Daily as I search the White House Briefing Room reports I am looking for a promise to be kept.
At least two time during the campaign, then Senator Obama confirmed he felt that a Cold War Victory Medal was needed Something that he was in favor of and more or less (it now seems less) said that he would back with great fervor.
One member of the American Cold War Veterans received a letter from Senator Obama which states his full favor.
"I agree that the Cold War Victory medal would be an appropriate honor. The Cold War was a period that required both skilled diplomacy and military readiness. For veterans who had to be prepared to fight a war that most people agreed would be catastrophic, there certainly should be some recognition of service and willingness to defend and go to battle for the United States. In each of the past two years, the Cold War Victory Medal has passed the House as part of its version of the annual defense authorization bill but has been stymied by influential members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I certainly share your hope that this impasse can be broken soon.
Sincerely,Barack ObamaUnited States Senator.
As a group the American Cold War Veterans hope that the president will indeed support
such legislation as it appears in the 111th Congress.
We hae also heard rumors from various high placed officials who we will keep anonoymous, that
President Obama had plans to include a medal in his budget request to congress.
To date we have seen nothing that would lead us to believe that the White House will in fact
deliver on our hopes and quest. Of course we are not privy to all the dealings in Washington,
but it appears that once again Cold War Veterans will be left out completely once again.
A funeral in town was for a Cold War Veteran, with no military honors. That most likely is
that his family did not know that a veterans next of kin can request Military Honors" at a funeral. Or perhaps they did not want "rabbel rousers" or protestors to be present and demean the final rites of their beloved veteran.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 17th anniversary of the end of Communisim and the Cold War.
Wake up America! It was these brave, dedicated men and women who fought the containment
of Communism. These same veterans who laid their lives on the line to give you the freedom you now enjoy. The right to protest, the feedom of movement; to pratice the religion of your choice.
So please all citizens, members of other VSO's do not demean, look down and dismiss our
service to our country as meaning nothing. Do not tell us we are not veterans.
We did many of the same jobs as our military today is doing. They are issued the Global War
On Terrorism, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary, Iraq and Afghanistan and even the National Defense Service Medals.
What type of medal/ribbon did the Cold War Veteran who was not in Korea or Vienam receive?
Close your fist, as many fingers that are sticking up is how many millions received-NONE.
So please contact your elected officials tell them this should be the year to honor these brave
Cold War Veterans and bring equality to ALL veterans.
Jerald Terwilligr
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Couple Arrested, Spying For Cuba
A married couple have been arrested and charged with spying for Cuba for more than 30 years.
Covering much of the Cold War. Had more than a top secret clearance, working for the State Department.
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jun 6, 8:14 am ET
WASHINGTON – For three decades, accused spies Walter Kendall Myers and his wife shuffled secrets to their Cuban contacts in such fear of being caught, authorities say, that he memorized top-secret documents rather than bring them into their home.
Their downfall came simply and swiftly, lured by a stranger who offered Myers a cigar.
Obama administration officials say Kendall Myers had access to highly sensitive material while working for the State Department's intelligence arm, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has ordered a damage assessment of what the couple may have revealed. Their methods of communicating with the Cubans included Morse code on shortwave radio, changing shopping carts at the grocery store and a face-to-face meeting with President Fidel Castro himself, court documents say.
David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, described the couple's alleged spying for the communist government as "incredibly serious."
State Department officials say Kendall Myers had been under investigation for three years, since before he retired in 2007. The FBI made its move on him on April 15, on the street outside the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, where he had gotten a doctorate and taught classes.
An undercover agent approached Kendall Myers, claiming to be an associate of his Cuban handler, according to a law enforcement official speaking on a condition of anonymity about the ongoing investigation. The agent offered Kendall Myers a cigar and birthday wishes since he turned 72 that day and proposed they meet at a Washington hotel later that night. The ruse worked, and Kendall Myers said he'd bring along his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers.
The Myerses had been out of touch with their Cuban handlers for a while, according to court documents. The couple reportedly told the agent they lived "in fear and anxiety for a long time" and feared Kendall Myers' boss had put him on a watch list in 1995. They said they were not interested in regular spying again but would help where they could, court documents say.
Authorities said over the course of three meetings with the agent in April, they shared their views of Obama administration officials who had recently taken over responsibility for Latin American policy and changing conditions in Cuba. They also accepted a device to encrypt future e-mail. The undercover agent proposed a fourth meeting for Thursday at a Washington hotel, where the couple was arrested.
