We should eliminate North Korea

AP/The Thai Irrawaddy News Magazine 2008 photo shows a surface-to-surface missile at a factory allegedly in Pyongyang, North Korea, during a visit by Burma's military government. 2008 photo shows a surface-to-surface missile at a factory allegedly in Pyongyang, North Korea, during a visit by Burma's military government. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea criticized the U.S. on Monday for positioning missile defense systems around Hawaii, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawaii amid concerns the North may fire a long-range missile toward the islands, about 4,500 miles away. "Through the U.S. forces' clamorous movements, it has been brought to light that the U.S. attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike on our republic has become a brutal fact," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary. The paper also accused the U.S. of deploying nuclear-powered aircraft and atomic-armed submarines in waters near the Korean peninsula, saying the moves prove "the U.S. pre-emptive nuclear war" on the North is imminent. The commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, said the North will bolster its nuclear arsenal in self-defense. The North routinely accuses the U.S. of plotting to invade the North. But the U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, has said it has no such plan. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been running high since the North defiantly launched a rocket in April and conducted an underground nuclear test last month, prompting U.N. Security Council sanctions. North Korea responded to the U.N. resolution on the nuclear test with threats of war, and pledged to expand its nuclear bomb-making program. In what could be the first test of the U.N. sanctions, an American destroyer has been tracking a North Korean ship sailing off China's coast amid suspicions that it is carrying illicit weapons. The Kang Nam, which left a North Korean port on June 17, is the first vessel monitored under U.N. sanctions that ban the regime from selling arms and weapons-related material. The resolution requires member nations to request permission to inspect the cargo of ships suspected of carrying banned goods. Related Stories•North Korea Vows Nuke Attack if Provoked •Report: North Korean Ship Suspected of Carrying Missiles •N. Korea Criticizes U.S. Nuclear Protection of S. Korea •World Powers May Meet on N. Korea Next Month Amid New Threats •Report: N. Korea May Fire ICBM Toward Hawaii •N. Korea Warns U.S. of 'Thousand-Fold' Military Action •Report: Kim Jong Il's Son Secretly Visits China •N. Korea Threatens Military Action if U.S. Imposes Blockade •South Korea Braces for 3rd Nuclear Test by North •South Korea: North Korea Can't Use Tests to Win Allowances •Defense Official: No Evidence North Korea Tested Nuke •North Korea Violates South Korean Waters, Backs Away After Warnings •Diplomat: U.S. Won't Reward N. Korea's Bad Behavior Again •N. Korea Assembling Missile; Tension With South Running Deep •North Korea Readying Several Missile Tests •Officials: New Signs of North Korea Missile Preparations •N. Korea Defiantly Fires 6th Missile, Slams U.N. •Emotional Funeral for S. Korea's Roh Moo-hyun •N. Korea Warns U.N. of Action in 'Self-Defense' •Russia's U.N. Envoy Sees Wide Agreement for N. Korea Resolution •U.S., S. Korea Troops on High Alert Amid Threats •U.N. Chief Sees 'Violation' if North Korea Nuclear Test Confirmed Video•North Korea Watch Photo Essays•North Korea Missile Plan •North Korea Missiles The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said on CBS television Sunday that Washington is "following the progress of that ship very closely." Rice would not say whether the U.S. would confront the Kang Nam. North Korea has said it would consider any interception of its ships a declaration of war.