DPRK North Korea ready to launch "Sacred War" Xinhua News

PYONGYANG, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) military said on Thursday that the army of the DPRK was fully prepared to launch "a sacred war" based on the nuclear deterrent at any time, the official news agency KCNA.
According to the KCNA, Korean People's Army (KPA) Vice Marshal Kim Yong Chun delivered a report at a national meeting held to mark the 19th anniversary of top leader Kim Jong Il's gaining of the supreme commandership of the KPA at the April 25 House of Culture on Thursday that South Korea's military provocation through holding shelling exercises again indicated its intention of starting "another Korean War" , leading the the Korean Peninsula to a situation that "a war may break out at any moment" .
"If the enemies intrude into the sky, land and seas of the DPRK even by0.001 mm, the KPA will as ever continue dealing more devastating physical blows at them without hesitation. The army and people of the DPRK never make an empty talk" , he said.

The army of the DPRK is getting fully prepared to launch a sacred war of justice "based on the nuclear deterrent" at any time necessary to cope with the enemies' actions deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war, he stressed.
At the end, he warned that in case the U.S. and its followers finally ignite an all-out war, the army of the DPRK will "not only wipe out the aggressors but also blow up their bases and thus eradicate the root cause of war and surely accomplish the historic cause of national reunification.

Situation on the peninsula is getting tense after the exchange of artillery fire on Nov. 23 between South Korea and the DPRK, which killed four people. The South Korean military held a live fire artillery drill in waters southwest of Yonphyong Island near the disputed water maritime border again on Dec. 20.

The South Korean Department of Defense declared on Dec. 22 that the three-day drills would be held in waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula from Dec. 22 and large-scale joint drills involving the South Korean Army and the Air Force from Dec. 23.

Kim Yong Chun is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK and minister of the People's Armed Forces.

$AU /$US Parity

‎60 day cash forecast: the $AU should remain at least on par with the $US for the next 2 months. It may increase and be worth 1.02 or 1.03US but that should be about it.

Bangkok Chinatown

One of the things about Bangkok Chinatown is that it keeps getting more interesting. The coal smoke from the chestnut roasters, the fresh fruit, the vegetables, the remarkable fish and seafood stores, the restaurants spilling out legally into the grid-lock traffic every day, the outstanding varieties of just about everything...and ,for me, how everything that is transported is transported through narrow crowded alleys on beautiful vespa motorscooters from 30 years ago....it's an astounding place and, strangely enough, one of the deeply safe places in South East Asia. Even with Thailand's throes of political and military upheavals that continue because the Great King is old now, no one will cause any trouble in Bangkok Chinatown. Whoever you are, whatever political or social movement you are passionate about, no one in their right mind every causes a big disturbance in a 2 million-people strong sub-city of Chinese merchants just trying to make a living by having a shop. That's just crazy. No matter what your cause, it doesn't belong here. You will be hunted down and dealt with at a completely local level.
The best restaurant in Bangkok Chinatown: The Red Shirt Seafood Restaurant that cranks up on the footpath in the main drag at 5 pm every day, revolution or no revolution. The best seafood, freshest, cheapest, fastest.

China's Approach is Consistent with Supporting Peace

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China strongly urges both sides of the Korean Peninsula to keep calm and restraint, solve issues through peaceful dialogue and engagement, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Wang Min said here Monday.
Wang made the remarks to reporters at the United Nations Headquarter in New York. He said China has taken note of the latest developments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula is in the interest of both the South and the North of the Peninsula, as well as other relevant parties, he said.

"We strongly appeal relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint, act in a responsible manner and avoid increase of tensions," Wang told reporters.
The Security Council met for an emergency close-door meeting on Sunday that lasted about eight hours, but failed to reach consensus due to gaps among the council members.
Wang said China on Sunday supported Russia's proposal to call for an urgent meeting of the Security Council on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
"Members of the Council, including China, the United States and Russia have made efforts to the extent possible to avoid armed conflict on the Peninsula. The meeting was positive and of great importance," he said.
South Korea staged a live-fire artillery drill in the sensitive area of Yonphyong Island off the west coast earlier on Monday. The army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) dealt no counterattack to the drill.
"Calm rather than tension, dialogue rather than confrontation, peace rather than warfare. This is the strong aspiration and voice of the peoples from both sides of the Peninsula and the international community," said Wang.
He said China recently has spared no efforts to engage both sides of the Peninsula and relevant parties through various channels, in order to avoid broadening of differences and escalation of tensions.
Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo paid urgent visits to South Korea and the DPRK respectively, conducting candid and thorough discussions with leaders of the two countries. He urged the two sides to maintain calm and show restraint, pursue dialogue and engagement, and avoid taking any action that may worsen the situation.

During the last several days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China also urgently met with ambassadors of both the DPRK and the ROK in Beijing, reiterating for several times China's views and positions, Wang said.
"China strongly urges both sides of the Peninsula to keep calm and restraint, solve issues through peaceful dialogue and engagement. China will continue to make our efforts toward this end," Wang said.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

DPRK on alert/ SBS Australia News

N.Korea on alert ahead of S.Korea drill


Email to friendPrintEnlarge text20 December 2010
01:54:07 AM
Source: AAP
North Korea has boosted the readiness of its military forces on the coast nearest to a planned live-fire drill by South Korea, the South's Yonhap news agency said on Sunday, quoting a government source.

"The North Korean artillery unit along the Yellow Sea has raised its preparedness level," the anonymous source was quoted as saying.

"Some fighter jets that had been inside the air force hangar have come out to the ground," Yonhap quoted the source as saying, without confirming whether weapons had been moved closer to the south.

In November North Korean artillery fired on Yeonpyeong island, near the two countries' disputed maritime border, killing four people in its first shelling of a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The attack has sparked fears of a conflict on the tense peninsula.

The North has threatened to hit back harder if South Korea carries out a planned live-fire drill in the area, but the South said on Sunday it will go ahead with the exercise on Monday or Tuesday.

Yonhap said the North's weapons in the area include a 76.2mm gun with a 12km range and a 122mm multiple rocket launcher with a 20km range.

Shenzhen Fashion from Xinhua News

South Korean protestors hold banners and shout slogans during an anti-government rally in Seoul, capital of South Korea on Dec. 18, 2010. South Korea has declared plans for a live shell artillery drill in the waters southwest of Yeonpyeong Island on a selected date from Dec. 18-21 depending on weather conditions. (Xinhua/Park Jin Hee)