Koreas

So, anyone else following the recent North and South Korea developments? More saber rattling or are they about to renew the conflict?

Today's update: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/25/n.korea.threats/index.html?hpt=T3

Sending a ship to Davey Jones' Locker is beyond sabre rattling.

Hopefully we won't get involved (again), since those folks can't vote here I suspect we won't.

I don't think there will be much time to get involved. Both have weapons that will destroy each other pretty quickly.

alfadriver wrote: I don't think there will be much time to NOT get involved. Both have weapons that will destroy each other pretty quickly.

Fixed that for you...........

There are tens of thousands of US troops at the DMZ. They are likely at their highest alert-level in a long, long time.

One suspects there are also more than a few US subs off the the NoKo's coastline. With dozens of cruise missiles, torpedos and ordinance programmed to inflict the most amount of damage to military assets as possible, any conflict could be very short-lived - with tremendous casualties on both sides.

The sad thing is that S Korea would probably end-up in a shambles similar to what N Korea already has, and the NoKo's will be worse-off than ever.

DAmnit.... Hyundai/Kia is just starting to make some REALLY good E36 M3.

Anyone watch the National Geographic's Explorer about North Korea? That show is pretty crazy!

I'm supposed to leave this weekend for a tour of the Hankook facility in Seoul... I'm wondering if it will go ahead or be postponed.

Keep out troops on the DMZ in your thoughts/prayers, thier life is getting more "interesting" by the day.

The ship incident happened while my wife was over there. Glad she made it back..

if it hasn't escalated already, i doubt it will go any further than the current regional cold-war.

China isn't happy with NK, and neither is Russia. The evidence is pretty damning that the SK boat was torpedoed by NK ordinance. So I don't think this is going global with so many people not on NK's side.

NK is also very poor, short term it may help their propaganda machine to build up their military, but long term their own population has very little upward mobility and poverty is a major problem.

Doesn't help them that the current top UN dog, Ban Moon, is SK.

Bobzilla wrote: DAmnit.... Hyundai/Kia is just starting to make some REALLY good E36 M3.

I wonder if this was a factor in their decision move some production and R&D out of South Korea

Here's an interesting Documentary of traveling to NoKo, including the DMZ:

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/vice-guide-to-north-korea-1-of-3

Crazy doesn't begin to describe NoKo's government. One can only imagine the craziness that was Soviet Russia was condensed into a country the size of NoKo.

Do they have any oil?

No?....

Well then we probably won't get involved.

oldsaw wrote:

alfadriver wrote: I don't think there will be much time to NOT get involved. Both have weapons that will destroy each other pretty quickly.

One suspects there are also more than a few US subs off the the NoKo's coastline. With dozens of cruise missiles, torpedos and ordinance programmed to inflict the most amount of damage to military assets as possible, any conflict could be very short-lived - with tremendous casualties on both sides.

Actually that is exactly what we said when we invaded Iraq.... in 1993

How short lived was that?

What? yes it is still going on today.....

North Korea will (eventually) do what China wants.

Problem to me seems that "what China wants" will come at whatever price China sees fit to charge the rest of us. Ignore their human rights problems? No currency exchange reform after all? Another Olympic games? Who knows..

I think Toyota is instigating it.

carzan wrote: I think Toyota is instigating it.

There it is. Kim Jong Il is working for the president of Toyota. Makes perfect sense. They can't make the same quality car for the same money as the Koreans, so they will just wipe them all out. That's BRILLIANT!

The Korean People's Army encompasses the army, navy and air force and has 1.08 million active personnel and 4.7 million in reserves. Military expenditures account for 31.3 percent of GDP expenditures, making North Korea --- dollar for dollar --- the world's most militaristic state. Nearly one out of every four citizens serves in some military capacity.

Looks like a massive case of military blue balls to me...

A few points of thought based on being there in 75-76 in Young-Son (Seoul) and reading current events : The Capitol is within range of NK artillery. The troops on the DMZ are a speed bump.

Remember the "Truce" ended a few years ago. There is nothing stopping NK from crossing the DMZ except the ROC Army and the US Army. If the shooting starts we have our hands tied. We WILL be involved.

(cont). I had 25 min. to get on the south side of the bridge, and then blow the bridge. The North isn starving. Kim has to feed his generals and troops to remain in power. That is getting VERY difficult. China views this as a win-win for them. They believe the US is over extended everywhere else and cannot handle this additional endeavor. They will simply block the Yalu river (northern border) and force all refugees to go South. There will be massive destruction to Seoul. There is some in the SK army that thinks its their destiny to reunite (invade) the north. It is unknown how far South that the North can go before their supplies run out. More random thoughts default to very bad things

(cont.) There is no peace treaty. Under International Law the North (or South) can do anything. Sinking the Frigate was perfectly acceptable under wartime conditions. The biggest difference is that the US and the North have completely different viewpoints on acceptable behavior. One point to think about is that Hyundai built the oil platform in the gulf and has a (partial) ownership interest in it. The North has no problem viewing this as a viable target legally under international law.

One of the scariest things I ever read was an article about the very, very few North Koreans who manage to escape northwards out of their (pitiful excuse for a) country. They cross a river and find themselves in one of the poorest farming areas in China (and that's saying something), and they typically look around at the unbelievable hardship and say, "These people have EVERYTHING...."

And don't forget, when Kim Jong Il's father died, people were literally standing on the streets wondering how they could possibly continue living without the Great Leader to tell them what to do and what to think.

Lesley: travel safely and come home soon. Keep your passport handy, and you might want to check in with the Embassy or the local consulate, as appropriate, just so they know you're there.