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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| The NorthÂ’s nuclear test card |
| 2006-08-19 |
| It has always been a question of timing, and it has been expected. The experts predicted it would be the next step in PyongyangÂ’s playbook. In a North Korean foreign ministry statement on July 16, it responded to the United Nations Security CouncilÂ’s resolution by declaring it would use "all means and methods" to strengthen its "war deterrent," reconfirming its intention to take what it has previously called "stronger physical action" if the U.S. and others attempt to pressure it over its missile tests. A similar warning of what could come happened on July 5, local time, when the missile test took place. In its statement on June 1, PyongyangÂ’s foreign ministry said that it would take "unavoidable, extremely strong measures" if the U.S. intensifies what the North calls hostility and pressure. In that sense, the current activity involving vehicles and large reels of cable at Punggye-ri, Kilchu-gun, North Hamgyong Province, when compared to the first signs Pyongyang would attempt a missile launch, make it seem like the North might eventually follow through with a nuclear test. Movement in the mountainous area of Kilchu-gun that could be related to a nuclear test is nothing new. In April 2003, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, referring to activity there, said that moves towards a nuclear test are a "serious concern for the international community." It was the first time the U.S. officially suggested the possibility of North Korean nuclear test. Movement suspected of being potentially related to a nuclear test have been spotted in the Kilchu area sporadically since the summer of 2004. According to U.S. intelligence officials, the North was at one point making a deliberate effort to engage in "all activities" related to a test, including the building of an observation platform and the filling in of the entrance to a tunnel. That activity stopped in June 2005, perhaps because of the U.S.-South Korea summit on June 10, the meeting between Kim Jong-il and Chung Dong-young on June 17, and the resumption of the six-party talks. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Think we could put a cruise missile into the opening of that underground test site? "Luke, use the force..." |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-08-19 19:15 |