US boosts Hawaii defense to counter NKorea t

from KSL.com
June 18th, 2009
By JAE-SOON CHANG
Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The United States has deployed anti-missile defenses around Hawaii amid reports that North Korea may fire its most advanced ballistic missile toward the U.S. islands early next month, adding to already high tensions in the region.

A report in a Japanese newspaper said Pyongyang might test-fire its Taepodong-2 toward Hawaii around the U.S. holiday of Independence Day. North Korea test-fired a similar long-range missile on July 4 three years ago, but it failed seconds after liftoff.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the additional defenses around Hawaii consist of a ground-based mobile missile system and a radar system nearby. Together they could shoot an incoming missile in mid air.

"Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say ... we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect Americans and American territory," Gates told reporters in Washington on Thursday.

A new missile launch _ though not expected to reach U.S. territory _ would be a brazen slap in the face of the international community, which punished North Korea with new U.N. sanctions for conducting a second nuclear test on May 25 in defiance of a U.N. ban.

North Korea spurned the U.N. Security Council resolution with threats of war and pledges to expand its nuclear bomb-making program.

The Security Council resolution calls on all 192 U.N. member states to inspect vessels on the high seas _ with the owner country's approval _ if they believe the cargo contains banned weapons.

In what would be the first test case for the sanctions, the U.S. military has begun tracking a North Korean-flagged ship, Kang Nam, which left a port in North Korea on Wednesday, two U.S. officials said.

The ship, which may be carrying illicit weapons, was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China on Thursday, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence.

It was uncertain what the Kang Nam was carrying, but it has been involved in weapons proliferation before, one of the officials said.

The missile now being readied in the North is believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers), and would be launched from North Korea's Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast sometime around July 4, the Yomiuri newspaper said.

It cited an analysis by Japan's Defense Ministry and intelligence gathered by U.S. reconnaissance satellites.

It speculated the missile could fly over Japan and toward Hawaii, but would not be able to hit Hawaii's main islands, which are about 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) from the Korean peninsula.

A spokesman for the Japanese Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report. South Korea's Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service _ the country's main spy agency _ said they could not confirm it.

Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs are centerpieces of the regime's catalog of weapons of mass destruction.

But the impoverished nation, which has put most of its scarce resources into boosting its military capabilities under its "army-first" policy, also has a large chemical arsenal, as well as capabilities to produce biological weapons.

On Thursday, an international security think tank warned that North Korea's chemical weapons are no less serious a threat to the region than its nuclear arsenal.

The independent International Crisis Group said the North is believed to have between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, phosgene, blood agents and sarin. These weapons can be delivered with ballistic missiles and long-range artillery and are "sufficient to inflict massive civilian casualties on South Korea."

"If progress is made on rolling back Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, there could be opportunities to construct a cooperative diplomatic solution for chemical weapons and the suspected biological weapons program," the think tank said in a report.

It also called on the U.S. to engage the North in dialogue to defuse the nuclear crisis, saying "diplomacy is the least bad option." It said Washington should be prepared to send a high-level special envoy to Pyongyang to resolve the tension.

Associated Press writers Shino Yuasa in Tokyo, Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, and Anne Gearan, Pauline Jelinek and Jeannine Aversa in Washington contributed to this report.
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NKorea warns of nuclear war - Obama says nothing to worry about!

from Yahoo News
by Hyung-jin Kim
Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea's communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions.

The North's defiance presents a growing diplomatic headache for President Barack Obama as he prepares for talks Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North's missile and nuclear programs.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told security-related ministers during an unscheduled meeting Sunday to "resolutely and squarely" cope with the North's latest threat, his office said. Lee is to leave for the U.S. on Monday morning.

A commentary Sunday in the North's main state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, claimed the U.S. has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. Another commentary published Saturday in the state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. has been deploying a vast amount of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea "is completely within the range of U.S. nuclear attack and the Korean peninsula is becoming an area where the chances of a nuclear war are the highest in the world," the Tongil Sinbo commentary said.

Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. military command in Seoul, called the latest accusation "baseless," saying Washington has no nuclear bombs in South Korea. U.S. tactical nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea in 1991 as part of arms reductions following the Cold War. [If we don't have any tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, we better hurry and get some there, otherwise the North Koreans could literally overun South Korea just by the amount of troops they have stationed at the DMZ. - my comment]

South Korea's Unification Ministry issued a statement Sunday demanding the North stop stoking tension, abandon its nuclear weapons and return to dialogue with the South.

