DTN News - 2012 SEOUL NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT: World leaders March 26 Will Launch 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit In South Korea - Images

DTN News - 2012 SEOUL NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT: World leaders March 26 Will Launch 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit In South Korea - Images 
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 25, 2012: World leaders including US President Barack Obama, Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 26 will launch the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on the threat from nuclear-armed terrorists, but the atomic ambitions of North Korea and Iran are set to feature heavily. 

Here are some of the images of the world leaders aforementioned on their arrival at Seoul, South Korea on March 25, 2012, for the 2012 Seoul NSS.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith -DTN News
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: Israeli And Korean Firms In radar Deal

DTN News: Israeli And Korean Firms In radar Deal

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - July 29, 2009: Israeli and South Korean avionics firms will sign an agreement in September to develop a mechanically scanned array radar for the South Korean air force. LIG Nex1, based in Seoul, and Elta Systems, part of Israel Aerospace Industries, will build the system for South Korea's upcoming TA-50 light-armed aircraft and the FA-50 attack fighters, a report in The Korea Times newspaper stated. An official signing ceremony will take place Sept. 3 in Seoul, the report said, quoting unnamed sources within South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program. The jointly produced radar will be based on Elta's EL/M-2032 radar technologies with a look-up tracking range of 40-65 miles. The domestically built, or "indigenous," radar is scheduled to be operating by the end of 2010 and in service the following year with the Republic of Korea air force, the source said. The agreement is in keeping with South Korea's strategy to develop and manufacture its own military equipment part financed by export orders including interest from Iraq and India. The TA-50 and FA-50 are direct developments from the country's two-seater T-50 Golden Eagle, a supersonic advanced trainer first built by Korean Aerospace Industries in the early 1990s. The TA and FA are derived from the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, the trainer developed for future pilots of the F-16, which is used by South Korea. The T-50 trainer uses a General Electric F404 turbofan engine producing 17,700 lbf of thrust for a maximum speed of Mach 1.4 to 48,000 feet altitude. The range is around 1,150 miles. It entered service with Korea in February 2005 and around 50 have been built with a price tag estimated at $21 million apiece in 2008. Lockheed Martin built an A-50, the armed version of the T-50 that carries a 20mm cannon and an AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missile. It also uses their own AN/PG-67(v)4 radar. South Korea's TA-50 and the more heavily armed single-seater FA-50 were to use the Israeli EL/M-2032 pulse-Doppler radar. They will now use the joint Israeli-Korean developed radar based on the EL/M-2032. Cooperation between the two firms could lead to development of an active electronically scanned array radar system, The Korea Times noted. Sixty FA-50 versions are scheduled to be operating by 2013. Sales of T-50s were discusses by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in February during a meeting that focused on Korean opportunities to help rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure, The Korea Times reported in March. No sources were named in the report. An Iraqi pilot accompanying Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi to Korea in January flew a T-50, the Times said.

DTN News: North Korea Threatens To Shoot Down Japanese Planes

DTN News: North Korea Threatens To Shoot Down Japanese Planes

*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - June 29, 2009: North Korea warned June 27 that any Japanese plane entering its airspace would be shot down for spying, as recent surveillance suggests Pyongyang may be preparing to fire more missiles. A Korean Airlines plane carrying South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak taxies at Tokyo International airport in Tokyo, on June 28, 2009. President Lee is on a one-day visit to Japan for talks with Prime Minister Taro Aso, with simmering tensions over North Korea's nuclear programmes topping the agenda. "The air force of the Korean People's Army will not tolerate even a bit the aerial espionage by the warmongers of the Japanese aggression forces but mercilessly shoot down any plane intruding into the territorial air of the DPRK [North Korea] even 0.001 millimeter," the North Korean Air Force said in a statement. It said a Japanese AWACS aircraft made a long shuttle flight into airspace between the cities of Wonsan and Musudan-ri on June 26. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak hold a joint press conference at Aso's official residence in Tokyo on June 28, 2009. South Korea and Japan "will never tolerate" a nuclear-armed North Korea, Lee said after talks with Aso. Similar aerial espionage was committed June 25, it said. The North used Musudan-ri for its three previous long-range missile launches, in 1998, 2006 and April 5. North Korea will likely fire short- or mid-range missiles in waters off its east coast from which it has banned shipping, a senior South Korean government official said June 24. The North has warned foreign ships to stay clear of an extensive area for 16 days starting June 25 because of unspecified military exercises. South Korean students look at a uranium monitor at the Seoul Science Research Institute in Seoul, South Korea. After repudiating negotiations on dismantling its plutonium-based nuclear program, North Korea admitted in June 2009 to having an even more worrying way to make bombs. After nearly seven years of adamant denials, North Korea announced it can enrich uranium, a simpler way to build nuclear weapons than using plutonium. The Korean letters read: "Uranium Atomic Nucleus." Yonhap news agency, quoting a government source, said the communist state would probably fire Scuds with a range of up to 500 kilometers (312 miles) or ground-to-ship missiles with a 160-kilometer range into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea. Washington has said it is prepared for the possibility that the North could also fire a long-range missile toward Hawaii, perhaps July 4, which is U.S. Independence Day.

