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China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea launches wartime alert
2006-07-19
North Korea has launched a wartime alert, putting its armed forces and nationals in a state of a war mobilization, an unconfirmed news report said here Wednesday. Kim Jong-Il, head of the communist country, issued an order to that effect hours before the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's missile tests last week, said the Joongang daily, quoting an unnamed government source. North Korean soldiers on leave were told to return to their barracks, camouflage nettings were being draped on military vehicles and weapons, and people were prohibited from entering the countryside, the source said.
Posted by:DanNY

#16  The masts and service are in China near the NK border. Kimmie, in a fit of paranoia, shut off all NK cell phone service (such as it was).
Posted by: ed   2006-07-19 16:06  

#15  Send in Alec Baldwin to negotiate!
Posted by: usmc6743   2006-07-19 15:51  

#14  Does this mean he's keeping the Chinese trains?
Posted by: tu3031   2006-07-19 15:15  

#13  How do the Norks use cellphones - surely there aren't that many masts in North Korea?
Posted by: Tony (UK)   2006-07-19 15:13  

#12  Maybe Kimmie has a valid reason for going on Alert. The Chicom repo man is coming for his Chicom trains that Kimmie abscounded with.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Nikolaevsk, Alaska   2006-07-19 15:01  

#11  Aa Kimmy demurs, wishing for the days where he clicked glasses with MADam Albright.
Posted by: Captain America   2006-07-19 14:33  

#10  The worst source of outside news is the Chinese-Korean trade along the border with China. Lots of cheap junk from NorKor gets taken north to China and traded for food, medicine, clothing, and the like. Plus when people come back, they talk about what China is like. Also the NorKors are having problems keeping Chinese cellphones out of North Korea, and people are able to get info using them especially the ones with Chinese Internet access.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2006-07-19 12:49  

#9  Sounds like he's creating the fiction of an outside threat in order to keep everyone in his little fifedom in line.

You gotta wonder what some of the soldiers think when they hear how propserous S. Korea is. I mean they have FOOD! They have [non-militant] music! TV! iPods! Internet!

They can't block all the news from outside. Wasn't there a bit about smuggled phones, CD players, etc.. awhile back?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2006-07-19 11:34  

#8  The Sea of Japan. Apparently Kim finds it pretty threatening. :-)
Posted by: Throluger Croling6954   2006-07-19 11:11  

#7  Who they planning to attack, I wonder?
Posted by: mojo   2006-07-19 11:04  

#6  Launch an alert?? Most countries would Issue an alert. I have to wonder if it was as effective as his missle launch.
Posted by: DonM   2006-07-19 10:37  

#5  He sooo ronery.
Posted by: newc   2006-07-19 08:41  

#4  I recently read an assesment of estimated casualties from an invasion by NKOR. It was something like 500,000 in just a few days. Would that not warrant a nuclear deterrent of our own? Our nukes are proven and our missiles are very reliable, their guidance systems super accurate. If we launched, it would hit and explode. He hasn't even proved he has nukes, just the shit to make them.
Posted by: Flolunter Clemp1012   2006-07-19 08:21  

#3  What is it with these tinhorn dictators? The moment we shift our view to someone else, they throw a hissy fit, demanding to be the center of our attention. Also, Kimmy Boy better be careful : we may have 140000 or so troops committed to the ME, but that still leaves most of the US Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force free to inflict grevious bodily injury when and where necessary.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2006-07-19 03:03  

#2  Guess the Enterprise moving into town, kinda got his attention!
Posted by: Sherry   2006-07-19 00:34  

#1  Look at me! Look at ME!

I'm an attention whore!
Posted by: CrazyFool   2006-07-19 00:06  

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