On Saturday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened war on any country that dared to stop its ships on the high seas under the new sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council on Friday as punishment for the North's latest nuclear test.

It is not clear if the statements are simply rhetorical. Still, they are a huge setback for international attempts to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions following its second nuclear test on May 25. It first tested a nuclear device in 2006.

In Saturday's statement, North Korea said it has been enriching uranium to provide fuel for its light-water reactor. It was the first public acknowledgment the North is running a uranium enrichment program in addition to its known plutonium-based program. The two radioactive materials are key ingredients in making atomic bombs.

On Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported South Korea and the U.S. have mobilized spy satellites, reconnaissance aircraft and human intelligence networks to obtain evidence that the North has been running a uranium enrichment program.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said it could not confirm the report. The National Intelligence Service — South Korea's main spy agency — was not available for comment.

North Korea said more than one-third of 8,000 spent fuel rods in its possession has been reprocessed and all the plutonium extracted would be used to make atomic bombs. The country could harvest 13-18 pounds (6-8 kilograms) of plutonium — enough to make at least one nuclear bomb — if all the rods are reprocessed.

In addition, North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs.

North Korea says its nuclear program is a deterrent against the U.S., which it routinely accuses of plotting to topple its regime. Washington, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, has repeatedly said it has no such intention.

The new U.N. sanctions are aimed at depriving the North of the financing used to build its rogue nuclear program. The resolution also authorized searches of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the new U.N. penalties provide the necessary tools to help check North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. [Barry and Hillary are living in a dream world - my comments]

The sanctions show that "North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going to be accepted by the neighbors as well as the greater international community," Clinton said Saturday at a news conference in Canada.
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Kim Jong iL responds to new sanctions

image by rees

from The Wall Street Journal
Asia News
June 13, 2009

North Korea to Restart Uranium Enrichment

Associated Press SEOUL -- North Korea vowed on Saturday to embark on a uranium enrichment program and "weaponize" all the plutonium in its possession as it rejected the new U.N. sanctions meant to punish the communist nation for its recent nuclear test.

North Korea also said it would not abandon its nuclear programs, saying it was an inevitable decision to defend itself from what it says is a hostile U.S. policy and its nuclear threat against the North.

The North will take "resolute military action" if the United States or its allies try to impose any "blockade" on it, the ministry said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

The ministry did not elaborate if the blockade refers to an attempt to stop its ships or impose sanctions.

North Korea describes its nuclear program as a deterrent against possible U.S. attacks. Washington says it has no intention of attacking and has expressed fear that North Korea is trying to sell its nuclear technology to other nations.

The statement came hours after the U.N. Security Council approved tough new sanctions on North Korea to punish it for its latest nuclear test on May 25.

The U.N. resolution imposes new sanctions on the reclusive communist nation's weapons exports and financial dealings, and allows inspections of suspect cargo in ports and on the high seas.

The South Korean government said it "welcomes and supports the unanimous adoption of the resolution." A Foreign Ministry statement said it showed the council's unequivocal intention to stop the North's nuclear program and its proliferation.

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New Sanctions on North Korea are a JOKE!

image by rees

The new U.N. sanctions approve inspecting North Korean Cargo. However, it has to be a "consensual" inspection. That means that if the Captain of the ship or the aircraft does not agree to the inspection, it won't happen. We'll just end up saying to the Captain, "Thanks, sorry to have bothered you, we hope you and your crew will have a great rest of the day" and then we'll have to leave!. Yep, that's it.

Even this article even mentions that North Korea will probably ignore this. I don't think it's probably, I think it's "they will" ignore it. The United Nations provided no means to enforce the inspection of cargo. I would be shocked if we even try to inspect any cargo. If we do, how many times of be told "NO" will it take before we're back at the U.N. trying to fix this pathetic excuse for a sanction. It won't be fixed. The only reason Russia and China supported it was because it was purposely written to be unenforceable. I wouldn't be surprised if China didn't call Kim Jong Il ahead of time and say, "look we're going to vote to approve these new sanctions against you, but don't worry, because no one is going to enforce them."

Susan Rice probably already sprained her arms patting herself on the back, because I'm sure she's got to be real proud of herself.

