Tag Archives: Korean Peninsula

News, Politics, Government

North Korea demands end of sanctions, end of drills as conditions for resuming talks

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North Korea on Thursday demanded the withdrawal of U.N. sanctions and the end of U.S.-South Korea military drills as conditions for resuming talks meant to defuse tension on the Korean Peninsula.

The statement from the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission, the country’s top governing body, came four days after Pyongyang rejected Seoul’s latest dialogue offer as insincere. The U.S. says it is prepared to talk to the North but Pyongyang must first bring down tensions and honor previous disarmament agreements.

“Dialogue can never go with war actions,” said the statement, which was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Before the talks can resume, the statement said the U.S. must also withdraw all nuclear weapons assets from South Korea and the region. It said South Korea, for its part, must stop all anti-North Korea talks, such as its recent announcement blaming Pyongyang for a cyberattack that shut down tens of thousands of computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks last month. North Korea has denied responsibility for the cyberattack.

Later Thursday, South Korea‘s Foreign Ministry dismissed the North’s demand as illogical. “We again strongly urge North Korea to stop this kind of insistence that we cannot totally understand and go down the path of a wise choice,” spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters.

In recent weeks, North Korea has ratcheted up tension on the divided peninsula, threatening to attack the U.S. and South Korea over the military drills and sanctions imposed for its February nuclear test. Pyongyang calls the annual drills a rehearsal for invasion. South Korean officials have also said the North is poised to test-fire a medium-range missile capable of reaching the American territory of Guam.

The ongoing annual drills, called Foal Eagle, are to finish at the end of April. Seoul and Washington officials say they are defensive in nature, and insist they have no intentions of invading the North.

The U.S. has about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. That war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/s9XAYlFfV7I/

News, Politics, Government

Analysis: US offers talks but not on NKorean terms

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After weeks of war cries, North Korea has options to dial down tensions with the U.S. and South Korea, but it’s unlikely to be tempted by Washington’s offer to restart negotiations on its nuclear program.

Despite Pyongyang‘s threats of attack, South Korea‘s new government has offered it talks on the joint industrial park shut by the North during the latest standoff. And a U.S. decision to postpone a long-range missile test this month could provide a pretext for the North to declare a symbolic victory.

Through it all, the U.S. has made clear the door remains open for talks — a point hammered home by Secretary of State John Kerry on every stop on his just-completed trip to Northeast Asia.

The problem is the offer of talks has a precondition the government of Kim Jong Un won’t swallow.

The U.S. is adamant that North recommit itself to giving up nuclear weapons, as it did in a 2005 agreement arising from the so-called six-party talks: aid-for-disarmament negotiations hosted by China, and also joined by Japan, Russia and South Korea, that have been suspended for four years.

Pyongyang has made it increasingly clear it won’t negotiate away its atomic arsenal, which it views as a guarantee that Kim’s authoritarian regime won’t go the same way as those in Iraq and Libya that were toppled in U.S.-backed invasions.

For now, it’s still far from clear whether the security crisis on and around the Korean Peninsula has abated.

The belligerent rhetoric pumped out by North Korea has subsided a little in recent days, as the country commemorates the 101st birthday anniversary of founding leader Kim Il Sung.

But it has rejected Seoul’s offer of talks, and could yet rock the boat by test-firing two medium-range missiles reportedly readied on its east coast that could be launched over Japan. That would risk another round of condemnation in the U.N. Security Council, which last month approved its toughest sanctions yet on the North in response to its latest nuclear test.

Even in the feverish climate stoked by North Korea‘s threats, some policy experts are urging the Obama administration to show more flexibility in its dealings with the Kim regime.

Michael O’Hanlon, director of foreign policy

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/O8yHBXb4L3U/

News, Politics, Government

As US talks up diplomacy, NKorea takes hard line

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The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks if North Korea lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as the saber-rattling government rejected South Korea‘s latest offer of dialogue as a “crafty trick.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find “ready partners” in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program.

Japan‘s foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials.

The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years.

China long pushed has for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis.

Kerry’s message of openness to diplomacy was clear, however unlikely the chances appeared that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un‘s government would meet the American’s conditions.

“I’m not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness,” he told U.S.-based journalists.

“You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they’re going to have to show some kind of good faith here so we’re not going to around and around in the same-old, same-old,” he said.

Tensions have run high on the Korean Peninsula for months, with North Korea testing a nuclear device and its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

The reclusive communist state hasn’t stopped there. It has issued almost daily threats that have included possible nuclear strikes against the United States. Analysts and foreign officials say that is still beyond the North Koreans‘ capability.

