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| Korea |
| U.S. Suspects North Korea Moved Ahead on Weapons |
| 2003-05-08 |
| After assuring the White House for months that North Korea had not begun producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, American intelligence officials changed their assessment last month, concluding that the country may have produced relatively small amounts, according to senior administration and intelligence officials. The new assessment was delivered to the White House in mid-April, after President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, ordered a review of the intelligence. A little more than a week later, North Korean officials, meeting with the United States in Beijing, boasted that they had already turned 8,000 spent nuclear-fuel rods into weapons-grade material, and strongly hinted they would export it unless they struck a deal with the United States. Intelligence officials say they believe that the North Korean claim was an exaggeration, intended to extract concessions from Mr. Bush, who said late last month he would not give in to what he has termed "blackmail." But his aides remain divided about what blend of incentives and threats to use in dealing with the government of Kim Jong Il. Mr. Bush's top foreign policy advisers met today to review their next steps on North Korea, with some officials at the Pentagon urging that Mr. Bush move vigorously to intercept missiles and illicit drugs being shipped out of the country. Those exports create much of the hard currency that the North uses to finance its nuclear program. At the same time, officials say they are likely to engage in a second round of talks with North Korea. That is partly to satisfy China, which has become a major player in pressuring the North to dismantle its nuclear facilities. The changed assessment reflects the inexact nature of intelligence about North Korea. But the possibility that the North is already reprocessing nuclear material — and thus could soon begin producing weapons beyond the two the C.I.A. believes it manufactured more than a decade ago — is bound to change the tenor of Mr. Bush's meetings in the next two weeks with the leaders of South Korea and Japan. "It means we don't have forever to solve this problem," one senior American official said. (con't see link) |
| Posted by:Anonymous |
| #4 Fred - Your last comment, and the reply you gave to Dar yesterday, made me wonder, "do you know what you have here?" I mean, isn't 20k hits/day worth something? (no, I don't have a product, wish I did) This has gotta be expensive. But there is no other place like this. You should ramping UP, not thinking about less hits. -The format is ingenious - playing off the pundits, saves having to pay 'em -It is user-friendly - even trogs like me can add 2 cents (all right - one cent! sheesh!) -You got the proper doctrine - conservatism IS the wave - heck, we're RIGHT -You're funny - online, only Ott is funnier -Your regulars are as sharp as Fray's - plus they're RIGHT (read: correct) -People come back - there's more truth on these pages than in most churches I've been in This has got to equal = Bank! Blogs are possibly the last bastion of true journalism. And you are on the bleeding edge. (as seen on Lehrer Newshour, fer cryin out loud) What you have rivals Slate for moxie and far outshines them in truth. (their agenda is a dead horse - your's can carry YOU) Slate just went into the black. There has gotta be corporations salivating to have a stab at 20k hits. And no one here is gonna mind a few ads. Place a few tastefuls, go down to Geeks-R-Us and get a master (it's a buyer's market) and you do your comment thing. I don't know what you do for a living - but unless you're minister of the gospel (a real, called one) I doubt whether you're doing anything as important as this. THIS is impact. Do you know what's in your hands? |
| Posted by: Scott 2003-05-08 15:37:37 |
| #3 Marmot---do you want to borrow my Nuclear Blast Effects Computer circular slide rule, just to be sure? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-05-08 11:31:08 |
| #2 Gotta watch those hit counters. They can get expensive... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-05-08 10:35:51 |
| #1 The South Korean press is also reporting increased activity at the Yongbyon nuclear facility (actually, they were citing a NYT report). I can only hope that Pyongyang is not serious about selling nuclear material, or else we could have a potentially ugly situation on our hands. On the bright side, I live way outside of any potential blast radius, and I never really liked Seoul all that much to begin with. PS: Much thanks to whoever posted my report from a couple of days ago here at Rantburg. Not only was I personally honored, but my hit counter really appreciated it. |
| Posted by: The Marmot 2003-05-08 09:56:37 |