Hey Susan: The sanctions aren't worth the paper their printed on. Kim Jong Il is laughing at you, Obama and the rest of the United Nations.
Rees

United Nations approves new sanctions against North Korea and China Warns Against Force in Carrying Out the new Sanctions

from Bloomberg
By Peter S. Green and Bill Varner

June 13 (Bloomberg) -- China warned about the dangers involved in inspecting North Korean cargo under United Nations Security Council sanctions approved yesterday, saying countries intercepting vessels should avoid armed action.

“Under no circumstance should there be the use of force or the threat of use of force” in implementing the sanctions in Resolution 1874, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui said in New York. Inspecting vessels carrying North Korean cargo is “complicated” and “sensitive,” he said.

The Security Council voted 15 to O to punish North Korea for its May nuclear-bomb test and missile launches. The resolution authorizes stepped-up inspection of air or sea cargoes suspected of being destined for the development of nuclear arms or ballistic missiles. The measure also calls for new restrictions on loans and money transfers to North Korea.

China’s support for the penalties may be significant given its close political and trade ties with the reclusive North Korean regime of Kim Jong Il. The U.S. is especially concerned about preventing North Korea from selling its nuclear technology to other countries.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said at a White House briefing that the sanctions have “teeth that will bite.” She pointed out that the resolution doesn’t authorize the use of military force.

The U.S. is prepared to “confront” a vessel suspected of carrying an illegal shipment and attempt to board it “consensually,” Rice told reporters. If the crew refuses a boarding or to go to a nearby port for an inspection, the U.S. would make clear “whose vessel it is” and the likely cargo, “to shine a spotlight on it, to make it very difficult for that contraband to continue to be carried forward,” Rice added.

China, Russia Support

The UN vote followed almost three weeks of negotiations on tighter sanctions that began when North Korea detonated a suspected nuclear device on May 25, voided the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War and tested several missiles. Accord on the text by China and Russia, which have resisted sanctions, led to the Security Council consensus.

“The additional measures are substantive and targeted in nature and clearly tied to ending the DPRK program to create nuclear missiles,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said after the vote. “The attempt by the DPRK to create nuclear missiles not only doesn’t strengthen security but on the contrary ratchets up tension on the Korean peninsula.”

Churkin said his country was satisfied by the unanimous adoption of the resolution against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK. He said the Russians made sure that the provisions for checking ships on the high seas wouldn’t set a precedent, and that he hoped the resolution would steer North Korea back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

Resolution’s ‘Bite’

“It is significant that China and Russia are willing to increase the language on interdiction and financial sanctions, but the resolution will not have that much bite if there is no implementation,” Nicholas Szechenyi of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

Szechenyi said that while enforcement by China is critical to the resolution’s effectiveness, the government in Beijing likely will be reluctant to further provoke North Korea in the midst of a tenuous political situation involving the possible succession to Kim’s dictatorship.

“Though North Korea’s recent behavior has angered the Chinese, causing them to lose face, you might suspect they would opt against enforcing the strongest measures,” Szechenyi said. “I would not expect them to take the lead and, without that, this is something that North Korea could well ignore.”

‘Acutely Concerned’

Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, the American special envoy on North Korea, said this week that China is “acutely concerned about what North Korea is doing,” and that the U.S. is satisfied that China is working to rein in North Korea’s behavior.

The measure “cuts off a significant source of funding for the North Korean nuclear and missile programs,” said Philip Parham, U.K. deputy envoy to the UN. “This is not directed against trade and should have no effect on the already hard- pressed people of North Korea.”

The UN’s previously adopted embargo on tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons would be expanded, and the measure asks for vigilance in the sale of light arms to the regime.

On the money front, member nations are urged “not to enter into new commitments for grants, financial assistance, or concessional loans,” or to “provide public financial support for trade” with North Korea.

If North Korea reacts to the strengthened sanctions by testing a third nuclear device or launching another long-range missile, “we’d take it badly,” Parham said.
Nonproliferation Treaty

The resolution “condemns” the May 25 detonation, and demands that North Korea halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The government in Pyongyang also should remain a part to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and rejoin talks with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.

Bosworth said this week that the U.S. is considering targeting North Korean financial deposits held in other countries as part of the effort to compel the regime to change its behavior.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net; Peter S. Green in New York at psgreen@bloomberg.net.

