North Korea puts rockets on standby to 'mercilessly strike' the U.S.

[Vasconcelos]

North Korea has become a liability for China.

NK is to China like that "friend" of yours who's always getting himself into trouble nearly dragging you with it, eventhough you did nothing. Doubt China would be allies with them if they knew how lunatic the NK leadership would get.

In fact, if it is indeed NK that starts the whole mess by firing first, I'm pretty sure China would just sit and watch without actively taking part on the mess. No nation on Earth actually supports NK, with perhaps the exception of Iran.

[Jackson]

NK is to China like that "friend" of yours who's always getting himself into trouble nearly dragging you with it, eventhough you did nothing. Doubt China would be allies with them if they knew how lunatic the NK leadership would get.

In fact, if it is indeed NK that starts the whole mess by firing first, I'm pretty sure China would just sit and watch without actively taking part on the mess.

One would think, and hope.

[Scholarios]

http://japanfocus.org/-scott-bruce/3630

For those interested in some interesting historical background, it's worth noting that the South (as I said before) technically began its nuclear program in the 1970's when the U.S. considered abandoning its ally for perceived human rights abuses and the lifetime presidency of General Park.

According to the report, in late 1974, Park Chung Hee authorized a program to develop nuclear weapons technology with a view to developing a long-term nuclear option, but, in January 1976, to reduce friction in its alliance with the United States, he ended negotiations with France to obtain reprocessing technology,5 and in December 1976, under immense US pressure, he suspended the whole nuclear weapons program (this much was well known at the time and has been documented by many scholars). What is less well known is that this proliferation activity continued after 1976.

Hong attributes Park’s interest in nuclear weapons to his concern that the Nixon Doctrine would lead the United States to abandon South Korea in spite of its contribution to the Vietnam war effort, especially after the United States withdrew in disarray from Vietnam—at which time the ROK’s leverage from sending troops to Vietnam would evaporate.

Historians ascribe Park Chung Hee’s drive to reduce military dependence on the United States to a combination of historical trends and events. The first and most potent was deep tensions on the peninsula in the wake of North Korean incursions on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 1968, culminating in a commando raid on the Blue House in January 1968, followed three days later on January 23 by the North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo, leading to a year-long negotiation for the release of its crew. These events generated the impression that the United States was weak-kneed in dealing with North Korean aggression. The second was the promulgation of the Nixon Doctrine in 1969. Nixon and Kissinger’s direct dealings with China without prior consultation with South Korea left Park wondering if they would also open dialogue with the North behind the South’s back. The North Korean attack on a US EC-121 spy-plane in international airspace occurred against the backdrop of these trends, leading Nixon to make preparations for massive retaliation against North Korea, including nuclear attack. But ultimately, he took no military action.

The third factor for Park was the unilateral withdrawal of the US 7th Infantry Division in 1971, and on-going discussions in Washington and political pressure from Congress for further withdrawals. Another consideration was the discovery of North Korean infiltration tunnels under the DMZ in 1974-75. Park also witnessed the murder of his wife by a pro-North Korean assassin in 1974. Even as Saigon fell in April 1975, American politicians and journalists increased their criticism of Park’s regime after his Yushin constitutional amendment in 1972 that institutionalized his authoritarian rule. Park declared a state of emergency under which human rights were systematically violated. His sense of abandonment by the United States at a time of heightened vulnerability to North Korean political and military offensives combined with his isolation from American civil society led Park to seek ways to become more independent from the American military. This was Jaju Gukbang, self-reliant national defense.

Thus, the CIA analysts noted in their Strategic Decisionmaking report that South Korea’s confidence in the US commitment to defend it with nuclear weapons had declined—a fear reinforced by President Jimmy Carter’s order on January 26, 1977 to withdraw nuclear weapons from the ROK along with the 2nd infantry division. Although ultimately halting work developing nuclear weapons capability, South Korean nuclear researchers believed that “even while bowing to US preferences on the line of work they pursue, certain activities can and should be undertaken to keep Seoul’s nuclear option open.”9 These included high explosives and surface-surface missile technology. The missile program was undertaken to acquire a weapon that could threaten Pyongyang in the same way that the North could threaten Seoul with artillery and FROG missiles while long-term nuclear fuel cycle technology was sought to keep the bomb option open.