Is North Korea a Serious Threat or is This Just More Saber-Rattling?

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, attends the army's 81st anniversary ceremony at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Thursday. The state TV station released footage of Kim watching the military parade, and of young couples taking part in mass dances in the capital 

South Korea issues Kaesong ultimatum

Government in Seoul warns of 'grave measures' if North Korea does not agree to reopen joint manufacturing zone

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 April 2013

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  A North Korean traffic policeman stands at an intersection in Kaesong where a joint manufacturing zone is run in conjunction with the South. Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP
  South Korea has warned North Korea that it faces unspecified "grave measures" unless it agrees to urgent talks on reopening the Kaesong industrial complex, a jointly run project that brings much-needed income to the North but has remained closed for almost a month.

  The South's unification ministry did not give details of possible punitive measures but observers believe it could mean the complete withdrawal of the 175 South Korean managers still living near the plant.

  Their withdrawal would effectively bring an end to the only remaining symbol of cross-border cooperation and mark a dramatic decline in ties already damaged by weeks of North Korean threats against the South and its allies.

READ MORE AT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/25/south-korea-issues-kaesong-ultimatum

U.S. Ready for North Korea Conflict: Dempsey

Apr. 25, 2013 - 10:35AM

TOKYO — The United States’ top military officer said Thursday that his troops were ready to act if North Korea turned its increasingly bellicose rhetoric into action.

“We are seeking to deter North Korea from provocation,” Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told soldiers at the Yokota Air Base, about an hour's drive west of the Japanese capital.

“I can assure you that we are postured with our Japanese allies in order to protect our citizens, their citizens, our facilities, their facilities.”

Dempsey's remarks follow a visit to South Korea and China, North Korea's chief ally, as regional tensions rise over fears about Pyonyang's recent threats to attack its southern neighbour and wage nuclear war on the United States.

The Korean peninsula was already engulfed in a cycle of escalating tensions — triggered by the North's nuclear test in February — when Pyongyang decided on April 3 to block all South Korean access to the Kaesong industrial zone, a rare joint project between the two countries.

READ MORE AT http://www.defensenews.com

Strategic Rocket Force Commander: North Korea ICBMs "One Step Away From Being Launched Against "Dens Of Brigandish U.S. Imperialists"

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From a reporter in Seoul named Stella Kim (@stella2songhee)...

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#ROK media rpts possibility of recalling all of SK workers from #DPRK's KIC if offer to talk is rejected by NK by end of tomorrow.

So far #DPRK is allowing #ROK workers to leave at will but won't leave in order to protect their proerties n so will hv to wait.

there r Chinese workers still at #DPRK'S KIC 2 also consider

Even then #ROK's military option far last resort may be considered but not implemented

David Arnold: "Asia rapidly developing landscape has become center of dynamism moving from recipient of aid to a donor."

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N.K. army's reconnaissance chief leads saber-rattling: source

SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- A hard-line North Korean general suspected of masterminding the sinking of a South Korean warship three years ago seems to be behind the North's recent brinkmanship, a government source said Thursday.

   Kim Yong-chol, a four-star general who heads the powerful Reconnaissance General Bureau of the Korean People's Army (KPA), appears to be playing a leading role in ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, said the source, requesting anonymity.

read more at http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr