KN Nuclear Test News Roundup
On Today's SWJ Daily News Links...
Click on the link above for:
North Korea
- U.S. Doubts N. Korean Test Was Nuclear - Washington Times
- Low Yield Of Blast Surprises Analysts - Washington Post
- Blast May Be Only a Partial Success, Experts Say - New York Times
- Even if Device Was Flawed, Test Crossed a Threshold - Los Angeles Times
- The Moment that Shook the World - London Times
- U.S. Proposes Stringent U.N. Sanctions Against N. Korea - Voice of America
- Pentagon Assesses Responses, Including Possible Blockade - New York Times
- U.S. Proposes Embargo, Sanctions on N. Korea - Washington Post
- World Condemns North Korea - Los Angeles Times
- Condemnation Swift, But Options Limited - USA Today
- World Powers Ponder Sanctions - London Daily Telegraph
- Bush Seeks Action from U.N., 6 Parties - Washington Times
- Bush Rebukes North Korea; U.S. Seeks New U.N. Sanctions - New York Times
- U.S., Japan Lead Push to Sanction Pyongyang - Washington Times
- Nuclear Test Sparks Global Condemnation - Voice of America
- U.N. Members Condemn N. Korea Over Test - Associated Press
- Bush Condemns N. Korean Nuclear Test - Voice of America
- S. Korea, Japan Condemn N. Korea - Voice of America
- Tough Talk From Seoul, if Little Will for a Fight - New York Times
- Rattled South Koreans Consider Test a Betrayal - Los Angeles Times
- China Condemns N. Korean Nuclear Test - Voice of America
- Angry China Is Likely to Toughen Its Stand on N. Korea - New York Times
- China Opposes Military Action - Associated Press
- China Rules Out War But Not Sanctions - Reuters
- Neighbors See Threat, 'Betrayal' in Nuclear Test - Washington Times
- North Korea Rocks Asia's Status Quo - Christian Science Monitor
- North Korea's Political, Economic Gamble - Washington Post
- A Look at Sanctions Against North Korea - Associated Press
- A Look at N. Korea Nuclear Capabilities - Associated Press
- Verifying Nuclear Test Blasts - Associated Press
- Weapons of the World's Nuclear Powers - Associated Press
- Text of North Korea's Nuke Announcement - Associated Press Transcript
- For U.S., a Strategic Jolt After N. Korea’s Test - New York Times Analysis
- Test 'Changes the Landscape' for U.S. Officials - Washington Post Analysis
- Next Step Depends on U.S. and China - Los Angeles Times Analysis
- Diverted Attention, Neglect Set the Stage - Los Angeles Times Analysis
- The Defiant One - Washington Times Editorial
- Responding to North Korea - Washington Post Editorial
- North Korea and the Bomb - New York Times Editorial
- Kim Jong Il's Challenge to China - Los Angeles Times Editorial
- Rebottling N. Korea's Nuclear Genie - Christian Science Monitor Editorial
- New Dawn of a Dangerous Age - The Australian Editorial
- Answering North Korea - Washington Post Editorial
- The North Korea Nuclear Puzzle - Los Angeles Times Editorial
- North Korea and the Dominoes - New York Times Editorial
- Raising the Stakes - Wall Street Journal Commentary
- Coming-Out Party - Washington Times Commentary
- In a Test, a Reason to Talk - Washington Post Commentary
- No More Negotiating With N. Korea - Los Angeles Times Commentary
- Talking With the Monsters - New York Times Commentary
- Is U.S. N. Korea Policy Working? - Real Clear Politics Commentary
- Now What? - Slate Commentary
- It’s the Nukes, Stupid - National Review Commentary
- Wanted: New Deterrent For a Tyrant - London Times Commentary
- Region in For a Shakeup - The Australian Commentary
- If Kim Jong Il Gets Nukes - Los Angeles Times Commentary
- Correct Response is Critical - The Australian Commentary
- Stalking the Hermit - Tech Central Station Commentary
- He Huffs and He Puffs - Weekly Standard Commentary
- 'Dear Leader' Feels Ignored - Real Clear Politics Commentary
- North Korea: War Is Coming To American Soil - Captain's Quarters Blog
- It's Always America's Fault - Belmont Club Blog
- North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon - The Fourth Rail Blog
- North Korea Nuke Test Stirs Region - Threats Watch Blog
- "Collapse Brinkmanship" - The Adventures of Chester Blog
- Was N. Korea Testing a Suitcase Nuke? - Belmont Club Blog
- Fizzlemas In North Korea - Captain's Quarters Blog
- Stratfor: No "Satisfactory Military Solution" - Counterterrorism Blog
Rogue Nuclear States
- Mutually Assured Disruption - New York Times Commentary
Japan
- Japan Likely to Rally Behind PM’s Call for a Strong Military - NY Times
- Japan's PM Abe Gets Helping Hand From N. Korea - Reuters
Quote:
"U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday."
