DTN News - COLD WAR ERA IMAGES: Fidel Castro In New York City, 1959

DTN News - COLD WAR ERA IMAGES: Fidel Castro In New York City, 1959

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources New York Daily News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - October 27, 2012: A Florida doctor claimed on Oct. 19 that Cuban strongman Fidel Castro had suffered a massive stroke that left him unable to speak, recognize anyone or fend for himself.  

As rumors gain strength that the reclusive leader may be on death’s door, we look back to an earlier era - before the Cuban Missle Crisis - when he toured New York City as a young man.

He came, he saw, he conquered. In 1959, Fidel Castro came to New York, hired a public relations firm, ate hot dogs, kissed ladies like a rock star, and held babies like a politician. Loved by some, hated by others, his trips to the Big Apple were galvanizing. 

Take a stroll through the News' archives ... Here, Gladys Feijoo, 19-year-old Miss La Prensa of 1959, kisses Fidel Castro as he signs his autograph for her collection on April 22, 1959.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources New York Daily News
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: North Korea (DPRK) Warns South Korea Against "Rash Acts"

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: North Korea (DPRK) Warns South Korea Against "Rash Acts"

** DPRK warns of war over U.S.-S Korea drill

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Xinhua

(NSI News Source Info) PYONGYANG, - December 5, 2010: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sunday urged South Korea to "stop acting rashly and ponder over the catastrophic consequences."

The warning was sent in a statement which the official KCNA news agency was authorized to release.

The KCNA reported that following the exchange of artillery fire between the DPRK and South Korea on Nov. 23 and last week's U.S.-South Korean naval drills, Seoul is planning large-scale combined naval maneuvers with the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Moreover, South Korea will stage firing exercises at 29 places including Taechong Island, one of the five islands very close to the DPRK territory, the KCNA said.

All the South Korean moves are aiming at making military provocations against the DPRK and implementing its so-called "retaliatory plan," the statement said.

The provocations are rapidly driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to "an uncontrollable extreme phase," and no one can predict to what extent the situation will deteriorate in the future, it warned.

The DPRK is now maintaining "maximum self-possession and self-control," the statement said. But if an all-out war breaks out between the two sides, it will seriously affect peace and security not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the rest of the region, it said.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been heightened since Nov. 23, when the DPRK and South Korea exchanged artillery fire, which killed four South Koreans.

Related:

DPRK blasts efforts to form U.S.-Japan-South Korea military alliance

PYONGYANG, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) condemned the triangle military alliance by the United States, South Korea and Japan, official Rodong Sinmun said in a signed article on Saturday.

"The intensified moves of the United States, Japan and South Korea to knock into shape their tripartite military alliance are a serious threat and challenge to peace not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Asia and the rest of the world and a hideous criminal scenario for aggression," the KCNA news agency quoted the paper as saying. Full story

S. Korea's defense minister-designate shows his tough side

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's next defense chief in the making showed his tough side Friday as the country reels from the latest clash with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea last week.

An all-out war with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) is unlikely but South Korea is ready to air raid the DPRK as a response to further provocation, South Korea's defense chief nominee Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing. Full story

S. Korea will make DPRK pay for further provocations: Lee

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks in a nationally televised public speech in Seoul, capital of South Korea, Nov. 29, 2010. South Korea will make the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) pay for any further provocation as tolerance in the past has only resulted in bigger provocations, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday. (Xinhua Photo)

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will make the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) pay for any further provocation as tolerance in the past has only resulted in bigger provocations, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday.

