Community | March 31, 2009 | 72 comments

North Korea Threatens War if Japan Tries to Shoot Down Missile.

source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aGpv_BfW0I9Y&refer=asia

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March 31 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea’s government vowed to wage war against Japan if Japanese defense forces try to shoot down a missile that the communist nation says will carry a communications satellite.

“Should Japan dare recklessly to intercept the DPRK’s satellite, its army will consider this as the start of Japan’s war of reinvasion more than six decades after the Second World War,” the official Korean Central News Agency said today in an e-mailed statement. North Korea is also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered his forces on March 27 to shoot down any North Korean object entering his country’s airspace and deployed guided-missile units around Tokyo. Japan, along with the U.S., China, South Korea and Russia want to forestall North Korea’s plans to launch what the government in Pyongyang calls a “peaceful” satellite, and refocus on joint efforts to end its nuclear program.

North Korea accuses Japan of using the missile launch, scheduled to take place between April 4 and 8, as a pretext to build its own nuclear arsenal. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on March 29 called the launch “a mask” for development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

“The primary aim sought by Japan through this is to bring the six-party talks to collapse and delay the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and thus justify its ambition for nuclear weaponization,” according to the KCNA statement.

Japan doesn’t have atomic weapons and is the only country to have nuclear armaments used against it, during World War II. North Korea tested an atomic weapon in 2006 in the Korean peninsula’s first nuclear detonation.
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72 comments // North Korea Threatens War if Japan Tries to Shoot Down Missile.

  • shanklinmike
  • dirtymilk
  • Puppetkon46
    • 0
      Puppetkon46  
    • dirtymilk:

      Very depressing indeed. While I do not feel that they should have been there illegally, I do still hope that this is peacefully resolved soon. Unfortunately, it will probably be a political trial that few Westerners are used to. However, unless they videotaped anything military (which is a very bad thing to do while you are there), I do not feel that they will be harmed... Hopefully. More than likely they will be used in negotiations as a bargaining chip.

    • 3 years ago
  • ash_theory
  • Puppetkon46
    • 0
      Puppetkon46  

    • I hope the DPRK has a successful launch. I know I am biased in this matter, but because I have been there and I have a few friends in P'yongyang, I really hope that everything goes smoothly, and that it helps shift to a more balanced state in the region. Undoubtably, things will continue to heat up for a while before they cool down, but that has always been the DPRK's strategy. As long as their scientists are extremely accurate in their calculations, I'm sure that this will be resolved peacefully. I know that things seem kind of threatening now, but the one thing that I noticed when I was there is that the populace isn't really as ignorant as many might think. If they do get a satellite into space, they will have beaten the ROK in doing so, which in turn will provide a huge sweep of morale which will hopefully bring about a more workable situation. I know I am biased in this area, and I am sorry, but please try to remember that there are many different perspectives on this situation.

      Also, please do not be hypocritical. If other countries can have nuclear weapons (sadly), and missiles, then the DPRK should have the right to have them as well (unfortunately I do not see why any nations should have these to begin with).

    • 3 years ago
  • shotgnner870
    • 0
      shotgnner870  
    • Puppetkon46:

      You must have took the 'regime guided we are all fat & happy' Tour. Damn! The majority of the country live far
      below the poverty level, They are not a 'dumb' people
      but a misguided people, If you heard the same shit day after day about America &^ other countrys since you were 6 years old & taught that Kim is a living 'God' well
      you get the point.

    • 3 years ago
  • Puppetkon46
    • 0
      Puppetkon46  
    • Puppetkon46:

      I didn't insult your intelligence, so why are you insulting mine, The DPRK is my major focus of study, and by traveling there I at least accomplished more than most people as far as observing the culture. Also, it was not all 'fat and happy' as you might think it as. I discussed a whole variety of things with the DPRK tour guides as well as other people that were on the trip. I even learned that the youngest guide that I was with who was still in college had a brother who was constantly getting in trouble with the government for various stuff. Also, being able to travel from P'yongyang to the DMZ does allow for you to see a lot of the countryside. Also, I never said that the DPRK was a wealthy country, and that is the point: it is an impoverished country that has managed to compete in both the space and missile race. Besides, if this launch is successful, more nations might buy their missiles increasing their commerce and thus increasing their GDP, and thus increasing the amount of money they can spend on medical supplies and food.

