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KIM JONG-UN has ordered North Korea’s nuclear arsenal to be readied for pre-emptive use at any time, in an expected escalation of military rhetoric following the UN Security Council’s adoption of tough new sanctions on Pyongyang.
The North’s nuclear warheads must be deployed “on standby so as to be fired at any moment”, Kim was quoted as saying by the North’s official KCNA news agency today.
He also warned that the situation on the divided Korean peninsula had become so dangerous that the North needed to shift its military strategy to one of “pre-emptive attack”.
Such bellicose rhetoric is almost routine for North Korea at times of elevated tensions.
While the North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system.
Washington downplayed Kim’s threat as posturing.
“We have not seen North Korea test or demonstrate the ability to miniaturise a nuclear weapon and put it on an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile),” a US defence official told AFP.
Still, the official added, “our forces are ready to counter-eliminate strikes if necessary”.
‘Stern punishment’
In Seoul, President Park Geun-Hye promised South Korea would mete out “stern punishment” in the event of any North Korea provocation as she warned of a “fiercer” backlash than usual from Pyongyang over the latest UN sanctions.
According to KCNA, Kim made his comments while monitoring the test firing of a new, high-calibre multiple rocket launcher on Thursday, just hours after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted the US-drafted resolution penalising the North for its fourth nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch last month.
South Korea’s defence ministry said the North had fired half a dozen rockets about 100-150 kilometres (60-90 miles) into the sea off its eastern coast on Thursday.
In a clear threat to the neighbouring South, Kim said the new rocket launcher should be “promptly deployed” along with other “recently developed” weaponry.
In the wake of the “gangster-like” UN resolution pushed by the United States and its South Korean ally, North Koreans are now “waiting for an order of combat to annihilate the enemy with their surging wrath”, he added.
The Security Council resolution adopted late on Wednesday laid out the toughest sanctions imposed on Pyongyang to date over its nuclear weapons programme and will, if implemented effectively, apply significant economic pressure on Kim’s regime.
It breaks new ground by sanctioning specific sectors key to the North Korean economy – such as mineral exports – and seeking to undermine the North’s use of, and access to, international transport systems.
‘Dangerous phase’
Kim said the resolution had opened a “very dangerous phase”, coming just days before the United States and South Korea kick off annual joint military drills that Pyongyang views as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
The exercises involving tens of thousands of troops are scheduled to begin next Monday.
The Security Council resolution ushered in the fifth set of UN sanctions to hit North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006, and was the result of arduous negotiations between the US and China, Pyongyang’s sole major ally.
China had been reluctant to endorse tough sanctions out of concern that too much pressure would trigger the collapse of the pariah regime, creating chaos on its border.
The measures Beijing finally signed off on are extremely tough on paper, but experts have warned that some of the language is vague enough to allow varying levels of enforcement.
China’s commitment could depend on the outcome of formal talks that opened Friday between Seoul and Washington on the possible deployment of an advanced US missile defence system in South Korea.
The Thaad system fires anti-ballistic missiles to smash into enemy missiles either inside or outside the Earth’s atmosphere during their final flight phase.
Its deployment is strongly opposed by China and Russia, with Beijing saying it would undermine its own nuclear deterrent and has the potential to “destroy” relations with Seoul.
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A million is too much to get accurate figures on sexual violence affecting Irish citizens? But 5 million on PR is just fine?
Is Mary Lou really saying she would rather invest a million in research than services? How many reports are there now gathering dust?
@lavbeer: it’s not either/or, we can do both. The SAVI report never gathered dust anyway, it has been used extensively by all agencies working to combat child sexual abuse. 1 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the billion the State has had to pay to the victims of institutional child abuse. A small spend now will go a long way to saving money down the line
Perhaps im just jaded…..but this seems like a political stunt to bring the female vote back for Leo…….after hes put his foot in it a couple of times on the repeal issue….
@Dearbhla Russell: DRCC and other groups have been seeking that SAVI be updated but Minister for Justice resisted.
In light of recent developments, including Tom Humphries, accurate measurement is seen as now required. There may well be political expedience at play but SAVI update is needed.
And if they could get back to him in a year or two that would be fine
Look at that Muslim Brotherhood supporter beside him in the photo. Wonder what their views on sexual violence are? Oh! I know. They approve and recommend it.
It is not a question of either €1 million on an update on SAVI 1 or spending this on vital services. It is not either/or. It is both/and.
An update on SAVI 1, a reasonably measurement of the problem, can guide in whether an increase in the allocation to support services is required, how and where funding should be allocated, how best to reduce the problem of sexual violence in Ireland and to better guide criminological policy in this area.
We need to do far more as a society to prevent sexual violence in Ireland and to support the unfortunate past and present victims of sexual violence in Ireland.
Prevent, address and try to rectify. First, gain an accurate measurement of causes, extreme, impacts and critically assess current reporting, detection, protection, sentencing, preventative and restorative measurements.
The experts in this area, including the DRCC and various criminologists, have all advised of the urgent need for an update to SAVI 1. Now is the time to get on with it.
The country needs updating with a better honest leader!
SAVI 1 needs to be updated so as to measure the estimated size of the problem. Many victims never report sexual violence offences to An Garda Siochana. There are reasons for this. Addressing a problem depends on accurate measurement of the true extent of the problem at present.
Your grammar needs TO BE UPDATED.
The SAVI Report and it’s methodology have been totally discredited, which is why it has never been revisited in all this time – untill now of course.
It was based upon the European FRA Report and the technique pioneered by Mary Koss, a feminist researcher who felt that official government unbiased reports didn’t provided the results she wanted so she set up her own surveys designed to adjust the figures to provide statastics more suitable to her ideology. She admitted in 1992 she surveys were flawed.
White Ribbon campaigns in several other countries have been totally discredited for several reasons with the governments of Canada and Australia noticing that they were being used to funnel the vast majority of money into salaries.
The SAVI report used a similar methodology and showed that 42% of Irish women and 28% of Irish men reported some form of sexual abuse. Almost a third of women and one in five men experienced sexual abuse in childhood with more than a quarter of women and one in ten of men experiencing it in adulthood.
This research has been based upong the idea that women and men don’t know what things like ‘stalking’, ‘violence’ and ‘rape’ mean and need a feminist expert to interpret for them and fill out the forms.
The SAVI Report – 2001 – contains the word ‘ABUSE’ one thousand six hundred and one times (1601). Is that not enough? Do you need an update, when you don’t even believe or act on official findings and data !
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