U.S., South Korea stand firm against Pyongyang's threats

Muneyoshi Yoshihiro

9-1

2013/04/16

The Japan news by Yomiuri Shinbun

SEOUL (AP)--U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart said Friday that North Korea will gain nothing by threatening tests of its missile or nuclear program.

Kerry said the United States and its Asian ally will not accept the North as a nuclear power. And he says its rhetoric is "unacceptable."

Kerry made his first-ever visit to Seoul amid strong suspicion that North Korea may soon test a mid-range missile.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se called Pyongyang's threats a "grave provocation" to the entire international community.

Kerry was kicking off four days of talks in East Asia amid speculation that the North's unpredictable regime would launch a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as the U.S. territory of Guam. Kerry also planned to visit China and Japan.

North Korea often times its provocations to generate maximum attention, and Kerry's presence in Seoul will provide plenty of that, even if the United States is engaged in intense diplomacy with China, the North's benefactor, in an effort to lower tensions. Another dangerous date on the calendar is April 15, the 101st birthday of North Korea's deceased founder, Kim Il Sung.

Kerry's trip coincides with the disclosure of a new U.S. intelligence report that concludes North Korea has advanced its nuclear knowhow to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. The analysis, disclosed Thursday at a congressional hearing in Washington, said the Pentagon's intelligence wing has "moderate confidence" that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles but that the weapon would be unreliable.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said afterward that "it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced" at the congressional hearing.

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said he concurred with Little and noted that the report alluded to at the hearing was compiled by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency and was not an assessment by the entire U.S. intelligence community. "Moreover, North Korea has not yet demonstrated the full range of capabilities necessary for a nuclear armed missile," he said.

Kerry's trip marks his first foray to the Asia-Pacific as America's top diplomat, spearheading the effort to "pivot" U.S. power away from Europe and the Middle East and toward the world's most populous region and fulcrum of economic growth.

And it comes on the heels of months of provocative action and warlike rhetoric from Pyongyang, including talk of nuclear strikes against the United States--however outlandish analysts consider such threats. No one is discounting the danger entirely after tests of a nuclear device and ballistic missile technology in recent months.

Kerry's trip was planned well in advance of the latest danger to destabilize the Korean Peninsula: North Korea's apparent preparations for another missile test in defiance of United Nations resolutions. The crisis clearly has overtaken the rest of his Asian agenda.

The Obama administration believes North Korea is preparing for another missile test, said a senior State Department official traveling with Kerry on the plane to Seoul. "We will show to our allies that we are prepared and we will defend them," the official said.

Summary

              One threat was that international was talking about missiles that they will shoot or not. Describe why they are doing like act. Because it they want to get attention from everyone. They could shoot by ballistic missiles with nuclear warhead. However, it is not perfect. Even N. Korea said that said that they have power to destroy Washington; we don’t know that it is strong enough. For now N. Korea is threatening S. Korea, but people think that it is likely to happen, but some does believe because they showed the part when missile was lunched. If N. Korea shoots, U.S. will defend Asia.

Vocabulary

Rhetoric （修辞学）- using skill of language in speech and writing which influence people.

Provocation (怒らせること)　– to do or say something that makes he/ she mad.

Regime (政治制度)　– system of government especially with one unfairly chosen.

Diplomacy (外交)　– managing relationship between different countries

Congressional (会議の)  – belonging to congress.

Destabilize (不安定にする)　– to make system country and government less successful