Crossfire War – BEIJING WATCH – Northeast Asia Theatre: Beijing – Pyongyang – Tehran/Tokyo – Seoul – Moscow – Washington; North Korea “More or Less Ready” – Coal Mine Shafts Site of Nuclear Test – Gilju District – North Hamkyung Province
Night Watch: PYONGYANG – In support of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Beijing and Tehran have enabled Pyongyang to conduct a nuclear test in one of the thousands of unused coal mine shafts in the country. Reuters reports that an unnamed Chinese source said they are “more or less ready” and that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il stated the test should not “excessively rock” Mount Paektu, a mountain considered sacred by many Koreans. [SWISSINFO]
The South Korean paper, Hankook llbo says the most likely site is in the district of Gilju in North Hamkyung province. The test would be conducted 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) below the surface and I suspect that since there was an Iranian representative at Pyongyang’s missile tests in July, there will probably be at least one Iranian observer at the nuclear tests.
ABC News reported in August that an American intelligence agency detected suspicious vehicle traffic at the site. Other areas where the test could take place are the Hagab and Shijung districts in Jagang province in the north of the country near China’s border. The paper admitted, “Finding the test site beforehand would be akin to finding a needle in the Han river.”
The three governments, Beijing-Pyongyang-Tehran must be aware they are taking quite a risk since governments in Northeast Asia, including Moscow and Washington, are very likely to respond to any test with a military attack on North Korea’s military bases and test facilities. But Tehran wants to continue its preparation for (f)allout war and realizes they have to accumulate as much material as they possibly can before the fighting becomes full scale and against their main targets the West-India. Pyongyang also realizes this is their guarantee of continued free oil and gas from Iran, which is what Tehran told them last November, that if Pyongyang continues to export nuclear – ballistic missile technology then North Korea’s energy needs would be taken care of. As always Beijing is eager to see damage done to three of its main rivals, the West-Russia-India.
This is the result of the planning that had been going on within this three government axis behind the charade of the Six Way Negotiations, staged by Beijing, in a false attempt to end Pyongyang’s advanced weapons program and exports to West Asia (Middle East). Beijing never supported anti-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, they only paid lip service to it.
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