Gates & Russia Both Need Better Intel On Iranian Missile Threat

This is an excellent update on missile defense regarding Iranian capabilities and also Russian concern about deployment of the missile defense system in Poland.
Rees

from Closing Velocity
by John McKittrick
June 10, 2009

A couple of months ago, the Russian ambassador to the United States asserted:

Iran poses no threat to the United States, Russia said Tuesday, rebuffing a key argument of President Barack Obama on whether to go ahead with a European missile shield bitterly opposed by Moscow.

"I don't see any threat to the United States coming from Iran anytime soon," Kislyak told a conference of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Weeks after this confident proclamation, Iran test fired a new ballistic missile that can reach the majority of European capital cities. Including Moscow, Comrade Ambassador.

Rightly on the congressional hot seat for his Obama-directed gutting of the missile defense budget, Secretary of Defense Gates says the Russians are full of it:

Gates recounted a meeting he had with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during which the then-president "basically dismissed the idea that the Iranians would have a missile that would have the range to reach much of western Europe and much of Russia before 2020 or so."

"And he showed me a map that his intelligence guys had prepared," Gates told a Senate Appropriations panel. "I told him he needed a new intelligence service."

As I've stated many times, there is only one reason the Russians fear US missile defense bases in Eastern Europe .... and it has nothing to do with "missile defense" and everything to do with "US bases in Eastern Europe":



Click to read the comments and other great articles at Closing Velocity

Hey Obama, Match This Rhetoric - Kim Jong-il isn't afraid of you

image by rees

North Korea would use nuclear weapons in a 'merciless offensive'

from The Independent
via the Associated Press
9 June 2009

North Korea today said it would use nuclear weapons in a "merciless offensive" if provoked — its latest bellicose rhetoric apparently aimed at deterring any international punishment for its recent atomic test blast.

The tensions emanating from Pyongyang are beginning to hit nascent business ties with the South: a Seoul-based fur manufacturer became the first South Korean company to announce Monday it was pulling out of an industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong.

The complex, which opened in 2004, is a key symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas but the goodwill is evaporating quickly in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test on May 25 and subsequent missile tests.

Pyongyang raised tensions a notch by reviving its rhetoric in a commentary in the state-run Minju Joson newspaper today.

"Our nuclear deterrent will be a strong defensive means...as well as a merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country's dignity and sovereignty even a bit," said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

It appeared to be the first time that North Korea referred to its nuclear arsenal as "offensive" in nature. Pyongyang has long claimed that its nuclear weapons program is a deterrent and only for self-defense against what it calls US attempts to invade it.

The tough talk came as South Korea and the US lead an effort at the UN Security Council to have the North punished for its nuclear test with tough sanctions.

Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported today that South Korea had doubled the number of naval ships around the disputed sea border with the North amid concern the communist neighbor could provoke an armed clash there — the scene of skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to confirm the report, but said the North has not shown any unusual military moves.

Relations between the two Koreas have significantly worsened since a pro-US, conservative government took office in Seoul last year, advocating a tougher policy on the North. Since then, reconciliation talks have been cut off and all key joint projects except the factory park in Kaesong have been suspended.

Some 40,000 North Koreans are employed at the zone, making everything from electronics and watches to shoes and utensils, providing a major source of revenue for the cash-strapped North. The park combines South Korean technology and management expertise with cheap North Korean labor.

A total of 106 South Korean companies operate in the park. That number will go down by the end of the month when Skinnet, the fur-maker, completes its pullout.

A Skinnet company official said the decision was primarily over "security concerns" for its employees, and also because of a decline in orders from clients concerned over possible disruptions to operations amid the soaring tensions.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.

The industrial park's fate has been in doubt since last month when North Korea threatened to scrap all contracts on running the joint complex and said it would write new rules of its own and the South must accept them or pull out of the zone.

The companies have also been concerned by the detention of a South Korean man working at the complex by North Korean authorities since late March for allegedly denouncing the regime's political system.

The two sides are to hold talks on the fate of the park Thursday.

Intensifying its confrontation with the US, North Korea handed down 12-year prison terms to two detained American journalists on Monday.

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Obama bluffing about interdicting N.Korean shipments - He doesn't dare to

from The Mercury News
By David E. Sanger
of the New York Times
June 8, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration signaled Sunday that it was seeking a way to interdict, possibly with China's help, North Korean sea and air shipments suspected of carrying weapons or nuclear technology.