DTN News: South Korea Announces Cyber Warfare Command Plans

DTN News: South Korea Announces Cyber Warfare Command Plans *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - June 27, 2009: South Korea will launch a cyber warfare command center to fend off attacks on government and military IT networks from North Korea and other countries, officials said June 26. The plan to create the command center by 2012 was included in a military reform package presented to President Lee Myung-Bak, the defense ministry said, at a time when relations with North Korea are particularly strained. South Korea's military computer networks are under ever-growing cyber attack. The South's military security unit said in a report last month that every day the military counters an average of 10,450 hacking attempts and 81,700 computer virus infections. Experts say South Korea - one of the world's most wired societies - needs an integrated unit to fight cyber attacks by North Korea and China, which run elite hacker units. In 2004, hackers based in China used information-stealing viruses to break into the computer systems of Seoul government agencies. Last year, South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo warned his cabinet against what he said were attempts by Chinese and North Korean computer hackers to obtain state secrets.

DTN News: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Says North Korea Must Give Up Nukes

DTN News: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Says North Korea Must Give Up Nukes *Sources: Int'l Media / AP (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 18, 2009: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that his nation and its allies will not be intimidated by nuclear threats from neighboring North Korea. US President Barack Obama speaks during a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in the Rose Garden on June 16, 2009 at the White House in Washington, DC. Lee arrived for the talks after indicating that he wants the United States to offer fresh guarantees that South Korea is under the US security umbrella, days after the United Nations slapped new nuclear sanctions on Pyongyang. Lee and President Barack Obama have used the South Korean leader's three-day visit to Washington to display a unified front in the face of North Korea's threats of nuclear war and its vow to expand its nuclear programs. Tensions in Northeast Asia have risen sharply since the United Nations slapped the North with sanctions as punishment for its nuclear test last month. The North responded to Lee's visit with a statement vowing "a one hundred- or one thousand-fold retaliation with merciless military strikes" for infringements on its sovereignty. Lee told an audience at George Washington University, where he received an honorary degree, that South Korea would not allow nuclear weapons in North Korea under any circumstances. "North Korea continues to engage in belligerent activities, ... threatening peace and stability in Northeast Asia and beyond," Lee said. But Lee also held out the possibility that a nuclear-free North Korea could gain peace and prosperity and normal relations with the outside world. "North Korea must understand that it is in their best interests to fully give up their nuclear weapons ambitions," Lee said through an interpreter. "When North Korea takes meaningful steps toward peace and dialogue, Korea, as well as the rest of the international community, stands ready to extend a helping hand." South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks after receiving an honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree in the Jack Morton Auditorium at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, on June 17, 2009. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Wednesday that the United States is now aggressively implementing U.N. sanctions. He urged the North to return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. Asked about the possibility that the North was preparing for more missile tests, Crowley said, "I don't think anyone in the United States government has a crystal ball on why North Korea does what it does. Its behavior is provocative. It represents a threat to the region. We have grave concerns about the behavior of North Korea." Crowley suggested that more North Korean entities could be added to a U.N. sanctions list. At their White House meeting on Tuesday, Lee and Obama said they were united in their efforts to stop the North from using nuclear brinkmanship to squeeze concessions from a frightened world. North Korea already has tested two underground nuclear devices and is believed by U.S. intelligence to possess enough material to make several nuclear bombs. North Korea is furious over U.N. sanctions that toughen an arms embargo and authorize ship searches in an attempt to thwart the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The United Nations, however, did not authorize military force to compel the measures. Obama said the leaders agreed that the new U.N. resolution must be fully enforced, something the North has said it would consider an act of war. The North has responded to the U.N. sanctions by promising to weaponize all its plutonium and step up its nuclear bomb-making by enriching uranium. Both plutonium and uranium can be used to make atomic bombs. U.S. officials have said the North Koreans also appear to be making preparations for a third nuclear test. On Wednesday, the government-run Minju Joson newspaper published a commentary saying, "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 strikes." Lee also pressed during his visit for quick ratification of a stalled U.S.-South Korean free trade agreement. At a Tuesday dinner sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Lee urged representatives of top American companies to push for approval of a deal that he said would dramatically boost trade and strengthen the countries' alliance. Obama, however, suggested that work still had to be done on the deal, which was signed in 2007 after painstaking negotiations but has since faced complications over disputes over autos and U.S. beef imports to Korea. The agreement has been promoted as a potential $10 billion boon to the U.S. economy. Failure, supporters say, would threaten U.S. standing in an important region.

