Kim Jong-Un

[leicsmac]

Rest assured that rogue elements within various 'intelligence' agencies are working hard to ensure you get to see one.

Sorry Empty, I know intel agencies don't respect international law and are governed solely by self-interest (and how), but what gain would there be from causing the end or crippling of civilisation? Because that is what would happen if just one nuke went off that could be traced back to one of the established nuclear powers. And that won't exactly fit their MO of self-interest - they'd be in the excrement with everyone else.

That's a bit far-fetched, even for me. The powers in the shadows have things going the way they want right now, pretty much - there's no need for such a drastic act.

[Guest Bilo]

Lizardmen are impervious to radiation, so Empty is clearly correct.

[The Doctor]

thats good coming from a moose breath, anybody who claims they don't want to see a big mushroom cloud before they kick the bucket is a sissy..

I'd rather not tbh - I'd like world domination, and I'd like to flatten whole parts of the world (e.g. france, canada, Ivory coast - anywhere with a high french population tbh) but a nuke is wasteful on that point, not to mention you stick yourself in the shit as well. Better way to do it is to take a leaf from the early christians book and commit intellectual genocide.

[Jordan]

I understand completely South Korea's nervousness about the 'idle' threats ( as I see them). When you have 1 million foot soldiers about 50 miles from your capital... with reports from escaped North Korean soldiers of underground tunnels leading right to it.. the threats would be hard to ignore. Its no secret of the north's primary desire to ' unify' the Koreas... and its pretty obvious this would of been attempted by now had it not of been for the U.S's much appreciated ( by the south) presence in the area.

Personally I think it is all an attempt to bring the U.S back to the negociating table and for sanctions to be eased...

Although personally there is only so long I would let someone get away with the kind of threats Kim Jong-un is making before I decided that the best form of defence is attack....

Other than it being not a democracy here is a classic reason why dynastic succession can be such a bad idea..... you have a young clueless hot headed leader who is determined to make his daddy proud and do all the things that have been drilled into him for years and uphold the 'honor' and secure the legacy of his family name.

I do wonder how many of those 1 million soldiers would surrender the moment they had the chance to get away from North Korea.

[Reynard Bleu]

If NK do something stupid like invade the south the Chinese will not support them. If the USA/SK then does something stupid like push the NK's back to close to the Chinese border the Chinese may find it hard not to get involved. The Russians have little real interest in NK anymore, they may oppose any USA action rather than suppot any NK action.

I do wonder what the NK's have to lose? They have very little and are losing that fast as sanctions take effect, if the regime believes the country is about to implode may be a confrontation with the USA/SK is a convenient way out? They wage war like grand opera so even a short sharp bust up will be a bloody, dirty affair.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

A VERY dangerous country who's nuclear capabilities are getting stronger. They cannot be allowed to make highly capable nuclear weapons, which is what they are aiming for.

What can be done? The eventuality, and being realistic, they can only be stopped by force, using what weaponry is deemed necessary.

[I am Rod Hull]

A VERY dangerous country who's nuclear capabilities are getting stronger. They cannot be allowed to make highly capable nuclear weapons, which is what they are aiming for.

What can be done? The eventuality, and being realistic, they can only be stopped by force, using what weaponry is deemed necessary.

Warmongering media fueled bullshit.....

[Guest Bilo]

Nah, North Korea's regime is crazy but it's not stupid.

They know Pyongyang could be reduced to a radioactive crater at the flick of a switch in America and any invasion, while very bloody, would inevitably lead to the South Korean flag being flown right the way up to the Chinese border.

Sure everybody in the West wants to avoid a war between the Koreas, but nowhere near as much as the North Koreans.

[ADK]

I'd be more interested in the aftermath if a war were to happen, how would the people of the north react to suddenly being part of a unified Korea?, would the countries remain split with a puppet government running the north?

[leicsmac]

A VERY dangerous country who's nuclear capabilities are getting stronger. They cannot be allowed to make highly capable nuclear weapons, which is what they are aiming for.

What can be done? The eventuality, and being realistic, they can only be stopped by force, using what weaponry is deemed necessary.

Sorry, now they have nukes of any kind a strongarm approach is out of the question. If anyone uses force against them and looks to be winning (a reasonable assumption considering the NK conventional forces are numerous but probably would be overwhelmed) the NK leadership would probably decide to go down in a blaze of glory and use those nukes, killing untold thousands in the process and potentially crippling South Korea - a country in which I personally have something of an emotional stake. Even if they didn't, a conventional war against North Korea would be a bloodbath, as I've pointed out earlier in this thread. This wouldn't be an Afghanistan/Iraq style regime-change. This would be total war of a type not seen for many years.

Everything must be done to prevent that.

The only way of bringing regime change about there in a different way would be through tactical assassination, but the level of paranoia up there makes such a thing very impractical. And any sniff of outside involvement could well start a war anyway.

