North Korea

North Korea: “Sanity” at the Brink

Nations that chart a self-defining course, seeking to use their land, labor, natural resources, and markets as they see fit, free from the smothering embrace of the US corporate global order, frequently become a target of defamation. Their leaders often have their moral sanity called into question by US officials and US media, as has been the case at one time or another with Castro, Noriega, Ortega, Qaddafi, Aristide, Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Hugo Chavez, and others.

Posted in foreign policy, nuclear weapons, sanctions, North Korea

North Korea Tries US Journalists

Two US journalists are reported to have gone on trial in North Korea, on charges of committing "hostile acts".

Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were arrested on 17 March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.

The US has dismissed the charges as "baseless" and said the two women should be released immediately.

The trial comes amid growing tensions in the region following North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests.

Posted in Equality/Justice, journalism, North Korea

Taking North Korea at Their Word

Shortly after North Korea exploded its second nuclear device in three years on Monday morning, it released a statement explaining why.

Posted in nuclear abolition, nuclear weapons, North Korea

North Korea Restarts Nuclear Reactor and Threatens to Attack South

$Replicas of North Korea's Scud-B missile (C-background) and South Korean missiles are displayed at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul. The United States views North Korea's recent threats as \"saber-rattling and bluster\" that will only deepen the country's isolation from the world, the White House said Wednesday. (AFP/Jung Yeon-Je)$

The North Korea nuclear crisis deepened today after the regime reportedly restarted its main nuclear reactor and threatened to attack South Korea if it joined US-led inspections of vessels suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.

In its most belligerent broadside yet in the standoff, North Korea warned that it would view as a declaration of war any participation by Seoul in the naval exercise, known as the Proliferation Security Initiative.

Posted in nuclear weapons, sanctions, North Korea

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
4:09 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

North Korea and Malign Neglect

WASHINGTON - May 26 -

JOHN FEFFER

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A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.

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Posted in North Korea

Drive for Sanctions Likely in Wake of North Korean Test

$An anti-war activist shouts during a pro-North Korea rally demanding a stop to sanctions on North Korea, as U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth arrives at the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul May 8, 2009. North Korea rebuffed the latest overtures from the Obama administration by saying on Friday it was useless to talk to the United States whose \"hostile policy\" left it no choice but to bolster its nuclear deterrent. The portraits are of Bosworth (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan. (REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak)$

WASHINGTON - Sunday's underground nuclear test by North Korea drew strong condemnation here Monday from U.S. President Barack Obama who suggested that Washington will seek strong international sanctions by the U.N. Security Council and possibly impose tough unilateral measures of its own.

According to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in Vienna, the blast slightly exceeded the force of Pyongyang's first nuclear test in 2006. Analysts here said the test was likely to pose an especially difficult policy challenge for China, which also condemned it.

Posted in foreign policy, nuclear weapons, sanctions, North Korea

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2009
3:53 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Did North Korea Break the Rules? Does the U.S.? Does Israel?

WASHINGTON - April 6 - In Prague on Sunday, Obama addressed nuclear policy, saying that North Korea "broke the rules once again." Today, speaking in Turkey, he said the U.S. does not seek conflict with Muslim countries.

JOHN FEFFER

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Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) Links:

Posted in nuclear weapons, North Korea

US Hypocrisy on North Korea: Let's Talk About Israel's Nukes

President Obama's administration is pressing for diplomatic retaliation, perhaps in the form of more sanctions against North Korea, after Pyonyang launched a rocket into space. There are conflicting reports about the success of the launch. North Korea says the rocket carried a satellite, which is now orbiting the earth. That's according to state-run media in North Korea, which reportedly broadcast patriotic songs and images of Kim Jung Il, praising him for the launch. The US, meanwhile, said the launch failed to reach orbit, landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Posted in nuclear weapons, Israel/Palestine, North Korea

Obama Asks Security Council to Punish N. Korea

PRAGUE - President Obama said that North Korea violated international rules when it tested a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles, and he called on the United Nations Security Council to take action.

"This provocation underscores the need for action, not just this afternoon at the Security Council but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons," Mr. Obama said. "Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something."

Posted in foreign policy, missile defense, nuclear weapons, North Korea

What's Up With North Korea?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why North Korea just launched another rocket. The country wants attention. It craves the prestige of putting a satellite into orbit. It hopes to gather information for its missile program. And it's angling to up the ante in the great poker game called the Six Party Talks that also involves the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia.

The stakes are certainly high. The launch could dramatically escalate tensions in the region.

Posted in foreign policy, North Korea