Expert: Don't hype N. Korea missile tests

What's with China & Russia? How can they ever be trusted by the U.S when they continue to support the likes of N. Korea & Iran?

I agree with Cordesman. Rather than pretending to be "provoked" by North Korea, the U.S. should lead the rest of the world in a couple of "Ha-ha"s, "you missed again." It's all much ado about nothing until it's too late, but that's just the nature of the beast. What are we going to do, invade? Drop "junior nuclear bombs"? The simple message should be, "If you drop one nuclear bomb on ANYONE - friend or foe - we will bomb you into oblivion." Our friends and our foes would appreciate such candor.

Welcome to the world of Machivellian politics - where the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

And Jay, god bless your naivete, Russia and China not playing ball with us?, except when it's in their interest - as Gomer said "Surprise, surprise, surprise."

L'il Kim shot off his firecrackers to prove to the world he doesn't have a l'il peepee. Alas for him, turns out both missiles are l'il duds.

I think those missles were knocked down by our laser defense system. If you think about it, we dont want to show what we have so we play it down to equipment failure and we know that we can handle there threat. Laser systems are designed to knock out the missle the first few seconds after launch..

Seems this is the second day in a row that North Korea has shot missiles this way. Are we waiting for him to get it right? That seems to have been the policy since the end of the Korean War. There is a DMZ in Korea for a reason, we are still technically at war with the North under ceasefire through armistice. That works for North Korea, they get to sit back and create an army of some 1 million ground troops, build nuclear weapons, and a delivery platform for those weapons while we sit here and wait for them to get it right? Is this reminicient of 9/11 except 10 times worse? On September 10th our leadership considered terrorism a tragic nuisance, then we lost 3000 people and a trillion dollars because we didn't take hateful people with determination seriously. Are we making the same mistake with North Korea? What happens to America economically not withstanding the lives lost if they get this right and detonate an ICBM in LA? I understand the president is kind of at a loss and can't invade NK because our troops are in the middle east instead of the far east, that doesn't mean we don't have bomber squadrons sitting in Japan waiting to take these threats out. Mr. President, pull the trigger. If they come pouring over the DMZ break out the Napalm-B and make them pay for it.

I guess Koizumi did pay a big price for visiting Yasukuni every so often.

We are in more trouble than the president is telling us. A union of Russia, Iran, China, N. Korea is a real threat. At least we have bases around the world to fight them off our soil. It's more real than the reports we see. WW3 is already upon us.

Why are we being so self-righteous? Did we play ball with the rest of the world when they didn't want us to invade Iraq? And since when do we play ball except when it is in our own interest? Are we in Iraq for truly altruistic reasons? To protect the rest of mankind from WMDs? Or is it, to extend our "war on terror" by breaking the Iraq-Al Quaida link? Or are we there(here's a better one for you) so the people of Iraq can have a great democracy like ours?

My point is: before we get bent out of shape that others aren't playing ball with us, we need to take a harder look at own record on that count. And, then you will see that there is nothing in their stand to single out the Chinese or the Russians (or the French or the Germans).........or for that matter, us. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

And, besides, I wouldn't go around telling people I would bomb them out of existence given my popularity in the world community at the moment. If there is any lesson we should have learnt since 9/11, it should be that pushing people around ain't working. Let us (yes, the good ole U.S. of A) try playing ball for a change....we have nothing to lose at this point!

Right-on Jorge from Bloomington. I agree. That "OK, but if you do, we'll turn you're entire country into a smoking hole" message seems like the logical position we should have taken from the beginning with both North Korea and Iran.

B-Rad from the OC

N. Korea need to be put on notice as Jorge from Bloomington states. This area has been a pain for years we should have stopped this when we were in Korea. If it takes going in there let's go and get it over with.

As for our allies they agree when it is their interest.

you clowns talk about destroying whole countrys with nuclear weapons. Know one should pocess nuclear for defense or for offensive reasons. The United States and the European union are the cause of arms and nuclear weapons sales and technology in the world, therefore I as an American citizen propose a band on all nuclear weapons, and weapons of mas destruction. One country can have nuclear weapons and one counrty can't will never work.Our double standard that we use in the world is not working reguardless of the countrys beliefs. If a state such as Israel can have nuclear weapons with ideiology beliefs that it will never happen again. Why can't any other country have the same beliefs?

If America does not pose a treat by processing nuclear weapons would North Korea and Iran wish to have any? Look at Iraq, if sadam has the bomb would bush have invaded? These countries now have to develop nuclear weapons to keep their sovereignty!
US keep developing new nuclear bombs and defense systems to they can prey on other countries and that is the cause of this instability around the world. Might should not always be right! If you do not agree with the US you are labels a terrorist! All this funds being used to develop bombs could be use to feed the poor of Africa and make the world a better place. God bless the US and us all. Amen

Am I a simpleton or what? Matters of this nature elude me. North Korea is like that unruly neighbors dog that has never bitten its owner but he can't really say it won't. China and Russia are that dumb neighbor.