"(We) have come to realize it's hard to expect North Korea ( DPRK) to voluntarily give up on its military brinkmanship and nuclear program," Lee said in a nationally televised public speech Monday morning. "South Koreans now know further patience and tolerance will only encourage even bigger provocations," he said. "We will make sure that the North pays for its future provocations. " Full story

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

Related News

•	S. Korea formally appoints new defense minister
•	S Korea, US wrap up joint military exercise
•	South Korea: DPRK's attacks on civilians a crime

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DTN News: China Tries To Balance Fallout Of Korean Tensions

DTN News: China Tries To Balance Fallout Of Korean Tensions

Source: DTN News / By Christopher Bodeen (AP)

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - May 27, 2010: Rising tensions over North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship are providing an unwelcome reality check for Pyongyang's chief ally, China. Only months ago, Beijing was reaping kudos for sponsoring six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs. These days, it's looking increasingly isolated for failing to back U.S. and South Korean calls to get tough on Pyongyang in the face of what investigators say is overwhelming evidence the ship was struck by a North Korean torpedo. The ship sinking and rising tensions put Beijing in an uncomfortable position, forcing it to choose between traditional communist ally North Korea and close trading partner South Korea. Beyond that, the situation is squeezing China between playing the responsible power it says it wants to be, and protecting a loyal buffer state reviled by the world. For Beijing, none of the options look good. "China won't pressure North Korea. That could lead to a crisis," said Gong Keyu, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center at Shanghai's Institute for International Studies. "But if China keeps doing nothing, some countries may come to doubt our influence in the region and question whether Beijing is a responsible international player." For now, Beijing appears to be buying time in hopes of an outcome that won't require it to take a clear-cut stance that could cripple relations with either Korea, with whom Beijing works to maintain a balance in ties. On Wednesday, a vice foreign minister said the cause of the March 26 sinking in which 46 South Korean sailors died had yet to be determined, and called for dialogue in place of growing confrontation. Beijing regards the destruction of the corvette Cheonan as "extremely complicated" and is "carefully and prudently studying and examining the information from all sides," Zhang Zhijun told reporters. Chinese officials have been no more forthcoming in private, telling diplomats that the result of the international investigation blaming North Korea that was announced last week was inconclusive, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. They say Beijing has also faulted Seoul for rejecting North Korea's demand that it be allowed to send its own investigators to the South. Yet the pressure on Beijing seems likely to only grow. On Friday, Premier Wen Jiaobao travels to South Korea for a three-way summit with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, and the incident is expected to feature prominently. Meanwhile, South Korea's plan to bring the issue before the U.N. Security Council would force Beijing into a hard decision on whether to use its veto power to quash the discussion. Doing so might preserve relations with Pyongyang but could be disastrous for Beijing's hopes of being seen as a rising, responsible regional and world power. "They're in a quandary," said Yoon Deok-min, a professor at South Korea's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. "Protecting Pyongyang — this is an extremely difficult stance for Beijing to take. Internationally, this will translate into China defending what's been clearly declared as a provocation," Yoon said. Beijing's apparent tolerance of North Korean provocations is predicated on its overweening aversion to any steps that could seriously destabilize the regime in Pyongyang and bring chaos and refugees to its northeastern border. Even state-sponsored academics in Beijing say that fear of a North Korean collapse — and the loss of an important buffer between China and U.S. troops based in South Korea — serves as cover for Pyongyang to act out. "Some say China has almost been hijacked by North Korea," Gong said. "The little brother is always hiding behind China's back and every time he makes trouble, China gets pushed out there to deal with it." The uniqueness and sensitivity of the Beijing-Pyongyang relationship was displayed during a rare visit to China by the eccentric and reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, just weeks after the Cheonan's sinking. Beijing closed highways to cater to his aversion to air travel and played along with increasing farcical attempts to keep his presence in the country a secret. During the visit, Kim is believed to have secured crucial Chinese investment and economic assistance to prop up his impoverished communist state, already suffering from earlier U.N. sanctions and a cutoff of South Korean aid. That economic lifeline will be all the more vital following South Korea's decision Monday to sever many economic links with the North. Yet despite its status as chief ally, Chinese officials and academics say Beijing has only limited influence with the hard-line communist regime. Past attempts to sweet talk Kim into reforming his dysfunctional command economy have yielded little, and repeated efforts to persuade him to return to the stalled nuclear talks have won only vague affirmations of the process. Renewed negotiations look even more unlikely now, with South Korea saying a satisfactory resolution of the Cheonan issue must come first. That deprives Beijing of what had been a signature issue showcasing its avowed role as a responsible regional power able to bring the feuding sides together. Given the bind it's in, Beijing would ultimately like to see the Cheonan crisis resolved through talks between the two Koreas, leaving China and the United Nations out of it, Gong and other analysts said. Should the situation on the peninsula deteriorate, however, Chinese inaction could carry a high diplomatic price, said Steven Kim, a Korea expert at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. "I think there will be increasing international scrutiny and criticism of China and this will have negative impact on China's reputation as a responsible stakeholder and as a honest broker," Kim said in an e-mail. Associated Press writer Sangwon Yoon in Seoul contributed to this report.

