North Threatens ‘Action’ If Its Ships Are Boarded Under New U.N. Resolution To Curb Pyongyang Proliferation
North Korea, fresh from launching missiles of varying ranges and testing a nuclear weapon in an underground blast, lurched into newly bellicose threats by vowing to reprocess more plutonium stocks into atomic weapons.
Pyongyang also has admitted to a parallel uranium production program that it previously denied. The West knew the uranium program existed because documents that Pyongyang provided to U.N. weapons inspectors were faintly coated with uranium.
Those new actions by the North came as Congress is considering funding for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in Alaska and California that is designed to protect the United States against long-range North Korean missiles.
The Korean Central News Agency also disclosed the North is threatening “resolute military actions” if any nation attempts to board ships leaving North Korea to search for contraband nuclear material.
That followed a United Nations resolution favoring such searches, a punishment on Pyongyang for its recent burst of missile tests, and the nuclear test.
The North may be readying yet another underground blast, which would be the third: there was one in 2006, and another earlier this year.
Also, there are signs the North is preparing for yet another launch of a Taepo Dong-2 long-range missile. The first launch, in 2006, failed a few seconds after liftoff. But a test this year saw the missile travel some 2,000 miles, with successful first- and second-stage burns.
Pyongyang would hope a further test would see the third stage function successfully as well, permitting the missile to achieve its full 4,000-mile range, sufficient to strike targets in North America.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Congress is deliberating over President Obama’s plan to cut off the number of emplaced ground silos for the GMD system at 30, instead of the earlier planned 44.
But some lawmakers tomorrow will attempt to reverse Obama and fund emplacement of all 44 planned silos. They are expected to cite the latest aggressive moves by the North as ample evidence of just why the GMD system should be fully built. (Please see full story in this issue.)
Aside from its other aggressive actions, the North also has said it never will agree to surrender its nuclear weapons, which is just what many Western critics have said is the genuine position of Pyongyang leaders.
That, in turn, raises questions as to why Obama would follow through on his plan to attempt talks with North Korea, since Pyongyang has stated openly the talks will not end in successful denuclearization. The main goal of the Six Party Talks was to coax North Korea to give up its atomic weapons and thus denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
If the North won’t surrender its nukes, then that leaves the United States, and Japan, with a need to neutralize any long-range nuclear-tipped North Korean missiles. In other words, that would heighten the need for the GMD.