Well,what do you expect from George W. Bush words of war or strategic comments during his State of the Union speech address that (Iran, Iraq, and North Korea) are the "Axis of Evil". Now that Iran and North Korea is playing together and indirectly taunting to throw Nuclear Bombs at neighboring allies and the U.S. Cordesman is right on target that greater worry is that if N. Korea or even Iran launch nuclear weapons to allies countries it could be very damaging to the U.S. What we are missing here is that is it not Iran or N. Korea but China and Russia are learning alot of our lack of military capabilities and responsiveness in Iran and N. Korea. I think Iran, N. korea and indirectly China and Russia is testing Bush. His comments at the State of the Union Address about the 3 countries (iran, iraq & N. korea) should be kept confidential instead of to the public nonetheless the world. Bush comment send the same message as the Iran president threaten to blow Israel off the map. Bush Administration brought out the bad people (terrorists) of the world but at the same time damage our U.S. interests.

Since 1950, we have been and are still at "war" with North Korea. They have just threatened and declared, "You attack us, we will nuke you." Get real, North Korea, in time will develop the capability to do just that, as will Iran, and will do so in a heart beat. let's not forget, who allied with the North Koreans during the 1950 Korean War, and who rejects any sanctions against the North Koreans. We should warn both North Korea, Iran and any others who threaten us with nuclear attack, what our response would be and the ultimate results that precipitated the surrender Japan.

Korea Kim was probably just joining in the celebration of U.S. Independence day: Why else would he shoot off a bunch of expensive skyrockets in this simple spectacle? If Kim plans future undisclosed launches, I'm sure he will expect the distinct possibility of much shorter flights.

Why is it the cons are all giddy about the thought of using nuclear weapons in North Korea???

Just so all of us remember
Nuclear weapons = RADIATION = CANCER = DEATH FOR NORTH AND SOUTH KOREANS AS WELL AS CHINEASE and probably a host of other countries too.

The Nuclear option was never used after WW2 because the consequences were thought to be too grave. Why do the cons never think about the consequences of their action?

North Korea is an insanely scary country, and their leader is just completely out of his mind. He wants attention. I believe that he's wanting attention, seeing as to how Iran has been the international scare, and North Korea's been pushed aside, so now he's acting like a child, but instead of stomping his feet and screaming, he's threatening the lives of people and testing his missiles.

Personally, I believe that Russia and China are actually correct with their remarks on the decisions that have been put into thought for both Iran and North Korea. Cyrus R. is right.. Pushing countries, and constantly hounding them for things they will not budge to do will do nothing, but cause more problems. It's like telling your child to clean up their mess.. If you keep yelling at them, they'll turn into fierce rebellion and will not follow your orders at all.

All we can do is pray to God for peace. All in His time. May God have mercy on us all and may He protect us from these threats, and if anything should ever happen.. May God keep us safe, alive and well. Amen.

it never ceases to amaze me how freely people post on topics they know little or nothing about.

Ben says "US keep developing new nuclear bombs", Ben the US has not developed any nuclear "bombs" in about 20 years, we only pay billions every year to maintain our stockpile. ALSO Ben the US is the world’s LARGEST donator to international causes, so do not act as if we spend all of our money on nuclear bombs and go on killing sprees. Get educated on US policy and spending.

Cyrus, do not be fooled into thinking that politics is nothing more than a ball game, as you suggested. You need to educate yourself on history and the cultures of the world to understand why counties need to act in certain ways and interact on different levels based on culture, economics, military strength and regional/world allies. This is not a ball game and if you are one to sit on the sidelines and just play ball then there will be few successes in your life.

Mike, North Korea is not some 3rd world country without any radar defense. The only developed "laser" defense is one that has been tested on a 747 nose and it MUST be VERY close to the launch area in order to laser a missile. Remember the "star wars" program was dropped as people started to think Reagan was a bit crazy and it made our world allies slightly nervous. The rockets did not work for one of two reasons: 1. they just are not that developed OR 2. (the most likely) is that they did not want them to work as intended, they just wanted attention.

To everyone, remember that we lost over 30,000 Americans’ in the Korean War but you cry about the near 3,000 American killed in Iraq which has surpassed the length of the Korean War. So as we scream "let’s attack" remember what the final out come would be. You do not risk another 30,000 lives because some little baby in Korea can not stand it when the international community is not up his butt trying to sway him towards international thinking. Iran has that attention now. Does anyone have an older brother or sister that always tried to be the center of attention and do annoying things to get it? Well why did your mother just not shoot and kill so she would not be annoyed with the attention getter. This is not the end of the world or WW3, it is North Korea the way that is has been for over 50 years. So everyone enjoy tomorrow and stop stockpiling the ready to eat meals, we still have another day or two before we have to crawl into our holes!

One final note, I am a democrat and think our president has made some major errors in international policy but politics is more complicated than just doing what you want to do.

TEST, WHAT TEST??? WHEN A RABID DOG SNAPS AT YOU ONCE, DON'T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN AND DON'T JUST PULL HIS TEETH, CUT ITS HEAD OFF AND BE DONE WITH IT. TURN THE WAR DOGS LOOSE AND SEND ALL THE POLITICANS HOME TO MAMA.

After 6 years of this cowboy mentality administration, with the result of nothing more than alienating/eroding this countrys world image .... do news of further enemies still surprise people? With our deficit now higher than the space shuttle... and Chinas economy and military flying twice as high as the shuttle, how long before our survivors are slave labor for the seen and as yet unseen enemies? Break out the chopsticks and start practicing to pick up stale breadcrumbs to go with your rationed tablespoon of toilet water a day!!!!

