Tensions have ratcheted higher across the Korean Peninsula since the North, under youthful leader Kim Jong Un who took office just over a year ago after the death of his father, launched a long-range rocket last December. He followed this with a third nuclear test on February 12.
Earlier in the week, Pyongyang threatened to end the 60-year truce that ended the Korean war.
Angus Walker, a Beijing-based correspondent with NBC News' partner ITV News, said the current consensus was that North Korea did not have a missile that was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
"There is always a lot of saber-rattling when the U.S. and South Korea stage large-scale military exercises," he said.
North Korea continues military drills and exercises in support of a top general's threat to back military action against South Korea and the United States. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
The North does have smaller missiles, as seen during military parades, and South Korea's capital Seoul is within artillery range.
While the North has in the past threatened to hit Seoul with a "rain of fire," claiming it can launch 250,000 artillery shells in an hour at the South Korean capital, the reality is that those artillery batteries could be destroyed very quickly, Walker said.
War-game scenarios have suggested that a war on the peninsula would be over quickly, with the North under U.S. and South Korean control within 24 hours, he said.
However, Walker suggested the nightmare scenarios are that the North could somehow get a truck-loaded device into the South or launch a "dirty bomb" in an artillery shell.
Earlier this week, the Korea Economic Institute warned that Pyongyang could "certainly inflict serious damage along the Southern side of the [demilitarized zone] in the event of a surprise attack" using artillery.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice describes approved sanctions against North Korea relating to the country's latest nuclear test.
It added:
Taken together, North Korea’s forward deployed long-range artillery could launch as many as 20,000 shells an hour at downtown Seoul ... However, it is important to underscore that these are best-case figures (from North Korea’s military point of view) and in all reality, performance and frequency of the bombardment would be much lower than the numbers detailed above.
...300 artillery pieces in direct range of Seoul is of course a serious concern for allied commanders. A “sea of fire” might not be the result in case of their use, but it is evident that tens of thousands of civilians could die and even more injured if they were used in an indiscriminate way.
The Korea Economic Institute also pointed out that North Korea "reportedly has chemical munitions" that could be fired using artillery. In 2011, Pyongyang reportedly had 1.2 military personnel at its disposal.
The youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.
Next steps
Seoul-based analyst Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director with the International Crisis Group, said North Korea’s comments were "a little bit more serious" than its usual hostile rhetoric. He said Pyongyang appeared to see the moves to impose further sanctions on North Korea as similar to the preludes to the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Pinkston said President Barack Obama should respond by stressing there was no intention to invade North Korea. But he also said the president should warn North Korea that if it "were ever to use nuclear weapons it would be your complete destruction and all the leadership would perish."
Pinkston said it would be suicide for North Korea to launch a nuclear attack, and doubted it would do so. But he added "some kind of miscalculation" was always possible.
He said the U.S. had to stay in a diplomatic "Goldilocks" zone: It had to appear strong to deter North Korean aggression, but not so strong that the regime decided an attack was imminent.
"I think displaying a formidable amount of force that’s credible and can impose huge costs on them, I think that gets their attention and they are more likely to behave themselves," Pinkston said.
NBC News staff writer Kari Huus, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
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North Korea's propaganda poets stay true to their muse despite world's laughter
Full North Korea coverage from NBC News
This story was originally published on Thu Mar 7, 2013 4:36 AM EST
Leave a Comment:
The World knows after 13 years of War, we are weakened. Along with a constand attack on our families by Corporations, a sick culture of Guns and Racism along with a commited effort to boycott of every single thing our President does.....any attack on the homeland...guarantees collapse of our once great Nation. Almost like what happened to Nazi's in Germany. Just look at the "Unity" of the Members on this site....these are the People you have to go to War with.......
Funny, a "sicker" culture of more guns and more racism didn't stop us in WWI or WWII.
This is just more sabre rattling like his daddy so the U.S. will send him a few hundred billion of China's money.
He and China both know they don't need to fire a shot, just let the democrats bankrupt us.
I guess Rodman's diplomacy failed.
We are being threatened with a pre-emptive nuclear strike by a psychotic leadership of a dangerous 3rd world country. Obama needs to schedule a golf tour with Tiger Woods in Honolulu. His typical response. Put NORAD on furlough.
Perry, It will be like benghazi Obama won't know anything about it till after the fact wink, wink
Someone might want to call Obama at george clooney's house and let him know whats going on....OH....north korea...send the bombs over to NY...washington DC...Chicago and california for starters....get rid of some liberal trash.
theQ5454, Wewill be getting bombed and Obama will still be campaigning for his gun ban or be golfing to really important things, according to Obama anyway.
Not to worry. Obama will invite him over for a beer and everything will be ok. You see, there are no bad people in the world. Anyone that thinks that there is only wants a war. We don't need a military, we need a brewery. Then there would be no bad people and no wars.
Now I guess the Retirees in Canada from GM 90,000 will never get a cost of living out of the USA Corporation ,glad everything stops at the border. Good luck with this one too. Kinda makes bring it on meanless.
