Citing North Korea’s continued effort to improve its not entirely effective long range missile program, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates predicted that not only would the nation have a “limited ability” to attack the continental United States within five years, but that they could use nuclear warheads when doing so.
Predictions of this sort are pretty common, and indeed two years ago the administration predicted that North Korea would have that capability in mid-2012. It seems US officials are forever more optimistic about North Korea’s ability to advance these programs than the North is, however.
The endless speculation centers around the Taepodong-2, a missile which has been in development since 1987. North Korea’s government has twice tested the missile, in 2006 and 2009, and it failed both times. US officials seem convinced enough of the missile’s viability, at least to the extent that it can be used to demand major funding of missile defense systems, which themselves don’t work particularly well, to shoot down the missiles on the off chance they ever get them working.
But Gates insists this proves North Korea poses a ‘direct threat’ to the US and that they must be “engaged” soon. Though he mentions negotiation the US has repeatedly rejected the notion of talks with the North Korean government.
and in this related state sponsored media dispatch update flash kinda sorta thing "GATES" announces US or America could "nuke" anti artica obviously causing widespread panic and biblical migrations of "GOIENG"-?,be afraid,,,,wanna buy some,? just saying,where is southern hitler and northern einsteein when ya need 1
little creeps like you that want to own the mssg
Sure, go ahead and start something with NK- they already have nukes and I have no doubt they will gladly turn SK into the proverbial glass parking lot without hesitation in order to get at our troops. Are we so arrogant we will gamble with millions of innocent lives to preserve our power in the region?
As with Iran, the playbook should be totally different- if our foreign policy wonks would stand up and take the pressure off their heads. We engage them in friendly trade, and subvert them that way- diplomacy by gunpoint is a fool's errand.
Whoa, Secretary Gates, we are already into big trouble with Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention covert stuff in Yemen and the Phillipines. There is no reason to stick our big nose into N Korea and add to the deficit while we earn more bloodshed. Really, we have enough enemies now and the list keeps growing. Lay off, my friend. Basta with the war stuff.
Why should anyone believe the US government when it says anything, esp. about the capabilities of other nations? Yellow cake, WMD, nuclear iran….you get the point
"It could happen!"
Judy Tenuta
This is just part of the US propaganda, which tries to scare people in order for the elites in Washington to do whatever they want. On the other hand, if the US can nuke anybody on earth, I don't see why other countries cannot do the same vis-à-vis the US.
So what? The USA has had the ability to nuke North Korea for many decades and hasn't done so.
Russia could nuke us, China could nuke us, India could nuke us, Pakistan could probably nuke us, Israel could probably nuke us (with our own technology).
North Korea might be able to nuke us in 5 years. Iran might be able to nuke us in 5 or 10 years. Maybe we should pre-emptively attack them all, then we would not have to worry.
I’m sure this would suit the warmongers and the military – industrial folks. Forever war. And we’re not really very good at it anymore. Haven’t won one since WW2, and that with much help from Russia.
But we don’t have to win ’em, just keep fighting ’em so the profits continue. What have we become?
And this in a nation where the majority want war to stop. Who listens?
And they would do that so the US could turn NK into a sheet of glass?
The US has no alternative, but to fight a string of wars, or a full blown ww3. China and India need these was as much as the US does.
What a load of crap. First generation nuclear weapons weigh 10 tons (or more). NK's Type' O Dong missile can loft, at best, a couple of hundred inaccurate pounds about 1000 miles short of the US. It took the US from 1945 to 1960 to be able to sling a nuclear bomb that far, based on an economy that was 500 times larger than North Korea's. And it's not even clear that NK's bomb test actually went off- it may have just fizzled. What they have now is a couple of nuclear land mines.
But it fits wonderfully in line with the "revelation" that China is building their own F-22 along with forty or fifty new aircraft carriers. Nothing like working fast to defend the defense budget.
Thumbs up to the North Koreans for being able to defend themselves.
attack n korea now to avoid that !!!!