The couple pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to act as illegal agents and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud. They are being held in jail until a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Their attorney, Thomas Green, declined to comment.
The Myerses' arrest could affect congressional support for easing tensions with Cuba dating back to the Cold War. Two months ago, the Obama administration took steps to relax a trade embargo imposed on the island nation in 1962.
Court documents indicate the couple received little money for their efforts, but instead professed a deep love for Cuba, Castro and the country's system of government. The couple was planning a sailing trip to Cuba, which Myers considered "home."
The documents say Castro came to visit the couple in a small house in Cuba where they were staying in 1995, after traveling through Mexico under false names. Kendall Myers reportedly boasted to the undercover FBI agent that they had received "lots of medals" from the Cuban government.
The Myerses lived in a luxury co-op complex in Northwest Washington that over the years was home to Cabinet members, judges, congressmen and senators, including the late Barry Goldwater.
William Simpson, a security guard at the co-op, said the Myerses regularly asked him to clean their windows and would offer him something to eat or drink. "They treated me real nice," he said. "It shocked me when I heard" the news, Simpson said.
Kendall Myers was known by the Cubans as Agent 202, according to the indictment. His 71-year-old wife, a former bank analyst, reportedly went by both Agent 123 and Agent E-634.
The indictment says Kendall Myers disclosed to the State Department that he traveled to Cuba for two weeks in 1978, saying the trip was for personal and academic purposes. The next year, a Cuban government official visited the couple while they were living in South Dakota and recruited them to be spies, the indictment says. At Cuba's direction, authorities say, Kendall Myers attempted to get jobs that would give him access to classified information.
Court documents describe the couple's spying methods changing with the times, beginning with old-fashioned tools of Cold War spying: Morse code messages over a short-wave radio and notes taken on water-soluble paper. By the time they retired from the work in 2007, they were reportedly sending encrypted e-mails from Internet cafes.
The criminal complaint says changing technology also persuaded Gwendolyn Myers to abandon what she considered an easy way of passing information, by changing shopping carts in a grocery store. The document quoted her as telling the FBI agent she would no longer use that tactic. "Now they have cameras, but they didn't then."
Kendall Myers first worked for the State Department as a lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute and later as a European analyst in the department's intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, from 2000 until his retirement in October 2007.
The indictment says in his last year of employment, Kendall Myers viewed more than 200 intelligence reports related to Cuba. Kendall Myers often took notes or memorized classified material to avoid the risk of removing the documents but concealed some documents he removed in a set of bookends, the court documents said.
___
Associated Press writers Devlin Barrett, Matthew Lee, Pam Hess and Christine Simmons contributed to this report.
--------------
Another report claims the couple received very little money for their efforts, but did receive
many medals from Cuban and possibly Soviet governments.
So this spy received a good salary from the U.S. State Department, medals from foriegn governments, while our Cold War Veterans and Intelligence Department still get no medal or
recognition.
Congress approve authorization for a Cold War Victory Medal now, and include all intelligence
workers as well as Cold Warriors.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Verterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Covering much of the Cold War. Had more than a top secret clearance, working for the State Department.
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jun 6, 8:14 am ET
WASHINGTON – For three decades, accused spies Walter Kendall Myers and his wife shuffled secrets to their Cuban contacts in such fear of being caught, authorities say, that he memorized top-secret documents rather than bring them into their home.
Their downfall came simply and swiftly, lured by a stranger who offered Myers a cigar.
Obama administration officials say Kendall Myers had access to highly sensitive material while working for the State Department's intelligence arm, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has ordered a damage assessment of what the couple may have revealed. Their methods of communicating with the Cubans included Morse code on shortwave radio, changing shopping carts at the grocery store and a face-to-face meeting with President Fidel Castro himself, court documents say.
David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, described the couple's alleged spying for the communist government as "incredibly serious."
State Department officials say Kendall Myers had been under investigation for three years, since before he retired in 2007. The FBI made its move on him on April 15, on the street outside the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, where he had gotten a doctorate and taught classes.
