North Korea Vs South Korea: A War in the making?

[KEIKEI]

Huyu Lee Myung-bak amekalia kuti kavu maana uchaguzi wa serikali za mitaa unafanyika siku chache zijazo na wa-korea wanajua vizuri uongo aliyoutengeneza kuhusu kuzama kwa hii meli. Ni wazi kwamba hana muda mrefu na kukumbatia hila za wamarekani.

 

[Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu]

UNITED NATIONS - South Korea officially referred North Korea to the U.N. Security Council Friday over the sinking of a navy ship that killed 46 sailors, taking its strongest step ever toward making the communist North face international punishment.South Korea's U.N. Ambassador Park In-kook handed over a letter to Mexico's U.N. Ambassador Claude Heller, the current Security Council president, asking for a response from the U.N.'s most powerful body to deter "any further provocations."
North Korea has steadfastly denied responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan and naval spokesman Col. Pak In Ho warned last month in comments to broadcaster AP Television News that any move to retaliate or punish Pyongyang would mean war.


Heller said he will circulate the letter to the 14 other council members and then initiate consultations "to give an appropriate answer to this request." He will talk to council members before setting a date for the first closed-door council discussion, Mexico's U.N. spokesman Marco Morales said.Despite a history of being attacked by North Korea, Seoul has never taken Pyongyang to the Security Council for an inter-Korean provocation, indicating now that it wants to take the matter beyond the Korean peninsula.
In the letter, Park said an international investigation determined that the torpedo that sank the 1,200-ton South Korean corvette Cheonan in March was made in North Korea and that additional evidence pointed "overwhelmingly" to the conclusion that it was fired by a North Korean submarine.
He called the attack a violation of the U.N. Charter, the 1953 Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War, and the 1992 North-South agreement on reconciliation, nonaggression and cooperation. The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.
"As such, the armed attack by North Korea constitutes a threat to the peace and security on the Korean peninsula and beyond," he said.
"My government requests that the Security Council duly consider this matter and respond in a manner appropriate to the gravity of North Korea's military provocation in order to deter recurrence of any further provocation by North Korea," Park said.
The letter was delivered hours after South Korea's president, in a hard-hitting speech bereft of diplomatic politeness, called North Korea a liar and a threat to northeast Asia. He called the ship attack "a military provocation" that also "undermines global peace."
"North Korea must admit its wrongdoing" and "pledge to never again engage in such a reprehensible action," President Lee Myung-bak said. "If the enemy continues to taunt us and think that they can do whatever they want they must understand that there is a limit."
They "must understand very clearly that they will have to suffer the consequences."
Lee, who was addressing Asia-Pacific defense ministers including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called for international support to act against North Korea and its secret nuclear weapons program.
The Security Council has several choices, a resolution with or without new sanctions against North Korea, a weaker presidential statement calling for specific actions, or a press statement.
U.N. diplomats familiar with consultations on possible action against North Korea said China, the North's closest ally, is opposed to new sanctions and indicated the more likely result will be a presidential statement. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the contacts have been private.
The Security Council previously imposed sanctions against Pyongyang after its two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. These include U.N. embargoes on nuclear and ballistic missile related items and technology, on arms exports and imports except light weapons, and on luxury goods.
Frosty relations between the Koreas have plunged since the sinking of the Cheonan in March, and tensions have increased in northeast Asia.
When ambassador Park was asked at U.N. headquarters what kind of action South Korea would like, he replied: "I think the action which is commensurate with the gravity of this situation."
Speaking to reporters in Singapore after meeting South Korea's defense minister, U.S. defense chief Gates pledged American support for South Korea, whether it pursues a strong denunciation of North Korea or a milder reprimand.
Stopping short of a resolution which China could veto should not be seen as any weakness, Gates said.
A less confrontational option "may be more addressed to the worry about provoking further instability and further provocations from the North," he said.
Asked whether a toothless response from the U.N. would weaken the U.S. as it tries to deter the nuclear ambitions of both North Korea and Iran, Gates had a clipped reply.
"I don't think anybody believes the United States is a paper tiger."
Recent problems between South and North have involved Pyongyang's secretive nuclear weapons program.
Lee, the South Korean president, said the world is undergoing rapid changes and each country is trying to stay ahead.
"However there is one country in the world that still refuses to change. There is one country that is still living in the past. And that country is North Korea," he said. "North Korea, despite its appalling economy is still engaged in its attempt to become a nuclear weapon state."
In his speech, Lee laid out a litany of complaints against North Korea, including a 1983 assassination attempt on the South Korean president that killed 21 other people and the time-bomb attack of a Korean Air flight in 1987 that killed all 115 people on board.
Both times, North Korea denied a hand and claimed the accusations were fabricated. Even in the latest confrontation, it has accused the U.S. military of mistakenly firing a torpedo at the Cheonan.
In North Korea, the military rank and file continued to repeat the official line with excessively nationalistic phrases.
"If an enemy dares to invade our land, territory, or sea even an inch, the (North Korean army) will mercilessly punish the enemy with the might of our army-first leadership," Cpl. Kim Kwang Chol told Associated Press Television News on the North Korean side of the demilitarized zone before Lee delivered his speech.
___
Joshi reported from Singapore. Associated Press Writers John Heilprin at the United Nations and Anne Gearan and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