Give me a break. What's wrong with other countries having the same military capacity that we have? Every country has a sovereign right to defend itself ... they don't dictate to us what our arsenals are, and we can't dictate to them.

Are we scared of yellow and brown people with (gasp) offensive military capabilities? Are white folks the only people who should be able to flex their military muscle?

The U.S., with its (proven) unlimited ability to project military power anywhere on earth, is a far greater threat to world peace than North Korea or Iran. We have started, and been involved in, more wars in more places than any other country.

Given the incredible arrogance and sense of entitlement of our nation, its people, and its leaders, I'm of the opinion that having more countries able to project their power beyond their borders will help to keep our ambitions in line. This may help keep our soldiers at home with their families instead of in some distant battleground solely because we can do so with impunity.

So an "enemy" has a slingshot that maybe, possibly, potentially could deliver a small payload at some future point in time. Now maybe we'll learn to play nice, instead of running around talking about an "axis of evil," telling folk to "bring it on," and making a new cold war out of the old one.

And by the way, the "war on terror" is a crock and the President is an idiot.

Who cares about feeding Africa? There are people in this country who are starving, can't find jobs, can't afford better education, can't afford gas prices, hooked on addictive substances with no form of treatment, can't get healthcare.

You know I'm a little disgruntled with people's opinions of how the USA could be wrong. We are the bad guys because we develop bombs? I can't think of a first world nation that doesn't research military technology. We're not the only ones folks.

As for the "double-standard" theory. I do agree, it's wrong to tell others not to handle nukes while we develop more. But the fact is now that nuclear devices have been developed there is no turning back. The technology is out there. Even if the United States laid down it's arms and protested that it would no longer develop such weaponry, do you not think Russia or China would take advantage of that situation? Not one nation is willing to make a compromise for fear of their own destruction, and I would not like to see the United States be the first nation to pioneer that option.

That's my thought anyway.

Does anyone remember when W said the invasion of iraq and the war on terror were seperate and they had nothing to do with each other.

A little history is in order. Hitler was stopped for a time in 1939 because he thought that he would be beaten if he attacked. When he was confident he could win, he attacked. The rest is history. Hitler did not use chemical weapons as he knew the consequences of them being used on him from WW1.
Hitler deported the Jewish scientists who would later bring nuclear weapons to the West. Better we had them than Hitler.
Stalin shot his best generals before Hitler attacked. Hopefully Kim Jong Il will repeat his hero's stupidity.
I see Bush approaching this of many crisis carefully, given that North Korea may not be able to overrun and dominate South Korea, they can do an enormous amoount of damage regardless. Iraq is a just cause. Pacifism is a nice idea in another reality. Never worked in the real world.

I love reading the Useful idiot posts of "well if it weren't for the eeevil US and EU no one would want nuclear weapons."

I've come to the understanding gthat N.Korea just wants to be up there with the big dogs. The missiles are the equivalent of a "Hey look at me!" in a 'threatening' posture. Don't point and laugh, don't blow them into oblivion. We should watch Korea closely, and cut off all aid. It sounds cruel, but KIM Jong Il needs to learn that his greatest threat is from the inside. If we cut off aid to his people, they will finally have to look the situation in the eye and say 'this man needs to go'.
Remember that we can never sollve any problems by blowing the situation to kingdom come. There are people, believe it or not, and the reason we want the current government out is because we mean to save people, not because the playboy leader ticks us off.
Korea will sit for now, until sanctions are approved, or KIM Jong Il kicks the bucket. Until then, nothing will change. As he has been freed up to develop weapons and military by the ever-so-kind-but-useless UN with its humanitarian aid, there will be no resolution. He was the whole world in a corner. 'I have weapons,' he says, and so we try to get him to stop making weapons by giving into his demands for aid. Then he continues.
Another generation of the world, another impossible situation. We may learn eventually, but I hope it's not at the expense of exactly what KIM wants - war.

What's up with China and Russia and why they are backing North Korea . . . . maybe same government type . . . .maybe they sold North Korea the weapons in the first place . . . ???

Jorge, are you talking about a bluff or a real threat?

The Bush Administration is not telling us all the facts.

Russia claims 10 missiles have been shot
off by N. Korea. In addition new reports from S. Korea are stating that more missiles have been placed on launch pads. Having been a Korean watcher since I was stationed there in 1986-87 as an Air Defense Intelligence Sgt, I have to say that this behavior is very odd.

I would have expected 2-3 lauches to make some kind of political statement to get attention on July 4th, but this is far beyond that. I think N. Korea and the Axis of Evil is thinking war.

The fact that some of our troops were diverted from S.Korea to Iraq under the stupidity of Rumsfeld, does not help matters. N.Korea looks at everything that happens in their region with a fine tooth comb and any diversion or weakness of the U.S. is noted.

It is now obvious that N. Korea has a considerable stockpile of both short range, medium range and intercontinental missiles. Russia is not ruling out that all 10 of the missiles launched are not ICBMs which is different than what the rest of the press is reporting. How do we not know that the "failures" are not just premediated endings so that the missiles do not fly over foreign countries causing a premature war? And if they are true failures, then it is just a matter of time before they improve technically (maybe even with the help of China!).

