Tag: NorK

Good Morning!

Good morning!

(CNN) — The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent in June, the highest rate since August 1983, according to figures released Thursday by the Department of Labor. The U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, according to the report.

Oh…

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) — North Korea test-fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

Oh…

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) — North Korea has test-fired a third short-range missile, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Oh.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — A suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a Pakistani Defense Ministry bus Thursday, killing at least five and injuring several other people, Rawalpindi’s police chief said.

Well, “morning,” anyway.

Nork’s Nukes

So yesterday we got to find out that North Korea has functional nuclear weapons. Relatively small compared to ours, but we saw what a bomb the same size did to Hiroshima. Hard not to get a little worried over this one.

They also test-fired two missiles, and then two more this morning. Obama’s reaction so far has been strong language and veiled, weak threats. It’s hard to see how this will do anything; after all, Bush tried this for quite some time and we ended up with a nuclear-armed North Korea. I think what will be more interesting are the more local reactions from China, Japan, and possibly Russia or India. They are certainly more imminently threatened by the weapons, and with Kim Jong-Il in questionable health, these weapons could ultimately come into play in a grasp for power by his potential successors.  While I doubt that we’ll see much in the way of serious response from Obama, at least anytime soon, it’s possible we might see something from the other regional governments – although it’s just as likely it will be in support of the Norks as against.