An undercover agent approached Kendall Myers, claiming to be an associate of his Cuban handler, according to a law enforcement official speaking on a condition of anonymity about the ongoing investigation. The agent offered Kendall Myers a cigar and birthday wishes since he turned 72 that day and proposed they meet at a Washington hotel later that night. The ruse worked, and Kendall Myers said he'd bring along his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers.
The Myerses had been out of touch with their Cuban handlers for a while, according to court documents. The couple reportedly told the agent they lived "in fear and anxiety for a long time" and feared Kendall Myers' boss had put him on a watch list in 1995. They said they were not interested in regular spying again but would help where they could, court documents say.
Authorities said over the course of three meetings with the agent in April, they shared their views of Obama administration officials who had recently taken over responsibility for Latin American policy and changing conditions in Cuba. They also accepted a device to encrypt future e-mail. The undercover agent proposed a fourth meeting for Thursday at a Washington hotel, where the couple was arrested.
The couple pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to act as illegal agents and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud. They are being held in jail until a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Their attorney, Thomas Green, declined to comment.
The Myerses' arrest could affect congressional support for easing tensions with Cuba dating back to the Cold War. Two months ago, the Obama administration took steps to relax a trade embargo imposed on the island nation in 1962.
Court documents indicate the couple received little money for their efforts, but instead professed a deep love for Cuba, Castro and the country's system of government. The couple was planning a sailing trip to Cuba, which Myers considered "home."
The documents say Castro came to visit the couple in a small house in Cuba where they were staying in 1995, after traveling through Mexico under false names. Kendall Myers reportedly boasted to the undercover FBI agent that they had received "lots of medals" from the Cuban government.
The Myerses lived in a luxury co-op complex in Northwest Washington that over the years was home to Cabinet members, judges, congressmen and senators, including the late Barry Goldwater.
William Simpson, a security guard at the co-op, said the Myerses regularly asked him to clean their windows and would offer him something to eat or drink. "They treated me real nice," he said. "It shocked me when I heard" the news, Simpson said.
Kendall Myers was known by the Cubans as Agent 202, according to the indictment. His 71-year-old wife, a former bank analyst, reportedly went by both Agent 123 and Agent E-634.
The indictment says Kendall Myers disclosed to the State Department that he traveled to Cuba for two weeks in 1978, saying the trip was for personal and academic purposes. The next year, a Cuban government official visited the couple while they were living in South Dakota and recruited them to be spies, the indictment says. At Cuba's direction, authorities say, Kendall Myers attempted to get jobs that would give him access to classified information.
Court documents describe the couple's spying methods changing with the times, beginning with old-fashioned tools of Cold War spying: Morse code messages over a short-wave radio and notes taken on water-soluble paper. By the time they retired from the work in 2007, they were reportedly sending encrypted e-mails from Internet cafes.
The criminal complaint says changing technology also persuaded Gwendolyn Myers to abandon what she considered an easy way of passing information, by changing shopping carts in a grocery store. The document quoted her as telling the FBI agent she would no longer use that tactic. "Now they have cameras, but they didn't then."
Kendall Myers first worked for the State Department as a lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute and later as a European analyst in the department's intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, from 2000 until his retirement in October 2007.
The indictment says in his last year of employment, Kendall Myers viewed more than 200 intelligence reports related to Cuba. Kendall Myers often took notes or memorized classified material to avoid the risk of removing the documents but concealed some documents he removed in a set of bookends, the court documents said.
___
Associated Press writers Devlin Barrett, Matthew Lee, Pam Hess and Christine Simmons contributed to this report.
--------------
Another report claims the couple received very little money for their efforts, but did receive
many medals from Cuban and possibly Soviet governments.
So this spy received a good salary from the U.S. State Department, medals from foriegn governments, while our Cold War Veterans and Intelligence Department still get no medal or
recognition.
Congress approve authorization for a Cold War Victory Medal now, and include all intelligence
workers as well as Cold Warriors.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Verterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Even Our Brother Veterans Believe The Lie
I have waited a few days before I made this post. I am still upset and unbelieving.
Memorial Day we had a little gathering and BBQ at our house. I was wearing my medals and my Cold War Veteran hat, in memory of those who gave their all in all of the wars and battles.
Among the guests were my brother, and a young woman of about 36. She was very impressed and was asking a lot of questions about the Cold War. She remembered hearing about it in school, but was not sure exactly what it was about.
As I was explaining the who and the why she became more and more interested. I mentioned that in general the public does not understand about, and forgets the Cold War. Something we are all aware of, and are attemptingto correct the misunderstanding.