DTN News: South Korea TODAY June 17, 2009 - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Posing With US And South Korean Fighter Pilots

DTN News: South Korea TODAY June 17, 2009 - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Posing With US And South Korean Fighter Pilots

*Source: DTN News (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - June 17, 2009: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak poses with US and South Korean pilots as he visits the Air Force headquarters in Osan, south of Seoul on June 6, 2009.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak inspects a fighter jet as he visits the Air Force headquarters in Osan, south of Seoul on June 6, 2009. President Lee Myung-Bak said South Korea would not make any compromises in the face of North Korea's nuclear threats and called for Pyongyang to return to six-party disarmament talks. The UN Security Council is considering new sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test last month.

DTN News: President Barack Obama Rejects North Korea's Bid To Be Nuclear Power

DTN News: President Barack Obama Rejects North Korea's Bid To Be Nuclear Power

*Source: Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 17, 2009: Despite President Barack Obama's assurance Tuesday that he won't accept North Korea as a nuclear power, he has few options short of war and may have little choice but to find a way to live with the threat. President Barack Obama speaks as South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak looks on during a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House on June 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. He won't have to give North Korea a formal seat at the table of nuclear powers. The rogue nation already has the ability to make nuclear weapons, however, and probably will keep it, barring an act of war or an unexpected shift by China to squeeze its neighbor. Instead, analysts said, the United States and the rest of the world may have to adopt a new Cold War-like strategy of containing a nuclear North Korea, stopping it from sharing weapons and technology with others and using the threat of a nuclear counterattack to protect South Korea. "At this point, there's very little the outside world can do to stop North Korea," said Chaibong Hahm, a North Korea specialist at the RAND Corp., an independent research organization based in California. In defiance of international condemnation, North Korea announced over the weekend that it's starting a program to develop enriched uranium and that it would weaponize all of its uranium. The announcement, after its test of another nuclear warhead in May, dominated White House talks Tuesday between Obama and visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. In a joint news conference, Obama called North Korea's actions a "grave threat" and said his goal was to find a way to strip North Korea of nuclear weapons. "We will pursue denuclearization on the Korean peninsula vigorously," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden with Lee at his side. "North Korea," he said, "has a track record of proliferation that makes it unacceptable for them to be accepted as a nuclear power." Obama said that the United States, along with South Korea and regional powers such as China, Japan and Russia, would never accept North Korea as a nuclear power and would end the historic cycle of paying off North Korea to stop developing nuclear weapons. "We're going to break that pattern," Obama said. That may be as much a recognition of hard reality as it is a statement of principle, since analysts think that North Korea is now intent on remaining a nuclear power, not merely using the threat as a bargaining chip to win concessions or payoffs. What can the United States do? Obama said that the United States and other countries have been working on plans to interdict North Korean ships carrying arms or arms parts, as spelled out in a United Nations resolution. Hahm said, however, that the Chinese had watered down the resolution so that ships might stop vessels heading to or from North Korea but couldn't board them to search. Obama also said that while he wanted to break the pattern of making concessions to the North Koreans, he still was willing to negotiate. Analysts said the best hope might be to get them to stop developing more weapons or working on long-range missile technology. "That's what everybody is working towards: We live with a de facto nuclear North Korea, but try to stop them from developing even more bombs," Hahm said. There's little hope anymore for a quick agreement leading North Korea to shelve its nuclear ambitions, according to Daniel Sneider, an expert on Korea at Stanford University. "They have to be patient, hunker down and take the long view," Sneider said. "They have to think of this in Cold War terms. This is more a case of containment and deterrence." The containment could come from exerting financial pressure to stop North Korea from exporting nuclear weapons technology or missile technology to other rogue nations, particularly Iran. The deterrence could come from the threat of nuclear counterattack by the United States in response to any nuclear strike against allies such as South Korea or Japan. South Korea's Lee emerged from the White House with a reassurance from Obama that the United States continues to extend its "nuclear umbrella" over those countries. "This has given the South Korean people a greater sense of security," Lee said at the White House.