The administration also said it was examining whether there was a legal basis to reverse former President George W. Bush's decision last year to remove the North from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

The reference to interdictions — either at ports or airfields in countries like China or riskier confrontations on the high seas — was made by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was the administration's highest-ranking official to talk publicly about such a potentially provocative step as a response to North Korea's second nuclear test, conducted two weeks ago.

While she did not specifically mention assistance from China, other administration officials have been pressing Beijing to take such action under China's own laws.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Clinton said that the United States feared that if the test and other recent actions by North Korea did not lead to "strong action," there was a risk of "an arms race in Northeast Asia," an oblique reference to the concern that Japan would reverse its long-held ban against developing nuclear weapons.

So far it is not clear how far the Chinese are willing to go in aiding the United States in stopping North Korea's profitable trade in arms, the isolated country's most profitable export. But the American focus on interdiction demonstrates a new and potentially far tougher approach to North Korea than both President Bill Clinton and Bush, in his second term, took as they tried unsuccessfully to reach deals that would ultimately lead North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

President Barack Obama, aides say, has decided that he will not offer North Korea new incentives to dismantle the nuclear complex at Yongbyon that the North previously promised to abandon. "I'm tired of buying the same horse twice," Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said last week, while touring an anti-missile site in Alaska that the Bush administration built to demonstrate its preparedness to destroy North Korean missiles headed toward the United States.

While Obama was in the Middle East and Europe, several senior officials said the president's national security team had all but set aside the central assumption that guided American policy toward North Korea over the past 16 years and two presidencies: that the Communist country is willing to ultimately abandon its small arsenal of nuclear weapons in return for some combination of oil, nuclear power plants, money, food and guarantees that the United States would not topple its government.

Now, after examining the still-inconclusive evidence about the results of North Korea's second nuclear test, the administration has come to different conclusions — that Pyongyang's top priority is to be recognized as a nuclear state, that it is unwilling to bargain away its weapons, and that it sees tests as a way to help sell its nuclear technology.

"This entirely changes the dynamic of how you deal with them," a senior national security aide said. While Obama is willing to reopen the six-party talks that Bush began — the other participants are Japan, South Korea, Russia and China — he has no intention, aides say, of offering new incentives to get the North to fulfill agreements from 1994, 2005 and 2008, all of which were recently renounced.

In conducting any interdictions, the United States could risk open confrontation with North Korea. That prospect — and the likelihood of escalating conflict if the North resists an inspection — is why China has balked at American proposals for a U.N. Security Council Resolution that would explicitly allow interceptions at sea.

A previous Security Council resolution, passed after the North's first nuclear test in 2006, allowed interdictions "consistent with international law." But that term was never defined, and few of the provisions were enforced by the Bush administration, its Asian allies or the Chinese.

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N.Korea sentences 2 U.S. Journalists to 12 years in a labor camp

Photoshop credit: Red Hot Phones

from Michelle Malkin.com
By Michelle Malkin
June 8, 2009

Please pick up the red courtesy phone

I blogged back in March about the plight of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists working for Al Gore’s Current TV who were seized by NoKo soldiers after crossing the border illegally into the country from China while on assignment.

The Yonhap news agency just published an urgent bulletin tonight that the two reporters have been sentenced to 12 years in labor camp. AP says Ling and Lee were sentenced for committing an unspecified “grave crime” in addition to the illegal border-crossing. They are pawns in a much bigger chess game, of course.

How’s that “Smart Power” working out, Hillary?

North Korea threatened on Monday to retaliate with “extreme” measures if the United Nations punished it for last month’s nuclear test, with Washington saying it may put Pyongyang back on its list of states that sponsor terrorism.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday North Korea’s recent activities were being scrutinized for evidence of “support for international terrorism,” a designation that could subject the impoverished state to more financial sanctions.

The U.N. Security Council may adopt a new resolution as early as this week, but there is clear division among some members over how tough the measures against the reclusive state should be.

“Our response would be to consider sanctions against us as a declaration of war and answer it with extreme hardline measures,” the North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.

An increasingly aggressive North indicated it was gearing up for fresh moves, issuing a no-sail warning off its east coast up to 260 km (160 miles) off the Wonsan area from where it launched a missile in May and a barrage of short-range missiles in 2006.