Out of the blue, my brother, who himself is a Cold War Veteran steps up and says "Well, they call itthe Cold War because no shots were fired." I was liviid, he knew what I was doing with the American ColdWar Veterans; what we are attempting to do.
I looked at him as if he had just walked out of the mental hospital. I said, "No Shots Fired?" You tell that to the 14 planes that were shot down by communist forces, with 165 people still missing." "What about theUSS Pueblo 1 killed and the rest of the crew held captive for 11 months." "The ship is still being held in North Korea, still a commissioned ship in the US Navy." "The USS Liberty with 34 killed, USS Stark with 37 killed, the USS Scorpion with 99 souls lost." I can give you a lot more instances, should I go on?
He just got red in the face and walked away. Our friend sat there and her eyes got bigger and bigger, her jaw dropped. She asked me if that was true, and of course I told her it is completely true, and that is not all of the story.
A lot of these were top secret missions, and no one could talk about them. Even today there are thingsI can not talk about. Like so many veterans there are secrets we will carry to our graves.
When we brough the food in the house, she put her arm around me and said "let's have a big hand for Jerry" "He is a true veteran, and I am proud to know him." "You should all be proud of what he did for our country."
I was rather embaresed and just stood there with a big smile on my face. I told them I do not wantpeople to applaud me. I want equal rights for all Veterans, I want to see each and every veteranget what they were promissed.
No more veterans being dissed and demeaned by the public, and especially by other veterans. No more of "my war was better than your war." We are all brothers and sisters in arms, we were all willing an dable to place our lives on the line.
But, as many of us know; you may have served but you may not be "veteran" To many people the Cold WarVeteran is not a true veteran. The VA does not recognize us, often a claim is filed and denied. Leadingto years of fighting with the VA to receive help.
How many veterans are homeless? How many suffer PTSD and other ailments? Why does this continue tohappen day after day? How many vets could not take it any longer and took their own lives?
America wake up, these brave men and women deserve better treatment, not just from the VA, but fromeveryone. You have the right to protest, live your life as want, be free to chose. Why? Because of America'sVeterans.
Write your elected officials now! Tell them to correct this wrong. Bring about justice and equality to all who served. The new GI Bill does not do that, there are still big gaps that veterans are falling through.
While you are it, demand the full accounting of all POW/MIA. Bring them home, let the families finally have closure. They are not forgotten, they are important to us all.
And you might ask them to support a Cold War Victory Medal for all those who served during the Cold War, from Sept. 1945 to Dec. 1991.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Memorial Day we had a little gathering and BBQ at our house. I was wearing my medals and my Cold War Veteran hat, in memory of those who gave their all in all of the wars and battles.
Among the guests were my brother, and a young woman of about 36. She was very impressed and was asking a lot of questions about the Cold War. She remembered hearing about it in school, but was not sure exactly what it was about.
As I was explaining the who and the why she became more and more interested. I mentioned that in general the public does not understand about, and forgets the Cold War. Something we are all aware of, and are attemptingto correct the misunderstanding.
Out of the blue, my brother, who himself is a Cold War Veteran steps up and says "Well, they call itthe Cold War because no shots were fired." I was liviid, he knew what I was doing with the American ColdWar Veterans; what we are attempting to do.
I looked at him as if he had just walked out of the mental hospital. I said, "No Shots Fired?" You tell that to the 14 planes that were shot down by communist forces, with 165 people still missing." "What about theUSS Pueblo 1 killed and the rest of the crew held captive for 11 months." "The ship is still being held in North Korea, still a commissioned ship in the US Navy." "The USS Liberty with 34 killed, USS Stark with 37 killed, the USS Scorpion with 99 souls lost." I can give you a lot more instances, should I go on?
He just got red in the face and walked away. Our friend sat there and her eyes got bigger and bigger, her jaw dropped. She asked me if that was true, and of course I told her it is completely true, and that is not all of the story.
A lot of these were top secret missions, and no one could talk about them. Even today there are thingsI can not talk about. Like so many veterans there are secrets we will carry to our graves.
When we brough the food in the house, she put her arm around me and said "let's have a big hand for Jerry" "He is a true veteran, and I am proud to know him." "You should all be proud of what he did for our country."