      Also, furthermore, everyone is brainwashed by their home country as well as others. It is really just a game to nation-states, and I would argue that every nation cares more about the protection and welfare of their government over that of their people. Also, to think that the DPRK's 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong Il is incharge of everything is also misleading. Autocracies never truely work out that way in real life. There are various shifts in power, even in the DPRK, and you can sense that based on the direction that the Supreme People's Assembly takes. The whole system is actually really a lot more complex than what you are making it out to be.

    • 3 years ago
  • tomas_el_madrileno
  • dirtymilk
  • ClipsFC
  • dirtymilk
  • tomas_el_madrileno
  • dirtymilk
  • shotgnner870
    • 0
      shotgnner870  

    • N.Korea is fully aware that the U.N. 'has their back' on
      whatever they may do. The U.N. is a joke, A huge waste of taxpayer dollars & a place where the U.S.A. is attacked
      & accused of some bullshit daily! The countrys such as
      N.Korea know very well that the U.N. lacks the bite to back up it's bark if it ever gets the courage to bark! If
      Japan launched a missile even to put up a 'Comm sattelite' & it went into N.Korean airspace......I think we
      all know what N.Korea reaction would be, This is a country run by a meglomaniac, In order to get respect
      from Kim & North Korea one must be ready to stand
      toe to toe & NOT BLINK, That is the only thing this physco respects STRENGTH! To him & his minions ANY
      show of kindess is a show of Weakness!!! Japan has all
      rights to do whatever they feel is needed. Kim is 'Testing the water' if you will, He does this every 9 months to a year. When he keeps finding the 'water temp' to his liking
      time after time he will then decide it's time to take a full
      swim.

    • 3 years ago
  • holyshiite
  • ClipsFC
  • holyshiite
    • 0
      holyshiite  

    • Hey, I've got it! Let's put them on a list called, oh, Axis of Evil. Then, every time they sneeze we call them out, publicize their intentions, and get to a point where even crackpot liberals want to blow them to hell. Bush foreign policy, brilliant!

    • 3 years ago
  • TheEmpireGuy
    • 0
      TheEmpireGuy  

    • Maybe, if Japan gets blown to bits, The USA will be the leading technological nation because Japan would be obliterated into a Third World country by one of N. Korea's nukes.

      Just wishful thinking, though.

      Seriously, we don't need to police this world. Let sleeping dogs lie.

      "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula"
      THEY need to be denuclearized? WOW, if anyone needs to lose it's nuke it is the US. Why do we and the UN need to boss around a sovereign country and tell it what to do?

    • 3 years ago
  • cybexg
    • 0
      cybexg  
    • TheEmpireGuy:

      In response to: "Maybe, if Japan gets blown to bits, The USA will be the leading technological nation because Japan would be obliterated into a Third World country by one of N. Korea's nukes."

      Japan is no longer the technological powerhouse that it once was. In many ways, Japan's technological capabilities have suffered greatly over the past 12 years.

    • 3 years ago
  • Frank81
    • Frank81  
    • This comment has been hidden for review.
  • dirtymilk
  • Frank81
    • 0
      Frank81  

    • Every nation just should stop giving the North Koreans aid. Everyone should just turn there backs on them. If you look at there history they'll do somethin crazy then own up to so everyone could give them more aid. You just have to stand firm & tell them "NO, Iam not gonna give you shit".

    • 3 years ago
  • lucidstone
    • 0
      lucidstone  

    • WOW! Bloomberg distorted the hell out of this story!

      The press releases, (the same ones Bloomberg gets), indicate that Japan will shoot down the rocket "IF" the rocket fails and then in turns falls onto Japanese territory.

      That's a mighty big "IF" that they leave out.

      Japan has announced no plans to strike the North Korean rocket unless it appears to pose a direct threat, for example due to a mishap that could send an errant missile or debris flying toward the country.
      http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5984519.ece

      TOKYO, March 27 -- Japan ordered its military on Friday to destroy a North Korean missile or its debris if the launch fails and falling pieces of the rocket imperil Japanese territory.
      http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700501....

      Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces yesterday to take measures to intercept a North Korean missile if it looks set to come down on Japan or Japan's territorial waters after its expected launch in early April, government officials said.
      http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?id=4827

      and then you have this crap by Bloomberg:

      Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on March 27 ordered his forces to shoot down any North Korean object entering his country’s airspace and deployed guided-missile units around Tokyo.
      http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aGpv_BfW0I9Y&refer=a...

      Way to push the sensationalist, misleading, and even downright false angle Bloomberg.

      Bloomberg = /fail!

    • 3 years ago
  • SVMayor
  • charliesommers
    • 0
      charliesommers  

    • With the advanced technology of Japan they could easily become a nuclear power in a few weeks. Treaty agreements between Japan and the USA dictate that if North Korea were to declare war the USA would be obligated to help defend Japan. The result of declaring war would be a lose lose situation for North Korea. I hope they are just sword rattling as I fully support Japan's right to shoot down any missile fired across their country.

    • 3 years ago
  • clayjj05
  • clownpuncher
  • clownpuncher
    • 0
      clownpuncher  

    • North Korea will do as it pleases. It knows the Obama administration has no nuts. Due primarily to the fact that so many peace lovers voted for him.

    • 3 years ago
  • dirtymilk
  • derek8182
    • 0
      derek8182  

    • I do hope nothing happens. I am sure many of the bankers would love a world war to get all their money back. When you have wars there is a LOAD of money to be made from any war. N. Korean people are in a different world from ourselves they are extremely kept in the dark when it comes to what goes on in the world. There is a movie you all should watch which will open your eyes greatly. "A State of Mind". Here is a link for the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVBcYEV6Wgs you should always be aware of others lives than just thinking of your own and basing how everyone else thinks on your reality and not yours.

    • 3 years ago
  • Jiji_Kero
  • derek8182
    • 0
      derek8182  
    • derek8182:

      we the american people did not really profit off of it. We lost money. It is the bankers financing war that profit because they usually push both sides they did during ww2. But in this war it is the contractors who make money. Blackwater, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, many of those companies make a load off of this war. Halliburton of course makes the most. There are more contractors than american solders. A good movie for you to watch "Iraq for Sale" just google it and enjoy :).

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
    • 0
      huntre  

    • Kim Jong-il makes his own rules up as he goes along.
      Much like the former US dictat...em...president.
      That's what makes this such a dangerous situation.

    • 3 years ago
  • delas78
    • 0
      delas78  

    • If it actually is a satalite, why don't they just show it to everyone???

      "Here... Look... a fuk'n satallite. Now leave us alone"

      But they're not showing anything. Which is scarey.

    • 3 years ago
  • magnusdeus
  • ClipsFC
    • 0
      ClipsFC  
    • delas78:

      I think many of the countries that feel threatened right now would like it if N. Korea showed the plans. Instead they hide it and that makes neighboring countries like Japan very nervous. The last missile they shoot went stray and luckily fell into the ocean. Japan does what they need to protect their country and citizens.

    • 3 years ago
  • dirtymilk
    • dirtymilk  
    • This comment has been hidden for review.
  • Snuff99
    • 0
      Snuff99  
    • dirtymilk:

      for some reason they aren't allowing any stories on the Lisa Ling situation. i emailed them serveral times and they just ignore me. kinda assholeish, this it Lisa's community why can't we stay informed about her and Euna.

    • 3 years ago
  • dirtymilk
  • AlexBush
  • dmass5
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  

    • Well if there is a conflict maybe Korea will finally be reunited after North Korea gets raped. Thats always a plus right?

    • 3 years ago
  • blaino
    • 0
      blaino  

    • Maybe we need to get in there and get that lunatic leader out of power.

      The only roadblock to victory in a war against korea would be china. Like the korean war, so if china stays out of it we can overthrow the dictator, unite korea and end a big threat of nuclear war.

      When your dealing with a lunatic dictator who has nuclear weapons, you have to forget negotiations and plan for action. It becomes a situation where some lives sacraficed will in the end save many more lives.