All together now: Gird your loins.

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Laura Ling and Euna Lee stood trial today

Just like I mentioned in the previous post about the stand off between the North and South Korean navies, isn't it also a coincidence that Kim Jong Il would have the trial on the two journalists the exact same day that Obama gives his big speech in Cairo? Kim Jong Il is doing everything he can to push Obama's button, and in this case to try and divert attention from his speech to this trial and the naval confrontation. It's only the beginning.
Rees

from The Korea Times
06-04-2009

2 US Journalists Stand Trial in NK

Two American journalists stood trial Thursday in North Korea on charges of illegal entry and
``hostile acts'' in a case that could send them to a labor camp for 10 years, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's California-based Current TV media venture, were arrested March 17 near the North Korean border while on a reporting trip to China.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch earlier Thursday that the trial would begin at 3 p.m. (Korean time), AP said.

The trial was taking place at a time of mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the regime's provocative nuclear test last week.

As discussions continued at the United Nations and in Washington on how to punish the regime for its defiance, there were fears the women could become political pawns in any negotiations North Korea undertakes.

AP quoted analyst Choi Eun-suk, a professor of North Korean law at Kyungnam University, as saying the court could convict and sentence the women to labor, and then use them as bargaining chips in negotiations with the U.S.

``The North is likely to release and deport them to the U.S. ― if negotiations with the U.S. go well,'' Choi was quoted as saying.

``One explanation of North Korea's behavior is that Pyongyang is trying to catch Washington's attention. It believes the Obama administration has not made North Korea a priority,'' David Straub of Stanford University's Korean studies program was quoted as saying.

Back home, the reporters' families pleaded for clemency.

``All we can do is hope the North Korean government will show leniency,'' Ling's sister, TV journalist Lisa Ling, was quoted as saying in an emotional plea at a California vigil Wednesday night. ``If at any point they committed a transgression, then our families are deeply, deeply sorry. We know the girls are sorry as well.''

N.Korean Patrol Boat in standoff with S.Korean Navy

Wow, what a coincidence that something like this would happen on the exact same day that Obama gives his big speech in Cairo.
Rees

from The Korea Times
06-04-2009 18:12

NK Boat Returns After Standoff in West Sea

A North Korean patrol boat intruded over the South Korean side of their western sea border Thursday, but retreated after a standoff that lasted nearly an hour, an official here said.

The intrusion took place at 2:47 p.m. about 12 km off the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, near which deadly naval battles erupted between the divided states in 1999 and 2002, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.

The boat returned at 3:38 p.m. after repeated warnings by South Korean naval forces guarding the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the official said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

The standoff came amid high tension in the Yellow Sea after North Korea warned last week against the safety of U.S. and South Korean vessels operating near the maritime border.

North Korea says the NLL ― drawn by a U.S. commander at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce ― should be drawn farther south.

"The North Korean boat reached 1.6 kilometers into the South Korean side," the official said. "It appears the boat trespassed over the border while chasing Chinese fishing boats that were illegally operating."

But the official did not rule out the possibility that North Korea had deliberately sent the vessel to further raise tension in the Yellow Sea.

South Korea radioed a warning message to the boat once before and twice after it trespassed, he said, adding the incident marks the third time North Korea has breached the maritime border this year.

China continues challenging Navy ships in Yellow Sea - No response from White House

Well, it's happening again. I posted an article regarding the previous South China Sea dust-up between the two countries. At that time, our ship was just getting ready to return back to port. I figured that once our replacement ship arrived on the scene, that China would want to resume pushing the envelope with Obama. Apparently, Obama has no envelope, as there has been no response from the White House.

Hey Obama, thanks for being on top of your job Mr. Commander-In-Chief!

What's that sound I hear in the background? Oh no, is that Obama cowering in the corner, repeating over and over, "please make those mean Chinese go away. "
Rees

China continues challenging Navy ships in Yellow Sea

from Hot Air.com
posted May 6, 2009
by Ed Morrissey

The provocations from China have continued, but you may not know it.

According to the AP, the Obama administration has started playing down these challenges to the US Navy. The latest incident occurred yesterday, involving two Chinese vessels who came within 30 yards of a ship conducting a sub hunt:

The Pentagon Tuesday played down a confrontation between Chinese vessels and one of its Navy surveillance ships, taking a decidedly more low-key tone than during similar incidents two months ago.