 

[Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu]

SEOUL, South Korea North Korea says it will attack South Korean loudspeakers and other propaganda facilities along its border, warning it can even turn Seoul into a "sea of flame."

The General Staff of the Korean People's Army made the threat Saturday in a declaration carried by the official Korean
It says the North would launch an all-out military strike to blow up any propaganda facilities along its border, and that its retaliation would be "a merciless strike foreseeing even the turn of Seoul ... into a sea of flame."

Tensions have risen since Seoul blamed the North last month for the sinking of a navy ship that killed 46 sailors. North Korea denies involvement.

Wajinga hawa wawili karibuni watapigana huo ndio mwanzo wa Vita.

 

[Alwaz]

Vita si kitu kizuri lakini hawa wawache wapigane ili Marekani ianguke haraka na jeuri yake.
Marekani haitokuwa na muda wa kutosha kushughulika na BP oil spill na Pakistan,Afghanistan,Iraq,Somalia na kwengineko.
Kwa upande mwengine kwa tishio hili S.Korea watazima maspika yao kwa sababu N.korea inaonesha haitanii.Hivi ndio anavyotakiwa kuwa mwenye kuonewa.

 

[ByaseL]

North Korea's military has nominated the third son of ailing leader Kim Jong-il as a delegate to a rare meeting of the ruling party, a South Korean newspaper said, supporting reports he is his father's chosen successor.

In isolated North Korea, the backing of the army is seen as vital in a smooth power transition, particularly given the younger Kim's inexperience.

Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his mid-20s, is expected to be anointed eventual successor at a Workers' Party conference starting on Tuesday, when experts say he will likely be given his first official role.

Chosun Ilbo cited sources as saying the army had nominated both the father and son as its delegates to the biggest party meeting in three decades.

It added that while only Kim Jong-il's election was publicly known, "Kim Jong-un's election as a delegate is widely known among executives of the North Korean People's Army".

Regional powers will all be watching for clues as to how the transfer of power proceeds in the country with enough fissile material for at least six to eight nuclear weapons, as well as a military with nearly 1,2-million combat-ready troops.

State media has reported for the past month on the regional appointments of delegates to the conference, and said on Sunday the appointees had arrived in the capital for the meeting.

Kim, who is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, has called the conference to elect the party's "supreme leadership body", in a move experts say is part of an overall plan to ensure the continuation of his family's dynastic rule.

Experts say the most market-friendly outcome is an approximate continuation of the current system. The biggest concern are any signs of regime collapse that could result in internal unrest, massive refugee flows and military exchanges.