DTN News: South Korea To Act On Threats From North Korea

DTN News: South Korea To Act On Threats From North Korea *Source: Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - June 15, 2009: South Korea's president ordered his top security officials Sunday to deal "resolutely and squarely" with new North Korean warnings of a nuclear war on the eve of his U.S. visit. In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden said "God only knows" what North Korea wants from the latest showdown. In this image made from television, North Korean military participants listen to a speech during a rally at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, June 15, 2009. Thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang to reject new U.N. Security Council sanctions passed in response to their country's May 25 nuclear test. President Lee Myung-bak travels to Washington today for talks with President Obama that are expected to focus on the North's rogue nuclear and missile programs. The trip comes after North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened war with any country that stops its ships on the high seas under new sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council in response to its May 25 nuclear test. It also vowed Saturday to "weaponize" all its plutonium and acknowledged a long-suspected uranium enrichment program for the first time. Both plutonium and uranium are key ingredients of atomic bombs. A commentary published Saturday in the North's state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. was deploying a vast number of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan. North Korea "is completely within the range of U.S. nuclear attack and the Korean peninsula is becoming an area where the chances of a nuclear war are the highest in the world," it said. Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. military command in Seoul, denied the allegation, saying the U.S. no longer has nuclear bombs in South Korea. U.S. tactical nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea in 1991 as part of arms reductions following the Cold War. South Korea's 440-ton high-speed missile ship, the Yoon Young Ha, is followed by patrol boats as it sails in the Yellow Sea off the southwestern port of Pyeongtaek on June 15, 2009. The missile ship was deployed close the border two weeks ago amid high cross-border tensions following North Korea's nuclear test last month. Lee summoned his top security ministers Sunday and ordered them to "resolutely and squarely cope" with the North's threats, his office said. The Unification Ministry, responsible for ties with the North, issued a statement demanding that it stop inflaming tension and resume talks with the South. The new U.N. sanctions approved Friday are aimed at depriving the North of the financing used to build its nuclear program. They also authorize searches of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials.

UN, Japan Agree To Draft Statement On North Korean Rocket Launch

UN, Japan Agree To Draft Statement On North Korean Rocket Launch

(NSI News Source Info) April 12, 2009: The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan Saturday reached an agreement on a draft statement about North Korea's long-range rocket launch on April 5.

Diplomats say the statement "sends a clear message" to North Korea, but details, which were worked out in a Security Council closed door session, were not immediately released. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) and Japanese PM Taro Aso (R) arrive to hold their meeting at Pattaya, Thailand, 11 Apr 2009.

The agreement comes less than a day after Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Thailand to discuss a compromise.

Japan had been seeking a new Security Council resolution. But Mr. Aso said after the meeting, his country would consider a Security Council presidential statement instead.

The compromise was seen as an effort to send a quick and unified message to North Korea.

The Security Council had been deadlocked for almost a week over what kind of response to issue. Japan had wanted the stiffer resolution, but China favored the lighter reprimand of a presidential statement.

North Korean Premier Arrives In China For Talks

North Korean Premier Arrives In China For Talks

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING - March 17, 2009: North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on a five-day visit to discuss bilateral and international issues. The official's visit will include talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Kim will also take part in the opening ceremony of the Year of Friendship between China and North Korea, and celebrations of the countries' 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Before the start of his trip, the North Korean official told Chinese state media that his country appreciates the "vigorously friendly relations with China during the current complex and changeable international trends," and that North Korean-Chinese relations "make a real contribution to ensuring the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula, the northeast Asia region and the world". China is North Korea's main ally and trading partner, and also the host of the six-nation talks on the North's denuclearization program, which also involve Russia, the United States, South Korea, and Japan. The official's visit to China comes amid international concerns over North Korea's launch of what it says is a satellite, but what is widely suspected in the West as a cover-up for testing of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Last week North Korea announced plans to launch a communications satellite between April 4 and April 8. Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula due to the expected satellite launch, as well as South Korean-U.S. military exercises that end on Friday. North Korea earlier said it could not guarantee the safety of civilian aircraft near or over its airspace, because of the exercises. Relations between Seoul and the communist North have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008, rolling back the so-called Sunshine Policy of the previous 10 years. North Korea said recently it would scrap all political and military agreements with South Korea, including a non-aggression pact, over its neighbor's "hostile intent." The two countries are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