In what has become almost a routine cat-and-mouse game on the seas, there have been four incidents in the past month in which Chinese-flagged fishing vessels maneuvered too close to two unarmed ships crewed by civilians and used by the Pentagon to do underwater surveillance and submarine hunting missions, two defense officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss some of the incidents and details that the Pentagon has not yet released, adding that they fear such maneuvers are not just dangerous in themselves but could lead to escalated incidents. …

The Victorious crew sounded its alarm and shot water from its fire hoses to try to deter the vessels in an hour-long incident, one official said. The vessels didn’t leave until the Victorious radioed a nearby Chinese military vessel for help, said Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman.

After incidents in March that included similar though apparently more aggressive Chinese maneuvers, the Pentagon protested to Beijing officials and issued a strong public statement calling the Chinese actions harassment.

But on Tuesday, Whitman declined to characterize what the Chinese vessels were trying to do, saying only that their actions were “unsafe and dangerous.”

The lack of protest probably told Beijing all they need to know about Obama. If you challenge him often enough, he’ll back down. That seems to be the case here, in which Chinese “fishing vessels” harrassed warships for an hour in international waters, and the US has nothing to say about it except for safety concerns. What’s next, a PSA for life preservers?

The White House wasn’t the only group downplaying the incident, either. No national media except the AP carried the story. The New York Times, an AP partner, didn’t even carry this report. In fact, they didn’t report on it at all, and the latest story on the Yellow Sea was an accident involving a Chinese submarine from May 3rd — which would have provided an interesting springboard for this story.

With China expanding its blue-water navy and almost certainly expanding its submarine assets, the kind of exercise the Navy was conducting in the Yellow Sea is critical to our defense against Chinese aggression in the Pacific. If Beijing has continued harassing American Navy ships in international waters, that’s important to know, and it’s equally important to maintain public criticism of China for doing it. The AP apparently understands this, but it seems that they’re among the few.
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Ship captain: Just arming crews won't stop piracy

from Yahoo News
By Laurie Kellman
Associated Press Writer
April 30, 2009

WASHINGTON – Commercial ships working pirate-infested waters should be protected by an armed corps of senior officers backed by the government, Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips told Congress Thursday, emphasizing all must operate under a clear chain of command.

"I am not comfortable giving up command authority to others, including the commander of a protection force," Phillips said in remarks prepared for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and obtained by The Associated Press. "In the heat of an attack, there can be only one final decision-maker."

Phillips, who was held by pirates for five days this month and rescued by Navy SEALs, was the star witness during a series of hearings as Congress considers ways to combat a spike in piracy against ships carrying billions of dollars in cargo and humanitarian aid.

Modern-day piracy, the experts were to testify, is the product of lawlessness in places like Somalia and is motivated by money more than ideology. It's a dangerous business nonetheless, with pirates carrying small arms and rocket launchers.

The International Maritime Bureau recorded 111 attacks in the waters off the Horn of Africa in 2008, almost double the number of the year before. The bureau has recorded at least 84 attacks in the first quarter of 2009.

About 300 non-U.S. crew members remain in Somali captivity aboard 18 hijacked vessels, according to the Senate panel.

The problem requires a complex regional response between the United States and other powers such as China, India and Russia, Ambassador Stephen Mull told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He said U.S. officials are working with other countries to deny pirates whatever they might gain from taking ships and crews.

"We will continue to press the importance of a 'no concessions' policy when dealing with pirates," Mull said.

Phillips' firsthand experience aside, there's little consensus among policymakers and maritime experts on the wisdom of arming merchant seamen.

The chairman of Phillips' own company told the Senate panel that doing so could make the seas even more dangerous. [Oh, so we should just give up and do whatever the pirates demand? That wreaks of Obama type appeasement. - my comment]

"Arming merchant sailors may result in the acquisition of ever more lethal weapons and tactics by the pirates, a race that merchant sailors cannot win," Maersk Inc. Chairman John P. Clancey said in his prepared remarks.

Witnesses said the solution will require a combination of diplomacy and cooperation between governments, shippers and seamen's unions.

Government protection for ships in vast international waters was already in progress.