    • 3 years ago
  • derek8182
  • magnusdeus
    • 0
      magnusdeus  
    • blaino:

      Yeah that'd be a nightmare.

      #1) North Korea's people are legitimately brainwashed. They think Kim Jung-Il is a god. Insurgency=unfathomable

      #2) It's in China's sphere of influence and they'd flip a shit. Can you imagine if China invaded Mexico or Canada?

    • 3 years ago
  • ClipsFC
    • 0
      ClipsFC  
    • blaino:

      Very good point :) I believe that N. Korea has some house cleaning to do. First, settle the stupid fight they have with S. Korea. Then, they need to settle with the US. You know "Technically" the war with US is not really over, it never ended properly. Third, the relationship with China is one of importance. No country in this world wants the lunatic from N. Korea AND the Chines to get involved together. Japan is just doing (saying) what they feel they need to at this point.

    • 3 years ago
  • ddhboy
    • 0
      ddhboy  

    • North Korea won't do anything because if they go to war with Japan, we'll go to war with North Korea and drag all of NATO with us, and China will just stand down because they don't want to mess up their neutral almost friendly relationship with the states.

    • 3 years ago
  • current89
  • chasingame
    • 0
      chasingame  

    • I think that Kim Jong-Il should just be thankful nobody has found oil in North Korea yet. It is probably the only reason he is still in power. That being said, If he keeps poking the rest of the world with a stick like this, someone will shove it up his ass.

    • 3 years ago
  • HeroMAY
    • 0
      HeroMAY  

    • F*** Japan.What's good for the goose should be good for the gander.If every other country can own nukes/satalites/whatever then they should be allowed to aswell.Why is it okay for one power monger to have a wmd and the next power monger not to?

      Oh the hypocrisy...

    • 3 years ago
  • hraka
    • 0
      hraka  
    • HeroMAY:

      Japan doesn't have nukes, nor can they under the agreements of the WW2 surrender. They can't have any long range missiles and can only have a defensive military. No matter who you think is wrong or right in this, Japan is and always will be sitting ducks for any aggressive country/enemy.

    • 3 years ago
  • magnusdeus
    • 0
      magnusdeus  
    • HeroMAY:

      You can't possibly be that naive. Do you know anything about North Korea or its leader at all?

      There will always be an alpha male. It's the natural order of things. Comparatively, the US is the most benevolent one in memory, and world stability needs it to stay that way.

      A dictator who brainwashes and starves his people in favor of military funding should not be allowed nuclear capablities- be they for war OR energy. He can't be trusted.

      There's something to say for the 64 years of nuclear peace the US has presided over. I'd like to continue that peace, would you?

    • 3 years ago
  • loverse
    • loverse  
    • This comment has been hidden for review.
  • dirtymilk
  • ddhboy
    • 0
      ddhboy  
    • loverse:

      Better yet, Current, COVER THE GOD DAMN STORY. You have no idea how much I'm pissed off that Current is blocking all reports of the arrest of two of its Vanguard Journalism reporters (well, 1 reporter and an editor)

    • 3 years ago
  • cerealforeal
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  

    • OFF TOPIC BUT IMPORTANT

      Anyone else notice that Current is apparently gone with Obama's lead of ridiculing Marijuana legalization? They aired a tv spot that played out stereotypes against smokers. And all marijuana related stories are gone from top rankings !

      Something's going on here.

    • 3 years ago
  • ddhboy
  • funnicus
  • funnicus
  • ClipsFC
    • 0
      ClipsFC  
    • funnicus:

      I agree, as much as I like to see the debate on legalization of pot in the US, we do not need 7 articles on top of the News when you have G2, Floods, Hundreds dying, Shootings by madmen, etc. .. I think we all know how to find those articles ; )

    • 3 years ago
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  
    • funnicus:

      You don't fix it by tinkering with a poll. You vote or speak out. Apparently the majority disagrees with you? Time to swallow your tough cookies. How do you get off just knocking over the chess board. If not, just label the stories what they are. "hand picked stories we think are most important, and you need to hear most" Our opinion is all we consider in this selection, not yours.