South Korean Organizations Demand Fundamental Changes In Policy To North Korea

South Korean Organizations Demand Fundamental Changes In Policy To North Korea

(NSI News Source Info) Seoul - March 17, 2009:South Korean opposition parties called on Monday for fundamental changes to the government's confrontational policy towards the North, a South Korean newspaper reported. The Hangyorae Sinmun newspaper published a statement from political, social and religious groups that gathered for an emergency meeting attended by around 1,000 people. "The reason for the current crisis between the North and South is because of ignoring earlier high-level agreements and the systematic antagonistic policies in regard to the North," the organizers of the protest declared. Relations between Seoul and the communist North have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008, rolling back the so-called Sunshine Policy of the previous 10 years. Participants in the meeting decided to organize mass meetings across the country to foment a national discussion of policy concerning the North. Tensions are currently high in the region, exacerbated by the North's announcement it will launch what it calls a telecommunications satellite next month and joint South Korean-U.S. military exercises that end on Friday. South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun called for calm last week, saying that Seoul believes Pyongyang needs to take measures to lower tensions, and the UN should actively support the efforts. After coming to power last February, Lee said he would review agreements reached at the 2000 and 2007 inter-Korean summits, and demand more in return from the North for the economic support provided by Seoul. North Korea said recently it would scrap all political and military agreements with South Korea, including a non-aggression pact, over its neighbor's "hostile intent." The two countries are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea Sends Letter To North Calling For Calm / N. Korea Accuses Obama's Government Of Interference / N. Korea Vows To Protect Itself Amid....

South Korea Sends Letter To North Calling For Calm / N. Korea Accuses Obama's Government Of Interference / N. Korea Vows To Protect Itself Amid U.S. War Games

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - March 12, 2009: South Korea called upon the North on Wednesday to defuse tensions, in a letter sent to the country's titular head of state, Kim Yong-nam, and to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, South Korean media reported on Wednesday. A soldier of U.S. aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis stands besides E-2C Hawkeye on a flight deck after the aircraft arrived at a South Korean naval base in Busan, about 420 km (262 miles) southeast of Seoul, March 11, 2009. The U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to take part in a naval drill which is part of the Foal Eagle portion of the annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea. The joint drills began on Monday and will run until March 20 across the South. South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun stated in his letter that parliament on March 2 passed a resolution on calming tensions with Pyongyang, and seeking political dialogue. According to Kim Ho-nyoun's letter, Seoul believes that Pyongyang needs to take measures to lower tensions, and the UN should actively support the efforts. "The Republic of Korea's National Assembly is concerned that the rise in tensions between the North and South is reflecting negatively in keeping peace on the Korean Peninsula and the development of inter-Korean relations," Kim Ho-nyoun's letter reads. Tensions are currently high in the region, over reports that the North is planning what it calls a launch of a telecommunications satellite, but which the U.S. and South Korea suspect to be long-range Taepodong-2 missile from the newly constructed Musudan-ri launch pad on the country's northeast coast. Relations between Seoul and the communist North have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008. After coming to power last February, Lee said he would review agreements reached at the 2000 and 2007 inter-Korean summits, and demand more in return from the North for the economic support provided by Seoul. Last week, North Korea said it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean civilian aircraft during joint March 9-20 U.S.-South Korean military exercises in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, also said the Korean Peninsula was on the brink of war because of joint military training operations by Seoul and Washington. The South Korean military said earlier that about 26,000 U.S. troops and an aircraft carrier would participate in the drill, code-named Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. There were no reports of how many South Korean troops are participating. The U.S. and South Korea have said the 12-day drills are for defensive purposes. North Korea said recently it would scrap all political and military agreements with South Korea, including a non-aggression pact, over its neighbor's "hostile intent." The two countries are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

