NORTH KOREA PREPARING FOR ALL OUT WAR AS SOUTH MOVES ALL FORCES INTO POSITION DEC 11 2010

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said its army and people were ready for escalated conflicts and all-out war that would not be confined to the peninsula, the official news agency KCNA reported Saturday. According to the KCNA, a spokesman for the National Peace Committee of Korea said in the statement released Saturday that the recent moves of the U.S. indicated that it was fully joining in South Korea's moves for a war of aggression against the DPRK after "throwing away the disguise of a hypocrite". It was clear that if the South Korean army mobilized all flying corps, warships and missiles for a war against the DPRK and the U.S. joined them with the latest weapons, it would develop into an all-out war, not a local war, he said. The spokesman said South Korea and the U.S. fabricated the sinking of the South Korean warship the Cheonan early this year and the recent Yonphyong Island shelling incident was aimed at sparking an all-out war. It was ridiculous for the south to talk about a "right to self-defence". It was no more than "war servants and colonial stooges" of the U.S., he said. "Should an all-out war break out again on this land, it will not be confined to the boundaries of the peninsula," he said. The army and people who are ready for both escalated war and an all-out war will "deal merciless retaliatory blows" at the provocateurs and aggressors and blow up their bases and thus honorably defend the dignity and security of the nation, he said. He warned South Korea and the U.S. to bear in mind that their ignition of a dangerous war would bring them nothing but self-destruction. It was reported that the U.S. and South Korea held a meeting of the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea and the U.S. in Seoul on Dec. 8 over a military attack on the DPRK under the pretext of "deterring provocation". Tension on the peninsula increased after the exchange of artillery fire on Nov. 23 between South Korea and DPRK, which killed four people. NORTH KOREA BOMBS ISLAND AND THE U.S. SENDS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER FOR WAR GAMES STARTING SUNDAY LASTING 4 DAYS

PYONGYANG, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said its army and people were ready for escalated conflicts and all-out war that would not be confined to the peninsula, the official news agency KCNA reported Saturday. According to the KCNA, a spokesman for the National Peace Committee of Korea said in the statement released Saturday that the recent moves of the U.S. indicated that it was fully joining in South Korea's moves for a war of aggression against the DPRK after "throwing away the disguise of a hypocrite". It was clear that if the South Korean army mobilized all flying corps, warships and missiles for a war against the DPRK and the U.S. joined them with the latest weapons, it would develop into an all-out war, not a local war, he said. The spokesman said South Korea and the U.S. fabricated the sinking of the South Korean warship the Cheonan early this year and the recent Yonphyong Island shelling incident was aimed at sparking an all-out war. It was ridiculous for the south to talk about a "right to self-defence". It was no more than "war servants and colonial stooges" of the U.S., he said. "Should an all-out war break out again on this land, it will not be confined to the boundaries of the peninsula," he said. The army and people who are ready for both escalated war and an all-out war will "deal merciless retaliatory blows" at the provocateurs and aggressors and blow up their bases and thus honorably defend the dignity and security of the nation, he said. He warned South Korea and the U.S. to bear in mind that their ignition of a dangerous war would bring them nothing but self-destruction. It was reported that the U.S. and South Korea held a meeting of the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea and the U.S. in Seoul on Dec. 8 over a military attack on the DPRK under the pretext of "deterring provocation". Tension on the peninsula increased after the exchange of artillery fire on Nov. 23 between South Korea and DPRK, which killed four people.