I was rather embaresed and just stood there with a big smile on my face. I told them I do not wantpeople to applaud me. I want equal rights for all Veterans, I want to see each and every veteranget what they were promissed.
No more veterans being dissed and demeaned by the public, and especially by other veterans. No more of "my war was better than your war." We are all brothers and sisters in arms, we were all willing an dable to place our lives on the line.
But, as many of us know; you may have served but you may not be "veteran" To many people the Cold WarVeteran is not a true veteran. The VA does not recognize us, often a claim is filed and denied. Leadingto years of fighting with the VA to receive help.
How many veterans are homeless? How many suffer PTSD and other ailments? Why does this continue tohappen day after day? How many vets could not take it any longer and took their own lives?
America wake up, these brave men and women deserve better treatment, not just from the VA, but fromeveryone. You have the right to protest, live your life as want, be free to chose. Why? Because of America'sVeterans.
Write your elected officials now! Tell them to correct this wrong. Bring about justice and equality to all who served. The new GI Bill does not do that, there are still big gaps that veterans are falling through.
While you are it, demand the full accounting of all POW/MIA. Bring them home, let the families finally have closure. They are not forgotten, they are important to us all.
And you might ask them to support a Cold War Victory Medal for all those who served during the Cold War, from Sept. 1945 to Dec. 1991.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Friday, May 29, 2009
Russia building CSTO to equal NATO
13:0729/05/2009
MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) -
Russia is planning to build a strong military contingent in Central Asia within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) comparable to NATO forces in Europe, a Russian business daily said on Friday.
The CSTO, a post-Soviet regional security bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, has already agreed to create a joint rapid-reaction force, but Russia is preparing a new, larger-scale project.
"The work is being conducted in all areas, and a number of documents have been adopted," the Kommersant newspaper quoted an unidentified source in the Foreign Ministry as saying.
"It will be a purely military structure, built to ensure security in Central Asia in case of an act of aggression," the source said.
Russia already has joint military contingents with Belarus and Armenia in the CSTO framework.
The new force will comprise large military units from five countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
"It will include armored and artillery units, and a naval flotilla in the Caspian Sea," CSTO press secretary Vitaly Strugovets said earlier.
The creation of a powerful military contingent in Central Asia reflects Moscow's drive to make the CSTO a pro-Russian military bloc, rivaling NATO forces in Europe.
Russia's security strategy until 2020, recently approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, envisions the CSTO as "a key mechanism to counter regional military challenges and threats."
CSTO leaders are scheduled to gather for a summit in Moscow on June 14 to sign an agreement on the creation of a joint rapid-reaction force as an interim step toward the creation of a larger military grouping.
The rapid-reaction force will include an airborne division and an air assault brigade from Russia, and an air assault brigade from Kazakhstan. The remaining members will contribute a battalion-size force each, although Uzbekistan would "delegate" its detachments to take part in operations on an ad hoc basis.
Jerald Terwilliger
Vice Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc
"We Remember"
MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) -
Russia is planning to build a strong military contingent in Central Asia within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) comparable to NATO forces in Europe, a Russian business daily said on Friday.
The CSTO, a post-Soviet regional security bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, has already agreed to create a joint rapid-reaction force, but Russia is preparing a new, larger-scale project.
"The work is being conducted in all areas, and a number of documents have been adopted," the Kommersant newspaper quoted an unidentified source in the Foreign Ministry as saying.
"It will be a purely military structure, built to ensure security in Central Asia in case of an act of aggression," the source said.
Russia already has joint military contingents with Belarus and Armenia in the CSTO framework.
The new force will comprise large military units from five countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
"It will include armored and artillery units, and a naval flotilla in the Caspian Sea," CSTO press secretary Vitaly Strugovets said earlier.
The creation of a powerful military contingent in Central Asia reflects Moscow's drive to make the CSTO a pro-Russian military bloc, rivaling NATO forces in Europe.
Russia's security strategy until 2020, recently approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, envisions the CSTO as "a key mechanism to counter regional military challenges and threats."
CSTO leaders are scheduled to gather for a summit in Moscow on June 14 to sign an agreement on the creation of a joint rapid-reaction force as an interim step toward the creation of a larger military grouping.
The rapid-reaction force will include an airborne division and an air assault brigade from Russia, and an air assault brigade from Kazakhstan. The remaining members will contribute a battalion-size force each, although Uzbekistan would "delegate" its detachments to take part in operations on an ad hoc basis.