North Korea: US Must Cancel Military Drill With South

North Korea: US Must Cancel Military Drill With South (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea – March 2, 2009: North Korea demanded Monday that the U.S. call off its annual military drill with South Korea, a report said, as rare talks between the North and U.N. forces ended without clear progress on defusing tensions. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the North made the demand during talks with the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the Korean border village of Panmunjom, held for the first time in nearly seven years. It came amid fears the North is gearing up to test-launch a missile believed capable of reaching U.S. territory. Yonhap quoted an unnamed South Korean military official as saying the North warned the upcoming drill would "further stir up" tensions on the Korean peninsula. The report said the U.N. Command insisted that the exercise — involving 26,000 American troops, an unspecified number of South Korean soldiers and a U.S. aircraft carrier — is purely defensive and not preparation for an invasion as the North claims. North Korea has routinely condemned the regular U.S.-South Korea military drills as preparation for an invasion, although the allies have said they have no intention to attack. Both the U.N. Command and the South Korean Defense Ministry said they couldn't confirm the report. The U.N. Command only said the sides discussed "measures to reduce tension and introduce transparency" and agreed to further meetings during a half-hour of talks. "The UNC welcomed this discussion with North Korea which holds the prospect for building trust and preventing misunderstandings between both sides," the statement quoted the command's chief delegate Maj. Gen. Johnny Weida as saying. Command spokesman Kim Yong-kyu declined to comment whether the potential missile launch was discussed during the talks. North Korea had called for the hastily arranged talks last week, saying it wants to discuss ways to reduce tensions, according to the U.N. Command, which monitors a cease-fire that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea and the U.N. Command has held 14 rounds of such high-level military talks "when necessary" since 1998, according to command spokesman Kim. Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest point in a decade, with North Korea bristling over South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's hard-line policy toward Pyongyang. The tensions have intensified in recent weeks amid reports that North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile. Analysts say communist North Korea also wants to capture President Barack Obama's attention at a time when international disarmament talks with the regime remain stalled. The North last week called its impending launch a peaceful bid to push its space program forward by sending a communications satellite into orbit and warned it would "punish" anyone who attempts to disrupt its plans. Neighboring governments believe the satellite claim may be a cover for a missile launch and have warned the regime such a move would invite international sanctions. North Korea, which in 2006 tested a nuclear weapon and unsuccessfully fired a long-range missile, is banned from engaging in any ballistic missile activity under a U.N. Security Council resolution. Obama is dispatching his envoy for North Korea, Stephen W. Bosworth, to Asia this week to discuss the nuclear dispute. Bosworth plans to meet with officials in China, Japan and South Korea, and will consult separately with Russian officials, the State Department said. South Korea on Monday named career diplomat Wi Sung-lac, a former head of the Foreign Ministry's North American affairs bureau, as its new top nuclear envoy. Departing envoy Kim Sook has been appointed deputy head of the country's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service. The two Koreas remain divided by the world's most heavily fortified border. Although other nations contributed forces during the Korean War, U.S. troops are the only foreign combat forces left on the peninsula. The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea.

North Korea Assembling Long-Range Missile: South Korea

North Korea Assembling Long-Range Missile: South Korea

(NSI News Source Info) February 13, 2009: SEOUL - North Korea has apparently started assembling its longest-range missile and it could be ready for launch late this month, a South Korean news report said Feb. 13. Chosun Ilbo newspaper, quoting an unidentified South Korean government official, said the first and second stages of the Taepodong-2 missile had been transported by train to the launch site at Musudan-ri on the northeast coast. The Taepodong-2 is a designation used to indicate a North Korean three-stage ballistic missile design that is the successor to the Taepodong-1. Very little is currently known about the missile design; on July 5, 2006, one was reportedly tested and, according to preliminary reports, failed around 35-40 seconds after launch, crashing into the ocean. "The Taepodong-2 missile has not been seen around the launch pad. It seems that the first- and second-stage rockets are now being assembled," the official was quoted as saying. When assembled, the missile is expected to be moved to the pad, put in an upright position and fueled for test-firing, the official said, adding that the earliest it could be launched is Feb. 25. That is the first anniversary of the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak. The North views Lee as a bitter enemy because he has taken a firmer stance on cross-border relations than his predecessors. It was not possible to confirm the report. South Korean authorities refuse comment on intelligence matters. Analysts say a missile launch would be intended to put pressure on Lee to drop his harder line, and to persuade U.S. President Barack Obama to make the North one of his policy priorities. Chosun said increased activities by vehicles and people had been spotted at Musudan-ri but the missile is out of sight of satellites in a covered plant. It said the components were transported in a 40-meter (132-foot) covered rail wagon from a military plant near Pyongyang, denying U.S. satellites an opportunity to photograph them. U.S. and South Korean officials have previously said the hard-line communist state seems to be preparing for another test of the Taepodong-2. An earlier missile blew up just 40 seconds it was first launched from Musudan-ri in July 2006. At maximum range the missile could theoretically target Alaska. South Korea has said that any such launch would bring the North increased isolation and added sanctions, while the United States has said it would be provocative.

