North Korea, Sanctions, and Kim Jong-un

[Omnis]

We should've sent Dennis Rodman in with a nuke strapped to him. Would've taken care of two problems.

 

[Tornado]

Then his team on Celebrity Apprentice would be down another player, though.

 

[Slash]

we should've sent dennis rodman in with a nuke strapped to him. Would've taken care of two problems.

+1

 

[Sanji Himura]

Technically - but the workers rely on the supply trucks coming in from the South as their transport. The trucks are not permitted to cross the border to the North, so they have no transport back.

They could just walk it - it's only 6 miles - but with the two countries now being in a state of war and the North's record of kidnapping South Koreans, they could quite reasonably fear indefinite detention.

Now? They never legally never left a state of war. If NK wanted to strike Seoul tomorrow with a nuke, not trying to give them any ideas, they could because this so called peace isn't worth the scrap of paper that it is written on.

One might call me a war-hawk for that remark, but the North and South never signed a treaty, and that is a fact that isn't lost on Jong Un. Why else are the US sending the USS John McCain out to the Koreas? For shore-leave? No, they are there for when/if the North launches a missile at the south.

 

[terminator363]

Sort of why I hate CNN:

CNN Predicts NK conflict

Making up predictions isn't really good journalism. The entertainment value is good though...

 

[CodeRedR51]

Edit: You fixed it.

Edit 2: Yeah, let's just show them what they should do. Brilliant.

 

[Bobert power]

We should've sent Dennis Rodman in with a nuke strapped to him. Would've taken care of two problems.

This! 👍

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What are the chances of China just saying screw it and bowling over the North Korean government themselves if they finally get sick of Jong Un?

Zero. They'd never do it. They have no reason to do it, and would only get themselves hit with comdemnation from the international community.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The North has reportedly moved missiles capable of reaching Japan to its east coast; South Korea say they're ready to deal with it if they have to:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...l-of-north-korea/story-e6frg6so-1226612387112

Speculation suggests that the North have every intention of launching it, and will do so on the 15th, the anniversay of Kim Il-sung's birth.

 

[TheeFrogmanlego]

There doing the same thing that happened in WW2..Telling the bastards they can't do it, they do it and no one does anything about it until the lunatics drop a warhead in Seoul. Did our leaders not take basic history.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

There doing the same thing that happened in WW2..Telling the bastards they can't do it, they do it and no one does anything about it until the lunatics drop a warhead in Seoul. Did our leaders not take basic history.

That's an over-simplified way of looking at it.

In World War II, the world powers didn't attack Germany because Germany was actually pretty strong, so getting drawn into a war didn't come with a guarantor of victory. Similarly, it would mean acknowledging that the Treaty of Versailles had failed, as forcing Germany to essentially pay for the clean-up bill after World War I played a major role in Hitler's rise to power; the Weimar Republic (Germany as it was known before 1933) had agreed to the conditions of the Treaty, but it was an unpopular decision with the public, and one that triggered mass inflation as the economy tanked. Hilter played up to this sentiment, pledging to retake lands that Germany had surrendered under the Treaty of Versailles. The Allied powers were unwilling to challenge Hitler under his initial expansion, mostly because they wanted to avoid war. They weren't powerful enough to take him on without the support of other European leaders, and many European nations had their own domestic issues to deal with coming out of the Great Depression.

It's a totally different situation here.

Furthermore, the North is unlikely to throw a nuclear weapon at Seoul.

 

[Sanji Himura]

To quote Ronald Reagan, "History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap."

North Korea since about 1953, have valued military policies above domestic. While I must bring this back into the conversation, there is approximately over 200k, as estimated by the US State department, prisoners in prison camps, where according to the most recent escapee, barely gets any food, water, but yet the government expects them to work in heavy labor for an obscene amount of time, whereas the military appears to be well-fed, clothed, and given housing. All 1.2 million of them.

North Korea isn't much as a country anymore, but a cult.

 

[Matthew77258]

The South Korean defense chief has stated that the NK missile on the east coast isn't aimed at US mainland.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2013/04/04/0200000000AEN20130404009200315.HTML

 

[Sanji Himura]

The South Korean defense chief has stated that the NK missile on the east coast isn't aimed at US mainland.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2013/04/04/0200000000AEN20130404009200315.HTML

Of course it is not. They don't have the range to even hit Hawaii. It is more than likely that it is aimed at Japan if anywhere.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Why would it be aimed at Japan?