"U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast's readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation."
--Washington Times, U.S. Doubts N. Korean Test Was Nuclear
U.S. Speeds Attack Plans for North Korea
http://washingtontimes.com/national/...2702-4895r.htm (pop up warning)
Quote:
The Pentagon has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's nuclear program and is bolstering nuclear forces in Asia, said defense officials familiar with the highly secret process.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the accelerated military planning includes detailed programs for striking a North Korean plutonium-reprocessing facility at Yongbyon with special operations commando raids or strikes with Tomahawk cruise missiles or other precision-guided weapons.
The effort, which had been under way for several months, was given new impetus by Pyongyang's underground nuclear test Oct. 9 and growing opposition to the nuclear program of Kim Jong-il's communist regime, especially by China and South Korea.
A Pentagon official said the Department of Defense is considering "various military options" to remove the program.
"Other than nuclear strikes, which are considered excessive, there are several options now in place. Planning has been accelerated," the official said.
A second, senior defense official privy to the effort said the Bush administration recently affirmed its commitment to both South Korea and Japan that it would use U.S. nuclear weapons to deter North Korea, now considered an unofficial nuclear weapon state.
"We will resort to whatever force levels we need to have, to defend the Republic of Korea. That nuclear deterrence is in place," said the senior official, who declined to reveal what nuclear forces are deployed in Asia.
Other officials said the forces include bombs and air-launched missiles stored at Guam, a U.S. island in the western Pacific, that could be delivered by B-52 or B-2 bombers. Nine U.S. nuclear-missile submarines regularly deploy to Asian waters from Washington state.
The officials said one military option calls for teams of Navy SEALs or other special operations commandos to conduct covert raids on Yongbyon's plutonium-reprocessing facility.
The commandos would blow up the facility to prevent further reprocessing of the spent fuel rods, which provides the material for developing nuclear weapons.
A second option calls for strikes by precision-guided Tomahawk missiles on the reprocessing plant from submarines or ships. The plan calls for simultaneous strikes from various sides to minimize any radioactive particles being carried away in the air.
Planners estimate that six Tomahawks could destroy the reprocessing plant and that it would take five to 10 years to rebuild.
North Korean Nuclear Issues
ICG, 13 Nov 06: North Korea's Nuclear Test: The Fallout
Quote:
...There are no good options for resolving this crisis, but the least bad option remains a negotiated settlement. To achieve this, the U.S. and others will need to present a long-term view of economic change in North Korea while offering what amounts to a guarantee not to overthrow the Pyongyang regime. The undertaking will involve a considerable investment of diplomatic energy and financial resources and should be matched by a ramped-up effort to ensure that North Korea cannot proliferate nuclear weapons or missiles. But it provides the only prospect for peaceful and gradual change on the Korean peninsula.
Sanctions without sustained, direct diplomacy would only mean escalation. The Bush administration has operated under the flawed assumption that direct negotiations with its foe are a concession, when this may be the only way of moving forward. With Washington, Tokyo, Seoul and Pyongyang all locked into policies which are likely to change little until new leaders emerge, however, Beijing’s is the government to watch...