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North Korea Defies China, Launches Three-Stage Rocket
Defying warnings of punishment from Washington, reports The New York Times,
North Korea launched a rocket on Sunday that Western experts believe is part of a program to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technologies. …
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea called an emergency meeting of top national security advisers on Sunday to address the launch, her office said. South Korea, the United States and Japan also requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry called the launch a “major provocation, threatening not only the security of the Korean Peninsula, but that of the region and the United States as well.” Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, said it was “a flagrant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.” …
With the launch, North Korea was also defying its main ally, China. China has resisted the United States’ move to place tough sanctions on the North since a Jan. 6 nuclear test, fearing that it might destabilize its neighbor. But it has also admonished North Korea not to conduct more nuclear and missiles tests and sent a senior envoy to Pyongyang recently.
Your thoughts?
Published in Foreign Policy, Military
Move Seoul?
Intercession of Mothra?
Uncompromising response from Obama/Kerry?
in order of practicable likelihood.
This is a poor attempt at humor, Kerry said what ?
Uh-oh. The Norks had better prepare for…a strongly worded statement. Maybe even a dreaded Obama Red Line ultimatum. Better send Dennis Rodman on another diplomatic mission.
I’m thinking this goes straight to Twitter hashtag.
Why do you think they’re trying to build ICBMs in the first place?
I don’t doubt that he said that, but notice that there’s no comment on what they might actually do about it.
Well, since the Iranians have already placed orders for the ICBMs to deliver their nukes the NORKs have no choice but to get cracking.
So what should the NORKs do? Cancel valuable orders just because Obama or Kerry said some empty words? Get realpolitik already!
It’s too bad. I’ve always kind of liked Honolulu. But if a smoking nuclear crater on that spot is the price we have to pay for permission to launch the retaliatory nukes at North Korea, then I don’t see much we can do about it now.
One can hope that Maui is not affected, that people will remember that this is all the fault of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, that the lesson of what is wrought by appeasing insane dictators is learned for another generation, and that the new memorial will be even more affecting than the Pearl Harbor memorial over the wreck of the USS Arizona.
More job security for moi (Missile Defense).
We’ve let this problem trickle on for what? twenty years, now? And the North Koreans still manage to make progress: more bombs, better missiles.
It gives me no confidence in the administration’s assurances regarding Iran. Why should we expect any better result there? As it is now, the best the administration tries to claim is that the agreement only delays them in building their bomb. And we’ve got experience in this issue telling us that these plans are leaky and don’t live up to the rosy expectations.
Didn’t Joe Biden predict that there would be a test of Obama’s administration? It seems that seven years later that he has been tested and found to be spineless and impotent. Even the cockroaches of North Korea have lost their fear of the light and are scurrying about. The 2016 election cycle has taken on a new and graver consequence. It is time to get serious about who we support and elect.
Don’t be so sure. If Hillary continues the Obama reign, the best way to counter increased Nork and Iranian threats would be unilateral disarmament, to show them that we are, like, completely committed to, ya know, World Peace.
When will people realize that North Korea doesn’t care what anyone else thinks or says?
EDs & all,
Yes, the old is new again thanks to BHO, HRC, Kerry and Wernher von Braun.
Regards,
Jim
Either bomb them or ignore them. At best, threats can only delay the advancement of their military potential until the next weak President.
What would the Chinese government do if the US government told them quietly (not publicly) that the failure of China to restrain North Korea (by sanctions such as a cut off of electricity and other indispensable support) meant that the US had no reason to discourage the Japanese government from developing nuclear weapons and more anti-missile defense?
I don’t expect either Obama or Kerry to do any such thing. They are typical “blame America first” left wingers who have no interest in protecting American interests or winning any war.
The reflexive action from them will be to go to the United Nations, which has accomplished nothing since the Korean War. That only occurred because the USSR foolishly walked out of the proceedings to fight back after a Nork invasion of the South and the Chicoms had not yet been given China’s seat on the Security Council.