It's more likely to be aimed at American forces either in the South or at sea.

 

[Peter.]

If SK and the US are going to be reactive rather than proactive, wouldn't that give NK the chance at causing some serious damage to the South at least? If they blew Seoul up, which they can, and fired at whatever US bases are close enough to be an issue, they could at least take over a good portion of SK before the US can invade, and then sit back and defend the mainland with their lives.

Their technology is seriously lacking compared to the US, but with the right tactics, they could be a match for the South, couldn't they?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

That's why the US has deployed two THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) interceptors to the region.

Missiles like those used by North Korea fire in a very specific sequence. They're not just aimed straight at a target - they follow a trajectory into the upper atmosphere. THAAD is designed to detect these launches and fire a counter-missile to destroy any rockets in flight. It shouldn't be too hard, given that North Korea only really has one or two sites from which they could launch a missile.

Besides, despite having long-range rocket technology and nuclear weapons, the North lacks the ability to marry them. The best they could probably do is tape a bomb to the tip of a missile and hope for the best.

 

[Keef]

Yeah, the liklihood that they'd be able to manage something like that is slim. The country is starved so I'm surprised they managed rocket research at all. Areas in SK aren't out of reach of course.

Is the US's laserbeam missile defence thing running or are they still testing that? I kind of like the idea of a bunch of 747s with lasers on the nose flying around shooting down foreign nukes.

 

[G.T.Ace]

If SK and the US are going to be reactive rather than proactive, wouldn't that give NK the chance at causing some serious damage to the South at least? If they blew Seoul up, which they can, and fired at whatever US bases are close enough to be an issue, they could at least take over a good portion of SK before the US can invade, and then sit back and defend the mainland with their lives.

Their technology is seriously lacking compared to the US, but with the right tactics, they could be a match for the South, couldn't they?

A war wouldn't last long if they try to invade the south with ground troops (you don't have to invade the country to prevent an invasion) and I seriously doubt the US have the intention to move into North Korea.

If there's going to be an open conflict, I'm sure that it won't be conventional only. I could imagine that non-conventional weapons will be used to secure the border.

The North has to launch one missile and it's over for them.

 

[Exorcet]

I kind of like the idea of a bunch of 747s with lasers on the nose flying around shooting down foreign nukes.

Cancelled. Though I think the YAL-1 is still in flyable condition.

 

[Lizard]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...d-launch-a-nuclear-strike-against-the-UK.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22031658#

Although he is trying to justify Trident in that speech so it may not entirely be the truth.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Although he is trying to justify Trident in that speech so it may not entirely be the truth.

Cameron doesn't need to try to justify having nuclear weapons, it's a no-brainer. Want to attack the U.K? Risk a nuclear strike. Want to attack us with a nuclear strike? Here, have some M.A.D. We're a small country with a big voice solely because we have that capability.

Until N.K has a valid way to deliver their nuclear arsenal, there's nothing much to worry about in that regard. That being said, I think there needs to be an intervention to strip them of their nuclear capability before they reach the stage of reliable ICBMs. They could potentially hold the world to ransom at that point.

 

[Dotini]

Until N.K has a valid way to deliver their nuclear arsenal, there's nothing much to worry about in that regard. That being said, I think there needs to be an intervention to strip them of their nuclear capability before they reach the stage of reliable ICBMs. They could potentially hold the world to ransom at that point.

The US in the last 12 years has intervened both in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The final reckoning for costs, including veterans long-term health care, is estimated at 6 trillion dollars, I read recently. Our people, our politicians, our army and our marines are sick and tired of fighting only to turn the regimes back over to religious zealots and corrupt warlords. Along the way, a recession happened, the economy has tanked, we've been financially sequestered and have massive defense budget cuts still to contemplate.

So now it happens we are wanted to intervene in North Korea to strip them of their nuclear capability. While we are at it, perhaps we should also intervene in Iran to scoop up their nuclear capability too? And lets not leave Syria off our regime change list.

Our chronic lament is "So little time, so little money, and so many regimes to change!" Now what's a global policeman to do? Where's the money going to come from? Our middle class is wasting away, and we're not finished giving tax breaks to the corporations.

Inevitably there comes a time when we run out of time, money and luck, and some nutjob runs amok somewhere in the world. Heavily rests the burden of Empire.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[Nicksfix]

N.K. (if it so chooses), will likely launch a small attack, that will not leave many people dead ? Kim Jong has to live up to his words, right ? His opened up his trap, now he has to back it up, right ? .... or should he back off ? He can't be made out to look like this is just a propaganda stint in front of his own people can he ? Yeah, he can. It would be wise of him to back off and eat his own words and suffer some humiliation.

