U.S. sees North Korea becoming direct threat, eyes ICBMs

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korea is becoming a direct threat to the United States and could develop an inter-continental ballistic missile within five years, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Tuesday. Gates detailed the new U.S. assessment of Pyongyang's capabilities during a visit to Beijing, where he praised Chinese efforts to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula but also stressed the urgency to rein in the reclusive state.

China is North Korea's top diplomatic and economic backer and Gates said it was "self-evident" that North Korea would likely come up in talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington next week. "With the North Koreans' continuing development of nuclear weapons and their development of inter-continental ballistic missiles, North Korea is becoming a direct threat to the United States," Gates told reporters after talks with Hu.

Gates said he did not believe North Korea was an immediate threat, but added it was also not a "five-year threat." "I think that North Korea will have developed an inter-continental ballistic missile within that time -- not that they will have huge numbers or anything like that," Gates said. "But they will have, I believe they will have a very limited capability."

North Korea has more than 800 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 missiles of various ranges. It has sold missiles and technology overseas, with Iran a top buyer. Pyongyang's arsenal already includes intermediate-range missiles that can hit targets at up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away, the Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying last year. Those missiles could hit all of Japan and put U.S. military bases in Guam at risk.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_korea_gates

[Lasher]

1. A US retaliatory strike against North Korea would be on China's border.

Surely this thought has occurred to China.

[khepri]

2. If it's not one thing...

If it's not one threat, then it's another. No rest for the wicked.

[nalnn]

8. Also

Not only that, but any fallout from such a retaliation would fall on Japan. :(

[Lasher]

9. More than just Japan. Consider what happend after the Chernobyl disaster

[DainBramaged]

3. WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR it's what we live for

:cry:

[lib2DaBone]

4. Let me guess.. a mushroom cloud in 45 minutes unless we invade..

.. and if you fail to agree... we'll fly some airplanes into a tall building to create a wave of nationalism... USA-USA-USA We're Number 1... We're Number 1....

[L0oniX]

5. Step back and ask ...what does N. Korea have to gain by attacking the USA?

[Citizen Worker]

6. Will it be invasion and occupation? China wouldn't tolerate that. That leaves the US with the idea

of stationing nuclear missiles in South Korea as a deterrent. I can see the headlines slowly forming. We will be told that there are no other options available.

[ezmerelda39]

7. Every country

in the world has the potential to become 'a threat' to the U.S. given enough time. Is that the plan? Attack the whole darn world before they attack us? Makes sense to me. If we are going to be all war all of the time we might as well make it a big one instead of little piddly wars here and there. Eventually, we can be occupying the whole world. There is a little problem of how to fund all of this fun and games but, hey, lets let our great grandchildren worry about that.

[David__77]

10. Well then better stop violating N. Korean sovereignty.

Concluding a peace treaty and establishing diplomatic relations would be good first steps. Clinton was well on that path in 2000 when progress was cut short by the election of Bush.

[Javaman]

11. Sometimes I get the impression

that the powers that be are secretly cheering on NK's development of an ICBM.

It would be good business for Lockheed-Martin and the war industry. After all they seem to be running our economy these days.

War and Fear are big money.