N. Korea Warns Of "Merciless" Retaliation

Regime Ups Rhetoric After Obama's "Grave Threat" Warning; Long-Range Missile Test Preparations Reported

(CBS/AP)  North Korea warned Wednesday of a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the U.S. and its allies if provoked, the latest threat in a drumbeat of rhetoric in defense of its rogue nuclear program.

Japanese and South Korean news reports said North Korea is preparing an additional site for test-firing a long-range missile capable of striking the U.S.

The warning of a military strike, carried by the North's state media, came hours after President Obama declared North Korea a "grave threat" to the world, and pledged that recent U.N. sanctions on the communist regime will be aggressively enforced.

Mr. Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met in Washington Tuesday for a landmark summit in which the two leaders agreed to build a regional and global "strategic alliance" to persuade North Korea to dismantle all its nuclear weapons.

South Korea's president is a hard-liner who has always insisted that under no circumstances can North Korea be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported that on Tuesday, President Obama took just as hard a line on the reclusive regime.

Pyongyang claims its nuclear bombs are a deterrence against the United States and accuses Washington of plotting with Seoul to topple its leadership - led by the unpredictable dictator Kim Jong Il who is reportedly preparing to hand over power to his 26-year-old youngest son.

"If the U.S. and its followers infringe upon our republic's sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a one hundred- or one thousand-fold retaliation with merciless military strike," the government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary.

The commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, also called Mr. Obama "a hypocrite" for advocating a nuclear-free world while making "frantic efforts" to develop new nuclear weapons at home.

"The nuclear program is not the monopoly of the U.S.," it said without mentioning the Obama-Lee summit.

Attention has been focused on North Korea since it conducted a nuclear test, its second, on May 25 in defiance of the United Nations. The U.N. Security Council responded by toughening an arms embargo, authorizing ship searches for nuclear and ballistic missile cargo and depriving the regime of the financing used to build its nuclear program.

South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported Wednesday that the North has begun withdrawing money from its bank accounts in the Chinese territory of Macau and elsewhere, for fear they would be frozen under the U.N. sanctions.

Separately, Japan's Sankei newspaper said Wednesday that the North has been showing signs of preparing two sites, one on the northeastern coast and one on the northwestern coast, from where a long-range missile could be launched.

It was earlier thought that any launch would come only from the northwest.

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper also carried a similar report Wednesday, quoting an unidentified government official as saying that a special train that carried a long-range missile to the northwestern site has recently moved to the northeastern site.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, Finance Ministry and the National Intelligence Service said they could not confirm the reports on money withdrawals or on the long-range missiles, which ostensibly can carry a nuclear warhead.

North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs. It revealed last week that it is also producing enriched uranium. The two materials are key ingredients for making atomic bombs.

The recent moves by North Korea have effectively brought to a halt the so-called six-party talks aimed at giving North Korea fuel and other benefits in exchange for dismantling its nuclear program. The talks involved the two Koreas, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.

Mr. Obama said the U.S. is more than willing to negotiate with North Korea to bring peace on the Korean peninsula.

"But belligerent, provocative behavior that threatens neighbors will be met with significant and serious enforcement of sanctions that are in place," he said.

Pentagon officials also warned Tuesday that North Korea's missiles could strike the U.S. within three years if its weapons growth goes unchecked.

Some analysts believe that the North's rhetoric is aimed at showing people at home that their government can defy the powerful U.S., and giving credit for it to Kim's reported heir apparent, Kim Jong Un. The analysts say this would make Jong Un's ascent to the top acceptable to the North Koreans.

[saturday8pm]

Wot's the littlest shrimp gonna do now? Bite me ankles?

[rf35]

I got two words for ya: preemptive strike.

[saturday8pm]

Yeah, THAT'LL work. Let's steal the shrimp's sandbox instead.