Belgium said Thursday that its military will provide onboard protection to commercial ships off the Horn of Africa, beginning this weekend. Teams of eight soldiers will be available to Belgian ships upon request if an EU anti-piracy flotilla in the region can't guarantee protection. The costs will be assumed by ship owners. [This is absolutely what should be done - my comment]

Phillips, 53, was taken hostage April 8 after four Somali pirates assaulted his ship, the Maersk Alabama. He was rescued April 12. He has described the siege in interviews, but told the Senate panel he would not talk about the details because of an ongoing investigation and legal proceedings against one of the pirates who held him hostage.
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U.S. vs Somali Pirates - What really happened

U.S. & Pirates - What really happened
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler

All of us want to raise our glass the highest this week to the Navy Seals who popped those three Somali pirates. And I’m sure you want to hear the real story of what happened. Especially because there is a revoltingly opportunistic and cowardly side to it. Guess which side Zero is on.

Why, for example, did it take SEAL Team Six (aka DEVGRU, Navy Special Warfare Development Group, the Navy’s equivalent of Delta Force) over 36 hours to get to the scene?

Because Zero refused to authorize the SEAL deployment for those 36 hours, during which the OSC - the on scene commander, Cmdr. Frank Castellano of the USS Bainbridge - repeatedly requested them.

Once the Seals arrived - parachuting from a C-17 into the ocean near the ship - Zero then imposed Rules of Engagement (ROE) specifying the Seals could not do anything unless the life of the hostage, Captain Richard Phillips, was in “imminent” danger.

Thus, when Capt. Phillips attempted to escape by jumping off the lifeboat into the ocean, the SEAL snipers had all four pirates (one later surrendered) sighted in and could have taken them out then and there - but they could not fire due to Zero’s ROE restrictions.

When the SEALs approached the lifeboat in a RIB (rigid-hull inflatable boat) carrying supplies for Capt. Phillips and the pirates, the pirates fired upon them. Not only was no fire returned due to the ROE, but as the pirates were shooting at the RIB, SEAL snipers on the Bainbridge had them all dialed in. No triggers were pulled due to the ROE.

Two specific rescue plans were developed by Cmdr. Castellano and the SEAL teams. Zero personally refused to authorize them.

After the second refusal and days of dithering, Cmdr. Castellano decided he had the Operational Area and OSC authority to “solely determine risk to hostage” and did not require any further approval of the president.

Four hours later, the White House is informed that three pirates are dead and Capt. Phillips has been rescued unharmed. A WH press release is immediately issued, giving credit to the president for his “daring and decisive” behavior that resulted in such success.

Zero has absolutely no military knowledge or experience whatsoever. He demanded decisional control over the entire hostage drama to the last detail. All actions required his personal approval. He dithered like a coward while the world laughed at our warships flummoxed by four illiterate teenagers with AKs in a lifeboat.

Only when the Navy Commander decided to ignore his Pantywaist-in Chief and take action and responsibility himself, were the incredible skills of the SEALs put into play.

That Zero could cynically and opportunistically claim that his “bold” “calm” “tough” leadership was responsible should remind everyone that not a single action, not a single word of this man can be trusted. He is bereft of honesty and moral character. That’s why he’s Zero.

The HFR raises a glass full of pride and gratitude to Navy Commander Frank Castellano, the Navy SEALs for their incredible competence, and our military. Let’s hold a Tea Party in their honor.

28 posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 10:15:03 AM by Mach9 (.)

Unfortunately for Obama, hair grows back, testicles don’t.

Obama Apologizes for the 3 Pirate Deaths!

Please Read! This is an absolutely great article.
Rees

Posted by: Laer
April 24th 2009
White House Issues Clarification On Somali Attacks

The White House has issued a clarification on its stated policy regarding operations in Somalia related to the activities of pirates, and apologized for the recent incident in which three pirates were killed.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed that the Navy had misunderstood President Obama’s orders, resulting in the unfortunate death of three working class, teenage pirates and a probable deterioration in how pacifists and life-long America-haters may feel about America.

Gibbs stated that a careful review of audiotapes of a conversation between the president and the Secretary of Navy proved the president did not say, “I authorize ATTACKS on the pirates,” but rather, “I authorize A TAX on the pirates.”

Gibbs said that as a result of the missunderstanding, the president has issued a formal apology, which will be delivered to Somalia as soon as someone finds a Somali government official to deliver it to. Gibbs also confirmed that the president has signed a new excutive order, ruling that 95 percent of Somalis will now receive a tax cut.
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