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View Full Version : North Korea Vows "Annihilating Strike" If Attacked; Threatens Nuclear War



Gold9472
07-03-2006, 09:02 AM
North Korea vows "annihilating strike" if attacked

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-03T095136Z_01_SEO184944_RTRUKOC_0_US-KOREA-NORTH-DETERRENT.xml&archived=False

(Gold9472: There's something you don't see every day. The threat of Nuclear War.)

Mon Jul 3, 2006 5:51am ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea ratcheted up the rhetoric in its war of words with Washington by promising an "annihilating strike" with its nuclear deterrent should the United States launch an attack, its media said on Monday.

Over the weekend, North Korea said it would bolster its deterrent in response to a U.S. threat, marking the first time it has so specifically mentioned the subject since a crisis began over its suspected plans to test-fire a long-range missile.

"The army and people of the DPRK are now in full preparedness to answer a pre-emptive attack with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with a mighty nuclear deterrent," its communist party newspaper said on Monday.

DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The report carried on the KCNA news agency said the U.S. had increased tension by bringing new spy planes to the peninsula.

North Korea said in February 2005 it possessed nuclear weapons. It has threatened to build up its nuclear arsenal several times since then in response to what it perceived as increased U.S. threats.

U.S. officials have said North Korea is preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile that some experts say could reach parts of the United States.

borepstein
07-03-2006, 09:18 AM
I think this is mostly bluster. They likely don't have more than 20 nukes.

And for that they are better off not sendign them via missile but smuggling them into the US. The missile technology they've got is not all that reliable.

Gold9472
07-03-2006, 09:25 AM
If they have one, and they manage to detonate it in a populated area, it's enough to be concerned about. However, North Korea has a tendency to have more bark than bite, so this is probably not something to be too concerned about.