WTF Are the North Koreans Smoking Now?

[Broomstick]

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if the Norks are going to have a hissy-fit since they got bumped from the US headlines yesterday afternoon. They do so love attention.

I know Kim Jong Un has been portrayed as a man-child (in ITV media anyway), but still...

Not just the current one - all of them have been attention whores.

[Scrib]

shit.

[Broomstick]

On topic though: Any news coming out of Korea? I'm rather limited in what I can access here, and the Marathon Bombing is still taking up a lot of news space.

The Norks response to US Secretary of States suggestion of more diplomatic talks (contingent upon commitment to de-nuclearize): "Ultimate deception and attempt to mislead the world". They have also stated that if they attack it will be without warning. I don't usually link to video but this is CNN's offering as of April 16th which has a few other bits of news regarding the Korean peninsula. The Chosun Ilbo is saying that Obama has stated an expectation of further provocations in the next few weeks, but would that actually be news? Reports are no further troop movements and no missiles have been fired. Oh, and Anonymous is apparently trying to hack North Korean websites again.

You're correct that the marathon blasts have really blown the DPRK off the headlines.

[Broomstick]

Meanwhile, back in the news....

Latest is that North Korea says that if the US wants talks they have to first lift the sanctions and then permanently discontinue joint ROK/US military exercises. And they want an apology. US reply is basically "not happening".

The Norks are now also blaming the South for causing a "crisis" at the Kaesong industrial complex. Link. In "response", the Norks have blocked all supplies to the remaining 250 or so South Koreans still at the site, including food.

[Thanas]

Thread locked until an impartial mod can take a look at it.

[PeZook]

Thread reopened after splitting the "American Democracy" exchange off to the HoS.

Go here if you want to laugh a bit more at Herobrine and pat yourselves on the back

This thread remains open for discussion of North Korea's zany hijinks.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Latest news is that China’s North Korea Envoy is to visit Washington.

Link.

[Sea Skimmer]

Its feeling like the Chinese have successfully pressured the North Koreans into behaving, given that no missile tests have taken place and things are quieting down. However since the whole Musudan project is an enigma intelligence wise it is also entirely possible that the missile assemble that was detected was of decoys which were never capable of firing in the first place.

[Simon_Jester]

Weaker powers with a bug up their ass have attacked stronger powers, and gotten creamed, before. That is not to say North Korea will, but it's insanely unfair to South Korea to ask them to ignore the possibility.

North Korea needing a nuclear deterrent, fine, whatever, I honestly can't see anyone actually invading them but I'm not going to argue the point. The problem is that North Korea now has a nuclear arsenal, but still engages in routine, provocative threats.

For deterrence to work, both parties have to feel secure in an armed stalemate. Constant threats over routine issues make it impossible to achieve that. During the Cold War, the US didn't threaten to bomb the Soviet Union every eight months over some random memo out of Moscow. The Soviets didn't threaten to bomb the US either just because we kept rambling about communist tyranny.


So the rest of the world sits around and expects South Korea to just chuckle at these threats and say "hah hah, Kim, you're such a kidder" and proceed as if nothing were seriously wrong. And that may well actually be the best way to handle this. But we shouldn't fool ourselves; that imposes a very heavy burden on South Korea. Having one party persistently threaten to fight a war makes an accidental war much more likely, and makes a deliberate war of preemption at least somewhat tempting.

Thus, let us acknowledge that this represents bad and dangerous behavior on the part of the North Korean government.

[Borgholio]

and makes a deliberate war of preemption at least somewhat tempting.

By whom? NK attacking the South by finally carrying through on their threat? Or the South launching a strike against the North because one of NK's threats was taken more seriously than before?

[Simon_Jester]

...SHIT.

I was reviewing material in this thread, and I accidentally quick-posted my reply in here, not in the new North Korea thread where I meant to put it. Anyone investigating this necro, can you move the new posts from this thread to that thread?

[Isolder74]

Well in the other thread it is being suggested to set up a general North Korea news thread. This one is already almost just right for it.