[bajajohn1]

The real test will come when the first North Korean ship is agressively rerouted on the high seas. Then if North Korea unleashes its military against our South Korean installations and/or allies in the region, any U.S. military response must not be classified as a "police action."

[quapawsix]

An agreement at the close of WWII between the winning powers decided how the post war world was to be divided up and how each country occupy occupied land, The Soviet Union took North Korea notice how like Stalinist like there society is with dear leader or Uncle Joseph and their good buddies China who's their best friends question why aren't they dealing with this it's their mess not ours

[CLoverNYC1]

Call his bluff.

[specialty8]

Enough is enough! It is time for Jimmy Carter and Obama to get on Ego Force One and head over and have a talk with this guy. That should shake him up.

[onesword]

Keep eyes on them but be ready to defend our nation. Other than that let the UN handle it.

[hhhjerry]

We need to shoot down the next test missile. Should that fail to get the attention of the North, they need to be removed from the Korean Peninsula.

[davcor2]

There won't be any mushroom clouds in North America coming from North Korea. The regime is not as dumb as they act. They only want to sell their bombs to the idiots that want to destroy Israel and the U.S.. If you read what kind of bombs they've been able to develope, they still don't have anything as strong as the bomb used on Hiroshima. . . . Do you honestly believe they can win any confrontation with 2 million semi starving military with no support from China or Russia ?

[TheMasses0003]

YIKES!

[kdmontana]

Are county is just going to sit on there hands. All we are going to do threaten. and n.k. will keep building missiles. now is the time to take action. stop talking. Our county needs GOD back in schools. And in our court houses. stop taking God out of everything.

The leaders of such as small country must be on a suicide mission to try and provoke the U.S. And I seriously doubt that the Chinese would involve themselves with having to fight the U.S. simply because their economy would seriously suffer if we pull all our business dealings with them.

Think about it, lots and lots of things that we buy today comes from China. Would they be crazy enough to bite the hand that helps support them? Also, you can be sure that North Korea and Japan would join the U.S. if it comes to a war with NK since it would be in their best interest to do so.

[TheMasses0003]

And tell us what MacArthur's,"master plan",was.

Did it have anything to do with carpet bombing China?
------------------------
Why yes - and Russia too!
Those nutty Bolsheviks!

[TheMasses0003]

As Chumg Lo Chu once said, "DeNang!"

[gravyboat3000]

by ltk01 June 17, 2009 8:20 AM PDT
General MacArthur during the Korean conflict was set to solve this current problem some 50+ years ago...but, our paid for politicos had him "fired" and sent back to the USA...so now, today, 50+ years later, we sit and wait for a mushroom cloud over one of our cities, like LA, SFO, NYC, etc...then,do you think, just maybe, the people will finally act and throw all the self-serving-political-bums out of our government?...have a nice day.

And tell us what MacArthur's,"master plan",was.

Did it have anything to do with carpet bombing China?

[tautomer]

Oh good! It's another strawman "crisis" from which Big Daddy Obama can "rescue us"! Thank God we have this magic man saving us from sure catastrophe!!! Otherwise whatever would we do? Thank You, Big Daddy Oobama!!!

[stevex47]

Ya, at least North Korea never threatened or talked tought during the boosh administration.

[parisdakar]

Sure, we could probably stomp NK into the dirt. But if other nations come to their aid, say China, or Russia, or both, then what? Not such a cakewalk anymore, hmm? Then, how many countries would love take advantage of us being tangled up with a NK/China/Russia war? Maybe Chavez sends up some ships & planes to attack Miami? How thin can we stretch ourselves? At the same time, key middle eastern countries start cutting back oil production to choke us a bit. All kinds of big mess could happen.

[OLEANDER_]

The North Koreans are brainwashed. The sad part about all this is the army of NK has no idea of the suicide mission this will be.

[underdogus09]

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE AN ENEMY....

[underdogus09]

and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. ( Rev.6:4).

The man on the red horse is galloping through the world right now!
Red horse=communist countries.....yaikes!