SK's President called for a non-military solution and said that any military strikes would need to be approved by SK first.

 

NK appears to be backing off their "bomb the waters off of Guam" statements for now, too.

I was very surprised NK finally said something reasonable. I can't remembrer anything reasonable coming out of Kim's mouth before. Hopefully Trump's aggressive stance is, gulp, helping here? I really don't want to see nukes hitting Guam, South Korea, Hawaii and the US Mainland. It'll be the end of humanity.

I was very surprised NK finally said something reasonable. I can't remembrer anything reasonable coming out of Kim's mouth before. Hopefully Trump's aggressive stance is, gulp, helping here? I really don't want to see nukes hitting Guam, South Korea, Hawaii and the US Mainland. It'll be the end of humanity.

 

Greg, since the end of the Korean War, North Korea has, to some degree or another, threatened South Korea and the West with war. Since the end of the Korean War, we have avoided war with North Korea. Most foreign policy experts would attribute that to North Korea using threats to get concessions (lifting of sanctions, economic aid, etc.). And most foreign policy experts would tell you North Korea does not want all out war because that would be a surefire war for the Kim dynasty to be removed from power.

 

In that light, it's not surprising that NK has backed off on their Guam threats. An all out war is literally the last thing they want...

They rattle the sabers every year when the US and SK are conducting joint exercises in the area. The worry now is that Kim or Trump or both will back themselves into a corner that they can't really get out of without escalating to shooting.

 

I'm glad NK blinked first.

Greg, since the end of the Korean War, North Korea has, to some degree or another, threatened South Korea and the West with war. Since the end of the Korean War, we have avoided war with North Korea. Most foreign policy experts would attribute that to North Korea using threats to get concessions (lifting of sanctions, economic aid, etc.). And most foreign policy experts would tell you North Korea does not want all out war because that would be a surefire war for the Kim dynasty to be removed from power.

 

In that light, it's not surprising that NK has backed off on their Guam threats. An all out war is literally the last thing they want...

Good. Thanx for the background.

 

They rattle the sabers every year when the US and SK are conducting joint exercises in the area. The worry now is that Kim or Trump or both will back themselves into a corner that they can't really get out of without escalating to shooting.

 

I'm glad NK blinked first.

Nice post. Me too. I was happy when I read NK blinked.

All this stuff has taken the focus off North Korea. I'm really surprised/thankful cooler heads have maybe started to prevail. I really saw the point of no return and global thermonuclear war. Glad to see a calming of tensions a bit.

Oops North Korea warned of a "merciless strike" today. They're baacccckkkkk, folks.

Oops North Korea warned of a "merciless strike" today. They're baacccckkkkk, folks.

 

Multiple missiles fired over northern Japan

Multiple missiles fired over northern Japan

 

*scratches Japan off list of potential 10-year anniversary trips for next year*

I'm supposed to go there in October...

The Japan thing is scary. What if that bomb had detonated? The war to end all wars would have begun. You think I'm wrong? Donnie Trump is president, folks. I keep saying Kim may want to go out in a blaze of glory. What about Trump? He's kind of unstable IMO. He's 70 or so and has not that many years left himself.

That said WTF is Kim Jong-Un doing?? Sending a bomb over land?? Some presidents or countries might have responded in kind with a bomb hitting North Korea.

Edited August 29, 20178 yr by greg775

Trump today blasted South Korea for thinking it can negotiate with North Korea. Trump chided China for N. Korea being an embarrassment to China, which has tried, Trump said, but failed to stop Kim's aggression in testing nukes.

 

I'm convinced Trump wants to have military response but is probably being talked out of it for obvious reasons. I mean the minute we bomb select targets in North Korea, Kim blows up South Korea and Guam and Hawaii and all those deaths will be on the U.S. "leader." This remains scary.

Don't you guys agree with me? Trump certainly wants to hit North Korea with military power of some sort. He still could do it, but I think he needs a plan because what I said will happen. There will be an awful response from Kim and millions of people will die in the places I mentioned including a lot of US troops who would be sitting ducks.

