Marrakech II
03-04-2009, 00:49
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/02/north.korea.missiles/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department on Thursday sent a blunt, public message to North Korea: Don't launch your missile.
Replicas of South and North Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial in Seoul.
Replicas of South and North Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial in Seoul.
"We don't want to see this launch go forward," department spokesman Robert Wood said.
But at the same time, the United States is carefully avoiding any suggestion that it would try to disrupt the launch and is being vague about what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others have said the "consequences" of the launch would be.
Behind the U.S. tightrope act is the United States' hope of handling the situation in a way that will not endanger the six-party talks aimed at dismantling and eventually erasing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior administration official told CNN on Thursday.
The official said the North Koreans have pretty much backed themselves into a corner. While they may have begun the process of threatening to launch a missile to gain leverage with the United States, it is now an issue of saving face -- and they are certain to go ahead with the launch.
They recognize there will be a strong reaction at the United Nations, but have no choice at this point, the official said....
So should the US take out the missile in flight? If it fails will the US and or Japan be blamed even if they didn't try and knock it out? Would N Korea back up it's threat with an attack on Japan? How say you?
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department on Thursday sent a blunt, public message to North Korea: Don't launch your missile.
Replicas of South and North Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial in Seoul.
Replicas of South and North Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial in Seoul.
"We don't want to see this launch go forward," department spokesman Robert Wood said.
But at the same time, the United States is carefully avoiding any suggestion that it would try to disrupt the launch and is being vague about what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others have said the "consequences" of the launch would be.
Behind the U.S. tightrope act is the United States' hope of handling the situation in a way that will not endanger the six-party talks aimed at dismantling and eventually erasing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior administration official told CNN on Thursday.
The official said the North Koreans have pretty much backed themselves into a corner. While they may have begun the process of threatening to launch a missile to gain leverage with the United States, it is now an issue of saving face -- and they are certain to go ahead with the launch.
They recognize there will be a strong reaction at the United Nations, but have no choice at this point, the official said....
So should the US take out the missile in flight? If it fails will the US and or Japan be blamed even if they didn't try and knock it out? Would N Korea back up it's threat with an attack on Japan? How say you?