Kim Jong Un is working overtime to test global boundaries and push American buttons. Inter Aksyon. Excerpts:
North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.
The isolated and impoverished state sacrificed the chance of closer ties with the United States when it launched the long-range rocket on April 13 and was censured by the UN Security Council, including the North's sole major ally, China.
Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at honing the North's ability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, a move that would dramatically increase its military and diplomatic heft. (Which did not work, by the way..)
Now the North appears to be about to carry out a third nuclear test after two in 2006 and 2009.
"Soon. Preparations are almost complete," the source said when asked whether North Korea was planning to conduct a nuclear test.
This is the first time a senior official has confirmed the planned test and the source has correctly predicted events in the past, telling Reuters about the 2006 test days before it happened.
The rocket launch and nuclear test come as Kim Jong-un, the third of his line to rule North Korea, seeks to cement his grip on power.
Kim took office in December and has lauded the country's military might, reaffirming his father's "military first" policies that have stunted economic development and appearing to dash slim hopes of an opening to the outside world.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, which have most to fear from any North Korean nuclear threat, are watching events anxiously and many observers say that Pyongyang may have the capacity to conduct a test using highly enriched uranium for the first time.
And:
South Korean defense sources have been quoted in domestic media as saying a launch could come within two weeks and one North Korea analyst has suggested that it could come as early as the North's "Army Day" on Wednesday.
Other observers say that any date is pure speculation.
And:
Pyongyang desperately wants recognition from the United States, the guarantor of the South's security. It claims sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, as does South Korea.
"North Korea may consider abandoning (the test) if the United States agrees to a peace treaty," the source said, reiterating a long-standing demand by Pyongyang for recognition by Washington and a treaty to end the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in a truce
What I'd like to know, with finality, about North Korea's actions is this: Are these random, angry, attention-seeking events the whim of Kim Jong Il's, and now Kim Jong Un's impulse and temper? Or, is there Motive and Rationale behind each action? Does the U.S. know this, thererfore diplomatically treating the country like a permissive parent does a petulant child?
Also, will Obama really view a nuclear test as an Act of War? No matter what it is, Our (American) response will be interesting. Personally, I think the failed rocket launch will factor in American assessment, even if the nuclear test proceeds. They can build bombs, but they can't fly rockets. They're still several years out from being a serious threat, and by then, America's diplomatic relationship with North Korea might be in a very different place..
North Korea as political system cannot continue sustaining itself. It's also a potentially HUUUUUUUGE untapped market for Capitalists world wide(after the peace treaty or collapse, whatever.). Provided we can make it to that day, I can see a time where North Korea will be a peaceful, successful member of the global community, the beneficiary of both the world's goodwill and cutting-edge technology. Without the threat of war, North Korea is a blank slate.
(Me staying Positive and Optimistic)Think of the potential!
North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.
The isolated and impoverished state sacrificed the chance of closer ties with the United States when it launched the long-range rocket on April 13 and was censured by the UN Security Council, including the North's sole major ally, China.
Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at honing the North's ability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, a move that would dramatically increase its military and diplomatic heft. (Which did not work, by the way..)
Now the North appears to be about to carry out a third nuclear test after two in 2006 and 2009.
"Soon. Preparations are almost complete," the source said when asked whether North Korea was planning to conduct a nuclear test.
This is the first time a senior official has confirmed the planned test and the source has correctly predicted events in the past, telling Reuters about the 2006 test days before it happened.
The rocket launch and nuclear test come as Kim Jong-un, the third of his line to rule North Korea, seeks to cement his grip on power.
Kim took office in December and has lauded the country's military might, reaffirming his father's "military first" policies that have stunted economic development and appearing to dash slim hopes of an opening to the outside world.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, which have most to fear from any North Korean nuclear threat, are watching events anxiously and many observers say that Pyongyang may have the capacity to conduct a test using highly enriched uranium for the first time.
And:
South Korean defense sources have been quoted in domestic media as saying a launch could come within two weeks and one North Korea analyst has suggested that it could come as early as the North's "Army Day" on Wednesday.
Other observers say that any date is pure speculation.
And:
Pyongyang desperately wants recognition from the United States, the guarantor of the South's security. It claims sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, as does South Korea.
"North Korea may consider abandoning (the test) if the United States agrees to a peace treaty," the source said, reiterating a long-standing demand by Pyongyang for recognition by Washington and a treaty to end the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in a truce
What I'd like to know, with finality, about North Korea's actions is this: Are these random, angry, attention-seeking events the whim of Kim Jong Il's, and now Kim Jong Un's impulse and temper? Or, is there Motive and Rationale behind each action? Does the U.S. know this, thererfore diplomatically treating the country like a permissive parent does a petulant child?
Also, will Obama really view a nuclear test as an Act of War? No matter what it is, Our (American) response will be interesting. Personally, I think the failed rocket launch will factor in American assessment, even if the nuclear test proceeds. They can build bombs, but they can't fly rockets. They're still several years out from being a serious threat, and by then, America's diplomatic relationship with North Korea might be in a very different place..
North Korea as political system cannot continue sustaining itself. It's also a potentially HUUUUUUUGE untapped market for Capitalists world wide(after the peace treaty or collapse, whatever.). Provided we can make it to that day, I can see a time where North Korea will be a peaceful, successful member of the global community, the beneficiary of both the world's goodwill and cutting-edge technology. Without the threat of war, North Korea is a blank slate.
(Me staying Positive and Optimistic)Think of the potential!
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