What if N. Korea prepared a launch of 10-100 missiles in succession during a preemptive act of war with just some of them being nuclear. How would we know? Which ones would we "attempt" to shoot down? Or would we do what we did with these launches (I thought we were expecting only one launch) and just look around with a confused look on our faces as holy terror is unleashed, taking the normal "wait and see" approach. Without a doubt S. Korea would be toast because they can hit all of S. Korea and probablly all of Japan. Our troops in Japan and south of Seoul, so it was thought, would be safe
but not so with the madman's new toys.

It also appears that Iran and Syria is attempting to open a battle front in Israel as a last ditch attempt to divert attention from Iran's nuclear program that is moving forward. It seems to me that when Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and N. Korea as an axis of evil they took it seriously. They have decided to take the war forward regardless of what happens in Iraq. In fact, they might fear that at any date, they will be next, so why wait? They are making calculated decisions while the U.S. wishes the Geenie would go back in the bottle. The U.S. is not the only one that can launch an invasion, and it would seem to me that Iran, Syria, and N. Korea are up to their own tricks, and at any moment anyone could miscalculate. I just hope that we don't wait until LA and Portland are a smoking heap before we realize that maybe the N. Koreans werent fooling around.

North Korea is like an immature schoolyard bully, throwing little temper tantrums with much posturing and pontificating to make up for their severe inadequacies. The only way to deal with such shallow little morons is to threaten them with well-demonstrated harsh consequences their paranoid little minds can understand. But then, maybe not. One of the biggest morons of modern history, Saddam Hussein never did get it and still seems to live in his own deluded little world where he is somehow destined to lord over his countrymen. Kim is the same kind of moron in North Korea. Paranoid & delusional, living in his own little contrived world. Lets hope he can be deposed more rationally through a world effort then Bush & Blair contrived for Saddam. Meanwhile stand ready to respond as Jorge said it so well.

I may have this all wrong, but N Korea is in serious trouble politically and financially. Their citizenry live in abject poverty and the only way to keep the military loyal is by keeping them fed.

They are looking for a payoff from the highest bidders and if they develop a viable delivery system for a nuclear weapon they probably already have, I'm sure someone who has a ton of money from selling oil would love to get their hands on it.

This is all about money and nothing more than extortion. He may be crazy, but I think he's smart enough to know if he launched a nuke his tenure would end within 72 hours.

SJ

give me a break!! until the last few posts, i had found merit with many positions, one way or the other. it's not JUST the fact that a country can hold nuclear weapons in their arsenal, but more importantly WHO is the individual with their finger on the button. In the case of North Korea, and Iran as well, we have some seriously unstable individuals with this power at their fingertips. and who's to say that North Korea doesn't have ability to launch a successful attack on us or any of our Asian allies. Any military tactician who is worth a salt is deceptive. Misdirection could very well be their play!!! North Korea is more of a threat to us that now than any of our many enemies. Not just their leader, but most any of their top level decision makers are just flat out NUTS!! There's only one way to deal with a mean dog, and that's to let your bigger/meaner dog off of the leash. I say, if they want to play this game and threaten the ENTIRE world, they need a big hard slap in the face. They CANNOT win a military showdown against the U.S, let alone against us and our allies. I say do away with these incompetents once and for all and move on to more important things.

This is all a game of whos gonna flinch first... George Bush has an ego the size of Texas so you can count him out of fliching first and as for North Korea...They're just plain nuts so i dont know what the hell is going to happen...we can go all night what needs to be done lets talk about in reality what is going to happen...I think a war is starting to take shape..

i agree with carl that it is wishful thinking to believe that certain countries are allowed to have WMD while others are forbidden to do so. this kind of exceptionalism does nothing to improve the hostilities that exist between nations. ideally, either all countries should be allowed to have nukes or none should be allowed to have them. i support the latter. moreover, we need to establish a sense of equality between peoples, countries, and its leaders for global peace to have a standing chance. who wants to play a game where there are inherent biases built in?

enough of this idealistic talk. i think the only way for this problem to disappear is if the dictator and all of his cronies somehow die of natural deaths, preferably on the same day.

Doesn't Raytheon Missile Systems, which is located right here in Tucson, Arizona build missiles that are arming the world tooth and nail with weapons with one intent - to Kill, Kill, Kill? That's right, it's an eye-opener to walk their hallways and to see the proud accolades of how many missiles they have supplied to our allies? Are we any more moral. Bush, you should be ashamed... Stand down please. In the final analysis, the missile issue is ALL about our handful of arms manufacturers obtaining the next multi-billion dollar contract to supply another system that will never see the light of day, yet will line someone's pocket with gold nuggets.

Doug Zook, you been watching too many movies lately?

There is one very easy way out. Stop buying anything from the People's Republic of China. Stop investing in the PRC. Sell them just about every consumer goodie, we make. Deplete their foreign cash reserves. Do not go to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Make the Red Chinese pay the price for supporting North Korea. Without Chinese food and fuel, the North will starve. Let the Russians know it's in their best interests to help us. After all, Siberia has a lot a resources with very few Russian citizens around. However, there are millions of hungary Chinese just staring at Russian land and resources just across the border. To all the multinational corporations of the world, do you want all your manufacturing capacity in a communist country. Spread it around, politicians do your duty - Stop investing in China.