Analysts in the military, political, and intelligence fields have all pretty much said the same thing: Kim Jong-Un has painted himself into a corner, and the only way out is a gunfight.

Article

 

[Spoil-t]

North Korea ain't that big. We could wipe it off the face of the Earth in a day's time. That'll show them to threaten a nuclear strike.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

So now it happens we are wanted to intervene in North Korea to strip them of their nuclear capability. While we are at it, perhaps we should also intervene in Iran to scoop up their nuclear capability too? And lets not leave Syria off our regime change list.

The difference being that every other country that has nuclear weapons only has them as a deterrent. North Korea has them to threaten the rest of the world, and use them when they don't get their own way.

 

[Crumpet]

North Korea ain't that big. We could wipe it off the face of the Earth in a day's time. That'll show them to threaten a nuclear strike.

I'm sure many of us are rather keen on wiping them off the face of the Earth. However, with the exception of Kim and his army, North Korea is full of starving people who don't deserve to be caught up in this because of a corrupt Dictator with unjustifiable motives.

 

[Matthew77258]

Reports saying that NK has loaded two indeterminate-rang missiles on mobile launchers.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2013/04/05/59/0200000000AEN20130405004351315F.HTML

 

[McLaren]

To inject a bit more humor into the topic.

SEOUL, South Korea – Hackers apparently broke into at least two of North Korea's government-run online sites Thursday, as tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula.


The North's Uriminzokkiri Twitter

and Flickr accounts stopped sending out content typical of that posted by the regime in Pyongyang, such as photos of North's leader Kim Jong Un meeting with military officials.
Instead, a picture posted Thursday on the North's Flickr site shows Kim's face with a pig-like snout and a drawing of Mickey Mouse on his chest. Underneath, the text reads: "Threatening world peace with ICBMs and Nuclear weapons/Wasting money while his people starve to death."
Another posting says "We are Anonymous" in white letters against a black background. Anonymous is a name of a hacker activist group. A statement purporting to come from the attackers and widely circulated online said that they had compromised 15,000 user records hosted on Uriminzokkiri.com and other websites. The authenticity of the statement couldn't be confirmed, but the North's official website did not open Thursday.
Tweets on the North's Twitter account said "Hacked" followed by a link to North Korea-related websites. One tweet said "Tango Down" followed by a link to the North's Flickr page.


North Korea opened its Twitter account in 2010. It has more than 13,000 followers. The North uses the social media to praise its system and leaders and also to repeat commentaries sent out by North's official Korean Central News Agency.


Tensions have been high in recent days between North and South Korea, and the North's military warned Thursday that it had been authorized to attack the U.S. North Korea is angry about sanctions against its nuclear program and joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/04...er-account-hacked-amid-tension/#ixzz2PZSYqXzq​

​

Couple pics had me giggling. Not like the North will be able to do anything about it.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

N.K. (if it so chooses), will likely launch a small attack, that will not leave many people dead ? Kim Jong has to live up to his words, right ? His opened up his trap, now he has to back it up, right ? .... or should he back off ? He can't be made out to look like this is just a propaganda stint in front of his own people can he ? Yeah, he can. It would be wise of him to back off and eat his own words and suffer some humiliation.

It's been suggested that the North could back out with their dignity intact by firing a missile into the sea. It would be a show of force, but since nobody gets hurt, the world won't respond and will instead let the sleeping dogs go back to lying.

I'm not entirely sure how that works, though. I can't imagine the world would let the North continue to develop their nuclear arsenal, even if the immediate threat has passed.

For all their irrationality, one thing stands out about the North at the moment: they keep their word. They announced that the Foal Eagle exercise would be considered so aggressive as to be an act of war, and when it happened, they tore up the peace accord with the South, shut down the border, entered into a state of war of their own, and are now moving their missiles around. They're doing exactly what they said they would (even if they didn't go into specifics on exactly what they would do at the time). So when they say that they intend to keep developing their nuclear arsenal and that they won't give it up for any price, I'm inclined to believe them.

Couple pics had me giggling. Not like the North will be able to do anything about it.

Except maybe go over the brink of insanity. Kim Jong-BOOM (as he was inelegantly dubbed by the papers this morning) might see Anonymous as acting with the tacit approval of the American government, which to him might as well be the same thing as being the American government.