The North Korean Situation II

[chaseter]

Kim Jong Fail

amirite?

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Originally Posted by Matt

The Jong-Ils are the worst super villains ever.

This is a bit pedantic and nitpicky of me, but you mean the Kims. In Korea, family names go first. Jong-Il is worm food. Jong-Un is in charge now.

[Hobgoblin]

Originally Posted by Matt

The Jong-Ils are the worst super villains ever.

They would be the Batroc the Leaper of dictators..if it weren't for the mass starvation of their own people and the atomic weapons.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by JJJ's Ulcer

This is a bit pedantic and nitpicky of me, but you mean the Kims. In Korea, family names go first. Jong-Il is worm food. Jong-Un is in charge now.

See? They even fail at having last names in the right spot.

[Destructus86]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18FGK5dr4Oc

[Hobgoblin]

$10 says that Un actually takes credit for that cartoon, and North Korean news broadcasts it as fact.

[Thundercrack85]

It's rather surprising that North Korea has admitted that the rocket was a total failure, both to their own people and the international community. Normally they would say it was a success. Very strange.

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I believe it was because it was harder to hide this failure. So much hype and exposure to international journalists and observers.

I'm sure there was a heated discussion between party elites about which way to go on this. I bet Jong-Un made the final call though, which might be a positive sign he's more grounded in reality than his father who announced previous failures as successes.

That said, I'm sure a rocket scientist or two will be going north to the Yodok labor camp. Huge embarrassment for DPRK to say the least.

[Hobgoblin]

Panetta: "U.S. Within an Inch of War Every Day"

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/19/politi...html?hpt=hp_t2


Sometimes I wonder if Leon talks too much.

[Thundercrack85]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...078592218.html

It would appear that the North Koreans have finally achieved 1950's technology.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...078592218.html

It would appear that the North Koreans have finally achieved 1950's technology.

And it would appear the American government is ****ting its pants about it.

[SV Fan]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...078592218.html

It would appear that the North Koreans have finally achieved 1950's technology.

It's been a pretty good month for them, they also found a Unicorns Lair.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...ed-north-korea

Unicorn lair 'discovered' in North Korea

Korean news agency say they have 'recently reconfirmed' the lair of one of the unicorns ridden by the ancient King Tongmyong

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by SV Fan

It's been a pretty good month for them, they also found a Unicrons Lair.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...ed-north-korea

I hear the easter bunny lives there too.

[Thundercrack85]

Originally Posted by Marvolo

And it would appear the American government is ****ting its pants about it.

Considering the missile is basically designed to carry a payload to San Francisco, they should be a little concerned.

Though it's going to take a few more years for them to make a nuke small enough to put on the missile.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

Considering the missile is basically designed to carry a payload to San Francisco, they should be a little concerned.

Though it's going to take a few more years for them to make a nuke small enough to put on the missile.

And say they do nuke San Francisco, then what? They cant a nuke anywhere near our capital or our central miliatry operations. What could they possibly gain from nuking our west coast? We would just send one of our nukes right back and ours arent the firecracker kind. North Korea would be vaporized. Even if we didnt nuke them we would carpet bomb them back to their mystical land of unicorns. North Korea has no motive to nuke or bomb our west coast. It would gain them nothing so i dont see what there is to worry about.

[Thundercrack85]

It's just their way of making sure no one can strike against them (really, they could have accomplished that with a ballistic missile that could hit Tokyo, but America is... well, America).

It's essentially training a gun on America. If things in North Korea go to hell (and they will at some point), it could be problematic.

Right now it's just saber rattling. But, North Korea nearing a nuclear ballistic missile is going to come back to bite someone in the ***. Especially if they share that technology.

[Destructus86]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/23/world/...est/index.html

I'm sure most of us will read that and not really think much of it...I mean, this is America. No one can really hurt us. North Korea is run by power hungry, truly mad people who we shouldn't underestimate. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if they tried to launch nukes against us.

One of these days we could wake up and see horror that we never thought would ever come to this country. I guess what i'm trying to say is...don't underestimate crazy. And don't think what we have will always last forever. We take way too much for granted here. :/

[Hobgoblin]

I don't think that North Korea would attack us directly. They know it would be the last thing they would ever do and regime survival is their #1 priority. Could they sell their nukes to a terrorist group and hit us by proxy? Maybe. They had just better hope that we never find out that it was them that sold the bomb, because, again, it would be the last thing they ever do. Kim Il Un may be crazy, but the generals aren't.

Besides, I'd bet that we are having a computer war with the North right now, just as we have been having with Iran for some time now. They hit our banking institutions, we hit their nuclear sites.