China depends upon us to employ their people. Without us buying their products, the Chinese people will resent their leaders follies.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be forced to listen to the world.

A united Korea under Seoul will be beneficial to the Far East.

we seem to always create our own problems, as always history will repeat itself. would be best if it didn't happen in our lifetime.

Cyrus B, perhaps "playing ball" is a worthless analogy. This nation will never wave a white flag because the vast majority of its citizens are still too grateful of the blessings so abundant in this nation to simply pander, waiver, doubt, or placate our enemies. This goes for avowed enmies or those less obvious.
Unless you believe in the theories that claim the U.S orchestrated the terror attacks, the threats are real. People are almost even starting to sound as though the invasion of Iraq came before Sep.11 the way some make it seem as though the U.S somehow deserves to be attacked. That way of thinking is no surprise from those who forget that the U.N , both the Security Council and the member states voted by majority to pass resolutions and sanctions and make demands and threats against Iraq to " comply or face consequences" for 12 years before the U.S made its case for war. Further, to say the U.S somehow ignored "the rest of the world" discounts and conveniently overlooks the 70 countries who supported the cause. We also choose to somehow assess that gassing and killing the Kurdish people should be of no bother but to the Kurds,(oddly overlooking the use of chemical weapons/WMD's) and not somehow any viable proof that an aggressor who has already invaded a neighbor state(Kuwait),launched missiles at another(Israel) might have already proved its willingness and ability to pose a threat.
Our nation's populace is comprised of people from every nation on the planet. No country on Earth can either make that claim or claim not to have inhabitants located here. Yet we're to believe that the U.S is despised and held in low regard...doubt it.

i am a military fan, but i don't see why a small nation like north korea can threat america.The real threat is russia and china

It's ironic that states like Russia, China, Iran and N Korea get singled out when the world should actually unite to kick the USA out of Iraq. If not, then surely Saddam had a right to invade Kuwait for posing a threat to Iraq's oil reserves?

Don't you think Russia and Asian countries are taking a softer stance because they are IN current range of the missles?

What makes you think that North Korea would truly care about even an honest and serious warning by the U.S.? The North Korean regime is in such a chaotic, erratic state that it is not as though they have that much to lose. Sure--bomb them into oblivion. They will, no doubt, go down in what they would perceive to be a glorious end by bringing down as much destruction in neighboring countries (and depending on the timeframe, perhaps the U.S.) with them.

Furthermore, they are more than aware that any serious threat by the U.S. is going to be a bluff in the end. South Korea and Japan--two important economic allies of the U.S. who are well within present North Korean missile capabilities--are not going to want to hasten their own assured nuclear mass destruction by having the U.S. take an aggressive stance against North Korea. Not to mention that China and Russia most certainly would not tolerate any strong, military action by the U.S.. Both of these countries have their own vital interests at stake in terms of grasping hold of geopolitical power in the region.

I suppose the next bright idea is that we should just bomb Russia and China into oblivion as well.

Mutual respect from all countries will do this greatd world some good. Every country wants to defend itself and you can only achieve this if you have the same technology and military might like other countries.

So many countries are building WMD because they can see Irag. (Pakistan and Indian did it, Isreal has it) Each country want to negotiate from a strong position.

Solution - mutual respect and in the spririt of protecting this world let countries agree to destroy all WMD and STOP further investment in WMD.

Ade

I'm an American living in Korea. There are thousands of us living here and working, teaching, dating, travling just like you do. It's nice to talk about dropping nukes from your comfortable armchair. But I live 12 miles from the DMZ. A war with Korea would mean millions of deaths. So that's why we wait...
As for your argument about double standards, if you can't see why it's better for places like britain and America to have nukes over iran and north korea, you need to help.

It is apperent that President Bush went after the wrong country here. It was said that saddam had weapons of mass destruction, but none where found. Now here we have N.Korea saying,"we are building these weapons of mass destruction." Its been a few years since this N. Korea problem started again. The US should of finished them off back in the fiftys. Nevertheless, the US tends to go after the wrong country. I know that theres no oil in N Korea. Maybe the US should of sent a military strike on the North while Bush and Chenny send their Number one military to handle Iraq. "HALIBURTON"

I think north korea has a right to test the missile or to engage to any millitary show like any other country in the world.
why america ,southkorea and japan engage themself with millitary joint ,why not north korea,
lets not be too selfish.
gikonyo kanja
kenya africa

Us is such a country that imposes two standards to other countries,it will be destroyed some day...

I do not believe for one minute that his missle failed. He along been a threat. He has munipulated the world with his aggressive demeaner. He has the world suppling him with all his needs. We know he doesn't feed his people. We know he makes the Super Dollar and we do nothing about it. The Goverment is very scared of this man. We all should be.He has nothing to loose. Rusia, China Iran, does not agree on sanctions because he supplies them with the super dollar, and they all build their weapons together.When we were helping countries back in the ww1/ww2 days we were know as the great counrty. Now no one needs help, and we are labled as a Super Power. WE helped in Veitnam, but we paid a large lesson for that. Invading Iraq without UN support, then labeling those whom didn't join..."Terrorist" was the worst thing Bush could have done.
We have always been at war with the middle east...I don't care what anyone says it always been about getting control of OIL....now we taught them everything they needed to know...now they use it on us....
"Give a man a bomb, he'll blow up a house...
Teach him to build one...he'll blow up your country.....

