So, just how jaded does one become about North Korea when you live in Seoul?
How’s this: North Korea shows off an advanced uranium enrichment program, special envoy Stephen Bosworth calls it the worst North Korean provocation in 20 years, South Korean defense minister Kim Tae-young is talking about the reintroduction of US tactical nukes to South Korea… and I still can’t bring myself to care.
Same bullshit, different administration.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
But it is unnerving to know that in just a 3 hour drive north of where you are standing right now, on the same body of land there are unspeakable tortures being committed in the dark vastness.
But Robert – Just think how many comments, articles and even books by Selig “Did North Korea Cheat?” Harrison, Mike Chinoy and other “experts” of that stripe have been rendered embarrassingly useless.
Yeah, I suppose there is a silver lining to it all, although I still expect a Harrison article soon explaining why it’s not yet clear if North Korea cheated, and even if it did, it’s all Lee Myung-bak’s fault.
Not 2MB to American Leftwits, it’s still all BushCheneyHalliburton… And the stupid, scared, racist, bitter clingers who created that VRWC…
WaPo reports that NK floated a deal to dismantle its plutonium program in exchange for a reaffirmation of an American non-hostility pledge.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/22/AR2010112206747.html
This is history repeating itself. The North is looking to score a quick propaganda victory which will likely be attributed to KJU. The goal is to prod the US into making a public statement to the effect that they will not attack North Korea. Domestically, NK will spin this to show that the UEP revelation (no doubt orchestrated at the behest of KJU) so frightened the US into submission that they came to Pyongyang on bended knee to beg the Dear Leader for mercy, thus demonstrating again the power and need for the almighty “nuclear deterrent.” Of course, accepting the deal won’t get rid of the plutonium nukes already in the North’s possession. It also shows Pyongyang feels confident enough in the progress of its UEP that it no longer needs plutonium.
I can also state with some confidence that when it comes to actually doing the dirty work of dismantling and verifying the dismantling of the plutonium-producing facilities, the North will balk, concoct some sort of excuse, accuse the US of bad faith, make every attempt to extort aid and freebies, and eventually resume plutonium production.
Luckily, in public at least, Obama has rightly given the offer a cold shoulder.
Well, Milton, you got that right!
OK, well do I need to remind you all that North Korea has only claimed to the inspectors that it produces plutonium purified at 3.5%, which is reactor-grade plutonium, not that it produces the 90% pure needed for nuclear weapons? Sure, they could be producing weapon-grade plutonium, but they’ve proven many times over that it’s something they wouldn’t be hiding.
“So, just how jaded does one become about North Korea when you live in Seoul?”
Answer: Not as jaded as one becomes when you live in Pohang, five hours to the south.
I’ll start caring when they nuke Seoul, only because I’ll no longer be able to read your blog.
#8,
LOL.
It’s all good as long as the electromagnetic pulse doesn’t mess up your internet connection, hey?
A couple of points:
1) They are producing weapons-grade plutonium. They have been for years. I think you mean “uranium” here.
2) North Korea’s track record is the opposite of what you state. Pyongyang uses disclosure of its nuclear capabilities as a bargaining chip for maximum effect and maximum concession-extraction. They start off by insinuating something is true, followed by a series of downplays and denials, followed by incremental revealing of the truth. For example, from the mid ‘80s until the early ‘00s, North Korea insisted its Yongbyon plant was solely for developing a civilian nuclear power industry, all the while occasionally hinting that something more nefarious was going on. We now know that despite these denials, North Korea was in fact researching and producing weapons-grade plutonium. We saw the same pattern with their HEU program. They admitted it in 2002, downplayed and hinted at it until this year, and finally revealed their hand this weekend. Given the speed with which the new addition to Yongbyon was constructed and put online, it’s fair to say that they’ve had some experience with this type of plant, meaning that Yongbyon probably isn’t their only uranium-enrichment facility. It’s true that they’ve claimed this is a “low enrichment facility” but we have no way of verifying this (heck, we have no way of even verifying if this facility is a real plant and not a Potemkin power plant).
An example of the North exaggerating its capabilities would be this year’s “disclosure” of its thermonuclear program, which most scientists agree is impossible given the state of technology and the lack of resources in the country.
The point is, the words “honesty” and “North Korean nuclear programs” rarely belong together in the same sentence.
I’m not sure that North Korea will use it’s nuke…
They have been inspected, but I remember reading an article where the man who did it said he couldn’t see if it could be used for making a bomb… So there is still the question of : do they have it ?
On the other hand, attacking with a nuke will make all countries attack them. China don’t say who they support, but I don’t think they’ll continue being in NK’s side if they send a nuke to SK… More, they will have against them the US and russian nukes, which are the greatest…
ps : USA speak about helping SK, and UE condamns Noth Korea attack
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 1 trackback }