North Korea - Issues

Korea just launched a test missile, which has many countries worried.

Obama:
WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama called on Sunday for North Korea to refrain from further "provocative actions" and said its launch of a Taepodong-2 missile violated United Nations rules.

"With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations," Obama said in a statement released from Prague, where he is traveling.

Obama said the launch violated a U.N. Security Council resolution that prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind.

"I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions," he said.

Obama, who is on an eight-day visit to Europe, will call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons across the globe in a speech later on Sunday that he hopes will lend credibility to his message in atomic disputes with Iran and North Korea.

He said in the statement the United States was "fully committed" to maintaining security in northeast Asia and would continue work through the so-called six-party talks to ensure verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Those talks group North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

"North Korea has a pathway to acceptance in the international community, but it will not find that acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and abides by its international obligations and commitments," Obama said.



Here is a time line of their missiles.
A timeline of developments in North Korea's missile program:

_ Aug. 31, 1998: North Korea fires suspected missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, calling it a satellite.

_ Sept. 13, 1999: North Korea pledges to freeze long-range missile tests.

_ June 2001: North Korea warns it will reconsider missile test moratorium if Washington doesn't resume contacts aimed at normalizing relations.

_ July 2001: U.S. State Department reports North Korea developing long-range missile.

_ September 2002: North Korea pledges in summit talks with Japan to extend its moratorium on missile tests beyond 2003.

_ Jan. 10, 2003: North Korea announces withdrawal from Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

_ March 10, 2003: North Korea fires a land-to-ship missile off east coast into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

_ October 2003: North Korea fires two land-to-ship missiles.

_ May 2004: North Korea reaffirms its missile moratorium in summit talks with Japan.

_ May 2005: North Korea fires a short-range missile into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

_ March 8, 2006: North Korea fires two short-range missiles.

_ June 18, 2006: North Korea vows to increase its "military deterrent" to cope with what it calls U.S. attempts to provoke war.

_ July 5, 2006: North Korea launches seven missiles into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, including a long-range Taepodong-2.

_ July 15, 2006: U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1695 demanding North Korea halt missile program.

_ Oct. 9, 2006: North Korea conducts underground nuclear test blast after citing "extreme threat of a nuclear war" from U.S.

_ Oct. 15, 2006: U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1718 condemning test, imposing sanctions and banning North Korea from activities related to its nuclear weapons program, including "their means of delivery and related materials."

_ July 14, 2007: North Korea shuts down its main Yongbyon reactor, later starts disabling it.

_ June 27, 2008: North Korea destroys cooling tower at Yongbyon.

_ Sept. 19, 2008: North Korea says it is restoring a key atomic reactor.

_ Oct. 11, 2008: U.S. removes North Korea from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

_ Feb. 15: North Korea claims it has the right to "space development."

_ Feb. 23: South Korea says North Korea has a new type of medium-range ballistic missile capable of reaching northern Australia and Guam.

_ March 11: North Korea declares satellite launch will take place between April 4-8.

_ April 5: North Korea launches long-range rocket from its base at Musundan-ri on the country's northeast coast.

 

why is the US worried about north korea while they should be more worried about the middle east?

 

Well this missile test is something we living in Asia need to be wary of

@ultra: Don't you know there are alot more countries posing as a threat to the US than the old fed up Middle East? China is one of them & Korea, well we've been hearing alot of nasty things coming from them for some time now.

 

I heard that the US sent some destroyers near North Korea in case it was really a long-range ballistic missile. But not sure about the detail so i cant post any links, need to search more about it.
But if it was really a missile test and the US destroyed it in the air before reaching its destination, would that cause a reason for declaring war?

 

Who could declare war in that situation? N.Korea or the US? if its destination is the pacific and destroyed inside N.Korea territory, should N.Korea declare war in that case cause the destination could be an international waters and N.Korea can do what they want as long as its in their territory, right?

 

About the missiles, what was its destination? i was in macau when the launch begun. and i cant understand the news in the local cable because they are all in chinesse

 

if north korea bombs america, what exactly does they intend to prove and what exactly do they hope will happen and obtain from bombing america? i don't particularly see a reasoning for north korea on bombing america. with the mid east and those terrorists i understand as they don't western powers to interfere in their "business" and conflicts as they want the good old days to reign again.

 

What's with you & this eternal fear for America's security? This isn't just about America, the people who should really get rattled with this issue is us living in Asia. ???

I just saw on the news that alot of Asian countries were pissed at North Korea for this missile test & infact, along with The U.S. & Japan, they have appealed to the U.N. to look into this whole situation.

 

I dont think that the UN can do anything about. China is a communist country and i think they support N.Korea's "tests", and any resolution made by the UN can be easily vetoed by China.

I also don't know why when a country makes a nuclear power plant or a nuclear reactor, they assume that that country is building nuclear/weapons of mass destruction. Look at Iraq, its been like 5-6 years since they started the war there and they haven't seen any spec of radioactive material.

 

Jocky, man code then loony?

What about Biochemical weapons then? Those don't have radiation what so ever, but definitely more deadly than any nuke.

 

well, Japan and South Korea should be the one panicking, not US, US always interferes with every nation in the world. maybe its okay if they are the one affected, but no, they are like the international eye. From a country thats been colonized by them, even if we are now independent from them, they still hold us by the neck, we are like a puppet republic.

VFA, bases, embassy, and even some places here, they are like co-owners of those places. and in history, they always find a way just to go to war, like Spanish-american war, there is a controversy about the USS Maine, it was blown up and the spaniards was blamed, but if you look at the Naval Victory in manila bay, not a single ship sunk, because of their modern armors.

What I'm saying is, we should let N.Korea have those test, if its a missile, then use those destroyers and surface-to-air missles to destroy those missile before reaching destination.

And I have a question, how can the US know about those nuclear/ or weapons of mass destruction's locations and the country creating it? Espionage? I dont suppose that Iraq/N.Korea will blurt out about those things.

 

North Korea is a big ole' dick.

 

I Believe it's America who is the biggest supremist d*ck of all time. North Korea is just a nation trying to stretch out its wings for the first time, they just took the wrong choice where they will test out said newly acquired strength.

 

i wonder when will the philippines have some nukes?