I'd be more interested in the aftermath if a war were to happen, how would the people of the north react to suddenly being part of a unified Korea?, would the countries remain split with a puppet government running the north?

From what I heard while I worked there, the South doesn't have the financial capacity for reunification now, let alone after a war had been fought. It would cripple the SK economy. There would have to be a process of very gradual reintegration, backed by both the US and the Chinese. In fact...I'm guessing that the Chinese and the SK/US coalition have a deal already in place should the regime in NK fall: the above reunification process, but with the caveat of all US troops leaving the peninsula (the part of the bargain favouring the Chinese, as they've always seen NK as a buffer state against the US-backed South Korea). That would give everyone what they want.

[ithuriel]

China will eventually slap them into place, last thing the Chinese will want is an errant child causing trouble.

[Webbo]

China will eventually slap them into place, last thing the Chinese will want is an errant child causing trouble.

I think so too. A Chinese sponsored coup would probably be the best option.

[I am Rod Hull]

I think so too. A Chinese sponsored coup would probably be the best option.

The Chinese are probably already pulling all the strings there anyway.

More likely than not.

[leicsmac]

The Chinese are probably already pulling all the strings there anyway.

More likely than not.

They probably have a lot of influence, but I don't think they set policy as much as people think. The NK's are notoriously proud and make a big thing of self-reliance.

But I do agree that if there is a regime change there the Chinese will be the ones to begin a change of staff at the very top, due to the influence they do have, Question is, will they ever do it?

[stevelcfc]

In hindsight, North Korea and America starting that game of dare's was probably a bad idea.

[Danno]

North Korea is like Leicester. They threaten to hit the target in the papers every week but don't actually do it!

[Father Ted]

Maybe if he did nuke America there would be world peace after...

[stevelcfc]

Who knew Kim Jong un was just a fat version of Michael Mcintyre.

[BoneDog]

Sorry Empty, I know intel agencies don't respect international law and are governed solely by self-interest (and how), but what gain would there be from causing the end or crippling of civilisation? Because that is what would happen if just one nuke went off that could be traced back to one of the established nuclear powers. And that won't exactly fit their MO of self-interest - they'd be in the excrement with everyone else.

That's a bit far-fetched, even for me. The powers in the shadows have things going the way they want right now, pretty much - there's no need for such a drastic act.

It may seem far-fetched but I'm 75% sure (I used to be 100% though ) that the stage is being set for a nuclear strike. We've got well known cheerleaders sowing the seeds in peoples minds by preaching that a pre-emptive nuclear strike might soon be the 'safest solution' or the 'only option' for humanity, and at the same time we are seeing almost every country around Israel, in the Middle East and Africa, being totally destabilised and handed over to fanatics, as if by design.

I'm not sure it will cause the end of, or the crippling of civilisation though, and think that those powers in the shadows you mention will remain as strong as ever if it does come to pass.

As a side note, when I mention Israel above, it's because of a belief in a mixture of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim prophecies regarding Israel, surrounding areas and 'The End Times', along with current events and recent historical events that leads me to mention the country. It's nothing to do with any anti-semitic feelings just incase anyone was wondering.

Fairytale or not, I'm 75% that it's in the pipeline!

[21st Century Fox]

Who knew Kim Jong un was just a fat version of Michael Mcintyre.

Even threatening nuclear destruction, he's still funnier than Michael McIntyre.

[maynefox]

When this all started off I couldn't help but think of it as another way of NK getting the US to the negotiation table.

Are they still doing this, but more vigorously?

NK would be very foolish to launch missiles at US pacific bases; they, most likely, don't have the capability of launching nuclear strikes, only mid-long range missiles. America would destroy the North in a matter of months, if war went ahead, the world is very different to early-50s where the US/UN forces reached the Chinese border in the North. The Chinese have a different role to play, that is the key. They aren't willing to go to war with the US, as they were in the 50s; therefore the North can't really rely on their help on a more grander scale.

IMO I think the North are partaking these military actions to overcome domestic issues, such as private markets/famine etc, to unite the people as one.

[Finnegan]

Maybe if he did nuke America there would be world peace after...

Yeah, a really peaceful nuclear wasteland.

[Monk]

The original Korean war was a proxy war, where China was fully backing the North Korean invasion led by the fear of having US military bases so close to their own country. Things have changed, but there's no doubt that china is the lynchpin of this whole situation. They won't publicly side with the US because of their differences, but they know N Korea will get decimated if they were to attack the US, which would again lead to a US controlled Korean peninsula - which they don't want either.

Therefore China will quietly continue to facilitate a regional stalemate.

This is a modern day extension of the cold war, and I just can't see it actually going anywhere further than stupid threats

[The Doctor]

Maybe if he did nuke America there would be world peace after...

In the same way that there'd be world peace if we were all back in caves and weren't aware there was anything outside our caves.

I.e. there would, but it's a rather crap way to go about getting peace

[Jiggers the Fox]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/kim-jong-un-to-manage-carlisle-united-2013040264375