Granted, it's all just talk, but they seem to really enjoy ratcheting the rhetoric up further and further!! Here's the latest: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/17/nkorea.nuclear/index.html <I><B>SEOUL, South Korea -- In another verbal barrage aimed at Washington, North Korea says it will win any nuclear conflict with the United States thanks to Pyongyang's "army-first" political system. "Victory in a nuclear conflict will be ours and the red flag of army-first politics will flutter ever more vigorously," a North Korean state radio broadcast said, as reported by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "Our victory is certain and the future ever more radiant." </B> North Korea is the world's most heavily militarized society, with a million-strong army and a military budget expenditure of over $5 billion annually -- equal to a little over 30 percent of North Korea's gross domestic product, according to CIA figures. But the Stalinist state has been besieged by drought, famine and economic difficulties in recent years, leading to questions over the functionality of its military might. The latest vitriolic salvo follows a number of war warnings from Pyongyang and claims the U.S. is preparing to strike the North. The Bush administration has said it has no plans for military action, but the communist state has been pressing for a non-aggression pact as well as direct dialogue with the U.S. The standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program began in October when the U.S. said Pyongyang admitted to secretly pursuing plans to enrich uranium, violating a 1994 agreement. North Korea then dismissed weapons inspectors, pulled out of the international nuclear anti-proliferation treaty and restarted its nuclear facilities. Pyongyang insists it has plans only to generate electricity due to an energy shortfall brought on by the U.S. halting its fuel oil supplies to North Korea. The communist state also maintains that its dispute is only with Washington and needs to be solved with two-way, face-to-face dialogue. International diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis are continuing. The U.N. is now set to take a more aggressive role after its nuclear watchdog agency referred the matter to the U.N. Security Council. The Security Council has the power to impose sanctions on North Korea -- something Pyongyang has said would mount to a declaration of war. The U.S., however, wants to push the U.N. for a condemnation of Pyongyang, rather than sanctions. North Korea's traditional allies China and Russia – both permament members of the council – are pressing for a diplomatic solution. (Peaceful solution sought) In other developments, Britain's Sunday Telegraph has reported that North Korea plans to build four new nuclear power plants. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has insisted nuclear weapons are not being produced at its existing facilities and he would not use the new plants to do so either, the report said. (Full story) </I>
Guts? NO.... They do however, have an interesting approach to negotiating for foreign aid. If Clinton were still President, then cash and rice would be on the way to North Korea as we speak. I don't think the North Koreans understand who they are dealing with now.
i really wish china would try to take control of this situation. i know the US wants china to take control here too. maybe not with regime change but simply to pull the airhead north korean government in line.
i really wish china would try to take control of this situation. i know the US wants china to take control here too. maybe not with regime change but simply to pull the airhead north korean government in line. I agree. If this thing is going to be resolved anytime soon, China is going to have a big role in it. But China's way may be much more under-the-table because they don't benefit in any way from a public argument with NK.
I don't think China can help very much, because North Korea is really using their nukes in an attempt to extort money and food from the West. Unless China is willing to offer rice and fen, then this problem won't go away anytime soon.
North Korea probably fears China far more than the US, in the long-term. NK can permanently have bad relations with the US so long as it doesn't go over the brink. China, on the other hand... well, insecure borders are very high on the risk assessment criteria of any administration. China's economic maelstrom is already sucking in most of East Asia (with the notable exception of Japan)... North Korea's only hope of capitalization is to allow it to happen as well. This is empty rhetoric, however. North Korea knows that it would be utterly obliterated in a nuclear confrontation with the US. Aggressive risk-takers the North Koreans might be... suicidal... we haven't seen yet from them.
Are you kidding me, are you sure you aren't confused? I have yet to hear any tough talk from Bush towards Korea. In fact, it's the complete opposite of what he is doing to Iraq. So far, Bush has basically said that they want to solve problems with North Korea diplomatically. Clinton already had plans for attacking and blowing up North Korea's reactors and had threatened to attack had they not accepted a deal to halt work on nuclear weapons. You can't blame him if Korea reniged and where was to CIA to tell us what North Korea was up to.
They know that with nuclear capability there is nothing the US can do. Nobody knows what the hell was going on with that country before this started, so I guess it's not surprising that they are kooks. It's a good lesson learned though- don't let tyrants get ahold of nuclear weapons.
I know this isn't the answer you are looking for, but.... The Korean ‘kuk’ (pronounced ‘kook’) is used to convey the idea of nationality. American G.I's in the Korean war had trouble with the pronunciation, and they ended up changing the term to "gook" which became a derogatory slang term. Although it should have stayed in Korea as it was a bastardized version of a Korean word, some G.I.'s who had used the slang word in the Korean war brought it over to the Vietnam conflict.....where it was imortalized in many Vietnam war films.
In the way they are threatening a more powerful country like the US. How on earth does that help them? Well, now that I think about it, maybe they are calculating that they will get more concessions they more belligerent they act.
