North Korea to Test ICBM and other scary things

S. Korea Tells N. Korea to Drop Missile Test, Return to Talks

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea should stop any plans to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile and return to international talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program, South Korea's foreign minister said.

It could have a negative impact on the resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue if North Korea launches a missile,'' Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki Moon told reporters at a weekly briefing held at government offices in downtown Seoul.

North Korea is preparing to test a Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile, the Financial Times said on its Web site on June 11, citing an unidentified senior U.S. official. South Korea is urging China to ask North Korea to abandon the test, the FT said.

North Korea is preparing to field a new ballistic missile capable of reaching Okinawa, Guam and "probably'' Alaska, General Burwell Bell, commander of the U.S. forces in South Korea, said in testimony to a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on March 7.

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Its news like that makes me wish we hadn't invaded Iraq. By comitting so many resources to one country we have limited our ability to contain problems like Iran, North Korea, and Somalia.
Somalia? Yeppers:

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Islamic militants captured the last strategic town held by their warlord rivals Wednesday, consolidating their hold over a large swath of Somalia even as the country's parliament called for help from foreign peacekeepers.

The Islamic militants, accused by the United States of harboring al-Qaida, portray themselves as free of links to Somalia's past turmoil and capable of bringing order and unity. However, the future of a country accustomed to moderate Islam would be uncertain under hard-line Islamic rulers.

Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice and Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., a hub for expatriate Somalis, called on the United States and the international community to stop the advance of the Islamic militia.

"No matter what language they use, the goal of the Islamic militants is to install a Taliban-style government in the country," he said. "Instead, we need a democracy, we need freedom of the press, we need an election, we need a legitimate legal system." Full Article

Simply put with so many troops comitted to the Iraq in an elective war we found ourselves unable to effectively rattle our sabre at real threats. As we all know when the cat is away, the mice will play.