Peaceful outcome for Korean peninsula still possible: Pence

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




Sat Apr 22, 2017 | 7:25am EDT

By Roberta Rampton and Colin Packham | SYDNEY
Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula can still be achieved peacefully because of Washington's new engagement with China, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday, despite growing fears North Korea could soon conduct a new nuclear test.

South Korea is on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in the reclusive North that could be the trigger for a new nuclear test or launch of ballistic missiles, with a large concentration of military hardware massed on both sides of the border.

Tensions have risen sharply in recent months after Pyongyang conducted two nuclear weapons tests last year and carried out a steady stream of ballistic missile tests in defiance of United Nations resolutions and sanctions.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the United States with a nuclear missile but his deputy said in Sydney on Saturday a peaceful outcome was still achievable because of warming ties between Beijing and Washington.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-idUSKBN17O046?il=0

[gordianot]

1. Well played for China they win Southeast Asia.

The North Korean gambit pays off.

[tenorly]

7. Well put. Trump is every chess player's dream opponent.

He's easy to beat, and even gives you the satisfaction of a temper tantrum afterward.

[cstanleytech]

2. What I dont understand is why the two sides dont just come to an agreement that the US will cut its

forces that are in S Korea in half in 5 years provided N Korea give up on pursuing nukes and the missiles to deliver them and that 25 years after that the US will cut its force there by half again.
Kim then then claim all he wants to his people that he made the US backdown if that helps but the truth is it simply makes things more peaceful for everyone.

[metalbot]

5. Because this...

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron

It's a long read.

Summary of North Korea, across 6 US administrations:

1. We'll stop our missile export program, but the US needs to pay us $1B a year for lost revenue.
2. We'll allow inspectors if you give us a bunch of fuel.
3. We don't actually mean that your inspectors get to inspect.
4. We'll disarm if you build us some nuclear power plants for us
5. No, of course we aren't going to let you verify that we're disarming. If you want verification, you need to send a million barrels of fuel.
6. We are not bound by any agreements that we have made
7. We'll stop enriching uranium and stop testing missiles if you give us food
8. Missiles? That's not a missile, that's a multi-stage rocket with a satellite on it. A missile would have a warhead. How could you possibly think we were testing a missile? We need more food.
9. Even though we haven't historically abided by any of our agreements, we'll really for sure suspend our nuclear program if you cancel military drills.
10. Let's launch more missiles as a sign of our willingness to negotiate.

[cstanleytech]

6. Aye I know, still I wish things were different but we rarely get what we wish for in life

and when we do we sometimes end up paying a price we didnt foresee.

[dalton99a]

3. Twenty-five million reasons the U.S. hasn't struck North Korea

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/twenty-five-million-reasons-the-us-cant-strike-north-korea/2017/04/21/47df9fea-2513-11e7-928e-3624539060e8_story.html

Twenty-five million reasons the U.S. hasn’t struck North Korea
By Anna Fifield | April 21 at 3:29 PM

TOKYO — If the United States were to strike North Korea, Kim Jong Un’s regime would retaliate by unleashing its conventional weaponry lined up on the demilitarized zone that has separated the two Koreas for about seven decades.

And that conventional weaponry is reliable, unlike North Korea’s missiles, and could cause major devastation in South Korea, which is a staunch ally of the United States.

“This becomes a very limiting factor for the U.S.,” said Carl Baker, a retired Air Force officer with extensive experience in South Korea.

As tensions between North Korea and the outside world have risen over the past month, there has been increasing talk about the United States using military force either to preempt a North Korean provocation or to respond to one.

[jimmil]

4. I have family over in S. Korea right now...

And he said everything is about normal. The way the media is portraying it war is soon to break out. Pissing off a million man army is not the way to win friends and influence enemies.

[ansible]

8. North Korea will never give up their nukes because of Bush

The Iraq War and what became of Saddam proved once and for all what will happen to you if you don't have nukes. Nukes are their ultimate insurance policy to ensure that they will never be invaded, the risk of invading a nuclear country are simply too great.