North Korea puts army on alert, warns U.S. of 'horrible disaster'

(Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday its military would be put on high alert and be ready to launch operations, stepping up tension after weeks of rhetoric against the United States and South Korea, whom it accuses of instigating hostility.

Reclusive North Korea has often issued threats to attack the South and the United States but has rarely turned them into action. Such hostile rhetoric is widely seen as a way to push its domestic and international political agenda.

A spokesman for the North's military warned the United States of "disastrous consequences" for moving a group of ships, including an aircraft carrier, into a South Korean port.

"In this connection, the units of all services and army corps level of the KPA received an emergency order from its supreme command to re-examine the operation plans already ratified by it and keep themselves fully ready to promptly launch operations anytime," the spokesman said, referring to the Korean People's Army (KPA).

"The U.S. will be wholly accountable for the unexpected horrible disaster to be met by its imperialist aggression forces' nuclear strike means," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said later on Tuesday there was no indication of unusual activity by the North's military.

Washington brushed off the North's warning.

Beyond belief

Cleveland kidnap suspect Ariel Castro brazenly played music last year at a fundraiser marking the tenth anniversary of Gina DeJesus disappearance and even comforted the missing woman's mother.

At the time, DeJesus, who was abducted when she was 14, was confined in Castro's house, police claim.

It wasn't the only time Castro showed concern for the girl who he allegedly imprisoned for a decade along with two other women.

When DeJesus first vanished, Castro handed out fliers urging people to be on the lookout for her and frequently attended rallies after her disappearance.

There were other strange coincidences involving the families of the missing women over the years.

Is North Korea on the brink of war?

Politicians and pundits painted a pretty bleak picture of the situation in North Korea on the Sunday talk-show circuit, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham predicting a "major war" breaking out if Kim Jong Un attacks South Korea.

"The North Koreans need to understand if they attack an American interest or an ally of this country, they're going to pay a heavy price," Graham said on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday. "I could see a major war happening if the North Koreans overplay their hand this time, because the public in South Korea, the United States, and I think the whole region, is fed up with this guy."

"I think we have to convince this new, young, inexperienced leader that he's playing a losing hand," former U.S. Defense Under Secretary Michèle Flournoy said. "The only way out of the box to get the economic development he wants, to get the progress that he wants, is to ratchet back the rhetoric. Come back into compliance with the international obligations."

Since assuming power in late 2011, the provocative Kim has defied U.N. sanctions by continuing to develop North Korea's missile program.

"He's kind of reckless right now," Gen. James Thurman, the top U.S. military commander in South Korea, said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on ABC. "If they decided to, you know, resume hostilities, I think we've got to be ready to go."

Whoooops ... Organizers display South Korea flag instead of North Korea

By FRANK GRIFFITHS 


GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — London Olympic organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match Wednesday, prompting the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour.

The flag flap began during player introductions when a North Korean player was introduced along with a shot of the South Korean flag.

The match against Colombia was delayed for more than an hour, and organizers apologized for the error.

"If this matter couldn't have been resolved, then I thought going on is nonsense," coach Sin Ui Gun said through an interpreter after North Korea won 2-0. "We were angry because our players were introduced as if they were from South Korea, which may affect us very greatly as you might know."

The coach said the organizers corrected the mix-up, although it took some time. Large images of the North Korea flag were put up on both stadium jumbo screens during the delay and the players finally came out.

WHAT, Me Worry ...... You betcha

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles Saturday into waters off its east coast in a show of military firepower that defied U.N. resolutions and drew global expressions of condemnation and concern.

The salvo, confirmed by the South Korean government, also appeared to be a slap at the United States as Washington moves to enforce U.N. as well as its own sanctions against the isolated regime for its May 25 nuclear test.

The launches came on July 4, which is U.S. Independence Day. The display was similar to one that took place three years ago, also while Americans celebrated the Fourth of July during another period of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

The number of missiles was the same, though in 2006 North Korea also launched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the ocean less than a minute after liftoff.

South Korea said Saturday's missiles likely flew more than 250 miles (400 kilometers), apparently landing in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

South Korea and Japan both condemned the launches, with Tokyo calling them a "serious act of provocation." Britain and France issued similar statements.

Russia and China, both close to North Korea, expressed concern over an "escalation of tension in the region," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement after a meeting in Moscow.

In Washington, the White House had no immediate comment. But two senior officials in President Barack Obama's administration, speaking in advance of the launches, said any reaction was likely to be muted to avoid giving attention to Pyongyang or antagonize it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Has this always been our policy?