Re: North Korea - Anybody Worried?

[Dunc]

[Keanu]

The only victims of this all will be North Korea citizens. The world will pacify Kim before he does any stupid thing but unfortunately lots of his own people will die. This is what I think.

[Stormy]

I try not to think about things like this i used to get really scared over wars etc so i would rather not know if a bomb was on its way 

[Andy]

Here's an infoGraphic that shows the range of missiles North Korea has in operation and in development.

 

(Click on it to make it bigger)

 

[Removed #5]

The only victims of this all will be North Korea citizens. The world will pacify Kim before he does any stupid thing but unfortunately lots of his own people will die. This is what I think.

The first half of you comment is unarguably true, it will be the North Korean people who will pay the price in the coming years. I'm not so sure about the second half, were it not for the Chinese, I think the US should have intervened in the past and could intervene now. The world does not need a nuclear mini-power with an egotistical person in control. I would like to think that if the US were given the nod by China we and the South would and could reunite the country.

 

 

I guess all we can do is wait and see then? Is there no way the people of NK could flee the country to escape famine? As refugees? Or are the people so repressed leaving was never an option??

There are really two major and several minor reasons they can't leave. Like most oppressive regimes DPKR hold hostage the families of anyone leaving the country. You leave, they die. It's proven to be a very effective threat used by most of the communist regimes. There's also the question of where to go. China has been known to return escapees and others they've assisted in getting to the RoK - and there seems to be no rhyme or reason in which they do. Koreans, generally, won't even try to cross the Sea of Japan to Japan since they still have feeling of justifiable wrath for their occupation by Japan (1876 - 1945). Add to that the fact that the naval area along the DMZ is one of the most patrolled in the world. The North Koreans have infiltrated using that passage on many occasions. It should be a viable trail since there are islands on both coasts that, in theory, would allow safe hiding on and off shore - but those same islands have been occupied by both North and South to prevent just such "travel". Lastly movement within the country is controlled. As in the old Soviet Union, a system of "internal passports" is in place, if you're not where you're supposed to be then you are either shot or allowed to take a vacation at one of their resorts for criminal activities (er, not being too facetious - prison).

 

And what I would also like to know: why hasn't anybody done anything yet? Are they going to wait until NK fires off a missile? Or are they waiting (and hoping) for them to back down?

That's an interesting question, with all sorts of ramifications. First there's the premise of Sovereign Integrity - North Korea is an independent nation and not, in theory, liable to intervention by an outside power. With Afghanistan and Iraq, I think we all understand that that's not an absolute, the US has directly intervened in internal politics of other countries for years. I think the main reason that we haven't intervened in the DPRK is the possibility of a supporting action by their ally to the north (China). Excuse the phrase, but I think it would take someone with balls of steel to invade North Korea knowing that you might be met by the standing army of China ... it would absolutely give me food for thought. The ultimate in political action would be the peaceful reunification of the Korean country by the Koreans with the withdrawal of all occupying forces in the South. Without which, as I said earlier, the largest (the US as an ally of South Korea) and the third largest (China) armies of the world would be facing each other across the Yalu. China has greatly reduced it's "rhetoric" and outspoken desire for world domination (philosophy of Mao and the Communists) but that doesn't, I don't think, lessen the potential for tension.

For anyone wondering why I constantly refer to the Chinese as a potential problem in the reunification, take a look at this chart. China, with a billion more people than the US and almost twice the standing military it behooves anyone thinking of a conflict on their borders to think twice.  I found some of the numbers on this chart of particular interest.  National debt was one!

 

You might not have any of the answers, but hey...you certainly seem very well read!

Not so much, as I said earlier, I like and respect the Korean people because of the time I spent in-country. But I'll accept the complement anyway.

Andy, my reading on the Teapodong 2 gives it a little better range than the drawing you show. I've seen several references that give it range to reach into Hawaii and further into northern Canada.

Dunc - Imagine - oh, yes, wouldn't it be so very nice!

[Marc]

 Excuse the phrase, but I think it would take someone with balls of steel to invade North Korea knowing that you might be met by the standing army of China ... 

 

Or more to the point, someone absolutly mental

[Sparks]

They can't nuke the USA, they just wish they could haha

[Andy]

If they engineer them to launch from ships they could hit just about anywhere.

[Dunc]

This reminds me of when Russia used to show their might in the 60's and 70's and there was the same outcry then it turned out they were headless weapons and was never the power everyone thought they was.....Its the same here saber rattling 

[aronoiiel]

Thats what my dad has been saying as well Dunc.

[Removed #5]

The only problems I see with saying that it's saber rattling are:

• North Korea is, once again, in trouble internally.  With the sanctions that have placed on it, there is a definite possibility of famine - again.
• We're dealing with a new young leader who has to "prove himself".
• either part of Korea has natural resources that are vital to the other.

With some good luck, for the South, yes, this will be another round of "Hear how great I am!"  I'm not so certain that it would be considered lucky for the people of the North.

China's recent "minor criticism" of North Korea's bluster, along with it approval of the sanctions to be imposed by the UN are giving people cause to suggest that it might not be so opposed to reunification as once thought. That, alone, might give the, also new, government in the South leeway to attempt a reunification push of its own.

I think one thing needs to be understood by the western world, Koreans on both side of the DMZ view Korea as one country that they want to see reunited.  While we happily talk about North and South as two independent countries - that's not the view of the Korean people themselves.  Remembering that it's only been a, relative, few years since the division, families have been split by this artificial division.

The major problem is that one slip by either side could result in the resumption of the "conflict".

[Removed #5]

I can't get the link for this, but if you want a decent chuckle about the current Korean Crisis try this link on for size.

If the voice of the narrator doesn't start you chuckling, just hang on until about the 35 second mark ... from that point on it actually gets funny.  That person at the 40 second mark who "flags" the rocket attack can't e more than 11 - if he's that!  (( okay, I have a really warped sense of humour, you all know that already! ))

[Elyse]

Another update...

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/11/north-korea-new-threats-missile-launch.html

 

 

So, apparently Korea can put a nuclear warhead onto a missile. They just aren't reliable enough or have the range...

 

 

[Removed #5]

If they can and this report says they can then Japan is just a short hop across the Eastern Sea ( Sea of Japan ) and Seoul is only 30 miles south of the DMZ and either are "valid" targets as far as the North Koreans would be concerned.

With China showing their disgust at the "little boys toys" it's way past time for the Kim family to be shown the door.  I rarely see any justifiable reason for us ( the "free world" ) to intervene in internal politics ... Kim scares me.  He,  personally, has too many reasons that he has to show the country who's running it and it would not be completely out of line for him to do more than just rattle that saber.