“U.S. Is Ready to Use Nuclear Weapons Against 7 Nations, Including NK”

The U.S. press reported on the 9th that George W. Bush’s U.S. administration has prepared to use nuclear weapons against 7 nations, including North Korea, China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Syria in emergency, and made a secret report that contains the details of developing new nuclear weapons.

The U.S. State Department presented its secret `Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)` to Congress on January 8, and the report suggested use of nuclear power in cases of D North Korea’s attack on South Korea D Arab nations like Iraq’s attack on Israel D China’s attack on Taiwan. The U.S. press, including LA Times and New York Times, said that the report proposed preparation of the U.S. nuclear power to make attacks when D targets are not destroyed by non-nuclear weapons D U.S. is under attack with chemical weapons D surprising military situations occur.

The report also identified U.S.A.’s targets of nuclear attack by nations that may be involved in Δ immediate Δ potential Δ sudden dangers, and classified North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya as the ones corresponding to all of the three standards.

The report urged the development of new nuclear weapons that can minimize secondary damage from uses of nuclear power, including crust-penetration nuclear weapons that can destroy chemical weapon facilities and radiation fallout. LA Times quoted experts and said that this is the first time such detailed list of potential targets of nuclear attack was publicized, and predicted strong oppositions from the target nations.

The State Department and White House, however, refused to comment on the report with the reason that it is about national `contingency plan`. However, State Department spokesperson Catherine Abbot explained, “NPR report is the most recent one among the reviews for nuclear development, and it contains no detail of targets for nuclear attack or strategic plans of any sort.”

Signed by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the report is said to be currently used for preparing nuclear war plans by the U.S. Strategic Command.

Ki-Heung Han eligius@donga.com