North Korea is a country that has been making belligerent militant noise for over 50 years. It has never ended its war with South Korea, claiming the current circumstances as merely a prolonged troops with its perpetually hostile enemies. It is in many ways the closest thing on the global stage to state-sponsored paranoia -- probably only superseded by the gold-medal performance of Kampuchia.
North Korea is incapable of feeding itself, fueling itself, or it seems behaving itself. If millions of people weren't suffering as a result of that, it would almost be comical -- a lot easier to laugh at in a roomful of Ayatollah's, or Fidel Castro. Then again, Castro had HIS little flirt with missiles too...
No, what I'm more worried about is the idea that we have spent over $100 billion building a defense system that can not even handle the pathetic threat that this brings to our country. It cannot protect our country, what protection is it for any other of our allies?
If they build a missile, and it blows up -- then build an atomic 'device'... which may or may not blow up, I'd be very surprised if of our Asian allies didn't feel the desire to point a few extra missiles of their own...which they will make DAMS SURE WILL WORK, or even add a nuclear weapon that we KNOW they could probably cobble together, in the direction of North Korea.
Sometimes the only way to satisfy a paranoid maniac is to make absolutely certain that they know that other maniacs are getting a little paranoid of them...

Wow! So much concern and opinions over war. Is North Korea a threat? Was Iraq? Is the United State's out to dominate the world? What if Russia,China and Iran get together? What If? I ask everyone here.. Did you wake up today with a difference or solution? It amazes me that we ALL wake up and if we count the leaders we have (give or take) about 10 people personel opnions on how our day could begin or end every day. I wonder what the the outcome would be if all of the people were asked to vote on the day? If we spent all of the money we do in trying to kill each other on getting along.

Any country in the world that posseses Nuclear bomb or WMD is a potential danger to the world security. There is no assurance that democracy can hinder a stupid and dangerous decision - the occupation of Iraq is a case at hand. For the sake of peace, the international community must work together with brains and not with muscles.

Carl, your spelling is so BAD it's funny, and Ben right after also sounds like a moron. Ever hear of "spellcheck"? Or that the overuse of cliches is boring, or..... grammar? You can't write, so don't. Try reading instead.

In my opinion, this kind of test-missile launching politics bear exact resemblance with Iran's nuclear enrichment politics. It is all about politic for asking attention and gaining some profits by setting up a threat.

Say that US were to negotiate with N. Korea and Iran, the US will have to give something to the N. Korea or Iran in order to buy their meekness (such as the lifting of some embargoes, joining some trade organizations, or simply forget or burn some fish files). So this threat politic is actually a way to buy political and economic benefits from US. But i do believe that US must give them the benefits, as the US had owed the world so much after they purged Iraq and still stood there in the name of Peace-keepers where in fact their action impact resembled the old song of tyranny and conquest (for oil?)

North Korea has every right to test missiles for self defence. What would be the position if Iraq actually had WMD . Their soverignity would have been saved. Similary if Palestinians had better weapons Israel would stop acting like a bully. The entire world is full of hypocrisy .What about green house emissions and other trade matters does USA follow International Stipulations. USA and Israel should know that world does not exist for their benefit. Perhaps the so called GOD must be on vaccation.

PK

Although it's easy to just bomb NK, which would eventually wipe out other neighboring countries, everyone should take this matter into careful consideration and deal with it for some time in order to prevent a war. Everyone should unite against NK to stop such practice before it gets even worse. I am unhappy with how SK along with Russia and China is reacting to the incident. SK should halt the economic aid for now and has to punish NK; What is wrong is wrong.
By the way, I wish the US holds the plan to build space-based arms. It is very dangerous since every other nations will follow the same steps.

Let me introduce myself.
I am US of A. Correction though, US does not mean us as in the world community united. My aim is to dominate the world around US of A. World covers the whole universe so dont think i will settle for anything less. I have nuclear weapons and I promised to use them only if i say it is day and you say it is night. I promise. If you say it is night, then i wipe you off the map. I am the self proclaimed police man of the world. Did i say corrupt police man? 3 countries dont like Israel. Therefore i dont like 3 countries. If you want to be my ally, you need to first honor the following:
I vow not to disclose Israels peaceful nuclear ambitions
If any other non-ally wants even an N of nuclear, it is threatening world peace
I promise to defend the constitution of US of A whether it is wrong or it is wrong.
I will help US of A in installing democratic governments in all countries of which all Presidents or prime ministers should be US of A's puppets.
If US of A kills innocent people i will shut my eyes.
If non-US of A ally kills one of US and A's puppets I should make headlines basing it a barbaric and terrorist act.

