http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061229/ts_nm/korea_defence_threat_dc_2
North Korea "grave threat" after nuclear test: Seoul Fri Dec 29, 4:35 AM ET South Korea on Friday termed North Korea a grave threat, a further sign of the deepening chill in relations between the two since Pyongyang's nuclear test nearly three months ago. A defense white paper used some of the harshest language to describe its communist neighbor since the South tried to set aside decades of outright hostility toward the North with the diplomacy of what Seoul dubbed its "sunshine policy." "North Korea's conventional forces, its nuclear test, weapons of mass destruction and the forward deployment of its troops are a grave threat to our security," the white paper said. Two years ago, the term it used was "direct military threat." The ministry said the October 9 test along with the development of other weapons of mass destruction, a standing army of almost two million and the forward deployment of conventional weapons made the threat from the communist state more serious. North Korea has deployed more than 70 percent of its ground troops in the southern third of the country along the border, making it possible to mount a surprise attack against the South without a major realignment of forces, the white paper said. It has also deployed 40 percent of its 820 jet fighters in the southern region, and a fleet of transport planes can push special units deep into the South in wartime, it said. North Korea has probably extracted more than 50 kg (110 lb) of plutonium since 1994, with more than 30 kg obtained during the past three years when it was negotiating with regional powers to end its nuclear program, a ministry official said. The two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China failed in their latest round of talks last week to make any progress in suspending the North's nuclear programs in exchange for aid and better ties with Washington and Tokyo. Estimates of the North's nuclear arsenal have ranged from one or two weapons to 10 or more. Its plutonium stockpile is believed to be enough to make 13 bombs, according to some estimates. North Korea announced on October 9 it had successfully conducted a nuclear test, triggering a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the test and applying financial and trade sanctions. At the end of six-way talks last week, the North's top nuclear envoy said his country would continue to increase what he called its military deterrent in face of U.S. pressure. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