Jerald Terwilliger
Vice Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc
"We Remember"
Cold War Medal New Hope
I was very pleased and proud to receive a letter from Senator Snowe of Maine in which
she indicates she will be introducing legislation in the comming weeks. The bill seeks to
provide for the awarding of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces
who served honorably during the Cold War era.
This is great news for all our veterans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman
American Cold War Vetrans
"We Remember"
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
North Korea Issues Heated Warning To South Korea
by Blaine Harden
North Korea announced Wednesday that it is no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War, the latest and most profound diplomatic aftershock from the country's latest nuclear test two days earlier.
North Korea also warned that it would respond "with a powerful military strike" should its ships be stopped by international forces trying to stop the export of missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
The twin declarations, delivered by the country's state news agency, followed South Korea's announcement Tuesday that it would join the navies that will stop and inspect suspicious ships at sea. North Korea has repeatedly said that such participation would be a "declaration of war."
They followed other developments in North Korea that have added to the sense of jangled nerves across northeast Asia since Monday's underground nuclear test.
The North fired three more short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, said Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. North Korea had fired two missiles into the same waters on Monday.
And U.S. spy satellites have detected signs that North Korea has restarted its nuclear plant, a South Korean newspaper reported Wednesday. Chosun Ilbo cited an unnamed South Korean government source as saying that steam has been detected from a reprocessing facility at North Korea's Yongbyon plant.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke Tuesday to her Russian counterpart as part of an effort to seek a united response with "consequences" for North Korea. But U.S. officials also stressed that they are still eager for North Korea to return to multilateral disarmament talks and are not ready to declare the multi-year effort to end North Korea's nuclear program a failure.
"We feel the door does still remain open, that we're ready to engage," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. He described the Obama administration's effort now as trying to "bring international pressure to bear to get them to reverse their course."
In Tokyo, a former defense minister and ruling party lawmaker said Japan should consider developing the ability to conduct preemptive strikes against North Korea, even though Japan's constitution prohibits it from taking offensive military action.
South Korea had long resisted U.S. pressure to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which was created in 2003 by President George W. Bush and includes more than 90 countries that have agreed to stop and inspect suspicious cargo on sea and land.
Seoul was reluctant to rile North Korea, but North Korea's second nuclear test nudged Seoul Korea to change its policy.
North Korea has long been suspected of shipping or flying missiles to customers in the Middle East and South Asia.
As a member of the security initiative, South Korea is likely to receive intelligence information from the United States, Japan and other countries about ships leaving North Korean ports that may be carrying such goods, a government official said in Tokyo.
Joining the international interdiction effort "is a natural obligation for a mature country," said South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan. Even before Monday's nuclear test, peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula had been sorely tested this spring. The North launched a long-range missile, detained a South Korean citizen, kicked out U.N. nuclear inspectors, restarted a plutonium factory and halted the six-nation negotiations on its nuclear program.
"Inter-Korean relations have hit rock bottom," said Yun Duk-min, professor of international politics at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, a government think tank in Seoul. "So it is the right thing to join PSI, even if North Korea reacts with resistance."
"The current U.S. leadership . . . has drawn the puppets [South Korea] into the PSI," North Korea's military complained Wednesday in a statement.
North Korea is thought to possess more than 200 mid-range Nodong missiles that can strike nearly any part of Japan. The Japanese government, which has invested billions of dollars in a U.S.-made antimissile defense system, is concerned that the North is making progress in designing nuclear warheads that could fit atop its missiles.
"We must look at active missile defense such as attacking an enemy's territory and bases," the former defense minister, Gen Nakatani, said at a meeting of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
In China, where condemnation of the North's nuclear test was surprisingly swift and unambiguous, the state media on Tuesday printed strong reprimands of North Korea from other countries. The shower of criticism was far different from the reaction to North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006, when the Chinese media blamed the United States for provoking Pyongyang by cutting off aid.
"This may well be a reflection of Beijing's frustrations for not being able to assert control and influence over North Korea," said Wenran Jiang, research chair of the China Institute at the University of Alberta.
Staff writers Glenn Kessler in Washington, Colum Lynch at the United Nations and Ariana Eunjung Cha in Beijing and special correspondents Stella Kim in Seoul and Akiko Yamamoto in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)