Thursday, April 11, 2013

Op-ed: April 15th...North Korea's last hurrah?

Op-ed:
April 15th...North Korea's last hurrah?
By: Diane Sori

 
"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war due to the evermore undisguised hostile actions of the United States and the South Korean puppet warmongers." So says Pyongyang.

So is North Korea planning a show of strength for April 15th, the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation (celebrated officially as "The Day of the Sun")...or is the latest round of saber rattling just more of the usual empty threats to get the sanctions lifted. Unfortunately, only time will tell but in preparing for the worst case scenario (a wise thing to do when dealing with an immature, power hungry, spoiled man-child) Japan deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors to protect Tokyo, and two US destroyers armed with missile-defense systems, along with two South Korean warships, are now in place off the Korean coast. 

Loving to hear himself squawk (sounds like someone else we know), Kim Jong-un vowed to wage a "merciless sacred retaliatory war" if provoked in any way by its enemies, meaning the US and South Korea, and is now ready to test fire a medium-range missile with the hopes of it someday being able to deliver a nuclear warhead.

NOT good...NOT good at all, because while North Korea has always issued warnings before previous long-range rocket launches, this time they're keeping everyone guessing about what they'll do and when they'll do it. 

And while the threatened test appears to be a NO-go, at least at this moment, we and our allies cannot let our guard down as this could be a ruse...a clever subterfuge to get the first blow in. Remember, Kim Jong-un has to do something to 'save face' as he's been publicly pushed into a corner with his threats against the US and the South, and as an untested new leader he cannot allow himself to be seen in the eyes of the world as weak or as backing down to his perceived enemies.

And in the ongoing war of words and threats against Seoul and Washington, Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, announced this past Monday that operations at the Kaesong Factory Complex would be suspended as he ordered it closed and recalled all 53,000 North Korean workers from the complex just north of the Demilitarized Zone...a complex that for the past decade had been run with cheap North Korean labor and South Korean capital and know-how...a complex that was the North's last major economic link with the South and a source of much needed hard currency, garnered from cross-border trade, including supplies entering Kaesong and finished products coming out, and which approached $2 billion annually in trade revenue. 

Now add into mix the recent statement from Pyongyang that "all foreign institutions, enterprises, and foreigners including tourists" in South Korea "take measures for shelter and evacuation" and you have more than the usual, eye rolling bloviations.

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is worried as he expressed concern about the rising tensions between the two Korea's, and said conflict on the peninsula, "could cause greater devastation than the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986."
 
I would make no secret about it, we are worried about the escalation on the Korean peninsula, because we are neighbors,” Putin said.
 
And even our muslim sympathizing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has admitted that North Korea has made major advancement in its nuclear capabilities. Saying that the speed with which North Korea is moving in enhancing their capabilities is cause for concern, and that North Korea is "skating very close to a dangerous line" means this time the North Korean threats are being taken seriously in DC...at least by some they are. 

"We have every capacity to deal with any action North Korea will take to protect this country and the interests of this country and our allies," Hagel said as the deteriorating Korean situation belies the critical necessity for strong US and allied defenses.

And while most South Koreans are NOT panicking, there are signs that they're growing tired of the North’s rhetoric and threats. In fact, new South Korean President Park Geun-hye gave the Ministry of Defense free reign in the event of any North Korean Korean provocations, and this action increases the probability that the current war of words will indeed turn into a real military action.

But the question in all this is where does Barack HUSSEIN Obama really stand on North Korea and what will he do if war does break out...smiling sweetly and saying one thing for media photo-ops is quite different than actual actions taken. Remember, Obama believes the world should eliminate all nuclear weapons, as he continues to eliminate our nuclear arsenal and works to strengthen the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, clearly ignoring the fact that he is out of touch with the reality of the growing number of nuclear weapons rogue nations are acquiring.

And here's something else to think about...is Western educated, English speaking, American culture loving Kim Jung-un really calling the shots in North Korea or is he just the puppet of yet another corrupt, all-controlling, all powerful military regime. Again only time will tell but unfortunately time is NOT something we or South Korea have a lot of right now as the longer the war of words goes on the longer North Korea will have to develop a true deliverable nuclear warhead, with our ally South Korea being its prime recipient and with us having 28,500 troops (Army: 19,755, Navy: 274, Air Force 8,815, Marines, 242) in harms way.

And an immature, power-hungry, man-child puppet with a history of hissy-fits has his finger on a nuclear button...NOT good...NOT good at all.

http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2013/04/op-ed-april-15th.html 


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