While many threats have been dismissed as bluster, U.S. and South Korean say they believe the North in the coming days may test a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific where the Pentagon is deploying a land-based missile-defense system.

Japan

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/uIvMs4NcgdM/

News, Politics, Government

North Korea rejects South Korea's calls for talks

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North Korea on Sunday rebuffed a South Korean proposal to resolve rising tensions through dialogue, dismissing it as a “crafty trick” by its rival.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula for weeks, with Pyongyang threatening to attack Seoul and Washington for conducting joint military drills and for supporting U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea for a February nuclear test.

While the threats are largely seen as rhetoric, U.S. and South Korean officials have said they believe North Korea may test-fire a mid-range missile designed to reach the U.S. territory of Guam.

Pyongyang also took a direct shot at Seoul by pulling more than 50,000 North Korean workers from their joint factory park in the border city of Kaesong and denying South Koreans access to the complex just north of the Demilitarized Zone.

The move has brought the South Korean-run factories to a standstill, threatening a shutdown of the last joint project left between the two Koreas.

Last Thursday, Seoul pressed Pyongyang to discuss restarting operations at the factory park. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promoted seeking peace with North Korea, a change in policy from the hard-line stance of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

But on Sunday, North Korea‘s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said Pyongyang has no intention of talking with Seoul unless it abandons its confrontational posture.

South Korea‘s presidential Blue House said North Korea‘s rebuttal of its dialogue offer was “very regrettable.” A Blue House statement urged North Korea to take responsible measures to help relieve difficulties facing South Koreans working at the joint factory park.

The two Koreas technically remain at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The U.S. keeps about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression by the North.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/Q11mCnOaH24/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Should North Korea Worry U.S. Investors?

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By Dan Caplinger and Mike Klesta, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been on the rise lately, as a new leader in North Korea seeks to assert his leadership by making increasingly provocative threats toward both its neighbors and the United States. In the following video, Fool markets analyst Mike Klesta talks with Fool contributor Dan Caplinger about whether U.S. investors should be worried about what’s happening with North Korea.

Mike points out that the Dow Jones Industrials have largely ignored the Korean threat. Dan believes that while most U.S. stocks have little exposure to the area, investors in South Korean stocks have already seen substantial losses and could continue to see further drops if the crisis escalates. Dan argues that for the most part, U.S. investors should look at U.S. companies that have business operations in South Korea to see how they plan to handle any rising tensions in the future. Moreover, investors in emerging-market ETFs need to be aware that they may have a portion of their assets invested in South Korea, although the exact amount varies among ETFs. Mike and Dan conclude that for now, the risk to the broader U.S. stock market is small, but the situation demands further attention.

One company taking steps to deal with South Korean concerns is General Motors (NYSE: GM). The automaker’s stock creates strong feelings among many investors who remember its bankruptcy during the financial crisis, but as the Fool’s premium GM research service notes, GM‘s growth potential in coming years is even bigger than you think. But it’s not a sure thing, and we’ll help you understand why. It might help give you the courage to be greedy while others are still fearful, as well as a better understanding of the real risks facing General Motors. Just click here to get started now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Dan Caplinger and Mike Klesta“, contentId: “cms.32241”,

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/should-north-korea-worry-us-investors/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Life Technologies Buys KDR Biotech

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

Filed under:


The Wall Street Journal calls Carlsbad, Calif.-based Life Technologies an $11 billion “company you never heard of.” As the Journal reports, a buyout group including private-equity powerhouses Blackstone , Carlyle Group , and KKR is putting together an $11 billion bid to acquire the lab research equipment manufacturer. But as it turns out, Life is doing a bit of acquiring itself.

On Friday, Life announced that it has purchased South Korean reagents distributor KDR Biotech, its own primary distributor on the Korean Peninsula, for an undisclosed sum. Life averred in a statement that it will continue selling plastic ware and similar products — which it does not itself produce but which KDR had been in the business of distributing — in South Korea going forward. Life also intends to absorb all of KDR‘s current employees, and to also take on its CEO as an “external advisor” during the integration process.

Life Technologies shares gained 1.8% on Friday, closing at $68. The company currently commands an $11.6 billion market capitalization, higher even than the Journal‘s reported buyout offer from Life’s private-equity suitors.

The article Life Technologies Buys KDR Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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News, Politics, Government

NKorea denies cyberattack on SKorean companies

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North Korea has denied involvement in a cyberattack that shut down nearly 50,000 computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks last month.

The General Staff of the Korean People’s Army issued the denial Saturday through the official Korean Central News Agency. Seoul on Thursday said Pyongyang was responsible for the March 20 computer crash.