NOV 24 2010 ORIGINAL ARTICLE

South Korea Wednesday pulled the bodies of two civilians from wreckage left by North Korea's bombardment of a border island, fuelling calls for revenge on what one newspaper called a "mad dog" regime. The United States and South Korea announced a joint naval show of force including a US aircraft carrier to deter the North, which killed a total of four people in its first shelling attack on civilians since the 1950-53 war. Coastguards searching shattered buildings on Yeonpyeong island found the bodies of the two elderly building workers a day after two marines were confirmed dead and 18 other people injured. Pressure rose on Beijing to rein in its wayward ally Pyongyang, which again asserted that Seoul had provoked the clash. South Korea, after decrying an "inhumane atrocity" against defenceless civilians, said it was suspending promised flood aid to North Korea. It has already called off talks on reuniting families split since the war. The bombardment of Yeonpyeong, which lies near the disputed inter-Korean Yellow Sea border, sent panicked civilians fleeing and fuelled anxiety about North Korea's intentions days after a new nuclear programme came to light. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan called on China to use its "significant influence over North Korea" to reduce tensions. A White House statement said President Barack Obama telephoned his counterpart Lee Myung-Bak to declare that the United States "stands shoulder to shoulder" with South Korea, which is home to 28,500 US troops. The four-day joint naval exercise will start Sunday in the Yellow Sea, and involve a strike group headed by the carrier USS George Washington, US Forces Korea said. It said the drill was planned well before the "unprovoked artillery attack" but it demonstrated the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence". Outraged Seoul newspapers urged the government to hit back. "A club is the only medicine for a mad dog," Dong-A Ilbo said, calling the shelling a "war crime" that demanded a military riposte.

South Korea said it would deploy more artillery on Yeonpyeong after officials announced that the North had fired up to 170 shells, of which 80 hit the island burning down 19 homes and other buildings and setting forests and fields ablaze. Local officials who visited the island released graphic photos of scorched and ruined buildings, with debris littering the streets. At least 700 people have fled Yeonpyeong, which is home to more than 1,500 civilians and a permanent military base. The attack "targeted our land and attacked civilians", President Lee was quoted by his spokesman as saying as he ordered military reinforcements for five frontline islands. "The number of victims may be small but the meaning is far bigger." Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young pledged to revise the code of engagement to ensure troops respond more strongly in any future clash. On Tuesday the South fired 80 rounds back at the North's coastal artillery batteries. China -- North Korea's main ally and economic prop -- has expressed concern but not publicly criticised the North. Its media have given generally sympathetic coverage to Pyongyang's version of events. The North criticised the South for scrapping the planned talks on family reunions. It repeated claims that Seoul provoked the artillery attack by firing into the North's territory. The firing came after North Korea's disclosure of an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant -- a potential way of building a nuclear bomb. It also comes as North Korea prepares for an eventual succession from Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son Jong-Un. "We judged that after revealing the new uranium enrichment facility on November 12, North Korea made the artillery attack to give Kim Jong-Un the status of a strong leader," minister Kim told parliament. China is under mounting pressure to intervene, despite its reluctance to do anything to destabilise the regime in Pyongyang. "We should ask China, which has significant influence over North Korea, to make efforts to jointly restrain North Korean actions," Kan said. Australia called the "outrageously provocative" shelling a threat to the entire region's stability and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said: "I believe it's important now for China to bring all of its influence to bear on North Korea." Tensions have been high since the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack. Pyongyang rejects the charge.

SEOUL (AFP) South Korea Wednesday pulled the bodies of two civilians from wreckage left by North Korea's bombardment of a border island, fuelling calls for revenge on what one newspaper called a "mad dog" regime. The United States and South Korea announced a joint naval show of force including a US aircraft carrier to deter the North, which killed a total of four people in its first shelling attack on civilians since the 1950-53 war. Coastguards searching shattered buildings on Yeonpyeong island found the bodies of the two elderly building workers a day after two marines were confirmed dead and 18 other people injured. Pressure rose on Beijing to rein in its wayward ally Pyongyang, which again asserted that Seoul had provoked the clash. South Korea, after decrying an "inhumane atrocity" against defenceless civilians, said it was suspending promised flood aid to North Korea. It has already called off talks on reuniting families split since the war. The bombardment of Yeonpyeong, which lies near the disputed inter-Korean Yellow Sea border, sent panicked civilians fleeing and fuelled anxiety about North Korea's intentions -- days after a new nuclear programme came to light. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan called on China to use its "significant influence over North Korea" to reduce tensions. A White House statement said President Barack Obama telephoned his counterpart Lee Myung-Bak to declare that the United States "stands shoulder to shoulder" with South Korea, which is home to 28,500 US troops. The four-day joint naval exercise will start Sunday in the Yellow Sea, and involve a strike group headed by the carrier USS George Washington, US Forces Korea said. It said the drill was planned well before the "unprovoked artillery attack" but it demonstrated the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence". Outraged Seoul newspapers urged the government to hit back. "A club is the only medicine for a mad dog," Dong-A Ilbo said, calling the shelling a "war crime" that demanded a military riposte. South Korea said it would deploy more artillery on Yeonpyeong after officials announced that the North had fired up to 170 shells, of which 80 hit the island - burning down 19 homes and other buildings and setting forests and fields ablaze. Local officials who visited the island released graphic photos of scorched and ruined buildings, with debris littering the streets. At least 700 people have fled Yeonpyeong, which is home to more than 1,500 civilians and a permanent military base.

