“Undeterred” – North Korea Fires Two More Missiles – “Our Army And People Are Fully Ready For Battle Against The U.S.”
May 26, 2009 12 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Interfax news agency in Moscow quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying the adoption of a tough resolution was probably unavoidable because the Security Council’s authority was at stake.
But analysts say North Korea’s giant neighbor China, one of five permanent members of the Council, is unlikely to support anything tough.
For China, the more immediate risk may be serious rupture inside the impoverished state, which could spark a flood of North Korean refugees across its border. – Reuters
Excerpted from WAPO:
TOKYO, May 26 — North Korea reportedly fired two more short-range missiles into waters off its east coast Tuesday, undeterred by the strong international condemnation that followed its detonation of a nuclear device and test-firing of three missiles a day earlier.
“Our army and people are fully ready for battle . . . against any reckless U.S. attempt for a pre-emptive attack,” the reclusive country’s state-run news agency said.
South Korea said Tuesday that it would join a U.S.-led effort to intercept ships from countries like North Korea that are suspected of exporting missiles and weapons of mass destruction — a step it had been reluctant to take in the past for fear of provoking its isolated neighbor into additional retaliation. North Korea has repeatedly said it would regard the South’s participation in the security effort as a “declaration of war.”
President Obama, whose staff was informed of Monday’s test about an hour before it took place and who had been briefed several times in the past week about the possibility (and did what about it exactly? – PD), accused North Korea of “blatant violation of international law.”
Hours later, the North fired two more short-range missiles into waters off its east coast, where it had earlier warned away ships, said Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, citing government officials.
South Korea had long resisted American pressure to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which was created in 2003 by President George W. Bush and now includes more than 90 countries. But the North’s second nuclear test nudged South Korea to change its policy.
Joining the international interdiction effort “is a natural obligation for a mature country,” said South Korea’s foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan. “It will help control North Korea’s development of dangerous material.”
North-South relations on the Korean Peninsula have deteriorated dramatically this spring (ie, the minute Obama took office-PD). The North has launched a long-range missile, detained a South Korean national, kicked out U.N. nuclear inspectors, restarted a plutonium factory and halted six-nation negotiations on its nuclear program. It has also voided contracts with South Korean companies at the Kaesong industrial park, a jointly run operation just across the border from South Korea.