If you agree to all of the above, you need to contact the US of A support umbrella at usa@usa.com

This is not just the united states problem all of the world needs to get involved. If sanctions don't work then if other means have to happen every one needs to take part not just the united states armed forces. I hope that it does'nt come down to that.

i love those americans who opposes their own government's position. americans have never been
united and that is the real reason why NK's Kim has all the temerity to taunt america by test firing those missiles knowing the american prez
would have bigger headaches within his own country's peaceniks calling for additional aid for NK. i pity the american peaceniks for not pitying their own country. burn american flags? why yes! there would be lots of american peaceniks who'll support that. it did not pass congress. did it? adios, suck_rs!

so many sides but is there ever really a solution. The main issue is that we simply can't trust these nations. So they say they need their nuclear capability for energy resources, so they say need weapons capable of delivering nuclear destruction for simply defense but don't intend to use them... the fact is, these countries do not share the same ideology as us and our allies and they never will. The leaders of Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, even Cuba, will never realize what the best thing for their country is to get their own civilians involved in making the country stronger, both economically and politically. And because of that, these leaders are to never be trusted and action must be taken before they can even think of advancing any of their defense and/or nuclear programs they deem will strengthen their country and help their people. BULLS%#@$! Stop them or forever hold our peace. GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY, for the future continues to look grim. Our voice and strength seems to be lessening as the years and decades go by, we must find a way to grab position in this chess match for the survival of mankind.

When are people going to figure out that the U.N. Security Council is not effective? Are we going to wait for the North Koreans to perfect their technology and potentially become a real nuclear threat before we act? Then, it's too late! It's obvious that North Korea has no intention of negotiating with anyone. The U.S. needs to do what is necessary to prevent disaster. Just because a couple of countries say no (i.e. China and Russia), does that mean we're not allowed to protect ourselves? I believe we should send a strong ultimatum to the North Koreans and then actually stick to the consequences. This will also send a significant deterent to any other rogue nations who want to try the same things.

Well The real reason why Georgie porgie and is play mates have not gone steaming into N.K has nothing to do with doing the right thing or seeming to do the right thing.
Its Because the last time America did a few million chinamen came storming over the hills and the entire U.S Army routed.
But this time the said chinamen have a few megatons to dampen the USAs Arder and georgie is none to eager to go into a war that he aint sure that he going to win.
Its quite a different story than kicking around a few pathetic ragheads.
These boys have no compunction about sticking it to the man if he comes around trying to push his weight around in their back yard.
And to be quite honest i think the russian bear would be in on giving george a nose tweaking as well as the chinese.
Nahh!!! this is one rogue nation thats going to be giving the U.S the middle finger as it hides behind the skirts of china for some years yet.
Remember the bigmouthed little kid in school that you could never get hold of cos he had some big mates.
Well NK is the big mothed little kid LOL.
Not this time George!! you mess with this little guy and your going to get yourself and your military a bloody nose...

I think the best way to counter-attack the very bad leader of North Korea is　to attack the country at once and do not give them a chance to destroy countries they want to eliminate.Are we waiting for them to destroy us? Those kind of people do　not believe in peace for they do not know its meaning. Do the North Koreans think that they are the only superior human beings in this world?My answer is no they are not.They are the most uncivilized people in the world which I think should be annihilated and must be banished on the face of the earth.HOORAY to President Bush!Keep up the good work!!

what gives us the right to say who may have nuclear weapons? given our recent behavior as the bully of the world I can see where countries might wish to possess such weapons. to protect themselves, imagine that.
the collapse of the soviet union was a very bad thing for the world. at least while the soviet regime was in place we had some balance in the world. we were scared of them and they were scared of us. now there is no balance. and the world is tired of our behavior, and you know what happens to bullies.

I wouldnt be suprised at all if Iran China and Russia have some sort of backdoor deal going on that we all are either unaware of or are too naieve to see coming. We need to be watching these three very carefully because all of a sudden these three countries have alot of base coming from their voices.

It looks like all the weak little children on the playground have deceided to gang up on the the big bully and take him down. Who knows? It always works in the movies.

For starters, have any of you served any time in the military? If not, you could not begin to understand what that means to a person. First, we don't want to be at war with anyone, very simple reason, OUR FRIENDS DIE! Second, if any thing starts in N Korea, about 90% of the population in S korea will probable be hit with chemical weapons, so again our friends die. Third, if you use nukes, the wind carries the radiation all over the freaking place and a lot more people die, so "nuke 'em all and let God sort 'em out" is not going to work either. I don't agree with what is going on over there, I spent 6 months of my 3 year tour in Asia in S Korea so I've been there. If diplomacy doesn't work we can not wait for them to strike first, same with Iraq. If their President is dumb enough to mess with his neighbors then he should have to pay the price for that and not his country men, women, and children.

We had a sign in top of our chopper in SE Asia that said "kill'um all let God sort'um out"..still makes sense to me.

