Shots Fired along the DMZ

[LoungeMachine]

Shots Fired Along Tense Korean Border

By KWANG-TAE KIM
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 7, 2006; 9:13 AM

SEOUL, South Korea -- Gunfire rang out Saturday along the heavily armed no man's land separating the divided Koreas, as regional tensions mounted in anticipation of communist North Korea's plan to test its first atomic bomb.

South Korean soldiers fired about 40 shots as a warning after five North Korean soldiers crossed a boundary in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two country's forces, South Korean military officials said.



It was unclear whether the North Korean advance was intended as a provocation, or was rather an attempt to go fishing at a nearby stream, an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on condition of anonymity, citing official policy.

Four of the North Koreans were unarmed and the fifth carried a rifle, the official said. No one was hurt, and the North Koreans retreated.

While such border skirmishes are not unheard of, they are relatively rare. Saturday's incursion was only the second this year, the official said. The North sometimes orchestrates border skirmishes to jack up tensions at sensitive moments in international standoffs.

Earlier in the day, North Korea's neighbors applauded a U.N. Security Council statement warning the country not to follow through on its threats to test its first nuclear weapon, perhaps as early as Sunday. Japan said it will push for punitive measures if Pyongyang doesn't heed international opinion.

The statement adopted by the council on Friday also called on North Korea to return immediately to talks on scrapping its nuclear weapons program or face unspecified consequences.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday saying it supported the appeal and also urging its isolated, communist neighbor to resume the long-stalled six-nation talks.

"North Korea must clearly recognize that a nuclear test would not help the North itself in any way," South Korea said. "North Korea should be held responsible for any consequences that could be caused by a test."

Stepping up shuttle diplomacy, South Korea's nuclear envoy said he will visit Beijing on Monday for two days of talks with Chinese officials about the nuclear test.

Separately, Japan's Foreign Ministry said it sees a nuclear test by North Korea as "a grave threat to the peace and security of northeast Asia and the world" and welcomed the Security Council statement.

"If North Korea conducts a nuclear weapons test despite the concerns expressed by international society, the Security Council must adopt a resolution outlining severely punitive measures," the ministry said in a statement.

[FORD]

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MSNBC October 6th, 2006 (9:55 AM EST)
Anchor: Amy Robach
Guests: Mike Malloy, Michael Graham

Note: some crosstalk has been abreviated for clarity... Enjoy!

Amy Robach: Michael Graham is a radio talk show host at WTKK in Boston. Mike Malloy is a syndicated radio talk show host out of Atlanta. Thank you both.

Mike Malloy: Hey, Amy.

Robach: So, Michael-well we heard from assistant seceratary of state Christopher Hill ysterday saying that the U.S. will not live with a nuclear North Korea, a lot of people say we're already living with a nuclear North Korea, so when you draw a line in the sand like that, what does happen when and if North Korea tests a nuclear weapon?

Michael Graham: Well, I may be in the minority, but I hope they test it given the quality of their technology demonstrated this summer you know when they were trying to scare us with their long range missile program where they couldn't hit anything. I mean North Korea makes us long for the automobile industry of the former Yugoslovia. It's perfectly possible that they may try to test it this weekend on the aniversery that Kim Jong-il took his job and it could fail which would spread hope for the U.S. and for their neighbors, but it would also wave a red flag to the community around them, China in particular, look we can't keep sitting on the sidelines. We need these six party talks, we need to keep pressuring North Korea to get involved.

Robach: Mike there are a lot what if's here. But we do know we're dealing with a wildcard in Kim Jong-il, should the American people have any faith that negotiations with him could go smoothly and could be trusted?

Malloy: Amy, Kim-Jong-Crazy is almost as bad as George W. Bush. We got an administration in this country that has made it clear that he will lie us into a war (Graham's laughter). We also have George Bush who I think yesterday came out and said he now has the right to "edit", I believe that was his word intelligence reports. So we're in a very precarious situation here. The fact that it's 2006 and we're sitting around talking about the possibility of nuclear war, it's insane. What needs to be done, I really believe - keep the Bush Crime Family out of this, let the other nations, let China, let South Korea, let Russia, and let Japan sit down with this phsycopath in North Korea. Let's not bring two phsycopaths together, if we do, critical mass occurs, and we could have a lot of trouble.

Graham: (laughing) There's nothing I like better than reasoned discourse from people on the left. By the way, your guest needs to know, that what the people who hate George Bush are complaining about is that he is insisting that North Korea sit down with the community. They want to sit down one on one, so it would help if you had just a few facts.