The denial comes as tension remains high on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch a mid-range missile that could fly as far as Guam.

The North has released a chain of warlike threats since Seoul and Washington began joint military drills last month. Pyongyang is also angry over new U.N. sanctions punishing it for its Feb. 12 nuclear test.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/QQwDnLYgWh0/

News, Politics, Government

North Korea reportedly warns Japan to be first target over order to destroy missiles

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North Korea reportedly warned Japan that Tokyo would be the first target should the country decide to play its nuclear card.

The warning is reportedly in response to Tokyo‘s standing orders to destroy any missile heading towards the nation, according to Korean Central News Agency.

Japan has deployed PAC-3 missile interceptor units around Tokyo to protect its capital and is taking North Korea‘s rhetoric seriously.

“We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation,” chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, though he and Ministry of Defense officials refused to confirm the reports about the naval alert, saying they do not want to “show their cards” to North Korea.

Japanese officials have long feared that North Korea has not only the means, but several potential motives, for launching an attack on Tokyo or major U.S. military installations on Japan‘s main island.

“If Kim Jong Un decides to launch a missile, whether it’s across the Sea of Japan or some other direction, he will be choosing willfully to ignore the entire international community,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in South Korea. “And it will be a provocation and unwanted act that will raise people’s temperatures.”

“We will stand with South Korea and Japan against these threats. And we will defend ourselves,” he said.

Speaking beside Kerry, South Korea‘s Yun called for more United Nations action against Pyongyang if it commits another provocation.

He refused to comment specifically on the U.S. intelligence report, saying only that the North has “high nuclear and missile capabilities” but that it is still some time away from a nuclear bomb that is “small, light and diversified.”

Kerry offered strong words of solidarity for South Korea, and praised South Korea President Park Geun-hye’s “bright vision” of a prosperous and reunified Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons. By contrast, he said North Korea‘s Kim, has a choice to make between provocation and returning to talks to de-escalate tension and lead to the end of its nuclear program

Both Yun and Kerry kept the door open for future negotiations with Pyongyang.

But both seemed to suggest that they were unlikely in light of the North’s increasingly bombastic threats, including nuclear strikes on the United States. Most experts say those are unfeasible based on the North’s current capacity and would never be explored seriously because the U.S. response would be overwhelming against a regime focused primarily on survival.

Kerry said any talks with North Korea have to lead toward denuclearization.

They have to be really serious,” Kerry said. “No one is going to talk for the sake of talking and no one is going to play this round-robin game that gets repeated every few years, which is both unnecessary and dangerous.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/9169pUDzOOk/

News, Politics, Government

Foreign minister says Russia would back North Korea talks in Geneva

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday his nation would welcome a fresh round of talks on Swiss soil over North Korea‘s nuclear program, if all the parties were to agree.

Flanked by his Swiss counterpart at a news conference, Lavrov supported renewed talks in Geneva, if Pyongyang were to agree to hold discussions with Russia, Japan, South Korea, the United States and China.

But both officials made clear there was no such general agreement.

“If we can re-establish that, Russia would, of course, support it,” Lavrov, who spoke in Russian, said in response to a question.

North Korea agreed in principle in 2005 to scrap its nuclear program, including a presumed small stockpile of weapons, in return for aid and diplomatic incentives from other members of the six-party talks. But Pyongyang walked out of talks in 2009 and later conducted more nuclear tests.

Recently, North Korea warned it has weapons “on standby” and aimed at its foes if provoked, but has not revealed specific plans to fire a missile or carry out another nuclear test.

Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, who spoke in French, said his nation had offered to host such talks “but, of course, that should be agreed by all parties and that is not the case at the moment.”

Switzerland also has offered to attempt to defuse the crisis on the Korean Peninsula by mediating between the United States and North Korea. Switzerland and Sweden help monitor the demilitarized zone that was created after the Korean War ended in 1953, with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

Switzerland brokers relations between the U.S. and Iran, and is home to the U.N.’s European headquarters in Geneva, where peace talks and other negotiations are held regularly.

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un reportedly attended school for several years in Switzerland, which also has maintained a humanitarian aid office in North Korea.

On Syria, Lavrov said Russia would support an international war crimes prosecution — eventually.

“Without any doubt, this aspect must be taken into account in this complex process, in the search for a final settlement for the future of national reconciliation in Syria,” he said. “But at this stage, I think the first priority is to end the violence as fast as possible to avoid more civilian deaths.”

Russia has been Syrian President Bashar Assad‘s staunch ally, supplying Damascus with weapons and shielding the regime from tougher U.N. sanctions.