Look, the perception in most places outside the Etats Unis is that the US invaded Iraq only after it was certain that the Iraqis did not actually possess any WMD.
Acording to this "school of strategic thought":
1)All the posturing about WMD was a complete sham.
The US actually believed the CIA assessments it suppressed in the interests of building a case for invasion.
2) The US is terrified at the prospect of large-scale US civilian casualties - for example, look at all the whining that ensued over a "mere" 3,000-odd deaths at the WTC.
3) The only defence to being territorially violated in the next little lunatic adventure dreamt up by the neocons in the White House is to have a credible WMD threat.
That cynical stance is reinforced by the pussyfooting of US policy with respect to Iran and North Korea in contrast to the hardline taken on Iraq.
It is further reinforced by the coinciliatory stance taken with respect to Pakistan and India, which both went from being crypto-nuclear to declared nuclear states in 1998.
So, every tinpot nation that would rather not toe the US line in terms of foreign policy is going to do its best to develop a credible WMD threat.
To add to this, the North Koreans are genuine lunatics who are completely out of touch with world opinion. This is quite unlike the Iranians, who mask their practical understanding of the world outside their republic under a convenient chador of religious fanaticism (which can always be modifed as required). Only the Chinese possess some leverage with the Koreans because they are energy dependent on the PRC. And, the PRC certainly doesn't possess enough leverage for the DRK to power-down its nuclear capability.
I wouldn't be scared of Kim bombing Seattle or Honolulu - not yet at least. But he certainly can take out Seoul and Tokyo. There are a lot of US civilians living in both those places.
Be afraid, be very afraid.

China, Russia, North Korea, Japan, U.S.A. etc.. they're all just names we made up. We're all human.. we all think and react and feel the same way. We all CAN NOT see our own faults and are hypocrites. We ALL like to blame others. We love to think we are different. But in reality we are all the same inside. We are all clones just in different situations and positions. We claim other countries are dumb, evil, dogs, unruly, dangerous, etc.. yet we are stupid and blind to the fact we just described ourselves: Americans. Haha.. it's really funny how blind we are to that obvious fact. oh sure we can also pick out some positive adjectives too.. but all the bad stuff we say about others.. we can say in a more bigger degree about ourselves. We have pretty good propaganda covering it all up in the U.S. though. Sadly, most people are ignorant and extremely stubborn here. Plus, most people don't like to see the ugly truth.. But the rest of the world knows it better than us.

To answer Jay's question, the reason that Russia and China continue to support the likes of Iran and North Korea is to counter and check U.S. power. The more unstable they can keep the situation by supporting Iran and N. Korea the more off balance they can keep the United States. It also provides excellent cover for their own plots of world domination.

The fact that the US, Russia and others have nuclear capabilities should not be seen as a reason to support the proliferation of WMDs. There is more to these issues than equality before the law. Instead of allowing every nation to develop WMDs, we should work out other ways of checking the excesses of those already possessing it. The danger in applying the principle of equality before the law in these WMD issue is that nations that newly develop these things will behave in different ways. It is not unlikely that some countries would want to celebrate their arrival in the world of nuclear powers by using it - the outcome, we know, is a disaster of a collosal dimension.

The welfare of the people of the earth is another paramount reason why we must take a firm stand against this nuclear thing. North Korea for instance, is disturbing the world with its nuke which costs a real fortune while its people are wallowing in abject poverty. What when poor nations commit so much resources to procurring needless weapons while their people are hungry?

There are so many reasons why nuclear proliferation should be seriously checked. It is only a matter of time before mankind wiped itself out if the likes of Iran and N. Korea are not effectively checked.

I wonder what the society would be like if every Tom, Dick and Harry is equally armed as the policeman. If we don't accept the US as the world's policeman, let us meet and appoint one that will do it better. I do not know everything but it is my candid opinion that in today's world, we can't have a better policeman among world powers than the US despite all its excesses and/or percieved excesses.

We have a choice in this whole matter:

1. Run the International Community without a policeman so that every nation pleases itself to the extreme.

2. Find another policeman to replace the self-appointed voluntary one we have at the moment.

3. Accept and co-operate with the current one while we continue to work for a better global community by among other things, thinking up ways of checking excesses and outright wrongs at all levels and on all fronts - contnuous development.

I personally believe that we should continue to produce nuclear weapons. How many Liberals ran around crying that Saddam did not have any WMD? Somebody please refresh my memory on what was just found over there? How many countries have the facilities and technology to produce nuclear weapons that we are unaware of?

We need to send the message that we are not going to play with you. If you step out of line, WE (U.S.A.) are going to put you back in line. No sanctions, no press statements, no U.N. involvement. All out war. If you want peace, prepare for war! God Bless America & God Bless our troops!

i just hope that nothing big happens like SK becoming a slave to NK.

I have never been so ashamed to be an American in my life!!! I've heard some solid arguments for and against us acting out a meriad of responses. HOW CAN U SAY NORTH KOREA IS NOT A THREAT??!!!!! They are the most lethal threat to the entire world as we breathe, as we speak..We "HAVE" to annihilate them and WE SHOULD! I'm sick of this "****" talk. All of these lame, "looking for attention" excuses are just that........................excuses. I say, lay into these bastards with EVERYTHING we've got!!! And NO, we're not spread thin militarily. We have a little over 100k soldiers in Iraq. If we needed, we could have a million active in no time at all!!! We should just CRUSH them and be done with it, Let's slap them in the face once and for all!!!

Sicerely,

The Silent Majority

and firing these kinds've of missiles isn't defensive, it's a military provocation. Not one of the missiles they fired was a along the lines of self defense. It was provocative. I say, let's just crush them and get over with!!!!

Am I the only one that is sick and tired of so called journalists shenanigans. Mr Novak the latest example.