North Korea A "Stumbling Block" To Peace

(AP)  Top U.S. and South Korean defense officials met Friday for talks expected to focus on heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the North a "stumbling block" to world peace and security.

Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy's trip to Seoul came as the U.S. sought international support for aggressively enforcing a U.N. sanctions resolution aimed at punishing Pyongyang for its second nuclear test last month.

North Korea has in response escalated threats of war, with a slew of harsh rhetoric including warnings that it would unleash a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" and "wipe out the (U.S.) aggressors" in the event of a conflict.

On Thursday, the communist regime organized a massive anti-American rally in Pyongyang where some 100,000 participants vowed to "crush" the U.S. One senior speaker told the crowd that the North will respond to any sanctions or U.S. provocations with "an annihilating blow."

That was seen as a pointed threat as an American destroyer shadowed a North Korean freighter sailing off China's coast, possibly with banned goods on board on its way to Myanmar. The North Korean-flagged ship, Kang Nam 1, is the first to be tracked under the U.N. resolution.

Flournoy's Asia trip, which already took her to Beijing and Tokyo, also followed signs that North Korea is gearing up to test-fire short- or medium-range missiles in violation of the U.N. resolution. Pyongyang has issued a no-sail zone in waters off its east coast, effective from Thursday through July 10.

South Korean officials refused to give details of Flournoy's talks with South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, saying it was an unofficial meeting. But Flournoy was scheduled to speak to a group of South Korean reporters later in the day.

President Lee criticized the North for "threatening compatriots with nuclear weapons and missiles." The regime is a "stumbling block to world peace and security," Lee said in a speech read by one of his aides at a ceremony marking the death of a renowned independence fighter.

It is not clear what was on board the North Korean freighter, but officials have mentioned artillery and other conventional weaponry. One intelligence expert suspected missiles.

The U.S. and its allies have made no decision on whether to request inspection of the ship, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday in Washington, but North Korea has said it would consider any interception an act of war.

If permission for inspection is refused, the ship must dock at a port of its choosing so local authorities can check its cargo. Vessels suspected of carrying banned goods must not be offered bunkering services at port, such as fuel, the resolution says.

A senior U.S. defense official said the ship had cleared the Taiwan Strait. He said he didn't know whether or when the Kang Nam may need to stop in some port to refuel, but that the Kang Nam has in the past stopped in Hong Kong's port.

Another U.S. defense official said he tended to doubt reports that the Kang Nam was carrying nuclear-related equipment, saying information seems to indicate the cargo is banned conventional munitions. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to talk about intelligence.

North Korea is suspected to have transported banned goods to Myanmar before on the Kang Nam, said Bertil Lintner, a Bangkok-based North Korea expert who has written a book about leader Kim Jong Il.

[mcintoshlou]

Jenny Sanford opens up to the AP in an incredible, must-read interview about Mark Sanford and her repeated attempts to save their marriage.

SULLIVANS ISLAND, S.C. ? South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford sat in her oceanfront living room Friday, recalling how her husband repeatedly asked permission to visit his lover in the months after she discovered his affair.

"I said absolutely not. It's one thing to forgive adultery; it's another thing to condone it," Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press during a 20-minute interview at the coastal home where she sought refuge with their four sons. They were her first extended comments on the affair.

..."He was told in no uncertain terms not to see her," she said in a strong, steady voice. "I was hoping he was on the Appalachian Trail. But I was not worried about his safety. I was hoping he was doing some real soul searching somewhere and devastated to find out it was Argentina. It's tragic."

[mcintoshlou]

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Gov. Mark Sanford's admission to an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina has sparked a debate within the backchannels of the GOP over how strongly the party should emphasize morality and religion going forward.

For decades, the GOP has used issues like respect for the sanctity of marriage and the notion of family values as a key component of its political platform and a point of divergence between Republicans and Democrats. A series of sex scandals involving high-ranking officials, however, has drastically altered that equation. And now some strategists are questioning whether the party should rethink the way it emphasizes these matters.