US Army Chief Tells North Korea To Stop Provocations

US Army Chief Tells North Korea To Stop Provocations

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL – February 9, 2009: The US military chief in South Korea told North Korea Monday to stop provocations and "act like a responsible country," amid reports the communist state is preparing a long-range missile test. US and South Korean forces are prepared for any contingency, General Walter Sharp said in reference to reports of a possible launch. "Many, many countries around the world are watching North Korea right now to see if it will act responsibly or not," Sharp told a press conference. "We call on North Korea to stop provocations and act like a responsible country." South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said earlier his government's policy will not change, despite increasingly strong threats from the communist state. South Korean protesters burn North Korean flags, with pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and US and South Korean forces are prepared for any contingency, General Walter Sharp said in reference to reports of a possible launch. "I am very aware there are people who are concerned about the recent series of North Korean threats. But you do not need to worry too much," the president said in his regular radio address. Lee said his government was ready for dialogue but would not rush into negotiations. "I believe it is better to start off with a little difficulty, but ensure things are set right to reach a positive outcome, instead of trying to figure out what North Korea wants while saying all is well that ends well," he said. "We are ready to work with North Korea. North Korea, too, must realise the South is the only country in the entire world that is sincerely concerned for its future and willing to help it." North Korea has said it is scrapping peace accords with the South, including a 1991 pact recognising their Yellow Sea border as an interim frontier. The announcement fuelled fears of clashes in the area, the scene of bloody naval battles in 1999 and 2002. The North's military has said it is adopting "an all-out confrontational posture to shatter" Seoul's government. Last week US and South Korean officials said the North appeared to be preparing to launch its Taepodong-2 missile, which could reach Alaska. US academic Selig Harrison, who recently visited Pyongyang, said last week that hawks had come to dominate defence policy since leader Kim Jong-Il's reported stroke last August. Sharp said US and South Korean forces have contingency plans for any instability in the North "from the entire range of humanitarian disaster, to major civil war and potential loose nuclear weapons." He gave no details. Cross-border relations have worsened since Lee, a conservative, took office in February last year. Lee rolled back his liberal predecessors' decade-long engagement policy towards Pyongyang, and said major economic assistance would depend on the North's willingness to scrap its nuclear weapons programme. He also vowed to review summit deals signed in 2000 and 2007 between the North and his predecessors. The policy has enraged the North, which has suspended dialogue and imposed tight border controls. On Sunday it said Lee's choice of Hyun In-Taek as new unification minister would cause relations to collapse. Hyun, an architect of Lee's tougher policy, defended it at a parliamentary confirmation hearing Monday. The previous government, he said, failed to dissuade Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons. The North conducted its first atomic test in 2006. Hyun said Lee's policy is not hardline but one of "co-existence and co-prosperity for both South and North Korea."

