Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (5673)	2/5/2003 7:38:33 PM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

U.S. Expresses Concern at North Korean Nuclear Move Wed February 5, 2003 06:13 PM ET By Vicki Allen and Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday called North Korea's announcement that it had restarted nuclear facilities dangerous and said U.S. forces were ready to confront the "terrorist regime" if necessary. "The situation in North Korea is a dangerous one," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. He said U.S. forces could responded if needed despite preparations for possible war with Iraq. "Our forces are arranged around the world, not in a threatening way, but in a way that demonstrates that we already do in fact have the capability of dealing in more than one theater at a time," Rumsfeld said. In comments to reporters later, Rumsfeld said North Korea had "been involved in things that are harmful to other countries." "It's a regime that is a terrorist regime ... And the fact that they have announced that they are going to breach three or four agreements ... is a worrisome thing," he said. North Korea said on Wednesday it had restarted facilities at the center of its suspected nuclear weapons program, raising the stakes in a crisis it said Washington had triggered by threatening the isolated communist state. North Korea's announcement came as Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the U.N. Security Council to persuade the world that U.N. weapons inspectors cannot disarm Iraq and war may be the only resort. U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said North Korea was "very far along" in its nuclear program, limiting U.S. options. "This is a very strong signal to those who wonder ... why we shouldn't wait on Iraq, to say: Don't wait while problems continue to gather. It does begin to limit your options," Rice said on ABC's Nightline program. She said a diplomatic solution remained possible. U.S. Senate Republicans said North Korea appeared to be taking advantage of the U.S. preoccupation with Iraq and urged fellow Republican President Bush's administration to pay more attention. Two called for sanctions. The White House called on North Korea to close the facilities. "All they're doing by threatening to take such steps is to further isolate themselves from the rest of the international community. They know what needs to be done. They need to dismantle their nuclear weapons," a senior White House official said. Rumsfeld said North Korea was developing material that "in a relatively short period of time" would let it make six to eight more nuclear weapons in addition to the one or two it probably had. Those could be sold, with ballistic missiles, to "terrorist states or terrorist organizations," he said. TWO WARS AT A TIME "We have to be sensitive to the extent that the world thinks that the United States is focused on the problems in Iraq, it is conceivable someone could make a mistake and believe that that's an opportunity for them to ... take an action that they otherwise would have avoided," Rumsfeld said. The United States has said it is willing to talk to North Korea about how it will dismantle its nuclear programs, which include a uranium enrichment plant and a nuclear complex capable of producing plutonium. But it has also tried to play down the gravity of the dispute and not pressed for immediate Security Council action. Sen. Richard Lugar, the Indiana Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters the Bush administration should talk to Pyongyang now. "It would not be prudent to wait until the new South Korean president is inaugurated (on Feb. 25), nor do the South Koreans think it would be prudent," he said. An envoy from South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun told the United States on Tuesday that it should work harder for dialogue with North Korea. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who sought the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2000, criticized the Bush administration's approach to North Korea. "I would immediately ask for sanctions from the United Nations because they are in direct violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and I would start urging our allies and friends in the region to impose economic sanctions," he told reporters. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Wright) reuters.com