US-ROK Military Exercises:
With the Chinese government jumping in to protect North Korea from international fallout over the sinking of the Cheonan, it should come as no real surprise that the two allies have united in their disdain for planned US-South Korean military exercises. Ref. Source 7
N Korea Vows 'Physical Response' to US
By Press TV
"There will be physical response against the steps imposed by the United States, militarily. It is no longer the 19th century which... Maintained the gunboat diplomacy," Ri Tong Il, a spokesman for the North Korean delegation at ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi, said on Friday. Ref. Source 9
U.S. Carrier boosts pressure on N. Korea
The military drills, code-named "Invincible Spirit," are to run through Wednesday with about 8,000 U.S. And South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. The Nimitz-class USS George Washington, with several thousand sailors and dozens of fighters aboard, was deployed from Japan. Ref. Source 4
US Often Weighed North Korea `Nuke Option'
By CHARLES J. HANLEY and RANDY HERSCHAFT
From the 1950s Pentagon to today's Obama administration, the United States has repeatedly pondered, planned and threatened use of nuclear weapons against North Korea, according to declassified and other U.S. Government documents released in this 60th-anniversary year of the Korean War. Ref. Source 6
Tim Shorrock: Direct Talks With North Korea Are the Only Answer to End Korean War
"The United States has only one choice in dealing with North Korea, even after its deadly artillery attack on a South Korean island," writes Tim Shorrock, an investigative journalist who has covered Korea for more than 30 years. "Negotiate directly with its government, forge an agreement to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, and move towards a peace agreement to formally end the Korean War." On Wednesday, South Korea found the bodies of two civilians killed in the North Korean attack. The bombardment also killed two South Korean soldiers, wounded 18 others and set dozens of homes ablaze. [includes rush transcript] Ref. Source 6