S. Korea to Apply Sanctions Against Iran

South Korea may be hiding behind the United States to explain their support for the sanctions against Iran, but they certainly do have their own reasons for desiring these sactions considering their close location to North Korea.

South Korea imposes independent sanctions on Iran.
By SANGWON YOON (AP) – 5 hours ago

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said it will ban many financial dealings with Iran and impose other penalties as part of a U.S.-led campaign to enforce sanctions against the country over its disputed nuclear enrichment program.

The measures announced Wednesday by Seoul add to new, unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S., Europe and others to pressure Iran to return to negotiations on its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is peaceful but critics say is a quest to develop atomic weapons that could spark a Middle East arms race.

Seoul targeted 102 entities with the sanctions, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines plus 24 individuals , Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said Wednesday.

The measures prohibit foreign exchange transactions with the targets of the measures except with special authorization, and they also halt existing banking relations and prohibit the opening of new branches or representative offices in South Korea, Kim said. The targeted individuals are also banned from entering South Korea, Kim said.

South Korea will also heavily penalize the Seoul branch of Bank Mellat, one of the 15 targeted Iranian banks, for violating laws on foreign exchange transactions, a government statement said, without elaborating.

The Seoul branch of Bank Mellat has "facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions for Iranian nuclear, missile and defense entities," the statement said.

Kim said the sanctions further reinforce United Nations resolution 1929 against Iran, the latest in a series of measures taken by the international community in an effort to halt Iran's nuclear program.

"South Korea expects Iran to join international efforts for nuclear nonproliferation and take steps to faithfully implement its obligations under the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions," he said.

The United States welcomed South Korea's decision.

"These actions strengthen the growing international resolve to prevent proliferation and Iran's development of nuclear weapons and to press Iran to return to serious negotiations on its nuclear program and meet its international obligations," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a joint statement.

The U.N. approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in early June over accusations that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies its nuclear program is militaristic in nature and says it has a right to conduct uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.

The U.S. also independently imposed new sanctions against Iran and has urged other countries to follow suit.

So far, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Japan have joined the international campaign against Iran.

Seoul has been cautious in taking action against Iran, trying to balance its diplomatic interests with the U.S., a key ally, and its economic interests with Iran.

Iran is South Korea's third-largest trading partner in the Middle East, with two-way trade totaling nearly $10 billion last year, according to the Korea International Trade Association. It is also South Korea's fourth-biggest supplier of crude oil, accounting for 9.8 percent of its oil imports, according to the Korea National Oil Corp.

Seoul said it will prohibit new investments and contracts that could enrich Iran's petroleum and gas industry, and called on South Korean companies to exercise "restraint and caution" in carrying out existing contracts.

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

Hat tip: AP.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Have We No Shame?

I found these videos over at Winston's site, The Spirit of Man. He is an Iranian dissident who lives in Canada. I borrowed one of these videos to show you what a real leader does and says, but you really should follow the link below to see the other 3 videos. It is moving, angering, and down right true.

Have we forgotten the Holocaust? Have we forgotten 9/11/01? What is happening to our society when we allow, no, condone, the torture and murder of an ally to placate the murderous ambitions of terrorists? Where is our humanity? Have we no shame?

I have not forgotten. I stand with all the Jewish people who desire peace but are ready to defend their tiny country, and I stand with all Iranians who desire freedon and liberty. I just wish there was more I could do. God, please forgive us.

Link: Have you no shame?

Hat tip: Winston.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again. Digg!

State slams diplomat for speaking 'truth to power'

Today you will be reading about someone you may never have heard of before, but that does not make him any less significant. This man was...WAS...an ambassador to North Korea. Why do I emphasize 'was'? Condi made sure she tore him a new one, instead of admitting that she was WRONG about Kim Jong Il (as I could have told her before she even tried to buy off the North Koreans. When will these idiots learn that you can't pay off a commie terrorist?).

I would like to start from the beginning, but I'm afraid my knowledge is not that extensive. I will start from when I became aware and started paying attention. This was in the 1990's. I do know that we fought a war between the north and south over there, that we did not declare victory or defeat but instead we called a ceasefire (which means, in essense, we are still at war with them), that there is a demilitarized zone which is heavily armed by both sides, it is constantly compromised by the north, the northerners are constantly trying to escape even though the punishment is death or the gulag, and the south does not want to allow them into their country even though some of them are direct relatives.

There, are we caught up? Good. Now for the problems. Mr. Jay Lefkowitz. He was working for the State Dept. for many years, but he was made to resign. Why? Well, how dare he undermine Condi! He was speaking at the American Enterprise Institute a couple of weeks ago when he stated, 'Noting that it has been more than two years since Pyongyang pledged to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and more than two weeks since it violated the latest deadline to disclose the full extent of that program, Mr. Lefkowitz observed that "it is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the Administration leaves office in one year."'

