North Korea vows nuclear attack on US, saying Washington will be 'engulfed in a sea of fire'

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

North Korea amplified its threatening rhetoric as the U.N. Security Council approved new sweeping sanctions, vowing to launch a first-strike nuclear attack against the United States and threatening to engulf Washington in a "sea of fire."

An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for "a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors" because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.

At a mass rally in Pyongyang on Thursday, Army Gen. Kang Pyo Yong told the crowd that North Korea is ready to fire long-range nuclear-armed missiles at Washington.

"Intercontinental ballistic missiles and various other missiles, which have already set their striking targets, are now armed with lighter, smaller and diversified nuclear warheads and are placed on a standby status," Kang said. "When we shell (the missiles), Washington, which is the stronghold of evils, .... will be engulfed in a sea of fire."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a briefing that the U.S. is fully capable of defending itself after a North Korean missile attack.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice reacted to the warnings Thursday, saying North Korea will "achieve nothing" with threats.

"North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocations. These will only further isolate the country and its people and undermine international efforts to promote peace and stability in northeast Asia," Rice said.

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Mini-Me Junior ramps up the rhetoric.

[Valin]

Beating the war drums in Korea

Michael Auslin

3/6/13

 

Most of the time, political rhetoric doesn’t matter much. Either it’s for a domestic audience, or it’s a way of letting off steam in international relations. I wouldn’t want to bet that the rhetoric coming out of the two Koreas is so innocent, however. Relations between the two have been deteriorating since the North sank a South Korean naval vessel back in 2010 and then shelled an island, killing South Korean citizens. There was some hope that the inauguration of the new president Park Geun-hye would lead to some type of new approach to the North, though many worried that Madame Park would be too eager to shift Seoul back towards the unrealistic Sunshine Policy that failed during the 1990s.

 

If anything, the war of words between Pyongyang and Seoul is worse than under hardline former president Lee Myung-bak. Of course, young North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has continued the family tradition of provocation and aggression, launching ballistic missiles and setting off nuclear explosions. That has led to more U.N. sanctions talk, this time with China supposedly on board. The result has been the rhetorical equivalent of Defcon One. Last week, Pyongyang threatened to end the armistice that has held on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953 (no peace treaty was ever signed, and so the two sides formally remain at war). That would be a grave change to the status quo, literally indicating that hostilities had once again commenced — even if no attack was actually undertaken. From North Korea’s twisted legal logic, the U.N. sanctions are a form of warfare, so they are justified in responding; moreover, having given warning of the end of the armistice, they could “legally” launch military attacks on the South.

 

In response, the South Korean military warned it would target North Korea’s “command leadership,” including, presumably, Kim Jong Un himself. The South’s fear is that young Kim, relatively untested yet brashly confident of his country’s missile forces and nuclear capability, may wind up authorizing limited attacks, confident the South won’t respond. Thus, the rhetorical one-upsmanship.

 

 

(Snip)

[Casino67]

This kid has me concerned. Afraid he is going to do something very stupid. Without China now, he is all alone. May feel he has to start a war with the South Koreans in order to find a way to feed his people. Use war as a bargaining chip to get food.

[Valin]

This kid has me concerned. Afraid he is going to do something very stupid. Without China now, he is all alone. May feel he has to start a war with the South Koreans in order to find a way to feed his people. Use war as a bargaining chip to get food.

 

It's not just "The Kid". We would not be at the start of the 3rd generation of Kim family rule in NK without others propping him up. I would say grand dad really did run the country, but since he died, they have been more or less figureheads, and (MO) they (the generals) don't want a war with the ROK, they know they might very well lose.

Another thing, I'm not convinced that the leadership of the ROK really wants to unification with the north. The difference between the two make the difference between East and West Germany look like no difference at all.

[Casino67]

The last thing either ROK or China wants is a bunch of NOKO refugees crossing the border.

 

I think if Un said start hostilities, the army would listen and do so. Of course, what the hell do I know.

[nickydog]

The last thing either ROK or China wants is a bunch of NOKO refugees crossing the border.

 

I think if Un said start hostilities, the army would listen and do so. Of course, what the hell do I know.

 

Or any of us, for that matter.