 

I still say we're 70/30 something bad will happen soon regarding this situation. I wish it were 30/70 but you've got Kim, who is pretty much an aggressive asshole with no regard for human life, and you've got Trump, who is a rich businessman with a hot temper and not a lot of common sense who I think would like to drop some bombs on N. Korea.

The one thing this is going to end up causing is the re-militarization of Japan. Maybe it is cultural something that I am missing, but I don't get why NK keeps trying to include Japan in this mess, but all they are going to achieve is to have one more set of guns aimed at them.

I don't know if it goes back to this, but Japan had a pretty brutal colonial rule over Korea for the first half of the 20th century.

I don't know if it goes back to this, but Japan had a pretty brutal colonial rule over Korea for the first half of the 20th century.

 

I get the history, but Japan hasn't fired a shot in anger since 1945. It is one thing to be really bitter about that, but it is quite another to be opening the door to giving them a reason to need a legitimate military again. I would think that is the last think that NK wants. Yet, they keep firing missiles over their territory.

I get the history, but Japan hasn't fired a shot in anger since 1945. It is one thing to be really bitter about that, but it is quite another to be opening the door to giving them a reason to need a legitimate military again. I would think that is the last think that NK wants. Yet, they keep firing missiles over their territory.

 

Because Japan isn't as quick to pull the trigger. China would wipe them out without a second thought. It's better to anger a more democratic nation that will try to work things out.

Because Japan isn't as quick to pull the trigger. China would wipe them out without a second thought. It's better to anger a more democratic nation that will try to work things out.

 

Yeah, I don't see Japan pulling the trigger more quickly than SK or the US would, and any actual attack on Japan would almost definitely bring a swift response from the US. Japan spending maybe 5% of what the US does on their military is probably negligible in the grand scheme of things.

 

V V China's view on it is a good point.

Edited September 5, 20178 yr by StrangeSox

Because Japan isn't as quick to pull the trigger. China would wipe them out without a second thought. It's better to anger a more democratic nation that will try to work things out.

 

Today, sure. But getting Japan to start building a military again? A potential challenger to Chinese military dominance in the region, with the full support of arch-enemy America?

 

Its stupid. You would think China would realize it too and do something to put a foot down.

Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking it...

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-trump-wan...549899?mod=e2tw

 

Wall Street Journal‏Verified account @WSJ 11h11 hours ago Opinion: Does Trump want a nuclear Japan? writes @wrmead

 

Close observers have long understood that North Korea’s belligerence and nuclear buildup are pushing Japan toward fielding its own nuclear weapons. No nonnuclear power in the world is nearer to a nuclear capacity than Japan. Many analysts believe it would take Tokyo only months to go from deciding to nuclearize to having the weapons. In the ensuing chaos, it’s likely that South Korea and Taiwan would follow suit, with at least Taiwan receiving quiet help from Japan.

 

Elite Japanese opinion is perceptibly shifting in favor of the nuclear option. Conservative nationalists there have long believed that a nuclear arsenal would allow Japan to resume its place as an independent great power, freed at last from its post-1945 dependence on the U.S. The Japanese public has been deeply skeptical, but North Korean threats and missile overflights—combined with doubts about American commitment and reliability—are leading more people to think the unthinkable.

Great, another one?

 

https://twitter.com/th3j35t3r/status/906369032554561536

 

They just launched another missile over Japan. Calling China. Please step in.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/asia/north-k...unch/index.html

War Today

War Tomorrow

War Forever

 

 

e: just an absolutely bonkers speech all around. don't know how the US ever recovers from this level of international embarrassment.

Edited September 19, 20178 yr by StrangeSox

They should have escorted him out afterward and let him know he's not welcome back to speak.

It's basically been a campaign rally speech. This sort of speech to the UN usually comes from tinpot dictators everyone just ignores, not the head of the largest military in the history of the world.

Have you ever had your child(usually toddler age) say something over and over because one time you thought it was cute but now it's annoying AF because they keep saying it over and over?

 

That is "rocket man"