For Steam Driven: North Korea War Drums

[BoomerPete]

Following up on the comments regarding North Korea a couple days ago this was reported in today's Globe & Mail:

N. Korea next to hear U.S. war drum

By GEOFFREY YORK

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Beijing — A senior Pentagon adviser has given details of a war strategy for invading North Korea and toppling its regime within 30 to 60 days, adding muscle to a lobbying campaign by U.S. hawks urging a pre-emptive military strike against Pyongyang's nuclear facilities.

Less than four months after the end of the Iraq war, the war drums in Washington have begun pounding again. A growing number of influential U.S. leaders are talking openly of military action against North Korea to destroy its nuclear-weapons program, and even those who prefer negotiations are warning of the mounting danger of war.

....

Military conflict in the Korean peninsula could trigger a catastrophe, not only because of the suspected presence of nuclear bombs in North Korea, but also because of the 11,000 North Korean artillery weapons along the border that could inflict death and destruction on millions of people in the South Korean capital, Seoul, which is within artillery range of the North's guns.

....

The plan would include 4,000 daily air strikes against North Korean targets , the deployment of cruise missiles and stealth aircraft to destroy the Yongbyon nuclear plant and other nuclear facilities, the stationing of U.S. Marine forces off the coasts of North Korea to threaten a land attack on Pyongyang, the deployment of two additional U.S. Army divisions to bolster South Korean troops in a land offensive against North Korea, and the call-up of National Guard and Reserve units to replace U.S. combat forces that are currently bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

....

Mr. Woolsey and Lt.-Gen. McInerney said the U.S. should already be preparing "to assess realistically what it would take to conduct a successful military operation to change the North Korean regime. "

They acknowledged the risk that U.S. military strikes could trigger an explosion of radiation from North Korean nuclear plants, along with massive artillery attacks against Seoul by the North Korean heavy guns that are hidden in hardened underground bunkers on the border.

But U.S. cruise missiles and stealth aircraft could launch precision bombing attacks that would "minimize radiation leakage" at Yongbyon, while also sealing shut the underground bunkers where the artillery pieces are hidden, they said.

....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030806.ukore0807/BNStory/International/

Kim Jong Il's fears of a US invasion of North Korea are obviously quite well founded, and given the overwhelming superiority of the US's conventional forces is it any wonder that the only viable response KJI can see is nuclear armaments?

Can you believe that 9 months have passed without any credible attempts at negotiation on the US side simply because they refuse to meet the North Koreans one on one?

It would seem that there are those within the Pentagon (and presumably the Administration) who think that regime change in North Korea can be effected principally by the use of air power. It also appears that they accept that this could be worthwhile even at the cost of millions of of Korean lives and possible nuclear or radiological explosions on the Korean peninsula.

It should also be considered that at present 19 of the US Army's 21 divisions are tasked and hence it would be impossible for the US to provide a force of occupation or assistance should the North Korean regime be toppled. The humanitarian disaster that would befall North and South Koreans alike if something like what is being proposed in this article came to pass is truly unimaginable.

[Guest JakeYYZ]

China Getting Ready for Severe Blitzkrieg

by Vasily Bubnov

Pravda (RU)

08/01/2003 17:47

Many experts say that the North Korean conflict is not a conflict between Pyongyang and Washington, but a large-scale diplomatic game between China and the USA with a view of gaining control over the Korean Peninsula.

Analysts from the Pentagon think that Chinese are getting ready for a military operation against Taiwan. Beijing is speedily increasing the missile potential of its armed forces and increases the army budget. The Pentagon says the main factor of this alleged operation must be "unexpectedness, cunning and shock". They also add that Chinese may use their missiles against the US base on Okinawa in case if the USA decides to help Taiwan.

The US Department of Defense thinks that making preparations for a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is becoming the key driving force of military modernization of China. For the time being, China holds 450 short-range missiles, but it is expected to increase its missile potential by 75 missiles per year. At that, the Pentagon emphasizes that China has improved the operating performance and the precision of its missiles.

It is quite natural that Beijing will immediately react to this harsh statement in its address. Especially that the Chinese leadership already declared several times that it would seek peaceful settlement of the Taiwan problem. However, it is not clear why the Pentagon published the report now when US Undersecretary of State John Bolton is making a tour about China, South Korea and Japan. Bolton's tour is dedicated to the North Korea problem settlement. At first, the US undersecretary of state left for Beijing; as is known, China is one of the key figures in solution of the problem. Washington certainly needs China's support and assistance to be a success with solution of the problem...

It is strange that reports on the results of negotiations in Beijing just mention that North Korea, as John Bolton says, "disagrees with the US's suggestions concerning the N.Korean nuclear program." We should say here that Washington is ready to provide North Korea with economic aid and security guarantees only in case if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear program.