[Thundercrack85]

North Korea's main goal is survival. Nuclear weapons are a great life insurance plan. As long as you don't use them.

As long as they have them, no one will invade them.

But, when North Korea collapses – and it will collapse. Try as it might, this ain't 1984. When it does collapse, you will have dozens of factions of brainwashed fanatics with nuclear weapons. At that point, anything could happen.

[Baramos]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

Considering the missile is basically designed to carry a payload to San Francisco, they should be a little concerned.

Though it's going to take a few more years for them to make a nuke small enough to put on the missile.

Do you mean designed to be capable of that or that is their actual intention? I'd be more afraid of them using it as a bargaining chip against South Korea or Japan, which is probably their actual objective--blackmail supplies/aid out of regional neighbors and the U.S. as they have been doing for years. It would also aid them in whatever future conflicts arise over various islands in the area, similar to China pressuring Japan over its islands recently.

Change in North Korea will only come about with pressure from China, which they have been exceedingly reluctant to do. North Korea only exists because China wants it to exist--it's been that way since the Korean War. No way that North Korea would still be in existence as a separate entity from South Korea today if it weren't for Chinese troops entering the Korean War. Chinese aid and supplies is what keeps the North Korean "economy" hobbling along (that and various illegal activities such as counterfeiting foreign currencies and so on).

EDIT: Re: North Korea bombing us in the event of an internal coup, we have anti-nuclear missile capabilities. I highly doubt any bomb the N. Koreans could muster would ever get past our defenses. Besides, an internal coup would be quelled by the Chinese before it ever came to the possibility of a rogue general commandeering the sole nuclear missile they have or whatever.

[Thundercrack85]

Originally Posted by Baramos

Do you mean designed to be capable of that or that is their actual intention? I'd be more afraid of them using it as a bargaining chip against South Korea or Japan, which is probably their actual objective--blackmail supplies/aid out of regional neighbors and the U.S. as they have been doing for years. It would also aid them in whatever future conflicts arise over various islands in the area, similar to China pressuring Japan over its islands recently.

Change in North Korea will only come about with pressure from China, which they have been exceedingly reluctant to do. North Korea only exists because China wants it to exist--it's been that way since the Korean War. No way that North Korea would still be in existence as a separate entity from South Korea today if it weren't for Chinese troops entering the Korean War. Chinese aid and supplies is what keeps the North Korean "economy" hobbling along (that and various illegal activities such as counterfeiting foreign currencies and so on).

EDIT: Re: North Korea bombing us in the event of an internal coup, we have anti-nuclear missile capabilities. I highly doubt any bomb the N. Koreans could muster would ever get past our defenses. Besides, an internal coup would be quelled by the Chinese before it ever came to the possibility of a rogue general commandeering the sole nuclear missile they have or whatever.

The current North Korean regime wouldn't attack the United States. Nor could it. But, in twenty years, it may be able to. When they have perfected, and produced a handful of missiles and nukes. Obviously they won't strike first. But them having missiles trained on America (much like Russia and China in the Cold War), would make Americans very reluctant to make any moves against them.

When that government collapses, those weapons could easily end up being used by various factions. Maybe not to attack the US, but certainly to attack South Korea. The US currently have no defenses that can stop an ICBM. At least not with any certainty you would want to bet a major West Coast city on. Maybe in two decades, but that remains to be seen.

The Chinese won't rush in to quell a coup. Even with their current crummy technology, the North Koreans could nuke China. In a decade or two, they will be able to hit all of China's major cities.

[enterthemadness]

I hate um, war. Video games, movies, that cool. Real life...no.

And as someone said in the comments on CNN...NK has old Russia and China..so yeah...not happening.

[Thundercrack85]

1960's Russian technology could easily destroy the US even today. Don't forget that. Fortunately, the North Koreans don't have that many nukes.

Really, Americans don't have too much to fear. South Koreans and the Japanese on the other hand...

[enterthemadness]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

1960's Russian technology could easily destroy the US even today. Don't forget that. Fortunately, the North Koreans don't have that many nukes.

Really, Americans don't have too much to fear. South Koreans and the Japanese on the other hand...

I imagine we will have a monetary collapse before any country attacks us. We are on the brink of one now. Obamacare isn't gonna help. Federal Reserve, printing money, spending money we don't have, nearly worthless dollar. lol.

[Grievous]

Some would say it isn't wise to just sit back and assume a dog that has always been all bark and no bite won't ever try it. But with the economic situation as others have pointed out we can't afford another war nor would we have many support it unless we was directly attacked.