U.S. and S. Korea Raise Alerts

The U.S. and South Korea raised military alerts on North Korea today after North Korea broke its truce ending the Korean War and announced it was ready to attack. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the alert level was raised to stress how serious a threat North Korea is, making it the highest threat level since 2006, when the North conducted its only other nuclear test. So what do the experts think we should do? Washington Post columnists Dan Blumenthal and Robert Kagan say we should drop the notion that a unified Korea is a common goal for both the U.S. and China. And rather than going through Bejing to reach Pyongyang, send Obama to meet with Kim Jong-Il. Some analysts say the nuclear threats are an attempt to strengthen Kim’s image after a suspected stroke caused doubt over his control, while weapons experts point out that although North Korea wants to build a nuclear arsenal, it does not yet have a method of attack with a nuclear bomb or warhead.