U.S. to North Korea: Don't launch your missile

I have not posted anything about this situation but it appears to be getting serious!

The State Department on Thursday sent a blunt, public message to North Korea: Don't launch your missile.

We don't want to see this launch go forward," department spokesman Robert Wood said.

But at the same time, the United States is carefully avoiding any suggestion that it would try to disrupt the launch and is being vague about what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others have said the "consequences" of the launch would be.

Behind the U.S. tightrope act is the United States' hope of handling the situation in a way that will not endanger the six-party talks aimed at dismantling and eventually erasing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior administration official told CNN on Thursday.

The official said the North Koreans have pretty much backed themselves into a corner. While they may have begun the process of threatening to launch a missile to gain leverage with the United States, it is now an issue of saving face -- and they are certain to go ahead with the launch.

They recognize there will be a strong reaction at the United Nations, but have no choice at this point, the official said.

The diplomacy involved is very delicate, the official noted. All of the other countries involved in the six-party talks agree a launch would be bad, but Russia and China are less eager to impose sanctions while South Korea and Japan want to be much tougher. So the United States has to stake out a middle position and be patient, the official said.

The United States wants to handle the situation so that after the launch -- and an appropriate period of criticism of North Korea -- the six-party talks will be resumed, the official said.

"We are not going to take our eye off the ball or let them distract us from the goal, which is denuclearization," the official said. "We really believe that is the best way to take care of the issue and we think we can get it if we keep working with the North Koreans. At some point it is a war of attrition and we will continue to wear them down.

You can read the rest of the report at this link: Missile



Here are a number of links to additional reports:

New UN sanctions unlikely if North Korea tests rocket
Reuters - ‎17 minutes ago‎
By Louis Charbonneau and Arshad Mohammed - Analysis UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and Russia are all but certain to stymie a US push for new UN sanctions on North Korea if it fires off a rocket, leaving tighter enforcement of existing ...


North Korea Prepares to Launch Missile
The New American - ‎1 hour ago‎
Quoting from a senior US military official, CNN has reported that North Korea has begun fueling its long-range missile. Such knowledge is readily discernible from viewing satellite imagery. The Pyongyang regime has previously announced that it plans to ...


N. Korea warns Japan against targeting rocket
CNN International - ‎15 hours ago‎
N. Korea says it will attack Japanese military, "major targets," if it shoots down rocket N. Korea said it would conduct launch between April 4 and April 8 (CNN) -- North Korea says it will attack the Japanese military and "major targets," if Japan ...

UNSC may convene amid N. Korea war threats
PRESS TV - ‎3 hours ago‎
Tokyo says it will call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council if North Korea goes ahead with its controversial rocket launch. Japanese UN envoy Yukio Takasu said on Thursday that the session could take place to discuss a possible response ...


more to come...