Wow. Pretty rough stuff, eh? Too bad the state dept doesn't have to search for bark of a tree to eat for food on a daily basis so they don't starve! This was the purpose of that statement: "Jay Lefkowitz, President Bush's special envoy for human rights in North Korea, has recently pointed out that our current approach to Pyongyang is failing. Lord help a diplomat who tells the truth."

Does anyone, besides me, remember why Bush hated Kim Jong Il so much? Yes, it was on the basis of humanitarian reasons. Of course there is the issue of nuclear weapons that have a role in this, but I would have thought he would take a hard stand on the humanitarian side. Over two million people have already starved to death, numerous have been murdered by the state, and no one says a damn thing. Thanks a heap, Bush. What happened to you? Who took your cajones?

To read the article over at the Wall Street Journal Opinion section, click here. Now if you will pardon me, I feel the need to beat up a pillow...

Posts I've trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:

Mark My Words: OTA Open Trackback 01/28/08, Leaning Straight Up: The Obama/Israel Factor: Is There a Problem Waiting to Happen?, and A Newt One: The Similarities Are Frightening, Thanks much to: Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Indo-Pak arms race

This does not look good, and the place talking about it is CNN [link no longer good]. They were talking of peace a while back, and they still may be. This is not going to help that. No, not at all. Especially since OBL may live in Pakistan.

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Report warns of nuclear arms race by Pakistan, India.

Source: CNN.
June 21, 2007.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Satellite images show that Pakistan is building a nuclear reactor that can produce weapons-grade plutonium, an American watchdog group said Thursday, warning that it could contribute to an atomic arms race with archrival India.

A picture taken June 3 shows work progressing rapidly on the reactor at the Khushab nuclear site, 100 miles southwest of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, the Institute of Science for International Security said.

The development of the reactor and other nuclear-related activities "imply" that Pakistan has decided to "increase significantly its production of plutonium for nuclear weapons," the Washington-based institute said in a report analyzing the images.

A senior official at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Authority said the country was "extending our infrastructure," but declined to address the details of the report.

"We are a declared nuclear state and we are pursuing our nuclear program for peaceful purposes," said the official, who asked that he not be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. "We are doing it for our national interests."

Pakistan has stated repeatedly that it will develop its secretive nuclear program and maintain an atomic arsenal to deter India, its more powerful neighbor, despite past leaks of sensitive technology to countries including Iran.

The report, co-authored by former U.N. inspector David Albright, said Pakistan may have decided to produce more plutonium for lighter warheads for cruise missiles, or to upgrade weapons aimed at Indian cities.

Most Pakistani nuclear weapons use highly enriched uranium, it noted.

Albright said the work on the reactor shows that the country is trying to improve its nuclear capabilities with a "new generation" of plutonium-based weapons.

Plutonium-based weapons pack more explosive power into smaller, lighter packages than those made with uranium, which Pakistan has been using for years, according to Albright.

"The work on these reactors reflects a Pakistani decision to create a new generation of nuclear weapons. By going plutonium ... we have to interpret that as an attempt to make smaller, more powerful weapons that are going to be more destructive in India," Albright said in a telephone interview.

The Pakistani official declined to comment on what Pakistan might do with extra plutonium.

The report said that, with India also trying to expand its ability to enrich uranium, Pakistan's activities "should be viewed as a sign of an accelerated nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan."

It also accused the U.S. government of soft-pedaling the risk to avoid endangering Islamabad's cooperation against terrorism and a proposed nuclear pact with New Delhi.

"The bottom line for us is that the U.S. isn't doing enough to stop these countries from expanding their nuclear arsenals. They're turning a blind eye," said Albright.

The institute said it used commercially available satellite imagery to conclude that Pakistan was building a third nuclear reactor at Khushab.

A first reactor entered service in 1998, and a second one begun between 2000 and 2002 was still under construction earlier this month, it said in the report. The third and newest reactor has sprung up rapidly just a few hundred yards away, it said.

The images also purportedly show work progressing on a plutonium reprocessing facility at Chashma, 50 miles to the west.

A report by the same institute about the second reactor at Khushab saying it could eventually produce enough fissile material for 50 atomic bombs a year prompted the U.S. government last July to urge Pakistan not to expand its nuclear weapons program.

Pakistan conducted its only nuclear tests in May 1998 after Indian tests earlier that month. India detonated its first nuclear bomb in 1974.

The two countries came close to open conflict in 2002, fueling fear of the world's first nuclear exchange, after terrorists attacked India's Parliament. New Delhi accused Islamabad-backed militants of carrying out the attack, but Pakistan denied the claims. Both countries have since embarked on a stop-start peace process.

In February 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered to be the father of Pakistan's atomic program, confessed to giving nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf pardoned Khan and U.S. officials regularly praise Islamabad's role in helping prevent nuclear smuggling.

Originally posted @ Love America First-2 because CNN has a bad habit of moving their links. Apparently I was correct to do this.
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Let us hope this does not heat up again.