North Korea vs USA

[purplenose]

I'm not seeking to defend NK.

I'm merely trying to explain why they are hell bent on developing a nuclear deterrent, and have recently ramped up their activities in order to try to convince everyone that it's a credible threat already. This latest escalation all started when the US initiated another huge military exercise right on NK's doorstep back in 2016. NK has offered to stop its nuclear weapons program if the US stops its military exercises on its doorstep. When the US refuses, can you understand why it makes NK worried? I can.

"Stop war drills and we'll stop nuclear tests, North Korea tells US after missile launch"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...hed-offshore-ballistic-missile-says-the-south

North Korea have no right at all to dictate whom the South wish to conduct exercises with. More so officially a state of war still exists. North Korea have been developing nuclear weapons long before 2016 and so you can hardly blame Trump or indeed South Korea for conducting exercises that were purely defensive. Those excercises were in no way simulating an invasion of North Korea.

It is Kim that is totally responsible for the current stand off, and it is down to him as to how it is ended. I am afraid it is just too trendy to slag off the Americans and of course Donald Trump in particular.

In truth Clinton should have taken down the Norths nuclear facilities but his arse fell out.

 

[Chippy_boy]

North Korea have no right at all to dictate whom the South wish to conduct exercises with. More so officially a state of war still exists. North Korea have been developing nuclear weapons long before 2016 and so you can hardly blame Trump or indeed South Korea for conducting exercises that were purely defensive. Those excercises were in no way simulating an invasion of North Korea.

It is Kim that is totally responsible for the current stand off, and it is down to him as to how it is ended. I am afraid it is just too trendy to slag off the Americans and of course Donald Trump in particular.

In truth Clinton should have taken down the Norths nuclear facilities but his arse fell out.

Seems you've been doing a bit of reading up since the last couple of posts.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, and as I say, I am not seeking to defend NK, merely to explain my views of what their thinking is.

I would just say this though, the military exercises undertaken by the US most definitely are threatening to NK. In fact very specifically they are rehearsals for possible preemptive strikes on key NK targets.

"the practices are believed to have included “decapitation strikes” – trial operations for an attempt to kill Kim Jong-un and his top generals, further antagonising a paranoid leadership."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/11/north-korea-us-south-korea-huge-military-exercise

 

[purplenose]

Seems you've been doing a bit of reading up since the last couple of posts.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, and as I say, I am not seeking to defend NK, merely to explain my views of what their thinking is.

I would just say this though, the military exercises undertaken by the US most definitely are threatening to NK. In fact very specifically they are rehearsals for possible preemptive strikes on key NK targets.

"the practices are believed to have included “decapitation strikes” – trial operations for an attempt to kill Kim Jong-un and his top generals, further antagonising a paranoid leadership."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/11/north-korea-us-south-korea-huge-military-exercise

Believe me no extra reading up required here.

Likewise you are entitled too and I respect your your point of view.

Clearly as Pyongyang has continued its pursuit of these weapons a great deal of planning and practising of execution of those plans to strike first in order to take out the DPRK military will have taken place. I would suggest the vast majority of that well have taken place in Nevada rather than on the Korean peninsula. The South Korean and Japanese air forces will have naturally rehearsed in their own airspace for any strikes that they may feel are possible. and so they should?

I am sorry but to suggest these things are further antagonising him are rubbish as every credible military on the planet conducts exercises based on potential enemies. Our own submarines rehearse nuclear strikes on Russia on a daily basis, does this antagonise Putin? No because his forces practise for war against NATO.

 

[halfcenturyup]

Agree and sympathise, to an extent, with the strategy of NK (and Iran for that matter) to develop nuclear if it considers itself under threat but I suppose the actual threat is that they make nuclear devices, materials or components available to terrorist groups. "Responsible" nuclear nations have safeguards against that sort of thing, of couse. Not so sure about NK or Iran, or Pakistan for that matter when things turn nasty there. I suppose NK has already passed the knowledge threshold for that to be a major risk. Maybe the response should be to get them to accept internationally accepted safeguards and monitoring on these things with the deterrent being the threat of some sort of enormous retaliatory strike if provenance could be proven. Or, more likely, inferred.

 

[Chippy_boy]

I am sorry but to suggest these things are further antagonising him are rubbish

Your view is contrary to that of pretty much every newspaper, TV or web article who all suggest that the military exercises have been provocative. Still, that's your views, so fine.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

What gives "secure" countries their security today?

Nuclear weapons.

Kim may be merely trying to get nukes to maintain some equilibrium for his own country in a wider world where all the countries around him are either nuclear powers, or are close allies of nuclear states. It is clear in the way that nuclear powers are treated by the 3 global superpowers.

The problem for the rest of the world is that, by his own actions, Kim has shown that he is both unstable and untrustworthy. The problem for us is that the current supposed "Leader of the Free World" is doing likewise.

I fear what might happen if Kim does as some have suggested and explode a nuke over the Pacific, no matter how far away from land it might be.

 

[Ancient Citizen]

Interesting points on both sides. If the missiles fired over Japan, and the ones threatened elsewhere go haywire and land in a built up area, killing and wounding hundreds, would the West still do nothing?
I know they're not nuclear tipped, but the potential for a serious calamity is ever present.

 

[skiddypants]

I seriously hope not, because that would almost certainly cost tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of lives in South Korea. Not to mention plunge the world into recession.

Such jingoistic talk is silly and irresponsible, imo.

Hope Trump does not read my post and act on what I wrote!

 

[Chippy_boy]

Hope Trump does not read my post and act on what I wrote!

You never know ;-)

 

[halfcenturyup]

Oh, Lordy .......