Asia

US Administration believes North Korea will stop the reactor after receiving mere $25 mln of previously frozen funds. Reactor can be re-started at any time. North Korea didn’t agree to end the nuclear program.

conditions assistance to the North on dismantling its nuclear program. Though two Koreas ended war without peace treaty, South regularly provides aid to the North. North Korea reneged on its commitment to stop the reactor by April 14.

Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Hill arrived in North Korea to prop the negotiations on ending the North Korean nuclear program. Hill acknowledged that the parties lost months this spring when the US failed to unfreeze $25 million of North Korean dirty money.

North Korea got back its dirty money, frozen in Macao years ago, and will receive one million tons of fuel oil and other aid. The amount of aid is well below the possible market price of nuclear weapons, and North Korea will use the leverage of re-starting its plutonium reactor to continuously demand more aid.
Though the North Korean nuclear test explosion went sour, with faulty assembly producing a meager 600 tons equivalent blast, the country has already produced significant and unknown quantities of weapons-grade plutonium which can find its way to terrorists and nuclear aspirant states.

North Korea announced it shuts down nuclear reactor after receiving $30 million of its dirty money back and a heavy oil shipment.
Abandoning nuclear capabilities in exchange for less than a billion dollars total aid makes no sense. North Korea bluffs somewhere: it either continues nuclear program, or produced and hidden some nuclear weapons for sale, or it had no nuclear weapons at all, as the ultra low-yield test blast suggested.

The reports of Syria building nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance can explain why North Korea agreed to cease its nuclear enrichment. North Korean nuclear program may be transferred to Syria. Despite the reported attack by Israel Air Force, Syria claims nothing was damaged; perhaps Syria doesn’t want to disclose the list of damages.
It is highly doubtful that North Korea ceased its nuclear program in return for international aid worth $300 million only.

The US for the first time released a firm figure of the amount of enriched fissile material produced by North Korea: 110 pounds. That suffices for several tactical nuclear weapons. The exact quantity and whereabouts of North Korean fissile material are unknown.

NY Times reports Rice’s opposition to changing the US rapprochement with North Korea over such a minor detail as North Korea’ transferring nuclear technology to Syria.

What does that mean, “disable”? Take the rods out to reload them later? The US Administration needs to show its voters some success, and accepts the North Korean scam.

Now it’s evident even to the US Administration: the US Ambassador in South Korea declares that North Korea won’t meet the year-end deadline for dismantling its nuclear facilities. North Korea so far didn’t dismantle its reactor or disclose the nuclear facilities. One must be stupid to imagine that North Koreans would lose the cash cow of nuclear weapons in return for mere $300 million aid package.

Olmert visited Japan to present its intelligence service Israeli data on North Korea’s weapons activities, particularly ballistic missile technology transfer to Iran.
Olmert met Condi Rice in Japan.
North Korea predictably flouts its commitment to end and dismantle its nuclear program.
Israel, US seek a solution against the possibly nuclear North Korea, and seek the support of Japan, Korea’s traditional enemy.

Days ago, China officially reiterated its position that Israel must return the Golan Heights to Syria.

by blowing up the cooling grill. It is a moderate trouble to repair such a reactor.

since the US invasion: 40 dead in the Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul.

Putin started his term with war in Chechnya. Medvedev opted for a higher-profile war with Georgia.
Russia had practically annexed breakaway Georgian provinces of South Osetia and Abkhazia by massively issuing Russian passports to locals. Then, Russia sent its “peacekeeping” troops ostensibly to protect its citizens there.
After Georgia invaded South Osetia in the attempt to regain the province it had quite lost 16 years ago, Russians bombed Georgian military bases and are now amassing troops at Georgian border.
Russia’s furious response is largely due to Georgia’s unfortunate timing of the invasion. Putin, who is heading now to the Chinese Olympics, was surely incredibly irritated by what he sees as Georgia’s treacherous behavior: they messed with his vacation plans.
If Russia goes around the world bombing the countries which allegedly mistreat its citizens, that would be quite a sort of the new world order.
Israel might take notice how a small but proud Georgia disregarded the American advice to be nice with Russia, and forcefully claimed its land rights while Bush went to the Olympics. Without much concern about the world opinion, Georgia inflicted hundreds of casualties in insurgents and civilians in a matter of hours.

and Russian army bombed civilians in Georgian town of Gori. The fighting possibly left about 1,500 dead. Russia brought military reinforcements in the breakaway Georgian province of South Osetia, and the US Administration called on Russia to withdraw despite Georgia shelling Russian citizens in Osetia atrociously.
So much for anyone’s respect for the fictional international law, civilian rights, or justice.

Georgia doesn’t recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
US, NATO also recognized South Osetia as Georgian territory despite the fact that Osetians generally unanimously reject Georgian sovereignty over their towns. But when it comes to Israel, friendly Bush Administration rejects our right even to the entire Jerusalem.
In the meanwhile, Russia continues revenge against Georgia by pounding its army positions near another breakaway region, Abkhazia. Russian forces are now marching toward a Georgian town of Gori, 40 miles from Georgia capital.

North Korea denied the repeated American requests to verify its nuclear program and its cessation. No wonder, since the Koreans would be stupid to relinquish a profitable status of nuclear power in return to less than a billion dollars in aid. Almost certainly, they continue developing nuclear bombs from the already enriched plutonium. North Korea’s only nuclear test had failed with the output of only 0.6kt.
In response to North Korean evasion, the US delayed de-listing it as terrorist sponsor country. In response, North Koreans halted dismantling their nuclear reactor.
The entire dismantling affair is a sham as it would take North Korea just months to rebuild the reactor.

A hundred Israeli victims of Palestinian terror filed a case in Los Angeles against Bank of China which for years maintain Hamas and Hezbollah accounts and allowed the terrorist organizations to withdraw millions of dollars in cash. Yet, the US Administration shows no intent of sanctioning China for money laundering or state sponsorship of terrorism.
But the Administration reneged on its earlier promise to take North Korea off the terrorist sponsor list for the very same financial operations.
Israel, for her part, conducts negotiations with Syria, a state sponsor of both Hamas and Hezbollah.