 

[Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu]

By Jack Kim and Jeremy Laurence Jack Kim And Jeremy Laurence
SEOUL (Reuters) ailing leader Kim Jong-il has named his youngest son as a military general, state media said early on Tuesday, marking the first stage of a dynastic succession.

It was the first time the 20-something Kim had been mentioned by name in the North's media, and his appointment came just hours before the start of a rare ruling party meeting to elect its supreme leadership.

Kim Jong-il, 68, is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, but despite his declining health is not expected to go into retirement just yet, experts say. They say his son is too young and inexperienced to fully take the reins.
State news agency KCNA said Kim had issued a directive bestowing military rank on six people including Jong-un, the leader's sister Kyong-hui and Choe Ryong-hae, who is considered a loyal aide of Kim and his family.

Kim Jong-il "indicated in the directive that he ... confers the military titles to members of the with the firm belief they will complete their honorable mission and duty on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea," the report said.
Intelligence officials say the youngest son of the "Dear Leader" was identified last year as next in line to take power in a country which for years has been punished by international sanctions for trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The son is believed to have been born in 1983 or 1984 but little is known about him, even by intensely secretive North Korean standards, beyond the sketchy information that he went to school in Switzerland and has been his father's favorite.
Regional powers will be keeping close tabs on the Workers' Party conference, the biggest meeting of its kind for 30 years, for any signs of change which could have an impact on the destitute state's economic and foreign policies.

Washington said it was too early to tell how the country's leadership may be evolving or how other nations should respond.
"The United States is watching developments in North Korea carefully and we will be engaged with all of our partners in the Asia-Pacific region as we try to assess the meaning of what's transpiring there," Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for the Asia-Pacific region, told reporters.

Financial markets see the preferred outcome of the meeting as an approximate continuation of the current system. The biggest concern is any sign of collapse that could result in internal unrest, massive refugee flows and military exchanges.
China and Japan are the world's number two and three economies and, with South Korea, account for close to 20 percent of global economic output. Instability on the Korean peninsula could have grave implications for the global economy.

"Should the conference itself open the door for an orderly leadership change and in one way or another economic reform, we see a great deal of underlying, long-term economic benefit for a united Korean economy," said Goohoon Kwon, Korea economist and co-head of research at Goldman Sachs in Seoul.

FAMILY AFFAIR
At the last such party meeting three decades ago, Kim, then aged 38, embarked on the path to succeed his father Kim Il-sung, the state founder, by taking on a Workers' Party title.
"It's striking that the big announcement coming out of a party conference is not a party position but a military position," said Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

"This attests to the centrality of the military in governing North Korea today," he said, adding this followed the pattern of his father's succession.
By signaling the young Kim's rise, experts say North Korea is readying for a collective father-and-son leadership, which will cement the family's grip on power.
In the event Kim Jong-il died suddenly, his son, by then identified as would be surrounded by close family confidants who have been appointed to senior positions in the Workers' Party and military in recent months.

Kim's appointment of his sister to a military role underlined his resolve to ensure a smooth transition, Noland said. "This is belt and suspenders, keeping it in the family to create another general in the family at the older generation to play some kind of regent role," he said.

His uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, was also promoted to a powerful military post earlier this year, and analysts say he is most likely to act as his principal regent until the young Kim can build his

The party meeting takes place at a time of great hardship for the impoverished North as it tries to work around U.N. sanctions -- adopted in 2006 and 2009 in response to Pyongyang's two nuclear tests -- and justify its pledge to become a "powerful and prosperous" nation by 2012.

The North is hopelessly low in cash, and Kim's two visits to China this year were in part seen as bids for economic support. Exacerbating its problems, a last year triggered inflation and wiped out ordinary citizens' savings.

The meeting comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region after Pyongyang expressed readiness to return to nuclear disarmament talks, which have been in limbo since 2008 when the mercurial North walked out and said they were finished. China has hosted the on-again-off-again talks since they began in 2003.
(Additional reporting by Michel le Nichols in New York, Paul Eckert in Washington and Brett Cole in Seoul; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

 

[Mkora]

SHIRIKA la habari nchini Korea Kaskazini limesema mtoto wa kiume wa mwisho wa kiongozi wa nchi hiyo,Bw. Kim Jong Il, ameteuliwa kama generali wa ngazi ya juu katika jeshi la nchi hiyo. Hii ni mara ya kwanza kwa jina la Bw.Kim Jong Un ambaye anadhaniwa kuwa anakaribia kufikia umri wa miaka 30 kuchapishwa kwenye vyombo vya habari nchini humo, licha ya kuongezeka kwa fununu kuwa kiongozi wa nchi hiyo anamwandaa mwanawe kumrithi.

Mwandishi wa Shirika la Utangazaji la Uingereza BBC nchini Korea Kusini amesema ikiwa,Bw. Kim Jong Un atateuliwa mmoja kuwa mmoja wa maofisa wakuu wa chama wakati wa baraza kuu la chama hicho ambao unaanza hivi karibuni, itakuwa ni ishara kuwa, Korea Kaskazini inanuia kuendeleza utawala wa kinasaba hadi kizazi cha tatu cha familia hiyo.

Taarifa hizo pia zimekuja wakati chama tawala kikifanya mkutano mkubwa kufanyika katika kipindi cha muongo mmoja huku kukiwepo taarifa za kuwa Kim Jong-il anamuandaa mtoto huyo wa tatu kuwa mrithi wake baada ya kiongozi huyo mwenye umri wa miaka 68 kuripotiwa kukumbwa na maradhi mara kadhaa.

Miaka miwili iliyopita kiongozi huyo aliripotiwa kukumbwa na ugonjwa wa kiharusi na katika muda wa vipindi tofauti amekuwa akienda China kufanyiwa matibabu.

Hata hivyo siyo Serikali ya Pyongyang ama Beijing ambazo zimewahi kusema neno lolote hadharani kuhusu tetezi zilizozingira afya ya kiongozi huyo.

My Take Riz1 Atateuliwa cheo gani baada ya uchaguzi au anaandaliwa nini ?

Hii inashabihiana na hali iliyopo Tanzania

 

[firstcollina]

Alianza Nape akapewa ukuu wa wilaya, Hopefull next to come kama JK akishinda Riz One atakuwa Mbunge wa kuteuliwa kisha Waziri ready to take over in 2015 for Presidential post.

 

[Saint Ivuga]

Mtoto mwenyewe inasemekana/ni mshabiki mkubwa wa NBA

 

[Malafyale]

Alianza Nape akapewa ukuu wa wilaya, Hopefull next to come kama JK akishinda Riz One atakuwa Mbunge wa kuteuliwa kisha Waziri ready to take over in 2015 for Presidential post.

Upo sahihi kabisa firstcollina;

Nahisi "Kongolo Mobutu"wetu atapata nafasi kwenye serikali itajayo itakayo undwa na baba yake(endapo atashinda)!

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Tatizo ni kuwa JK hatashinda na wenye CCM watadai awarudishie chama chao baada ya uchaguzi

 

[Msanii]

Hehe hehe
Ulevi wa madaraka

 

[Dick]

Ni tabia ya Mafashisti wote ktk kujihakikishia uwepo wao pia na usalama wao.

 

[X-PASTER]

Two Koreas exchange fire across maritime border
​

North Korea on Tuesday fired dozens of artillery shells at a South Korean island, setting buildings on fire and prompting a return of fire by the South, Seoul's military and media reports said.

A witness said residents of the island of Yeonpyeong, off the west coast of the peninsula near a disputed maritime border, had been evacuated during the shelling.

The exchange, which lasted for about an hour and then stopped abruptly, was the most serious between the two Koreas in years.