However that may be but to all appearances Bolton's visit to Beijing brought no results. Obviously for this very reason the US undersecretary of state said upon arrival to Seoul that Kim Jong-il was a tyrant and the life of ordinary Koreans was "a hellish nightmare". In a word, he sounded rather undiplomatic. North Koreans will certainly dislike Bolton's statements, although the man is widely known for his inclination to pronounce such words.

According to Chinese mass media, in the evening of July 30 Chairman of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush had a telephone conversation. In addition to common phrases on strengthening of mutual trust and progress in the cooperation, both parties also touched upon the North Korean problem. It is unlikely that details of the discussion will ever be published. The Chinese newspaper People's Daily only reported: "Both leaders exchanged their opinions about peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear problem through a dialogue." Nothing more was reported there on the subject.

Many experts say that the North Korean conflict is not a conflict between Pyongyang and Washington, but a large-scale diplomatic game between China and the USA with a view of gaining control over the Korean Peninsula. So, now we should focus not upon the possibility of a war with North Korea but upon the possibility of a conflict between the USA and China. If the countries fall out, it is not clear what consequences may occur.

It is not ruled out that the recent statement by the Pentagon is just an episode of this game. Is there anyone who seriously believes that China may deliver a missile attack against Okinawa? Mind that the economic relations between the two countries will be seriously damaged as a result of such an attack. Both, the USA and China will suffer if the relations are stopped. So, the game will continue further, and it may reveal lots of interesting details in the future.

[Steam Driven]

Your quote:

Personally I have never been so concerned for the survival of tolerance, justice and the principles of democracy as I am at this moment. The worst part of it is that I don't fear the declared or undeclared enemies of our ideals half as much as I fear those who would undermine all the precepts we've built our nations upon in the guise of our own self-defence.

You are far more learned on the issues involving the Korea’s than I. I yield the floor to you on this point. However, we do not read of suicide bombers blowing up busloads of people on their way to work in S. Korea every day. We do not see children heaving rocks at armed S. Korean tanks and personnel. North Korea has not set up religious factions bent on destroying and erradicating the S. Koreans. K.J.I does not reward the families of "Martyr's" with paycheques.

That, I put to you, is stable, as compared to the middle East.

You, “ fear those who would undermine all the precepts we've built our nations upon in the guise of our own self-defence...”

We are in part agreement here. I too fear those who would undermine and destroy our nations and our way of life. However, I do not feel it is the Government of the U.S. that is the destroyer. We in the West in our open and free society, allow and encourage people from all walks of life to enter our country and participate in our version of democracy.

We are so open and tolerant that we allow people and groups who are the very antithesis of our open society to speak out, lobby and gain a political voice to spread their intolerance.

How do we as a society keep our way of life, our tolerance, when we are allowing the groups that preach intolerance to permeate our culture? The U.S. is attempting to curb those that would destroy the freedoms that were fought for by our forbears.

We in Canada are only recently have we rendered membership in certain groups (Hamas) illegal. Is it not ironic that we allow groups in this country to use the very freedom that our forbears fought for to spout their fundmentalist hate for our way of life?

Yes there are tensions on the Korean Penninsula. Yes it would be catstrophic for those tensions to boil over.

I feel there is still time, and an avenue of dialogue for the U.S., and I would hope other Nations to participate, and find common ground.

S.D.

[Guest frozinorth]

Straight from the horses a.., er, mouth. Here's the scoop from the Korean Central News agency (http://www.kcna.co.jp). This site's always good for a laugh, although it is scary to think that the North Koreans might actually believe some of the stuff printed there.

U.S. War Scenario against DPRK Assailed

Pyongyang, August 5 (KCNA) -- The "operation plan 5030" recently announced by the U.S. Department of Defense is a more concrete and outrageous war plan to invade the DPRK than the preceding "operation plan 5027", "operation plan 5027-98", and "operation plan 5027-contingency plan", says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article. It goes on:

The plan is aimed to make a preemptive attack on the DPRK among other things. The joint military exercise "Ulji Focus Lens" scheduled to be staged by the U.S. imperialists in south Korea from August 18 to 29 is an important part of the preparations for mounting a preemptive attack on the DPRK, pursuant to the "operation plan 5030."

They are accusing the DPRK of posing a nuclear threat in a bid to invent a pretext for a preemptive attack on it and the joint military maneuvre is a prelude to carry out the plan.

The final target of their plan is to topple the DPRK. In a nutshell, they seek to "bring it down" by a war as they did the Saddam Hussein regime and occupied Iraq by a war.

The U.S. finds itself in a difficult position after sustaining setbacks and getting worn out in face of the DPRK. The U.S. imperialists, however, are making desperate efforts to overthrow the DPRK at any cost. This is the aim of their "operation plan 5030", the finalized war scenario to invade the DPRK.

The politico-ideological and economic and military power of the DPRK is incomparably stronger than what was in the period of the last Korean War. They should clearly understand this and stop at once their reckless moves to put the plan into practice.