U.S. Will Not Recognize DPRK as Nuclear-Weapon State

The United States announced on Wednesday that it will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear-weapon country.  The U.S. urged North Korea to join China, South Korea, Japan and Russia in the six-party talks for nuclear disarmament.

The United States said on Wednesday that it would not accept the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a nuclear-weapon country, urging Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks process.

“We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state. Its current path is a dead end,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, referring to the DPRK’s demand for “an equal footing with other nuclear weapons states.”

Battle Brews on Missiles in Europe

Democrats and Republicans are conflicting on their view of President Obama’s missile defense plans. The debate over the missile defense policy is playing out as the Senate prepares to consider whether to ratify a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.

Republicans are blasting the Obama administration’s plans to phase in a new missile defense system in Europe, saying it leaves a gap in the nation’s protective armor against Iranian missiles that could be deployable as soon as 2015.

Democrats and administration officials are firing back, saying that Obama’s new approach to missile defense is a more practical and effective improvement over Bush-era policies.

U.S. Confident it could Intercept an Iranian Missile

The Department of Defense said on Wednesday that it is “very confident” it can defend the United States against an Iran missile strike.  This comes after recent testimony made that Iran could possibly have a missile capable of striking by 2015.

The Pentagon is “very confident” that it could defend the U.S. against the threat of an Iranian ballistic missile strike, the Defense Department’s chief spokesman said Wednesday.

A recent Defense Department report to Congress concludes that Iran could develop a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015. Iran already has the largest deployed ballistic missile force in the Middle East, consisting of about 1,000 missiles capable of hitting targets up to 1,200 miles away, the report warns.

Patriot Battery Seen in Poland Late May

Patriot Missile Being Launched

A battery of Patriot missiles will arrive in Poland in late May, according to a Poland state news agency.  These missiles are part of a Polish-U.S. agreement signed late last year to upgrade the Poland’s air defenses.  This news continues controversy Russia has with its neighboring country having missiles.

A planned battery of Patriot missiles that has irritated Russia will now arrive in Poland in late May; the state news agency PAP said Wednesday, nearly two months behind schedule.

The temporary deployment of the battery, along with a 100-man team to operate it, is part of a Polish-U.S. agreement signed late last year to upgrade the NATO member’s air defenses.