“And these calls for not allowing impunity are totally correct,” Lavrov added, “but what I notice is that certain people try to use that to slow down discussions and have the reconciliation process canceled, which will only lead to more deaths.”

Lavrov also warned the United State against naming Russians accused of human rights abuses, who are to be targeted for U.S. financial sanctions and visa bans under a new law dubbed the Magnitsky Act. The law was named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates.

Magnitsky was

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/kMzDyyvsk9k/

News, Politics, Government

Lavrov: Russia would back NKorea talks in Geneva

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he would welcome a fresh round of talks on Swiss soil over North Korea‘s nuclear program.

Flanked by his Swiss counterpart, Lavrov said Friday he would support renewed talks in Geneva if Pyongpang agreed to hold discussions with Russia, Japan, South Korea, the United States and China.

North Korea agreed in principle in 2005 to scrap its nuclear program including a presumed small stockpile of weapons in return for aid and diplomatic incentives from other members of the six-party talks.

But Pyongyang walked out of talks in 2009 and later conducted more nuclear tests.

Russia‘s top diplomat spoke after discussing North Korea, Syria and other issues with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, whose nation also offered to mediate the crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/xJvPRu5V6vQ/

News, Politics, Government

North Korea delivers new round of war rhetoric, claims it has 'powerful striking means'

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North Korea delivered a fresh round of rhetoric Thursday with claims it had “powerful striking means” on standby for a launch, while Seoul and Washington speculated that the country is preparing to test a medium-range missile during upcoming national celebrations.

On the streets of Pyongyang, meanwhile, North Koreans celebrated the anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un‘s appointment to the country’s top party post — one in a slew of titles collected a year ago in the months after father Kim Jong Il‘s death.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a nonmilitary agency that deals with relations with South Korea, didn’t elaborate on its warning of a strike. The statement is the latest in a torrent of warlike threats seen outside Pyongyang as an effort to raise fears and pressure Seoul and Washington into changing their North Korea policy.

Officials in Seoul and Washington say Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test-fire a medium-range missile designed to reach the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

Such a launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity, and mark a major escalation in Pyongyang’s standoff with neighboring nations and the U.S.

North Korea already has been punished in recent months for launching a long-range rocket in December and conducting an underground nuclear test in February.

Analysts do not believe North Korea will stage an attack similar to the one that started the Korean War in 1950. But there are concerns that the animosity could spark a skirmish that could escalate into a serious conflict.

“North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, with its actions … skating very close to a dangerous line,” U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Washington on Wednesday. “Their actions and their words have not helped defuse a combustible situation.”

The missile that officials believe Pyongyang is readying has been dubbed the “Musudan” by foreign experts after the northeastern village where North Korea has a launch pad. The missile has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,180 miles) and is designed to reach U.S. military installments in Guam and Japan, experts say.

Bracing for a launch, officials said could take place at any time, Seoul deployed three naval destroyers, an early warning surveillance aircraft and a land-based radar system, a Defense Ministry official said in Seoul, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department rules. Japan deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors around Tokyo.

But officials in Seoul played down security fears, noting that no foreign government has evacuated its citizens from either Korean capital.

“North Korea has continuously issued provocative threats and made efforts to raise tension on the Korean peninsula … but the current situation is being managed safely and our and foreign governments have been calmly responding,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Thursday.

The war talk is seen as a way for North Korea to draw attention to the precariousness of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and to boost the military credentials of young leader Kim Jong Un.

The Korean War ended in

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/vyHIJWAEkc8/

News, Politics, Government

Switzerland says no takers yet on offer to defuse Korea tensions

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Switzerland says it is standing by as a potential negotiator to defuse the tensions between the United States and North Korea, but so far no one has taken it up on the offer.

The Swiss foreign ministry says it has offered to play mediator, and that it has been in contact with diplomats from the North Korean and South Korean embassies in Switzerland.

Ministry spokeswoman Carole Waelti told The Associated Press in an emailed statement Wednesday that Switzerland is willing to help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and has offered to host meetings between the parties.

Switzerland helps monitor the demilitarized zone that was created after the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Swiss say no takers yet on offer to defuse Koreas

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Switzerland says it is standing by as a potential negotiator to defuse the tensions between the United States and North Korea, but so far no one has taken it up on the offer.

The Swiss foreign ministry says it has offered to play mediator, and that it has been in contact with diplomats from the North Korean and South Korean embassies in Switzerland.

Ministry spokeswoman Carole Waelti told The Associated Press in an emailed statement Wednesday that Switzerland is willing to help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and has offered to host meetings between the parties.

