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To: 4figureau who wrote (3147)	2/4/2003 9:15:47 AM
From: 4figureau	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5423

N. Korea hits out at U.S. military moves Tuesday, February 4, 2003 Posted: 4:58 PM HKT (0858 GMT) SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has hit out at U.S. moves to bolster its military forces in the Pacific, accusing Washington of attempting "to crush us to death." Pyongyang's reaction follows reports from officials in Washington that U.S. aircraft and warships have been placed on alert for possible deployment to the Pacific. The "prepare to deploy" move is intended to signal to Pyongyang -- which has so far defied international pressure to abandon its nuclear ambitions -- that Washington is not totally distracted by the military buildup in the Persian Gulf. But North Korea kept up its sabre-rattling on Tuesday, accusing the United States of stepping up its presence within the territory, with the help of its allies. "It's an attempt to crush us to death, the U.S. military is scheming to beef up forces in Japan and South Korea," North Korea's state-run Central Radio said in a Tuesday broadcast monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The United States already has 37,000 troops based in South Korea and 48,000 in Japan. The U.S. order, unveiled on Monday, will cover sending 24 bombers -- a mixture of B-52s and B-1s -- to Guam. An undisclosed number of intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft are also being sent to various locations in the region under the plan. Alert The order will not, however, fulfill the entire request for forces made by U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Tom Fargo, according to a senior military official. (U.S. commander seeks buildup) So far, no land-based fighters have been approved, a request made by Fargo. That deployment could be approved in the next few days. The order also does not include an aircraft carrier, with the USS Kitty Hawk remaining deployed to the area. If the Kitty Hawk is reassigned and sent to the Persian Gulf then a replacement carrier would be deployed, most likely the Carl Vinson. In separate reports carried by North Korean media, Pyongyang has said its troops are on alert in case of a U.S. attack and its people were ready and willing to sacrifice for their leader and socialism "no matter how the world may change." "The Korean people have a particular attachment to their socialist system chosen and built by themselves in their way," a report on the official Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday. "This unity means the unity of the people in the faith that they are ready to share the destiny with leader Kim Jong Il in difficulties and ordeals and their unity in the will to always remain true to their pledge made to him no matter how the world may change," it said. Fuel rods This photo shows N. Korean leader Kim Jong Il (wearing sunglasses) during visits to army units at an undisclosed location last month The nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyongyang was sparked in October when the United States said North Korea had admitted developing nuclear arms. The U.S. then cut fuel oil supplies and Pyongyang responded by reactivating mothballed nuclear reactors, ejecting U.N. nuclear inspectors and pulling out of a global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. On Friday, U.S. officials said spy satellites had detected trucks taking fuel rods out of storage, a key step in the reactivation of its Yongbyon nuclear facility. (Full story) The United States wants to bring the issue before the U.N. Security Council, which could eventually impose economic or political sanctions on the isolationist North. Pyongyang has rejected the move, saying talks and agreement to a non-aggression pact are the only way out of the crisis. It says any sanctions imposed on it by the Security Council would effectively be a declaration of war. Higher level Meanwhile, South Korea's President-elect Roh Moo-hyun has sent an envoy to Washington for talks on settling the dispute. North Korea has repeatedly called for direct talks with the United States and an assurance it would not be attacked. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, meanwhile, has confirmed that its governing board will meet next week to discuss the North Korean crisis. On February 12, the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency will discuss whether the crisis will be passed along to the U.N. Security Council, the IAEA said. -- CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report asia.cnn.com