Malloy: Not true.
Graham: Meanwhile, we have the Clinton administration
Malloy: Absolutley not true!
Graham:It's completely true, the Clinton administration did sit down with North-

Malloy: Absolutely not true, it's Bill Clinton's fault! Amy, it's Bill Clinton's fault. Right, Oh My GOD! once again it's Bill Clinton's fault, Foley, is Bill Clinton's fault, Iran is Bill Clinton's fallt, Osama, and now China. Look, George W. Bush, not more than a few months ago tried to cut a deal, cut a deal with the North Koreans. He promised all sorts of support if they would hold back on their nuclear program. Bush then ordered sanctions against the country. (Graham: No!) We've got two crazy people, maybe a third one with your guest.

Robach: Michael, I'll give you a chance to respond to that directly, but is it surprising that the U.S. and the UN, and we've known about this potential problem for quite some time, seems to not really have a plan on what to do if and when a nuclear weapon is tested.

Graham: The problem with North Korea isn't the nuke part. The problem is the 100,000 hardened artillery pieces facing Seoul, South Korea where 10 million people live right now and in a single strike, you could have 100,000 dead civillians. That's the real live problem on the ground. I want to make this perfectly clear so that your listeners, i mean viewers know, here's the absolute story on this. The Bush administration has said no two party talks from the very begining, because you lied to us last time, you told the Clinton administration that you'd stop your nuclear program and you didn't. So we are demanding six party talks, that's the whole motive, and I don't know anybody including your loony guest over here (Malloy: [sigh]) who thinks that anything else will work.

Goodman: All right...

Malloy: Amy, as far as South Korea being the target, that is insane. That's the red herring that these right wing rebublicans toss out there. (Graham's laughter) Oh laugh, go ahaid, Moron. South Korea is not the target. The relatives of people in the North live in the South. They're not going to kill their own people. What the Bush Crime Family is interested in is war, endless war. And if they can get one started with Korea, look we're still in a state of war with Korea, we have been for 54 years, all they have to say is " time to start it again."

Robach: And it is time to end this now. Mike Malloy, and Michael Graham, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

Malloy: Thanks, Amy.

Robach: Well despite that namecalling there, we're also watching two big fires...

[ELVIS]

Dude, how old is that pic in your avatar, 30 years ??

[FORD]

Originally posted by ELVIS
Dude, how old is that pic in your avatar, 30 years ??

Not sure. But it's the one he still has up at www.mikemalloy.com

[ELVIS]

Oh yeah ??

This guy is a lunatic...

http://www.mikemalloy.com/images/ravennyc/mikeatraven.jpg


:elvis:

[FORD]

Lunatic? No, he's as sane as anyone can be in this country after 6 years of the BCE/Bush Crime Family fucking things up like never before.

[Nickdfresh]

North Korea in nuclear test claim
North Korea says it has carried out its first ever test of a nuclear weapon, the state news agency has reported.

It said the underground test, done in defiance of international warnings, was a success and had not resulted in any leak of radiation.

A South Korean official said an explosion had been detected in the north-east of North Korea, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale.

North Korea said last week that it planned to test a nuclear weapon.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has called an emergency meeting of his government's National Security Council.

A South Korean official said that there had been a grave change in the security situation on the peninsula.

Officials in South Korea have been quoted as saying that an explosion was detected in north Hamgyong province in North Korea.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency is reporting that the test took place in Gilju in Hamgyong province.

Prior to the test, there had been speculation that any such trial would take place either in Gilju or Hagap in the centre of the country.

The entire region has been on high alert since North Korea said last week it would conduct a nuclear test.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just arrived in Seoul for a meeting with Mr Roh, following talks on the crisis with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing.

At the Beijing summit, Japanese and Chinese leaders had earlier said that such a test would be considered "unacceptable".

Story from BBC NEWS: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/6032525.stm
)

Published: 2006/10/09 03:49:11 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[Revan]

Originally posted by FORD
Lunatic? No, he's as sane as anyone can be in this country after 6 years of the BCE/Bush Crime Family fucking things up like never before.

From a democratic point of view, sure. From mine, I'm living life quite well under Bush, thanks.

[Nickdfresh]

The Pentagon has just reported that this was a "subkiloton event" --meaning, this may not even have been a nuke...

[WACF]

France is saying the same.

They figure it was small enough that it may of failed...or just been alot of TNT.