American security is at risk until January 2o, 2017 to a degree not seen in the past 40 years. It only takes a generation or two for the voters to forget that the Post-McGovern Democrat party is a threat to American security and now, with the joint Iran-North Korean nuclear program, the threat is to this country’s very existence.
Most voters foolishly believe that there is an anti-missile defense system on the East Coast to defend against missiles launched from (1) a freighter off the East Coast, (2) the Iranian base in Venezuela or (3) North Korea or Iran on a polar (i.e. north to south) trajectory.
Nah. Even Obama has supported MD. He only cancelled the Bush concept for defense of Europe to placate the Russians, but still went forward with a reduced, less threatening (alas, less capable) replacement program. We are moving forward…
When a dog bites the mail man do you blame the dog or its owner? China is North Korea’s owner. We need to make it clear to them that they are responsible for keeping their mange ridden mutt under control. I think we need to consider some sort of direct means of sanctioning China in response to DPRK misbehavior. I’m not sure what goodies we can take away from them, but surely there must be some?
We could quit borrowing their money and stop letting them buy up our country. Boy, that would show them!
Agreed. Also, why should we believe what China says? Maybe North Korea doesn’t care what anyone else says because they have China’s backing.
Time to start up a little arms race in SE Asia. Start arming Japan and Korea and start stoking the old nationalistic fires in those peoples.
Susan Quinn—
Yes, that gets to the big problem with these diplomatic reactions to the threat. The UN issues a carefully-worded diplomatic statement about how this is entirely unacceptable, and that the North Koreans shouldn’t behave in this way, and shame on them. And North Korea keeps on doing it, because they simply don’t care about that.
I will say, though, that they do care about certain material things, or they have in the past. In the famine in the 1990s, they apparently cared an awful lot about getting our food aid. But not enough to keep them from renegging on the nuclear agreement later.
I dun told ya:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-08/u-s-missile-defense-system-could-reshape-north-asia-security
Manfred,
I do hope we have deployed Thaad as the real import of the NORK launce is that they and Iran can hit the North American continent. They would have enough range to reach the west coast from N. Korea and enough range to hit the east coast from Iran.
How confident are you about our missile defense? There is no 100% so don’t go there. 99.99%, 99%, 95%, 90%, 75%,…? Starts to matter doesn’t it when you are facing lunatic regimes that really might lob a nuclear warhead at LA or NYC for their own psychotic reasons.
Regards,
Jim
The last few years have seen many successful tests of our theater level defense systems – all across the board (Patriot, THAAD, Aegis, and throw in the Israel systems for good measure – Arrow, Iron Dome, David’s Sling…). We don’t get to test our longer range National Defense system that much because tests are expensive for that system, so it’s reliability is not as well established. MDA (Missile Defense Agency) is trying to rectify this, but money is always tight in the DoD, never more so than now.
See, if the PRC had any influence over NK, since they saw THAAD as our most likely reaction to this NK flight, they would have stopped NK from conducting it. They didn’t, so they don’t, IMO.
Manfred,
I say the defense budget immediately gets increased for MDA, A10s, and enough ships to blow the Russian and Chinese fleets out of the water.
Little things make me happy.
Regards,
Jim
Me too. Just remember, the Federal debt. The Federal debt. Cheers.
Manfred,
There are a few things that actually justify running a deficit. In WWII we had to spend what we had to spend. I think real security (not blind blank check spending) for the USA is worth the price.
Regards,
Jim
except this isn’t really a major security issue IMO. We really need to cut across the board. Urgency is great.
Manfred,
Are you OK? I ask you what you think our anti-missile capability is in light of the ability of N Korea and Iran to hit the continental US with a nuclear-tipped missile. You tell me MDA is underfunded and they aren’t testing enough on the really long range stuff. Now you say this really isn’t a major security issue. This does not compute. Please explain.
Regards,
Jim