Now that North Korea has confirmed nukes, the U.S. and South Korea have finally decided to create a plan on how to deal with the situation.

According to the report, the United States is considering a plan against North Korea to neutralize Pyongyang's nuclear capability with overwhelming use of the U.S. Air Force.

Under the envisaged plan, U.S. combat aircraft and bombers... would conduct "surgical strikes'' on major weapons of mass destruction (WMD) facilities, training sites, and intelligence and communication facilities in the North instead of ground forces advancing into the North, the report said.

Currently, the Operations Plan -- OPLAN 5027, the joint U.S. contingency plan with South Korea, accounts for a conflict involving conventional weapons:

Were the Russians forewarned about North Korea's impending test?  Particularly, did they know telling details like the size of the device that Kim Jong Il's regime set off?  And how might they have acquired sensitive information?

There is evidence to suggest they did know quite a bit more than they're admitting to.  But they apparently didn't know enough details to keep quiet when the test, practically speaking, fizzled.  Nor, converesly, did they choose to share what they knew with their good friend, America. In spite of President Bush's assessment of his relationship with Mr. Putin,

And the more I get to know President Putin, the more I get to see his heart and soul, and the more I know we can work together in a positive way.  White House News

it appears that five years into their "special friendship," Mr. Putin doesn't hold Mr. Bush in the same regard.

[Alternate Title: Bush Weakness Empowers North Korea, Iran, and Russia to Action]

International leaders have begun to notice a widening crevice between the Bush Administration's persistent gunboat diplomacy and their realistic ability to follow through.

They see that President Bush has wedged the U.S. Military -- and thus U.S. national security -- between Iraq and a hard place.

As long as we're strapped to Iraq, they know that Bush's actions have impaled both the quality and quantity of America's diplomatic and military options.

And now they're taking advantage of that weakness.

Eliminating U.S. Options

When the Bush Administration first invaded Iraq, they believed the incursion would largely fit the template for which our current military was designed -- based on the belief that extended combat operations were an anachronism. More precisely they expected:

In case you missed my 14,000 word analysis yesterday, "How Bush Created a Nuclear North Korea", here's a special component of which everyone should be acutely aware as we head into the November elections -- heads spinning from the laughably FALSE claims that Republicans are even remotely more capable of protecting America than Democrats.

Indeed, Bush, through his continued embrace with nuclear dictator Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, has done more to compromise US National Security than practically any other entity on Earth.

When Bush & Co. allowed Osama Bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora, Osama scurried off to the Pakistani tribal lands -- a place he knew would be safe since Musharraf refused to enter, or allow others (i.e. the U.S.) to enter those tribal areas. Harboring public enemy #1 should be reason enough for the U.S. to blacklist Pakistan, but not for George "Dead or Alive" Bush. Months later, Bush, in an egregious act of appeasement, was allegedly able to 'cut a deal' with the dictator that allowed U.S. forces in those areas (more on that below the fold).

Almost on the heels of the announcement of a test by North Korea, came confirmation of the test through seismic information reported by first South Korea, then the USGS.  

It was clear that something had happened.  It was undoubtedly an explosion -- the location was in an area that was not general active seismically, and the indications were that the depth was too shallow to be anything other than a blast.  However, almost from the start, it was equally clear that something was just not right.  There seemed to be a mismatch between what the North Korean government was reporting, and what instruments on the ground were showing.

After a day of reflection, it seems clear that what happened in North Korea was either a fake, or a failure.  Unfortunately for the world, that doesn't matter.

[[This is "Part II". Be sure to read "Part I" first and please consolidate any comments in Part I as well. Thanks.]]

We continue with Step 63...

Step 63) - 08/30/2003

North Korea announces that the Beijing talks convinced it of the need for nuclear weapons.

"North Korea angrily dismissed last week's six-nation talks in Beijing, saying it was now even more convinced of the need to strengthen its nuclear arsenal... The gathering was 'not only useless but harmful in every aspect,' a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said... 'We are now more convinced than before that we have no other alternatives but to continue strengthening our nuclear deterrence as a self-defensive measure to protect our sovereignty'... North Korea repeated during the talks its long-standing demand for a non-aggression pact with the United States, which it accuses of wanting to invade. It also demanded the normalization of diplomatic relations with Washington before it would abandon its nuclear ambitions."

Much more over the bump...

(Warning: This post is long. Damn long! That's because there are heaps of evidence that show Bush, not Clinton, is reponsible for the nuclear debacle we face today with North Korea. Pace yourself, but please be sure to take in every word. The truth is always worth it.)

"Why should I care about North Korea?"

 -- President George W. Bush

Blame Clinton?

Yeah right!

Clearly, the Bush Administration is, by far, the causal factor in Kim Jong Il's entry into Earth's 'Nukular' Club. They can blame Clinton all they want. At least he did something about this rising calamity. In 1994, the Clinton Administration reached an agreement with the DPRK that successfully froze North Korea's nuclear production for the next eight years.

Bush, on the other hand has offered NOTHING except provocation and motivation for the DPRK to invest in nuclear weapons. Although many factors led to this devastating milestone, the buck unambiguously stops with the Bush administration.

To begin, after Secretary of State Colin Powell said the administration will "pick up where President Clinton left off," Bush took less than 24 hours to declare that the Bush Administration negotiations will take a different tone.

Enter the Axis of Evil!  -- a clever 'new direction' to effective diplomacy, no doubt.

That moniker has served as a powerful icon for the times -- but not quite the way Bush and Co. had planned. Instead, it has come to represent this administration's bold contempt for meaningful diplomacy and staunch dedication to asserting military force in a world that can narry afford the elevated state of militaristic provocation.

Remember the last time North Korea was dominating the headlines?