DTN News: Japan TODAY March 10, 2010 ~ Japan Lifts Lid On Cold War Nuclear Pacts With US

DTN News: Japan TODAY March 10, 2010 ~ Japan Lifts Lid On Cold War Nuclear Pacts With US Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - March 10, 2010: Japan's new centre-left government lifted a veil of secrecy Tuesday surrounding nuclear and military deals struck with the United States, formally abandoning decades of denials over the Cold War pacts. A panel of historians Tuesday released a report commissioned by the six-month-old government on the "secret treaties," confirming previous information from whistleblowers, media leaks and declassified US documents. The report officially confirmed that, from the 1960s Japan quietly allowed US warships to carry nuclear weapons across Japanese territory and, in the case of an emergency, to take them to US bases on the southern island of Okinawa. The tacit agreements, previously denied, were reached despite Japan's pacifist stance and its official "non-nuclear principles" of not making, possessing or allowing on its soil atomic bombs, the panel found. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told a news conference: "It is extremely regrettable that this problem for such a long time remained under cover, to the Japanese, even to parliamentary sessions, even after the end of the Cold War." Okada said he could not rule out that US nuclear weapons had been brought into Japan but said he believed this had not happened since the United States in 1991 announced the withdrawal of tactical nuclear arms from its warships. Japan, since its World War II defeat by the United States, which dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has maintained a pacifist and anti-nuclear stance, but has relied on the superpower for nuclear deterrence. The United States has some 47,000 troops stationed in Japan. US-friendly Conservative parties ruled Japan for almost its entire post-war period but were ousted in landmark elections last August that brought to power the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) under Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Japan's new rulers have signalled a less subservient relationship with Washington, and more dovish foreign policy than previous governments, which had sent non-combat troops to support the US war in Iraq. Hatoyama has angered Washington by saying his government may scrap a previous agreement to relocate a controversial US military base within Okinawa, which still hosts the bulk of the US troops stationed in Japan. He stressed that it was important the report "would not affect future relations between Japan and the United States," Jiji Press reported. Nuclear deterrence "is needed for the Asia-Pacific region as well as the Japan-US security treaty," he said, but stressed that pacifist Japan remained committed to its non-nuclear principles. The panel of scholars found that the previous conservative governments of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had for decades deceived the public. Under another agreement, also long denied, Tokyo allowed US forces to launch military operations from Japan "as needed" without preliminary consultations in case of renewed war on the Korean peninsula, they said. Former prime minister Eisaku Sato and then US president Richard Nixon also agreed in 1969, as part of talks on the 1972 return of Okinawa, that US forces could bring nuclear weapons on to the island in an emergency. "For many years, the government repeatedly gave insincere explanations to its people, especially about the issue of nuclear-armed ship transits," said the historians led by Tokyo University's professor Shinichi Kitaoka. Nagasaki mayor Tomihisa Taue immediately criticised the former conservative rules as "deceiving atom-bomb survivors who feel very strongly about the non-nuclear principles," Jiji Press reported. After examining 4,423 files from Japanese foreign ministry and US embassy archives, the scholars highlighted 35 documents as proof of the existence of the clandestine agreements, with 331 items open to the public. But they said many classified documents were missing, hinting that they may have been destroyed.