SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said it was open to dialog with the US but that it would not return to the “humiliating negotiating table” until it has boosted its nuclear arsenal enough to fend off an American attack, the state news agency reported.”Genuine dialog is possible only at the phase where the DPRK has acquired nuclear deterrent enough to defuse the US threat of nuclear war unless the US rolls back its hostile policy,” the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency, KCNA.The statement came after a series of escalating threats against both the US and its neighbor, South Korea.President Barack Obama said in an interview Tuesday that it is likely that North Korea will display more “provocative behavior” but that it would not be rewarded.Continue Reading… … Read More
Classified Pentagon report says North Korea legitimate threat
The Daily Beast Thursday reported on a classified Pentagon document which states that the the Defense Intelligence Agency believes “with moderate confidence” that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of being delivered by ballistic missiles, but that the reliability of strikes would likely be low. Via The Daily Beast: According to the report, “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles however the reliability will be low.” That line was read aloud by Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, on Thursday during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Lamborn was questioning Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who seemed taken aback and declined to answer the question, saying, “I haven’t seen it and you said it’s not publicly released, so I choose not to comment on it.” Continue Reading… … Read More
Peter King: U.S. could preemptively attack North Korea
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y, says that the U.S. could preemptively launch a strike on North Korea, if provoked. “If we have good reason to believe there’s going to be an attack, I believe we have the right to take preemptive action to protect ourselves,” he said on CNN.”I don’t think we have to wait until Americans are killed or wounded or injured in any way,” King continued. “I’m not saying we should be rushing into war, don’t get me wrong, but if we have solid evidence that North Korea’s going to take action, then I think we have a moral obligation and an absolute right to defend ourselves.”Watch, via The Hill:Continue Reading… … Read More
Obama to propose deep nuclear arms cuts in State of the Union
US President Barack Obama will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to call for dramatic cuts in nuclear arsenals around the world, The New York Times reported late Sunday. Quoting unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said that in recent months Obama had secured agreement with…
Pentagon Cries Poor, Starts $10 Billion Nuclear Weapon Upgrade
The Pentagon is facing its worst cash crunch in more than a decade. Yet it still somehow found the money to put a down payment on a $10 billion upgrade of its nuclear weapons in Europe — y’know, just in case there’s another Cold War. … Read More
International Atomic Energy Agency reports being hacked
VIENNA (AP) — The International Atomic Energy Agency has acknowledged that one of its servers has been hacked.The U.N. nuclear watchdog commented Tuesday after a previously unknown group critical of Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program posted contact information for more than 100 experts working for the IAEA.A group called “Parastoo” — Farsi for a swallow bird and a common Iranian girl’s name — claimed responsibility for posting the names on its website two days ago.Israel is commonly acknowledged to possess nuclear weapons — something it neither confirms nor denies. It says Iran is secretly working on nuclear arms — something Tehran denies — and describes the Islamic republic as the greatest threat to the Mideast.Iran and Arab countries, however, say the Jewish state’s nuclear capacities pose the greatest menace.Continue Reading… … Read More
Israeli PM sets ‘red line’ over nuclear Iran
Ultimatum is the only way to “peacefully prevent” Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Netanyahu says in UN speech. … Read More