South Korea's military said one marine had been killed and three seriously wounded in the shelling, the biggest attack in years. The island is about 3 km (1.8 miles) south of the sea border and 120 km (75 miles) west of Seoul.

YTN television quoted a witness as saying 60 to 70 houses were on fire after the shelling and TV footage showed plumes of smoke coming from the island. It said a South Korean fighter jet had been deployed to the west coast after the shelling.

"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN. "People are frightened to death and shelling continues as we speak."

News of the exchange of fire sent the won tumbling in offshore markets with the 1-month won down about four percent in NDF trading. U.S. 10-year Treasury futures rose and the Japanese yen fell.

The South Korean central bank said it would hold an emergency meeting to assess the possible market impact of the shelling.

South Korea's military confirmed the exchange of firing, without providing more details.

The attack comes just as a U.S. envoy is travelling to the region after revelations that the North is moving ahead with uranium enrichment, a possible second path to manufacture material for atomic weapons.

North Korea has said it wants to restart six-party nuclear disarmament talks it abandoned two years ago. But Seoul and Washington have said the North must move forward with previous pledges to curtail its nuclear programme.

"It's unbelievable," said Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Peking University. "Today's news proves that North Korea, under unprovoked conditions, shot these South Korean islands. It's reckless provocation. They want to make a big bang and force the negotiations back into their favour. It's the oldest trick."

There was no immediate comment from the White House and State Department. China, the closest the isolated state of North Korea has to an ally, expressed concern about the incident.

The impoverished North depends heavily on China for economic and diplomatic support and its leader, Kim Jong-il, has visited China twice this year, in part to gain backing for the anointment of his son to eventually take over the family dynasty.

Those ties have become a sore-point with Washington after reports that North Korea appears to have made big steps towards enriching uranium, possibly using technology that passed through or even originated in China.

A U.S. academic, Siegfried Hecker, who recently visited North Korea, said at the weekend that he had seen more than a thousand centrifuges for enriching uranium during a tour of the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex.

Sung Kim, a U.S. official dealing with North Korean issues, said in Washington D.C. on Monday that China's ties its chairing of stalled talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons capability mean "they do have a special responsibility to deal with the challenges posed by North Korea."

China has urged returning to the nuclear disarmament negotiations but has also fended off calls from the U.S. and its regional allies to use its vital food and energy aid to North Korea as a lever.



(Reporting by Seoul bureau; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

 

[KakaKiiza]

Hao ni wamarekani wanataka kuipiga n-Korea na wanawatumia south korea ili wapigwe wao watumie mwamvuri wa kimataifa kam iraq!!wawashushie mvua ya mabomu!
Imesemekana katika bbc kwamba noth-korea wanakinu kipya chakutengeneza nyukilia!!Hapo sasa!!ainkiller::fencing::laser::target::A S-danger::boink::usa:ray:

 

[E=mcsquared]

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea fired artillery toward its tense western sea border with South Korea on Tuesday, killing two South Korean marines, the South's Defense Ministry said.Fifteen other South Korean soldiers were wounded, five of them seriously, defense officials said. Three civilians were injured in the attack.

About 100 rounds of artillery hit an inhabited South Korean island in the Yellow Sea after the North started firing about 2:30 p.m. local time, the Yonhap news agency said. Yonhap initially reported that 200 rounds had hit. The Defense Ministry said it could not confirm the number of rounds.

South Korea's military responded with more than 80 rounds of artillery and deployed fighter jets to counter the fire, defense officials said. Firing between the two sides lasted for about an hour.
The South Korean army also raised its alert condition, Yonhap said.

Sharp tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Report: N. Korea fires on S. Korea


Images of plumes of smoke were quickly broadcast on Yonhap television from the island of Yeonpyeong, with some homes on fire. It was not immediately clear how much damage the artillery had done. The island has a large military garrison.