"It creates a very interesting tension for Republicans because they understand that there is a very interesting constituency that they have to appeal to, particularly in places like South Carolina, by resorting to that kind of moral values rhetoric,


REPUBLI'CON's A STUMBLING BLOCK TO HUMANITY

[mcintoshlou]

right wing nazi's abound the place

republi'con's really

speaking is a LIAR, a true karl Rove RepubliCON

[mcintoshlou]

a stumbling block?

that would be the republicon/conservative party of the united states

really just anti american nazi's

[speakinup22]

troll

[indivthinker]

by windmaster2 June 26, 2009 9:23 AM PDT
Frankly I think half the Problem/Solution
Is for the USA to stop playing self appointed World Cop
Everyone knows Kim is Nuts
Let the UN Mandate be enforced by the Russians or the Chinese

You know, that is the SAME rhetoric that the isolationists used to talk about Hitler. "Let England and France deal with him." Yet we know what happened. Hitler, a madman like Kim, ended up invading Europe, and the ONLY thing that saved Europe and the world from German occupation was the United States. The United States supplied the British with weapons and pilots. The United States supplied the French resistance. The United States supplied the Soviet Union with money and weapons. But that wasn't enough. We were eventually forced into the war by Japan, but if we weren't, we would speaking German right now. Why? Because Germany was a generation of planes and weapons ahead of the rest of the world, and it is very likely that if they had finished off England or even lasted a couple more years in the war because America had not joined, they could have developed a NUKE before the United States did. A nuke in the hands of a madman would have spelled the end of civilization as we know it.

North Korea, on the other hand, ALREADY has the nukes. They have vowed to use them against us. They have sold technology to Syria and Iran. In the past they have launched a full scale invasion of an ally (and killing tens of thousands of Americans too). They have defied sanction after sanction, building up their military for a final showdown. They have spent more money on their defense, when hundreds of thousands of their people are starving or eating rice patties and dirt. They have the fourth largest army in the world, nukes, and an insane leader.

Expecting China (North Korea's biggest ally) and Russia (which could care less) about it is hopeless, which means that the other two countries in the region, Japan and South Korea, must deal with North Korea. Japan, under law (put in place by the United States), cannot have an offensive army. South Korea relies heavily on our forces to defend her, much less deal with an army four times her size.

So tell me, WHO, other than the United States, can and WILL stand up to North Korea?

[CLoverNYC1]

Instead of wasting time playing oh-yeah-says-you with Ahmadinejad, President Obama would be wise to focus on engaging nations who would be willing to form a coalition blockade of the Kang Nam indefinitely.

Everybody knows Kim doesn't want war with the US. He wants to sell his nukes to the highest bidder. He's in this for the money, and he's willing to starve his people to fulfill his nuclear ambitions.

If we join with other nations to launch an embargo, Kim Jung Il will ratchet up his rhetoric, but he can't nuke everybody.

[thusspokezara]

Dear Great Leader of North Korea. As I am sure you have noticed, Mr. Obama has the spine of a jelly fish. He is easily cowed and intimidated. You have nothing to fear from him. Feel free to continue your provocative behavior. I bet the only thing he will do is "bear witness."

[dartplayer501]

Try telling that to the three Somalis he had shot by the Seals. Sometimes walking softly a carrying a big stick is better than stomping in guns blazing and then being bankrupted by a bunch of *********** with RPG's.

[mcintoshlou]

world war three, yep that is just what we need

[BillFHM3C]

Didn't Kadaffi (sp) rant the same rhetoric? Haven't heard from him in decades. Too bad Obama doesn't have the cajones to "Kadaffi" this lunatic.

[dartplayer501]

Actually Khaddafi has become some sort of Richard Nixon to the Arab world - he's gone from outcast to senior statesman. Even GWB liked him.

[pepperwood2]

North Korea A "Stumbling Block" To Peace - As Pyongyang Threatens Missile Test, S. Korea Slams Regime; U.S. Seeks More Support For U.N. Sanctions.

A Stumbling Block for BO & Our Brilliant SOS! Just remember the Rest of The World is Watching. UN, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela as Well as Our Allies. So pathetic!

[ToolMangler1]

"Just remember the Rest of The World is Watching. UN, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela as Well as Our Allies. So pathetic!"



So why doesn't "The rest of the world" step up and do something. They all leave everything to America to handle and then step up and call us names for trying. We are "NOT" the worlds 'Policeman'. Quit waiting for us to do it. They can see the trouble as well as we can, so shut up and "Step up" to the plate......