Little Kim goes BOOOM!

[Dr.No]

Little Kim goes BOOOM!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_North_Korean_nuclear_test

( and http://youtube.com/watch?v=gCmqzrFL26M )

[LargoWinch]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

Little Kim goes BOOOM!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_North_Korean_nuclear_test

( and http://youtube.com/watch?v=gCmqzrFL26M )

That is unfortunate, but I say lets Kim enjoy his fireworks.

China appears to be the only country with some influence over North Korea, and I feel it is time for them to try to resolve the situation seriously.

What is a concern to me is the hundreds (thousands? - I have no data on this but it is surely a lot) of human beings dying everyday from diseases and malnutrition.

This situation represents humanity's failure.

[Mega]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

.......................and all he had to do was ditch the $.
Mike

[Shakespear]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

What does Kim gain by gain by having one-on-one negotiations with the US ???

[The Outback Oracle]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

A bloke who has spent a lot of time in Korea and is pretty smart explained it to me this way. There are 5 parties involved in this situation

1. 1. USA
   South Korea has the biggest USA base left in Asia with 37000 troops. It is the ONLY place in Asia where USA troops are actually welcome. So the USA does not want the North and South unified because its troops would then have to leave. The USA has 30,000 troops in Okinawa but the local people actually want them out of there.
   
   2. Japan
   Japan and Korea are in a similar situation industrially. Originally Japan set up a lot of the manufacturing in Korea as their cheap labour source. Now they compete on a more or less equal footing. If North and South Korea unify then Korea becomes a very powerful state. South Korea has the technology and North Korea has enormous resources including Coal and Iron ore. There is reputedly potential for large resources of Oil that have never been explored. Japan does not want to have to deal with such a powerful neighbour, either industrially or militarily.
   
   3. China
   China again does not want such a powerful neighbour as a unified Korea on its doorstep.
   
   4. North Korea
   North Korea does not want unity because all the Generals etc etc lose their job!
   
   5. South Korea
   South Korea used to be very keen on unification. However after watching the economic pressure on West Germany and the cost of unification, the South Koreans do not want a major sacrifice of their own living standards in order to bring the North into the fold. Their lives are quite nice as it is.

So you have 5 parties involved, none of whom want the situation resolved. Nor is it in the interests of any of the parties to have a war. The North could take out Seoul in the first two minutes, but would be totally obliterated by the South in the following two hours.
The only problem being that Kim Jong Il is a bit of a nutcase and may "accidentally" push the button in a moment of madness.

[WDCRob]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b49Iwfp8U-U[/MEDIA]

Hans Blix never should have trusted him.

[Raz]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

A bloke who has spent a lot of time in Korea and is pretty smart explained it to me this way. There are 5 parties involved in this situation

1. 
   1. USA
   South Korea has the biggest USA base left in Asia with 37000 troops. It is the ONLY place in Asia where USA troops are actually welcome. So the USA does not want the North and South unified because its troops would then have to leave. The USA has 30,000 troops in Okinawa but the local people actually want them out of there.
   
   2. Japan
   Japan and Korea are in a similar situation industrially. Originally Japan set up a lot of the manufacturing in Korea as their cheap labour source. Now they compete on a more or less equal footing. If North and South Korea unify then Korea becomes a very powerful state. South Korea has the technology and North Korea has enormous resources including Coal and Iron ore. There is reputedly potential for large resources of Oil that have never been explored. Japan does not want to have to deal with such a powerful neighbour, either industrially or militarily.
   
   3. China
   China again does not want such a powerful neighbour as a unified Korea on its doorstep.
   
   4. North Korea
   North Korea does not want unity because all the Generals etc etc lose their job!
   
   5. South Korea
   South Korea used to be very keen on unification. However after watching the economic pressure on West Germany and the cost of unification, the South Koreans do not want a major sacrifice of their own living standards in order to bring the North into the fold. Their lives are quite nice as it is.

So you have 5 parties involved, none of whom want the situation resolved. Nor is it in the interests of any of the parties to have a war. The North could take out Seoul in the first two minutes, but would be totally obliterated by the South in the following two hours.
The only problem being that Kim Jong Il is a bit of a nutcase and may "accidentally" push the button in a moment of madness.

We (the United States) need to remove ALL of our land forces from almost everywhere. Period.
The only forces which we must maintain are naval, and that's easy enough unless we are thrown out of the bases in the Phillipines.

Perhaps our Aussie friends will let us use their ports, especially if we could pay for the modernization/upkeep of their dry-dock/repair facilities.

Is that a real-world possibility, Outback?

[Sharky]

Re: Little Kim goes BOOOM!

Everyone seems to assume that a unified Korea would be stronger than a separated one. I see no reason to believe that would be the case. It would take decades to transform the people and infrastructure in the North to a functional economy. In the mean time, it would be a net drain on the country. If anything, a unified Korea would be weaker -- at least for the foreseeable future.