      How's that? How about some honesty?

    • 3 years ago
  • joshthekilla
  • ayashe
  • Sexirobot
  • ClipsFC
  • Sexirobot
    • 0
      Sexirobot  

    • The North Koreans are in no position to threaten any nation. they think because China has promised them a few firearms they can all of a sudden get into a dick measuring contest with Japan and not to mention the US. I suspect this is just posturing meant to inflate Kim's giant ego.

    • 3 years ago
  • OncleLogan
    • 0
      OncleLogan  

    • I quote from the above postings:
      "These guys just keep threatening everybody"
      "Must be quite uncomfortable to have madmen at the helm."
      "they unpredictable and the leaders can't be trusted"

      Are you guys talking about U.S. foreign policy?

      seriously, if a hostile country threatened to destroy their technology, it clearly is an act of war. Japan is the aggressor, not North Korea.

    • 3 years ago
  • ayashe
  • UrbanGypsy
  • el_chivo
    • 0
      el_chivo  
    • OncleLogan:

      If a hostile country abducts my citizens, threat me with atomic bombs and send missiles over my airspace, I think that would be legitimate defense.

      Japan is not obviously the same country that invade Korea from 1910 to 1945. And North Korea likes to irritate his neighbors.

    • 3 years ago
  • magnusdeus
    • 0
      magnusdeus  
    • OncleLogan:

      Missile tests of this sort historically have nothing to do with their payload. North Korea wants to show the world that they have an ICBM capability. The intended payload for those missiles? Nuclear warheads.

      A psychotic god-dictator wielding ICBMs is a concern for everyone, and he needs to know that the world won't put up with it, Japan with its close proximity in particular.

      Say what you want about our foreign policy, but it's given us the highest standard of living in human history, not to mention the longest period of peace in Europe's modern history. Kim Jung Il's people don't even have enough to eat and he's posturing with ballistic missiles (expensive much?). Who's the greater evil, really?

    • 3 years ago
  • tomboessel
  • Wrabon
    • 0
      Wrabon  

    • If it is really a communications satellite then NK should not have much of a problem letting one of their allies launch it. After their last botched attempt I would not want them firing a missile/satellite over my country either.
      Also even if it works, the likelihood of it dropping a stage on Japan is very high. North Korea is making the first act of aggression.

    • 3 years ago
  • Jacques_of_Spades
    • 0
      Jacques_of_Spades  

    • I feel bad for the ordinary people of North Korea. They have no choice in their lives and are going to suffer the consequences of their crack-pot government.

    • 3 years ago
  • AlbeeYap
  • ssnigg
    • 0
      ssnigg  

    • I wish Japan would erase them off the map. Kim Jong is one crazy motherf**** .. you can't tell what he will do next to get attention.

    • 3 years ago
  • AnakinWearsTights
  • el_chivo
    • 0
      el_chivo  

    • Come on Japan, send the mecha!!!
      North Korea is one of those countries that few people going to defend when the invasion arrives. All thanks to the “efforts” of Kim Jong-il. But, as always, the normal people is the affected by conflicts.

    • 3 years ago
  • Cameleion1
    • 0
      Cameleion1  

    • We should be scared of N. Korea, they unpredictable and the leaders can't be trusted. Japan has all the more reason to be concerned. I think US is just showing muscle. China has an interest and we don't want them to get involved in this mess.

    • 3 years ago
  • jtstrong55
  • ClipsFC
    • 0
      ClipsFC  
    • jtstrong55:

      Well, not so much scared as they don't trust the lunatic and his missiles. They have a history of going wild, one went on some weird route then crashed into the sea last time they did testing. I guess everybody just wants to make sure the testing is legal and goes as planned. Japan has reasons to be concerned with N.Korea, as does US of course.

    • 3 years ago
  • slarabee
  • ClipsFC
  • macgarys1
  • AnakinWearsTights
  • TheEmpireGuy
  • ClipsFC
    • 0
      ClipsFC  

    • These guys just keep threatening everybody. One of these day's somebody will take them up on the threats. Won't be pretty. US Destroyers are heading down to North Korea as well. Russians have ships already out at sea.

    • 3 years ago
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