US and South Korea to Hold Large Scale Naval Excercise

The United States and South Korea are set to hold a massive naval excersise in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea on July 25, in wake of high level diplomatic meetings in Seoul involving Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who announced more sanctions against North Korea, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.  The large scale war games are directed at North Korea in wake of the sinking of a South Korean ship, the Cheonan, but also have drawn a negative response from China.

By Philip Bunnell



North Koreans Torpedo Report On Ship Sinking

North Korea today rejected as a "complete fabrication" the allegations it was behind the sinking of a South Korean military ship back in March and Sin Son Ho, the DPRK's Ambassador to the United Nations who almost never talks to the media, told a rare press conference in New York today that any Security Council action taken against Pyongyang will result in a military response.

"If any action is taken against us, I lose my job and the military will have its own job" said Sin, who contends the current accusations against his government are aimed at promoting US interests in the region. "The South Korean authorities released the investigation result on May 20th 2010, coinciding with the start of the local election in South Korea and the beginning of US secretary of State's visit to Japan. It is clear that all these announcements were pre-scheduled according to the timetable of the Obama political events" said Sin, who contends the US has also used the tragedy help secure the future of its military base in Okinawa Japan.

Sin attacked the independence and scientific value of the South Korean investigation, arguing that the South had refused to provide Pyongyang's experts with access to the site or the ship's communication records. He even suggested that the South might have sunk its own ship by mistake or even grounded it on the rocks.

Asked if his government had ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation to possible Security Council action, Sin would only say: "Nuclear weapons is are our deterrent, because we are always threatened by outside forces"

On March 26th the South Korean naval ship Cheonan mysteriously sank near the North's Yellow Sea coast, resulting in the death of 46 sailors. A South Korean investigation carried out with help from international observers concluded the ship had been torpedoed by one of the North's submarines and on Monday, South Korean officials presented the report to the Security Council in the hopes the UN body would take action against Kim Jong Il's regime.

Obama Aims To Tighten Asian Alliances During Upcoming Visit

By Meagan Wiseley - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

President Obama’s inaugural visit to Asia was postponed due to the his and First Lady Michelle Obama’s participation in the memorial service on Tuesday for those killed in the Fort Hood tragedy.

Still, the President intends to tell Asian countries when he visits later this week that the U.S. is engaged and committed to strengthening alliances with Asia and helping Asian nations achieve prosperity and security, according to Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications.

Jeffrey Bader, Senior Director for East Asian Affairs for the National Security Council, said that the President plans to raise the issue of human rights while in China.

“I think the kinds of issues that are on our minds are the freedom of expression, access to information...and certainly Tibet. I have every reason to believe that the issue of Tibet will come up on the trip,” Bader said.

Bader did not foresee discussions with the Japanese government on the realignment of Futenma Air Base, which houses 47,000 U.S. military personnel on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. The base is set to relocate to a smaller facility in 2014.

“I don’t see the Okinawa base issue being a dominant or essential issue on this visit,” Bader said. “The new Japanese government is reviewing how it wishes to move forward on [the base issue].”

The President is scheduled to leave for Japan on Thursday, followed by visits to Singapore, China and South Korea.

North Korean Threat Not So Imminent?

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service.

Analysts for the Brookings Institution gathered to assess the North Korean threat on America and its allies in reaction to N.Korea's recent underground nuclear bomb detonation and the launch of two short-range missiles.

The think tank was pressed into discussing the matter following North-Korea’s acceleration in its military activity.

Pyongyang had already caught the international community’s attention in October 2007 by unsuccessfully testing a nuclear weapon.

However the threat posed by the North Asian state has reached new heights after N.Korea announced that it had conducted underground nuclear tests on Monday, followed by two short-range missiles (a ground-to-ship missile and a ground-to-air missile) launched from an east-coast base on Tuesday.

Michael O’Hanlon, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution warned that although “Their options are limited,” threats must be taken seriously, they must be mitigated.

Richard Bush, a Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, confirmed that “They have a problem though, and that is that deterrence is not yet credible; their missiles don’t fly far enough and accurately enough, the weapons design is not yet perfect and so they need to test, that's the only way they can demonstrate to others that they have the capability to inflict harm on the United States and on Japan.”

If the production of the missiles is one leap closer to achieving significant nuclear capabilities, O’Hanlon explained that “The real issue is the size of the weapon and how deliverable it would be by the North Koreans, if they were to choose to deliver it some day.”

Additionally, “[The missile] has to survive the stresses of missile flight, which are no trivial,” said O’Hanlon.

However, according to the analysts, this does not mean that a threat is nonexistent but rather that the U.S should not be concerned by missiles coming from North Korea directly.

O’Hanlon said “I would say the most worrisome question is the sale of nuclear material because if they attack South Korea, their regime will end.”

O’Hanlon concluded that “The only thing they can plausibly get way with is the sale.”

United States has unwavering commitment to the safety of South Korea

The North Korean threat continues to be in our defense posture, said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the joint briefing with Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Lee Song-hee held at the Pentagon. A conducive effort in our defensive posturing to the security of the South Korean’s is alive and well, said Gates, and the six party talk process is binding our two countries together. Gates thanked the Korean people for their effort in helping the United States eradicate militants in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Through an interpreter, Lee said that the 40 year anniversary of the Status of Forces Agreement is still considered a central foundation of their commitment to the defense of the Korean peninsula. The reaffirmation of this agreement sets a tone for the United States’ unwavering commitment to the safety of South Korea, said Lee. According to Lee, the conclusion by high ranking military officers during a meeting with himself and the Secretary of Defense, the Korean Peninsula is very well protected.

The health of Kim Jong-il is still a variable that is being closely watched by the leaders of both countries. Kim Jong-il is believed to still be in control of North Korea even though he has not been seen in public in some time. The unknown element of Jong-il’s health has brought an even greater understanding between the countries: the US and South Korea must coordinate and manage their combined forces in a much more stable manner.