The island has a total of about 1,300 residents, a fisherman who lives on the island told Yonhap.
Some residents started fleeing for the South Korean mainland, which is about 145 kilometers [90 miles] away. Other residents were seeking shelter at schools.

The South Korean government immediately called an emergency meeting of its security ministers, meeting in a bunker under the presidential residence in Seoul.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ordered his ministers to take measures against an escalation of the situation, presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said, according to Yonhap.

"Take a stern response and carefully manage the situation from further escalating," the president said.
The United States quickly offered support.

"We are in close and continuing contact with our Korean allies," the White House said in a news release. "The United States strongly condemns this attack and calls on North Korea to halt its belligerent action and to fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement."

"The United States is firmly committed to the defense of our ally, the Republic of Korea, and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability."

The North Korean fire came as the South's military conducted routine drills in waters off the island, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the North.

South Korea's annual Hoguk military exercises were to last nine days and include as many as 70,000 South Korean military personnel, according to the Stratfor global intelligence company.The Yellow Sea has been a longstanding flashpoint between the two Koreas, but Tuesday's attack was an escalation in violence.

"Our navy was conducting a maritime exercise near the western sea border today. North Korea has sent a letter of protest over the drill. We're examining a possible link between the protest and the artillery attack," presidential spokeswoman Kim said, according to Yonhap.

"Marines were training in that area, including firing artillery, in the morning. But they were aiming south and southwest, not east or north," said a representative for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "North Korea sent a telephone message at 8:20 a.m. to cease the drill. We did not stop the drill."

Yeonpyeong island is part of a small archipelago about 80 kilometers [49 miles] west of the South Korean port of Inchon, which serves Seoul, and is close to the tense Northern Limit Line, the maritime border between the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea.

A South Korean warship, the Cheonan was sunk in the area in March with the loss of 46 lives in a suspected North Korean torpedo attack.

North Korean artillery is extremely difficult to hit, because it is dug into coastal cliffs. Though the North has tested its artillery -- and tested anti-shipping missiles -- it has not fired artillery into South Korean territory in recent years.
One of North Korea's most potent threats is the hundreds of artillery barrels dug in along its demilitarized zone with South Korea and ranged on Seoul.

Yonhap television was covering the attack nonstop in South Korea, forgoing other news Tuesday. Meanwhile, state television in North Korea did not mention the attack.

The reason for the attack was unclear, but North Korea watchers had theories.

"I think they are very frustrated with Washington's response to their uranium program and think they think that Washington has almost given up on negotiations with North Korea," said Choi Jin-wook, senior researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification.

"I think they realize they can't expect anything from Washington or Seoul for several months, so I think they made the provocation."

"I definitely think this is centrally directed form Pyongyang. This can't be done without orders from Pyongyang," he added.

Over the weekend, news broke that North Korea had showed off its uranium-enrichment facilities to a visiting U.S. scientist. Washington reacted by saying that the North's nuclear moves had been clear all along.

The United States said it would not dismiss restarting six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the North. However, it said it would not return to negotiations unless North Korea showed good faith.

North Korea is desperately reaching for bargaining chips, experts say.

"They want food. They are starving to death. They are trying to make Seoul and Washington move. Otherwise, they are in big trouble," Choi Jin-wook of the Korea Institute for National Unification said before Tuesday's artillery attack. "And this is a transition period for the North Korean leadership; they need to provide gifts to the elite, but they don't have the resources."

Sanctions have been progressively placed on North Korea in response to a succession of nuclear and missile tests and the sinking of the South Korean warship in March.

Meanwhile, with national leader Kim Jong Il apparently in ailing health, his son Kim Jong Un is being raised to prominence in the isolated state, in what pundits see as a succession process.

 

[FarLeftist]

I think they are in a blink of WAR!!

 

[Maundumula]

Hatuna section ya International issues?

 

[nkosiyamakosini]

Hivi hii si ni ya international forum au siasa zozote tunatwanga tu hovyohovyo? wadau?