Puppet for China « The Irate Nation

On High Alert in Korea

South Korean troops increase readiness after naval skirmish with North Korea

South Korea warned it was ready to deter any retaliation by North Korea following the two countries' first naval clash in seven years, reportedly deploying two warships to the disputed sea border Wednesday.

The skirmish will not deter Washington from sending an envoy to North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, vowing to continue efforts to resolve long-standing disputes over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

North Korea Threatens More Nuclear Weapon Production

clipped from www.foxnews.com

North Korea said Tuesday that it has completed reprocessing thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods to extract plutonium to bolster its atomic stockpile, raising the stakes in an apparent effort to get the U.S. into direct negotiations.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch that the country finished reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods, which experts say yields enough plutonium for at least one atomic bomb.

The North is believed to already be in possession of enough plutonium to make at least half a dozen nuclear weapons. The latest announcement raises concern that the regime could enlarge its atomic stockpile.