USA - Pre-emptive strike imminent on N. Korea

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/29/china-and-russia-have-responsibility-for-north-korea-nuclear-threat-says-us

The United States has accused China and Russia of bearing “unique and special responsibility” for North Korea’s “belligerent” pursuit of nuclear weapons, after Pyongyang tested its latest ballistic missile.

North Korea conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test late on Friday in what it called a warning to the “beast-like US imperialists”. It came less than a month after its first such experiment, on 4 July.

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The test-launch sent “a grave warning to the US” that it “would not go scot-free if it dares provoke” the North, Pyongyang’s official news agency, KCNA, said in a statement.

“If the Yankees brandish the nuclear stick on this land again despite our repeated warnings, we will clearly teach them manners,” KCNA warned.

The news agency described Pyongyang’s weapons programs as a “precious strategic asset that cannot be bartered for anything” and an indication of the country’s “tremendous might”.

The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, hit back on Saturday, describing North Korea’s launch as a “blatant violation” of multiple UN security council resolutions.

Tillerson also pointed the finger of blame at Beijing and Moscow.

“As the principal economic enablers of North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development program, China and Russia bear unique and special responsibility for this growing threat to regional and global stability,” he said in a statement.

Tillerson’s comments are sure to anger Russia and China. Earlier this month Beijing rejected claims from US president Donald Trump that it had a responsibility to do more to rein in its ally. “I think this either shows lack of a full, correct knowledge of the issue, or there are ulterior motives for it, trying to shift responsibility,” Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters.

On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry made no reference to Tillerson’s comments but called on Pyongyang “to respect United Nations security council resolutions and stop all acts that could worsen tensions on the Korean peninsula”.

China also “urged all the relevant parties to act with caution” to prevent the situation from escalating, the ministry added, parroting previous language on the issue.


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Bonnie Glaser, the director of the China power project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) thinktank in Washington, said Kim Jong-un’s latest test – of a missile some experts said had the capacity to reach New York – would increase Chinese fears of a US strike against the North.

“I suspect that the Chinese are going to be worried about the possibility of a US military strike on North Korea going forward … The Chinese can’t rule out the Trump ‘unpredictability’ factor,” she said.

Last week the US’s top military officer told a security forum in Aspen, Colorado that conflict with North Korea was not “unimaginable”.

“What’s unimaginable to me is allowing a capability that would allow a nuclear weapon to land in Denver, Colorado – that’s unimaginable to me. And so my job will be to develop military options to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Gen Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Glaser said it was hard to predict whether Trump’s White House was genuinely pondering such military options, which might include attempting to destroy a North Korean missile on the launch pad before it it was fired. But following Friday’s test, calls for a return to negotiations appeared increasingly unrealistic. “Diplomacy seems very unlikely at present.”

Jeffrey Lewis, a North Korea specialist at the Middlebury institute of international studies, said he believed a military strike against North Korea had become unthinkable in the light of the ICBM tests, which showed Pyongyang could hit targets on US soil by launching missiles from unexpected locations and at unexpected times.

“The North Koreans wanted to demonstrate that ... if there was a war they could definitely launch [missiles] in the dead of night from some place we don’t expect so we wouldn’t have a chance to fire at them before they got off the ground.”

“What I think this changes is that it forces the US to confront something that we have said for a long-time is unacceptable … [that] they can target New York and LA and there is not much we can do about it.”

“The window for [military action] has closed. People are jumping up and down and screaming [in Washington] not because they are getting ready to attack but because they don’t really have that option any more and they accept that it has gone,” Lewis added.

“Attacking a nuclear-armed state is usually a bad idea - which is why countries build nuclear weapons. That is kind of the appeal.”

I thought USA had defence missile system ?

We should just talk to them and it will all be sorted out over a cup of tea.

You have reassured me....I have cancelled my bunker order.

Leopard

If there ever is a War no doubt it would start in the Daily Mail and spread from there.

Sounds like a bunker?

population of north korea=24 million(its a joke)

Nothing will happen, American learned there lesson in Vietnam. Don't pluck with the South East Asians.

There's also no oil there.

But North Korea's retaliation would be devastating for the region with their hidden nuclear missles, they could wipe out Tokyo and Seoul in a heartbeat. China would also not want millions of refugees pouring over it's border, would cause a monumental humanitarian crises.

Only way it could happen is simply if kim was actually stupid enough to launch an attack of any kind, it wont happen, these tests are just a show of strength  to the North Korean people, to reinforce his power, not that he needs to, the people there are too scared to even blink.

Got to feel sorry for the NK people

they have been subjected to systematic brainwashing for decades by power crazed nutjobs

You can't just nuke millions of innocent people

Need to cut off the head of the monster

The people will then rise up against they system and smash it

With Trump as president . If would make him the greatest president since Roosevelt.

At last...the voice of reason !

The US anti missile systems are designed to hit them mid flight or on reentry, as with say russians etc you couldn't get them at launch as it's a huge country and they had subs. But until NK gets subs, it's a small country to launch from? If I were in the US I'd be looking at a defence system that gets them at launch, when they are slow and vulnerable, and line these defences up on the border / in ships offshore. Far easier to hit a rocket with a huge very trackable flare on the bottom going 200mph at 5000ft trying to accelerate than one doing 3000mph coming down from 300 miles up..!

Pakistan, Iran and North Korea did a great job in getting nuclear tech. Pakistan does an even better job as it allies itself with the West and profits both ways. All 3 of these countries would have been bombed to dust long time ago, as American has bombed countries for lesser crimes than these 3 have committed.

One good thing about Europe going down is that people will realize exactly the type of people we were liberating with America. They now experience first hand who these people are. Im sure people won't buy the 'we have a moral duty to liberate them' or 'we need to help the oppressed' crap before we invade someone. Same with North Korea. How their people have been oppressed should be none of our concern. It doesn't justify invading or bombing them.

How imminent is imminent please?

the yanks have just opened a new base in south korea which holds 45,000 soldiers,a small town eve really,schools,church"s fast food outlets,even a golf course, not sure why as they can hardly invade the north now

A North Korean missile that looked dangerous would be shot down.

North Korea still has regular launch failures; would they risk accidentally nuking their own country?

They must understand that if they did attack they'd undoubtedly be destroyed in the retaliation.  Their leadership isn't suicidal like muslims.

Everything North Korea does is to make Kim Jong-un look strong to his own people.  They'll keep attacking the sea but they'd never initiate an actual conflict.

looks like a go for attacking north korea.

china , you had your chance to resolve this peacefully?

it's all fake. the chinese and the americans and the koreans all have the same boss.
he owns the bankers and the secretive groups across the globe.
sets up fake conflicts to keep control of the whole world.

the Venezuela experiment of beating down people who gain self control is
an example of what they want for us all.

it's leading to everyone being personally attacked in some way as the year progresses.
financially, spiritually, through health or upturning of norms.

October is the summit.

(Hi to Crags ! btw....post something on the orange you tube thread )