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Mutual Funds - Mutual Funds.
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Posted by Monitor on June 22, 2009, 2:14 am
North Korea says to hit back at US if attacked
Seoul, June 22, 2009 (AFP NEWS) -
North Korea described itself Monday as a "proud nuclear power" and
threatened to hit back if attacked, as the United States tracked one
of its ships on suspicion it carries a banned weapons cargo.
Rodong Sinmun, newspaper of the ruling communist party, accused
Washington of building up its regional firepower and denounced
"reckless remarks" that US warships would stop and search its cargo
vessels.
It is "nonsense" to claim that the North threatens the United States,
the paper said, but reiterated recent vows not to surrender nuclear
weapons.
"As long as the DPRK (North Korea) has become a proud nuclear power,
the US should take a correct look at who it is dealing with," Rodong
said.
"It is a great mistake for the US to think it will not be hurt if it
ignores this and ignites the fuse of war on the Korean peninsula."
Regional tensions are at their highest for years after the North
launched a long-range rocket on April 5 and conducted its second
nuclear test on May 25, attracting tougher UN sanctions.
US and South Korean officials say there are signs it plans another
ballistic missile launch. A Japanese media report said a rocket could
be fired in the direction of Hawaii on or around US Independence Day
on July 4.
The North staged missile launches in 2006 while the United States was
marking the holiday.
"This administration -- and our military -- is fully prepared for any
contingencies," US President Barack Obama told CBS News when asked
about the possibility.
The interview was to be aired Monday but excerpts were released in
advance.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week the military has
strengthened anti-missile defences around Hawaii.
Defence officials say a US destroyer is tracking a North Korean ship
previously linked to trafficking in missile-related cargoes -- the
first such action since a new UN resolution authorised ship
inspections by member states.
South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an intelligence
source, said the United States suspects that the 2,000-tonne Kang Nam
1 is carrying missiles or related parts and is heading for Myanmar via
Singapore.
US officials have not said if or when they might ask to search the
vessel under Resolution 1874, which does not authorise the use of
force.
North Korea has reacted defiantly to the latest sanctions, vowing to
build more nuclear bombs. Some US intelligence officials have been
quoted as saying it may conduct a third atomic test.
While the US has said it wants the sanctions to bite, China's full
cooperation in them is seen as essential. It is Pyongyang's sole major
ally and leading trade partner.
Obama in the interview said there was a strong international consensus
against Pyongyang.
The resolution called for tighter cargo inspections, a stricter arms
embargo and new targeted financial curbs to freeze revenue for the
North's nuclear and missile sectors.
"That sends a signal... of a unity in the international community that
we haven't seen in quite some time," Obama told CBS.
"And one of the things that we have been very clear about is that
North Korea has a path towards rejoining the international community.
And we hope they take that path. What we're not going to do is to
reward belligerence and provocation in the way that's been done in the
past."
Obama last week called Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions a "grave threat"
and vowed to defend South Korea after talks in Washington with South
Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
The North in turn accused Obama and Lee of "trying to ignite a nuclear
war." "The US-touted provision of 'extended deterrence, including a
nuclear umbrella' (for South Korea) is nothing but 'a nuclear war
plan,'" the state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said in a weekend
commentary.
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