It was December of 2005. The DPRK was decrying as a 'Declarations of war' the latest comments of the US ambassador to South Korea, labeling him the 'worst ambassador in history'.

Not surprisingly, that wasn't the first time Pyongyang had accused the US of implicit declarations of war. But to understand the motivation for such extreme actions, the full saga must unfold before us.

Enter Kim Jong Il and George W. Bush... diplomacy departs... chaos ensues.

"...The danger of war is snowballing, owing to the extreme US moves to isolate and stifle the [North Korean Government], and threats of pre-emptive strikes"

So where do we stand right now and how did we come to this unfortunate place in history?

Like a lot of other folks I hopped over to various news sources the second I heard NK had passed the point of no return.  However, it appears all the sources cited are simply quoting claims.  One anonymous source in SK is  quoted as citing seismic data showing an event registering 3.5 on the Richter scale.  That's a problem as you will see later.

Basically, we are looking for seismic data to show there was a nuclear blast.  That data is easy to get.

If that sucker is big enough to register a 4 on the Richter scale, I found a way we can all follow this story in real time from our own PCs!  (UPDATE: A seismic event in North Korea showed up on my PC around 04:30 UTC registering 4.2 on the Richter scale from  01:35 UTC).  That is about 10x what the SK source cited and makes it a little less than 1 kiloton.     HOWEVER I am not sure the real time telemetry backs up either claim.   I have uploaded telemetry from nearby Inchon Korea, as well as Beijing and the Solomon Islands.  In all cases, you see the Tonga quakes earlier in the day, but nothing around the time or after for the claimed NK blast.

North Korea is reporting that they have successfully tested a nuclear weapon.

North Korea on Monday claimed it has performed a successful nuclear test, according to that country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

South Korean government officials also said North Korea performed its first nuclear test, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.

The apparent nuclear test was conducted at 10:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) in Hwaderi near Kilju city, Yonhap reported, citing defense officials.

They can claim what they like, but from what I've seen, I think North Korea is lying.  Evidence after the jump.

US satellite reconnaissance image of North Korean "Dung Ho" missile test leaked to the press by anonymous Pentagon source CLICK TO ENLARGE


Seoul, South Korea (APE) - After a day of missile testing which saw a total of anywhere from seven to ten launches, depending upon accounts, Pyongyang has become suddenly silent amidst rumors that it's charismatic leader "Slim" Jong Il has gone missing. Formerly known as Kim Jong Il, he had recently given himself a state sanctioned name change to "Slim" after reportedly dieting and losing over 30 pounds through force of will alone. Rumors soared throughout Asia that Slim had surreptitiously boarded the last missile fired yesterday, the vaunted "Dung Ho" missile which is reportedly capable of reaching the continental United States. North Korean officials refused to comment on the allegations.

Behind the recent Declarations of war and accusations that the US ambassador to South Korea is the 'worst ambassador in history', lies a foreboding past rife with distrust, threats, and provocation.

Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Pyongyang has accused the US of implicit declarations of war. But to understand the motivation for such extreme actions, the full saga must unfold before us.

Enter Kim Jong Il and George W. Bush... diplomacy departs... chaos ensues.

"...The danger of war is snowballing, owing to the extreme US moves to isolate and stifle the [North Korean Government], and threats of pre-emptive strikes"

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon
To the UN General Assembly
Monday September 27, 2004

Over past years, as the Bush administration has focused America's resources on the Iraq strawman, a shadow has been growing in the east. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (aka: North Korea) has been fueling it's potential response to what Kim Jong Il feels is an increasing threat to the survival of their Republic. It's now believed that Pyongyang possesses at least two nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them to targets ranging from South Korea and Japan to the western coast of the continental US.

The time is long past for this issue to take center stage. So let's do our part by establishing the record between the Bush administration and North Korea.

Where do we stand right now?

This is "Part II". Be sure to read "Part I" first and please consolidate any comments in Part I as well. Thanks.

We continue with Step 64...

Step 64) - 09/03/2003

Bush's credibility was further eroded when it was revealed that he signed an Iraq war plan on August 29, 2002 showing clear premeditation and proving that 9/11 had zero influence on the administration's plans to invade a sovereign nation that in no way threatened the safety of the United States.

Prior to the invasion of Iraq, Bush insisted that war could be avoided if only Saddam would disarm. But according to a secret report from the Pentagon, on Aug. 29, 2002:

Mr. Bush "approves Iraq goals, objectives and strategy... That was eight months before the first bomb was dropped and six months before he asked the U.N. Security Council for a war mandate that he never received."

Three months earlier (late May), the Pentagon began a series of war exercises called "Prominent Hammer" to judge whether the force could win in Iraq and still maintain a deterrent in other theaters, such as South Korea. (now we know that we cannot as thousands of troops are slated to be extracted from the peninsula)

Much more over the bump...

At least according to the North Korean government. Yeah, those guys. The ones with nukes. The ones with whom in a sane world of complex and subtle diplomacy, we should be trying to keep lines of communication open. That North Korea, who just labeled a remark of the U.S. ambassador to South Korea "a declaration of war."

From Reuters:

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, who labeled Pyongyang "a criminal regime," was the worst ambassador in history and should be recalled, its official media reported on Wednesday.

Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said at a forum on December 7 that Pyongyang was engaged in the sale of weapons and illicit narcotics and Washington would not lift sanctions against it as long as those activities continue.

"This is a criminal regime," he said.

North Korea blasted the comments on Sunday, saying the remark was a declaration of war that had killed the spirit of six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

Of course, this is only one country and the first nomination. Over the next few days, who knows how many other nations will weigh in with their candidates for "worst ambassador ever." But I doubt any will top this quirky description:

"Ambassador Vershbow is the most bitchy and malignant ambassador in history," said a commentary in the state-run Minju Joson newspaper.