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Topic: WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS
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Kindgo
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Member # 2
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posted
Rumsfeld gets tough on North Korea
John Gittings in Hong Kong and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Tuesday December 24, 2002
The Guardian
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, yesterday warned North Korea that America could fight and win two regional conflicts. He advised Pyongyang not to become "emboldened" by the US administration's immediate focus on Iraq.
"We are capable of fighting two major regional conflicts. We're capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other, and let there be no doubt about it," Mr Rumsfeld said.
His comments came amid desperate diplomatic efforts to head off the growing Korean crisis.
The UN has confirmed that North Korea has carried out its threat to remove UN seals and dismantle monitoring cameras at a laboratory used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.
A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency said: "There is not any legitimate purpose for the facility other than separating plutonium from spent fuel."
Senator Joseph Biden, the outgoing chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, warned that North Korea's plan to restart a programme for plutonium extraction could allow it to produce bombs "within months".
Mr Biden said the crisis was "a greater danger immediately to US interests _ than Saddam Hussein".
While the rhetoric sharpened, Mr Rumsfeld insisted that Washington would pursue a diplomatic strategy against North Korea for the moment, as that crisis was still at a relatively early stage.
Pyongyang has issued a series of threats, including one to "destroy the earth" if the US resorted to nuclear war against it. South Korea's president, Kim Dae-jung, and the president-elect, Roh Moo-hyun, sought to calm the mood by saying they wanted a peaceful resolution.
While Russia expressed concern at the North's weekend announcement, the deputy foreign minister warned the US not to aggravate the crisis.
But the US state department yesterday rejected Pyongyang's insistence that the crisis can be solved if the US signs a treaty of non-aggression. "We will not bargain or offer inducements for North Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements it has signed," a spokesman said.
US intelligence sources were quoted by the BBC as saying they believe "North Korea may already have a small number of nuclear bombs and the material to make a few more".
The North Korean media has given Bush administration hardliners all the material they may want.
The communist party's newspaper, the Workers' Daily, declared that "the army and people of the DPRK are fully ready to mercilessly strike the bulwark of US imperialist aggressors" - implying that they could hit targets in the US.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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Kindgo
Advanced Member
Member # 2
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posted
!N. Korea threatens to 'destroy the Earth'!
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30156
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS
N. Korea threatens to 'destroy the Earth'
Talk of annihilation comes as U.S. assures it can wage 2-front battle
Posted: December 23, 2002
11:07 p.m. Eastern
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
North Korea has issued a series of threats – including one to "destroy the Earth" – if the U.S. resorted to nuclear war against it.
The communist party's newspaper Workers' Daily declared that "the army and people of the DPRK are fully ready to mercilessly strike the bulwark of U.S. imperialist aggressors" – implying that they could hit targets in America, according to a report in the Guardian.
"There can be no Earth without Korea," it said. "The army and people of the DPRK will destroy the Earth if the enemies dare make a nuclear strike at it. This is their do-or-die spirit."
The talk of annihilation comes amid statements from U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that America is able to wage a multiple-front conflict, including battles with Iraq and North Korea.
"We are capable of fighting two major regional conflicts," Rumsfeld said. "We're capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other, and let there be no doubt about it."
Sen. Joseph Biden, the outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that North Korea's plan to restart a program for plutonium extraction could allow it to produce bombs "within months."
A spokesman for the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency told the Guardian, "There isn't any legitimate purpose for the facility other than separating plutonium from spent fuel."
Biden said the crisis was "a greater danger immediately to U.S. interests ... than Saddam Hussein."
State department officials reject Pyongyang's insistence the crisis can be resolved if the U.S. signs a non-aggression treaty.
"We will not bargain or offer inducements for North Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements it has signed," a spokesman said.
U.S. intelligence sources were quoted by the BBC as saying they believe "North Korea may already have a small number of nuclear bombs and the material to make a few more."
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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