The attack "targeted our land and attacked civilians", President Lee was quoted by his spokesman as saying as he ordered military reinforcements for five frontline islands. "The number of victims may be small but the meaning is far bigger." Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young pledged to revise the code of engagement to ensure troops respond more strongly in any future clash. On Tuesday the South fired 80 rounds back at the North's coastal artillery batteries. China -- North Korea's main ally and economic prop -- has expressed concern but not publicly criticised the North. Its media have given generally sympathetic coverage to Pyongyang's version of events. The North criticised the South for scrapping the planned talks on family reunions. It repeated claims that Seoul provoked the artillery attack by firing into the North's territory. The firing came after North Korea's disclosure of an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant -- a potential way of building a nuclear bomb. It also comes as North Korea prepares for an eventual succession from Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son Jong-Un. "We judged that after revealing the new uranium enrichment facility on November 12, North Korea made the artillery attack to give Kim Jong-Un the status of a strong leader," minister Kim told parliament. China is under mounting pressure to intervene, despite its reluctance to do anything to destabilise the regime in Pyongyang. "We should ask China, which has significant influence over North Korea, to make efforts to jointly restrain North Korean actions," Kan said. Australia called the "outrageously provocative" shelling a threat to the entire region's stability and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said: "I believe it's important now for China to bring all of its influence to bear on North Korea." Tensions have been high since the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack. Pyongyang rejects the charge.

HEZBOLLAH ZERO HOUR EXERCISES PRACTICE TO TOPPLE LEBANON AND WAR WITH ISRAEL NOV 1 2010 ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Hizballah last Thursday, Oct. 28, conducted a command exercise in all parts of Lebanon to test its armed militia's readiness for what its leaders called "zero hour" i.e. asserting its grip on Lebanon and "cornering" Prime Minister Saad Hariri. debkafile's military sources report the exercise took all day and led up to the sabre-rattling speech delivered by Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah that night, which was interpreted by all Lebanese factions interpreted as a declaration of war on their government and the prologue to heating up the border with Israel. (To read our Oct. 30 report on the speech and its impact, click here.) The Shiite terrorist group made no bones about the reasons for its war stance ..just the opposite: 1. Hizballah found it necessary to answer the Israel Defense Forces' recent "electronic exercise," in keeping with a top-level Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah decision never to leave any American or Israel military step without response.

2. It was a practice for the military action planned for the hours leading up to the Special Lebanese Tribunal's issuance of indictments against Hizballah leaders for complicity in the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri five years ago. The "zero hour" exercise demonstrated, according to Hizballah sources, "the quick implementation on the ground" of the necessary deployment. They claimed that in "less than two hours" they were able to "maintain a security and military grip of large areas of Lebanon." Our sources note that this is the first time Hizballah has levelled publicly about its plan for seizing control of Lebanon by force of arms even without waiting for the STL indictments to be issued. The disclosure was made five days after the critical command exercise in order to establish a fact. It took advantage of a moment when its key opponents were otherwise engaged. President Barack Obama has his hands full with the Democrats' sliding rating in polls ahead of the Nov. 2 midterm elections to Congress. Saudi King Abdullah had an eye on an ambitious initiative to convene a national conciliation conference of all Iraqi factions for breaking the long impasse over the formation of a new government in Baghdad. The Saudi king was seeking an alArab breakthrough that would push Iran off the board.

And in Jerusalem, political circles in Jerusalem are full engaged in the trivia of domestic scandal, such as the illegal employment of a foreign worker at Defense Minster Ehud Barak's home or endless bickering over the stipends for yeshiva students with families.

Hizballah also feels it can safely send its gunmen out on the streets of Beirut and vent its ire on Israel without being jumped on by Western media because they are all totally absorbed in al Qaeda's bomb package plot and its intercontinental ramifications.