North Korea on war readiness. US-South prepare. Tehran watches
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis May 25, 2010, 10:42 AM (GMT+02:00)
Tags: Iran 
Korea war threat US
South Korean Cheonan sunk by North torpedo
North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il ordered his military to prepare for all-out war after Barack Obama sent the US military to work withSeoul to prepare for future aggression and plan a joint submarine maneuver for the near future.
Tuesday, May 25, military observers in the Korean Peninsula andJapan were predicting limited skirmishes on land, sea and air. Some sources found North Korea capable of going all the way to test-firing a nuclear warhead for the first time.
Monday, May 24, President Barack Obama ordered the 28,000 US soldiers stationed inKorea to "work closely with the Republic of Korea to ensure readiness and deter future aggression." President Lee Myung-bak said Pyongyang must pay a price for the torpedo attack on a South Korean Chenan that killed 46 sailors in March. Officials accused Kim of personally ordering a submarine to sink the corvette.
Seoul also suspended inter-Korean trade, investment and non-humanitarian aid and banned North Korean merchant ships from passing South Korean waters.
Washington and Seoul have been hoping Beijing would step in to cool the crisis and avert a clash on China's doorstep. But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attended the two-day annual US-Chinese conference in Beijing, failed to persuade Chinese President Hu Jintao to rein in the North Korean ruler and calm the crisis.
China is also reluctant to joint South Korean plans backed by the US and Japan to bring the issue before the UN Security Council for further sanctions against the North. Past penalties for its nuclear activities have already ravaged the North Korean economy.
DEBKAfile's military sources point to the Korean crisis's grave repercussions for currentMiddle East war tensions. North Korea and Iran have worked closely together in the development of their clandestine nuclear weapons programs. The two rogue powers often pursue the same diplomatic tactics for fobbing off international pressures. For Syrian president Bashar Assad, the brazenly defiant Kim Jong-Il is a role model. Above all,Pyongyang is the primary source of nuclear technology and sophisticated missiles for Iranand Syria.
The plutonium reactor which the Israeli Air Force destroyed in September 2007 in northernSyria was made in North Korea and, according to DEBKAfile's intelligence sources, North Korean nuclear scientists and technicians are back at work in the country.
While Israel regards the Korean conflict as remote, Tehran and Damascus are studying its every twist and turn and drawing lessons on the responses of the world powers for their own use. They are especially interested in China's handling of this crisis as a pointer to whether or not it will veto the sanctions before the UN Security Council against Iran.
By and large, Beijing seeks to manipulate the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs as levers for reducing American influence in Asia and the Middle East alike. Therefore, a decision by Hu to go easy on Pyongyang in the current crisis may well be a good-news signal for Tehran.
Tue. May 25, 2010 | Breaking News  North Korea cuts all relations with South amid war preparations • Fourteen people shot dead in Baghdad market Monday • Gaza offensive against Ashkelon continues with two mortar shells on coastal farm-land after two missiles earlier fell short Tuesday. No one hurt • Powerful blast heard north of Gaza Strip Monday was failed Palestinian bid to blow up an IDF patrol • It was planted across the border opposite Netiv Ha'asara • No one hurt, no damage caused • Iron Dome in numbers planned are not an effective shield against short-range missiles-rocket attacks • Avi Dichter, chairman of Knesset subcommittee on security, said military systems must guarantee civilian populations against becoming a front line of attack • US military ordered to expand clandestine activity to disrupt terror in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other Mid East countries - NYT • Hizballah commandos practice capture of Israel military position like cross-border attack that triggered 2006 war • It was timed for White House talks between Obama and Lebanese PM Hariri to signal who really calls the shots in Lebanon • In March, DEBKAfile revealed Tehran's instructions to Hizballah to capture Israeli locales in future war • Only 60 pc of all Israelis equipped to withstand chemical attack, says Homeland Defense Chief Brig. Yair Golan on Day 2 of exercise • Australian opposition accused government of expelling Israeli diplomat to win Arab support for UN Security Council seat • Canberra accused Israel of faking Australian passports for Dubai hit against Hamas leader • Dep. opp. Leader Julie Bishop retorted: Australia forges passports too, and there is no hard proof against Israel • Ex-PM Ehud Olmert is questioned for eight hours by police Tuesday on bribes charges - for the first time as a private citizen • His interrogation continues Sunday • |
North Korea on war readiness. US-South prepare. Tehran watches DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis May 25, 2010, 10:42 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Iran Korea war threat US South Korean Cheonan sunk by North torpedo North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il has ordered his military to prepare for all-out war after Barack Obama sent the US military to work with Seoul to prepare for future aggression.
Military observers in the Korean Peninsula andJapan were predicting limited skirmishes on land, sea and air. Some sources found North Koreacapable of going all the way to test-firing a nuclear warhead for the first time. Iran is following the crisis closely - and learning. Read more |
Middle East war drums beat faster
DEBKAfile DEBKA-Net-Weekly May 25, 2010, 7:39 PM (GMT+02:00)
Tags: Bashar Assad Korea Middle East war
Syrian president, the prime mover in stirring up war
Israel practices chemical attacks on Tel Aviv, Hizballah responds by simulating the capture of IDF facilities under UN peacekeepers' noses, while Syria - as DEBKA-Net-Weekly discloses in its coming issue out Friday - is actively setting the scene for a conflagration.
Our coming issue out Friday reveals the hidden weapon systems up Bashar Assad's sleeve, tracks Tehran's role as master puppeteer and homes in on the tight interaction between the burgeoningMiddle East and Korean conflicts.
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