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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (152473)	11/23/2004 5:32:57 PM
From: michael97123	Respond to of 281500

And now there are four. Good nite Gracie.

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (152473)	11/23/2004 7:19:20 PM
From: Michael Watkins	Respond to of 281500

Thanks for bringing that article forward. > North Korea's nuclear-weapons program - that it is a necessary defense in the face of hostility and threat - is not entirely illogical < There you go... the same argument I've been making with respect to Iran. The only difference is, the stakes are arguably higher in the case of Iran.

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (152473)	11/23/2004 7:38:47 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Very interesting. This part is noteworthy: A recent online poll conducted in conjunction with one of South Korea's newest online news websites, the Frontier Times, indicates that about 20% of Koreans surveyed believe the South should ally with the North in the event of a US attack, with a further 30% not sure which side they should take. Of course, the specific phrasing of the question and the manner in which the poll was conducted can affect the efficacy; however, anecdotally, the numbers seem roughly consistent with what is felt on the ground in South Korea: most specifically, the undecided 30%.

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (152473)	11/27/2004 4:04:16 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

S Korea rebuked over nuke tests The IAEA said it was satisfied the experiments had stopped The UN nuclear watchdog has rebuked South Korea for conducting undeclared and illegal nuclear experiments. But Seoul escaped tougher action, with the International Atomic Energy Agency refraining from referring the matter to the UN Security Council. The IAEA said it was seriously concerned but there was no evidence the experiments were for arms programmes. Seoul - which says it has no intentions of building nuclear weapons - welcomed the outcome. It had lobbied hard to prevent the issue going to the Security Council. Earlier this month, the IAEA said South Korea had made weapons-grade plutonium and near weapons-grade uranium - both a violation of nuclear safeguards. Minute quantities Seoul maintains the experiments were carried out by researchers for the sake of scientific development and without the knowledge of the government. The government admitted that its scientists conducted, without official authorisation, tests in 1982 to extract plutonium and in 2000 to enrich uranium - two separate routes to an atomic bomb. The IAEA said the quantities involved in the experiments were minute and there was no evidence that the work was being applied to a weapons programme. Speaking after the IAEA meeting in Vienna on Friday, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei said he was satisfied the experiments had halted. "(South) Korea has taken a number of corrective actions in that regard to make sure these experiments are not continued," he told reporters on Friday. Revelations of the secret experiments caused extreme embarrassment to South Korea and its main ally, the United States. The issue has also given North Korea a chance to deflect criticism of its own nuclear activities and ignore calls for it to rejoin six-nation talks on the issue. South Korea's concealment of its secret tests is also viewed by some experts as violation of Seoul's obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. news.bbc.co.uk My comment: The only reason to carry out the expensive and difficult process of enriching/extracting weapons-grade uranium and plutonium, is to make bombs. Once you know how to do it, it's a simple matter, to scale up from "minute quantities". The excuses offered by S. Korea, would have been rejected, if offered by, say, N. Korea or Iran. The double standard is clear: if you are part of the American Empire (S. Korea), or a vassal state (Israel), the rules don't apply to you. All treaties, all rules, are to be enforced selectively, to punish enemies. All allies (and ourselves, of course) have impunity.