The man is a nut-job!! Worse than his father…
attack us, and we leave your nation a parking lot.
My advise is to not take this lightly. They mean what they say. Just remember, the shooting of the Arch Duke, that set off WWI. History will do it again but this time Asia will explode into Europe and the WWIII will be on! America, is in no position to fight another War.
"....a large fleet at the bottom of the sea".
Threaten the USA??? Bring it on little fat boy....
Thanks a lot Rodman, all you did was piss this little fat bastard off. Now look at what he thinks he can do and get away with it.
Why should Iran worry about threats to their nuclear weapons program (if any), when they can see what our stance is by using North Korea as an example of our diplomacy ? Just induce sanctions and remain vigilant. Meanwhile, we can have a pissing contest about drones killing Americans, and all is well.
I'd re-enlist for the opportunity to put a SLBM down little Kim's throat.
The North Koreans are probably still laughing at Rodman's dim witted gullibility.
I do not know this Walker but he is dreaming or is smoking something really good. I guess Mr. Walker has been to the DPRK and has gone over the military plans and equipment in detail to make such a bold and ridiculious statement as appears in this article (. . . with the North being under US and South Korean control in 24 hours). War scenarios are never correct, the first rule of war is expect the unexpected. Oh, and Mr. Walker thinks the Chinese are going to do what while the US and it's puppet colony the ROK is taking over the North and marching toward the Chinese border? Possibly send out a welcome committee? If Mr. Walker knew anything at all about the CPC, he would know that just last month senior officals of the CPC made it very clear that they would defend the DPRK.
It is the United States and it's puppet colony in the South who are engaged in continual war scenarios and military exercises, aimed at the destruction of the DPRK and China, it is not China or the DPRK that is holding threatning military exercises off the coast of California, now is it? It is the United States that refuses to negoiate a peace treaty with the DPRK to end the first Korean War, that by the way was also supposed to last only a week, but went on for 3 years with the United States being driven out of the North. The United States is doing everything in it's power to provoke a third world war and I am quite sure it will succeed. This time however the US mainland will not remain untouched and the American people will get a taste of what they have been dishing out to the rest of the world for the last 50 years (missiles and bombs).
So soon after Dennis' visit? Why? Dennis said that Kim Jong II didn't want war. Despised war. Hated war. I mean, they exchanged hugs, man.
Did North Korea not learn its lesson from the 1950's? This is the United States, after all. Not some bumpkin' country around the corner that the pestering little dictators should keep running up to and bonking on the head to see when and where Big Bro America is going to have had enough and squarsh 'em. This is the most powerful nation on the planet.
Wow.
Yes. We certainly are going to block the luxury yachts and race cars from all of you!
Hah. Take that.
But, if you do send a missile in - hit NH first because they act just like North Korea to tourists and their own. Glad we have that cleared up. That also gives the rest of the states a sporting chance to run. Thanks.
OK they want to bomb us,well obama let's introduce them to our little friend! what r u waiting for ,another idiot like rodbagman to rep. us! or r u going to wait till the dirt-bag fires one and kills Americans.Remember pin head u were elected to protect the American people,not Muslims,etc..USMC/Retired
North Korea has our number. They know we are only a reactionary country. We don't do anything until we get hit. So long as they don't attack, they can continue to build up their nuclear weapons program and strengthen their military with China and Russia's help. We won't do anything about Iran either. They know that too.
Dollars to donuts any nuke launched would go about as high as a bottle rocket and fall back down on Pyongyang. If anything the loss of life would probably help out with all the starvation over there.
If we had a strong president, this would not be an issue. If it wasn't for Eisenhower, we'd all be speaking German.
If N. Korea strikes us first, N. Korea will cease to exist. It will just be a wasteland.
No, we'd be speaking Russian.
China will never let that happen, N. Korea will be like Afgan. cold, and we will never win a ground offense and nuke'em is not and option because of China.
Not a chance. The Russians offensive was in full advance by the time the US and the British Empire invaded the Third Reich. Once they got rolling the outcome was not in doubt.
Oh, and your "strong President" is the one who left Korea in the mess that it's in. The wimpy little haberdasher that came before him is the one who rained nuclear fire on our enemies.
They see their chance. They know Obama is a weak president.
I find it amusing that there Uniforms and Military Gear has not changed in 60 years. It looks like they just hand it down from one generation to the next. Just get the local Tailor to make the adjustmants in the Uniforms, no I take that back they don't have to they are all the same size they don't change. I wonder if they still have those crank radios to talk to each other. If we went in with a few Special Forces Teams it would be over before lunch. Just the differance in our Military Technology is enough to take them down.
Small minds think alike. Kim Jong Un's version of the Bush doctrine. This guy is a real madman. A real threat. As oppose to "Al Qaeda." Or Americans critical of policies. I'm not saying drone target him. But, him, before Americans! General Holder, Mr. President.....