Switzerland helps monitor the demilitarized zone that was created after the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

South Korea says North Korea behind computer crash in March

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South Korea says an initial investigation has found that North Korean government agents were behind a March cyberattack that shut down about 32,000 computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks.

An official at South Korea‘s Internet security agency, Chun Kil-soo, told reporters Wednesday that the attack was similar to past North Korean hacking. He said investigators believe that six computers in North Korea were used to access South Korean servers using more than 1,000 IP addresses overseas.

The accusation comes as tensions run high on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea delivering increasingly belligerent rhetoric in anger over UN sanctions and US-South Korean military drills. On Tuesday, the North said a nuclear war is imminent and recommended that foreigners in South Korea evacuate to safe places.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

North Korea urges foreigners to vacate South Korea

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Scores of North Koreans of all ages planted trees as part of a forestation campaign — armed with shovels, not guns. In the evening, women in traditional dress danced in the plazas to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the late leader Kim Jong Il‘s appointment to a key defense post.

Despite another round of warnings from their leaders of impending nuclear war, there was no sense of panic in the capital on Tuesday.

Chu Kang Jin, a Pyongyang resident, said everything is calm in the city.

“Everyone, including me, is determined to turn out as one to fight for national reunification … if the enemies spark a war,” he added, using nationalist rhetoric common among many North Koreans when speaking to the media.

The North’s latest warning, issued by its Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, urged foreign companies and tourists to leave South Korea.

“The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war due to the evermore undisguised hostile actions of the United States and the South Korean puppet warmongers and their moves for a war against” North Korea, the committee said in a statement carried by state media on Tuesday.

There was no sign of an exodus of foreign companies or tourists from South Korea.

White House spokesman Jay Carney called the statement “more unhelpful rhetoric.”

“It is unhelpful, it is concerning, it is provocative,” he said.

The warning appeared to be an attempt to scare foreigners into pressing their governments to pressure Washington and Seoul to act to avert a conflict.

Analysts see a direct attack on Seoul as extremely unlikely, and there are no overt signs that North Korea‘s army is readying for war, let alone a nuclear one.

North Korea has been girding for a showdown with the U.S. and South Korea, its wartime foes, for months. The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

In December, North Korea launched a satellite into space on a rocket that Washington and others called a cover for …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Articles of Interest

N. Korea to Foreigners: Get Out, Avoid 'Thermonuclear War'

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By Matt Cantor North Korea has a new bellicose warning for foreigners, this time for those in South Korea: Get out. “The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war,” said an official statement from Pyongyang, per the New York Times . The North “does not want to see foreigners… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

News, Politics, Government

Japan deploys PAC-3s amid NKorean launch fears

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Japan has deployed missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo as a precaution against possible North Korean ballistic missile tests.

The Patriot missiles, called PAC-3s, were deployed Tuesday at Japan‘s defense ministry headquarters and were also to be deployed at bases farther away from central Tokyo.

Japan has taken similar measures before previous North Korean launches. It has never actually tried to shoot down a North Korean missile and was not expected to try to do so unless there was a clear threat to Japanese territory.

North Korea is believed to have moved ballistic missiles to its east coast, possibly in preparation for a test launch. That has further raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid threats by North Korea and large-scale war games involving U.S. and South Korean troops.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

SKorea: 'Indication' NKorea prepping for nuke test

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South Korea‘s point man on North Korea said Monday there is an “indication” that Pyongyang is preparing for a fourth nuclear test, a day after another Seoul official said a Pyongyang missile test may be in the works.

Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a parliamentary committee Monday that “there is such an indication” of nuclear test preparations at Pyongyang’s site in the country’s northeast, according to two ministry officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Either a nuclear test or a missile test would escalate tensions that have been rising for weeks on the Korean Peninsula, and could invite a new round of U.N. Security Council sanctions over North Korea‘s nuclear and rocket activity. The U.S. and South Korea have been raising their defense posture, and foreign diplomats were considering a warning from Pyongyang that their safety in North Korea could not be guaranteed beginning Wednesday.

North Korea has unleashed a flurry of war threats and provocations over the U.N. sanctions and ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills, which the allies say are routine but Pyongyang says is a preparation for a northward invasion.

Ryoo made his comment in answering a lawmaker’s question about increased personnel and vehicle activities at the North’s nuclear test site.

Ministry officials cite Ryoo as telling the lawmakers he wouldn’t provide further details because they involve confidential intelligence affairs.

South Korean defense officials previously said the North completed preparations for a nuclear test at two underground tunnels. The North used one tunnel for its Feb. 12 nuclear test. The second remains unused.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News