North Korea Hails 'Invincible' Army, Warns Of Conflict

North Korea Hails 'Invincible' Army, Warns Of Conflict

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL — February 2, 2009: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has hailed his troops as "invincible" as state media on Sunday warned of a possible military conflict with South Korea amid heightened tensions between the neighbours. Kim expressed confidence in his soldiers' ability to "shatter any surprise invasion of the enemy at a single blow" as he inspected an army unit, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "The KPA (Korean People's Army)... has grown to be the invincible revolutionary ranks, all members of which devotedly defend the Party and the leader," it quoted Kim as saying, without giving a date for the visit. The KCNA dispatch came days after North Korea scrapped all political and military agreements with the South, further raising tensions between the two sides, which technically remain at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended without a peace treaty. "In Korea in the state of armistice confrontation means escalated tension and it may lead to an uncontrollable and unavoidable military conflict and a war," Rodong Sinmun, the North's ruling communist party paper, said Sunday. Rodong then warned of the South's "destruction" if Seoul keeps ignoring warnings from the North. Accusing the South of pushing relations to the brink of war, the North announced Friday that all political and military agreements would be nullified, including one covering their Yellow Sea border -- the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. Hours later, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak vowed to stick to what Pyongyang has called a "confrontational" policy on North Korea. Lee, who took office a year ago, rolled back the "sunshine" engagement policy of his liberal predecessors, linking Seoul's economic assistance to Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament efforts. South Korea stepped up its border monitoring and vowed to respond firmly to any violation, but said no unusual activities had been detected. "No unusual military movements have been spotted in North Korea yet," a South Korean defence ministry spokesman told AFP. US State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said the "distinctly not helpful" North Korean comments would not affect six-party talks aimed at scrapping Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programmes. Pyongyang signed a deal with its five partners in 2007 calling for its nuclear weapons to be scrapped in return for aid, normalised relations with the United States and Japan and a formal peace pact on the Korean peninsula. But the negotiations, which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, are deadlocked as North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in 2006, has baulked at a written agreement detailing ways to verify nuclear disarmament.

North Korea Scraps All Accords With South Korea / North Korea Tears Up Agreements

North Korea Scraps All Accords With South Korea / North Korea Tears Up Agreements

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - January 30, 2009: North Korea announced Friday it is scrapping agreements with South Korea on easing military tensions, accusing Seoul of pushing relations to the brink of war.

The communist state said all political and military agreements would be nullified, including one covering their Yellow Sea border - the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. The statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a state body, further raised tensions after months of icy relations.

It comes less than two weeks after the North's army threatened an "all-out confrontational posture" against Seoul. South Korea stepped up border monitoring and vowed to respond firmly to any violation, but said no unusual activities have been detected.

It expressed "deep regret" at Pyongyang's move and renewed an offer of dialogue. “The confrontation between the north and the south in the political and military fields has been put to such extremes that inter-Korean relations have reached the brink of a war," the North's statement said.

It blasted the conservative South Korean government of President Lee Myung-Bak for "ruthlessly scrapping" pacts reached at summits in 2000 and 2007. Lee, who took office a year ago, rolled back the "sunshine" engagement policy of his liberal predecessors and said he would review the summit pacts.

"The group of traitors has already reduced all the agreements reached between the north and the south in the past to dead documents," the committee said in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korean Army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, north of Seoul, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, South Korea. South Korean guard post in the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.

"Under such situation it is self-evident that there is no need for the DPRK (North Korea) to remain bound to those north-south agreements." The North has also staked out a tough position in stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States and four regional partners. Pyongyang, which staged a nuclear test in 2006, has said it may keep its atomic weapons even after ties are established with Washington, as long as any US nuclear threat remains.

Analysts believe the North is raising tensions to ensure it remains a diplomatic priority for the new Obama administration, and is also pressuring Seoul to reverse its tough stance. "This is something bad.

The North is apparently paving the way for military provocations," Yoo Ho-Yeol, a professor at Korea University, told AFP. "It is also seeking to shift responsibility for a possible military clash to the South." Paik Hak-Soon of the Sejong Institute think-tank said armed clashes may break out soon.

But Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses told AFP the statement aims at "heaping pressure on Lee Myung-Bak" and does not mean clashes are more likely. The North refuses to recognise the Northern Limit Line, a sea border drawn unilaterally by US-led United Nations forces after the 1950-1953 war.

The two sides have remained technically at war since 1953 because the conflict ended without a peace treaty. But a 1991 reconciliation pact which the North has now nullified implicitly recognised the line as an interim border.

After a naval clash in June 1999 which killed dozens of North Korean sailors, the North demanded the border be redrawn. Six South Koreans were killed in another sea clash in June 2002, while the North's casualties were believed to be heavier. Since Lee took office the North has cut all official contacts with the South.

Last December it expelled hundreds of South Koreans from a joint industrial estate and tightened border controls. On January 17 its army General Staff warned it would not allow South Korean intrusions into the disputed Yellow Sea waters.

However, leader Kim Jong-Il was quoted last week as saying he hopes to push ahead with disarmament talks and does not want to raise tensions with the South.