Would somebody pay attention to us, puh---leeeze?

North Korea says it will stage nuke test - Yahoo! News

By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 3, 11:20 AM ET North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program. "The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a self-defense measure in response," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, using its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Extreme threat of a nuclear war???" Did I miss something somewhere? Maybe it was on the news, but PredatorGate was so much more important.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said he was urging Security Council members to consult with their capitals on the next steps. "I think it's important that if we embark on something here that we do it seriously and not simply issue statements for the sake of issuing statements," he told reporters before the council met for closed discussions.

Great idea, but how un-ambassadorial. Makes me like him more and more!

The North said Tuesday its ultimate goal is "to settle hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and to remove the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity," accusing the U.S. of posing a nuclear threat in the region. The North, however, said it will "never use nuclear weapons first and strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear transfer."

Ok, let me make sure I have this right.... we need to test a nuclear device so that we can remove all threats of nuclear devices. Yeah, makes sense to me.

Charles Kartman, who was the lead negotiator with North Korea under the Clinton administration, said last week that North Korea had few other options than saber-rattling. "If they feel they are not getting interaction with us, they tend to do things to get our attention. And the tools that they have are all bad ones," he said. "The missiles, the nuclear program, the military."

Uh huh. How about we invite Kim Jong-il to the UN, so we can hear more about the eeee-vil US? Would that be enough attention paid?