North Korea

There is more chance of a coup at the whitehouse.

Anyway, according to the guardian, Xi Jinping has phoned trump and told him to shut the feck up.

We will see what happens next.

I'm guessing that at the point china is getting involved enough to call dorito mussolini, someone at the whitehouse is going to make sure he does shut the feck up.
Up to now it's been easy for China to sit back and do nothing, after all why should they bother, NK is their ally and the US is not. Time for Xi to say something to Kimmy (or his underlings) perhaps? It's long overdue.

No point in telling Trump to shut it. The threat from NK will still be there.
 
Understanding motives is important to predict behaviour. Yet it is pretty difficult to do that without being a mind-reader.
There is a school of thought that discounts any non-rational believe as genuine motive. The problem is that "Kim&his regime just want to maintain power" is not particularly helpful to explain many of his actions. I am not discounting these motives but they are just a part of the story.
NK has ideological guidelines (e.g. juche, songun), that can explain many of its actions that seem rather crazy. These ideas evolved out of historic trends/incidences and continue to evolve but they also influence actions. Even ideas that might have been originally created/spread out of opportunism can create their own reality after enough time.
Once you contemplate that Kim actually believes at least to some degree this stuff, his paranoid megalomania becomes somewhat understandable.
 
Who? He fired anyone who tries to tell him he's wrong. The best hope is that someone with some sense can manipulate him into changing his mind by thinking it is his own idea.

Its a good point, and I have no idea who, but there needs to be some adults to take this under control now. At the point China is telling him to stop, he needs to stop. There must be some long term people still in the whitehouse with an understanding of the severity of things.

You can bet your life China are in close contact with Russia over this, given NK's location, and this is a serious situation for everyone now, they will not allow trump or a us friendly force anywhere near their border with NK, and if both russia and china think that is where trump is aiming, which the intervention sort of hints at, this has already gone way beyond kim or his missiles.
 
Why can't it just be that they want to protect themselves from a superpower that they were once at war with and that they want official recognition as an independent nuclear state, in which case it's not difficult to discern a certain logic ? I understand that the 1950-53 war, during which Pyongyang was pummeled so much that bombing operations stopped because there was nothing left to bomb, has not officially ended because a formal peace treaty was not signed - is that right ? Iraq and Libya might be the model for the West- but not for NK.
 
Last edited:
Why can't it just be that they want to protect themselves from a superpower that they were once at war with and that they want official recognition as an independent nuclear state, in which case it's not difficult to discern a certain logic ? I understand that the 1950-53 war, during which Pyongyang was pummeled so much that bombing operations stopped because there was nothing left to bomb, has not officially ended because a formal peace treaty was not signed - is that right ? Iraq and Libya might be the model for the West- but not for NK.
Yeah no treaty because North Korea (the ones who started the first war) have always refused to sign one while doing things like sinking a South Korean naval ship and trying to blow up the South Korean president. In fact in at least two occasions the North have attempted decapitation strikes against the South.
 
Last edited:
Should point out the NK's nuclear program and pursuit of the bomb predates both Iraq and Libya.

As early as the late 80's early 90's they were suspected of producing or at least pursuing the means of producing weapons grade materials.
 
Not sure if NKs latest comments are Kim toning things down as the media are reporting, i think its him throwing down a challenge on the joint drills.

I means this is what always happens, they do some tests, there's a response some sanctions and drills. Then everything carries on while NK progress until the next test.

At some point people are going to have to go beyond calling for temporary peace and deal with the situation.
 
BBC: "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reviewed plans to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam but will hold off, state media said."

_97334171_041098814-1.jpg


To be fair it is a particularly cunning plan. A map of North Korea - Guam with a line through it. Love the sticks, real nice touch.​
 
On a nice light note. Would we be able to hear or feel anything in the UK if one went off in either the US or NK? I'm guessing no, but intrigued.
 
On a nice light note. Would we be able to hear or feel anything in the UK if one went off in either the US or NK? I'm guessing no, but intrigued.

Unless NK has really improved their weapons vs their tests from a few years ago, they could hit lower Manhattan and people in Central Park would be ok (except for the quickly approaching radioactive fallout, and the panic).

But meaning that no, one single nuke in another Continent is not something that registers beyond possibly measures of radiation in months to come (if winds take fallout your way).

Plus, the nukes that the US, Russia, etc actually have in arsenal aren't the most powerful they've ever developed, by a factor of 100x. Those were deemed too cumbersome.
 
Unless NK has really improved their weapons vs their tests from a few years ago, they could hit lower Manhattan and people in Central Park would be ok (except for the quickly approaching radioactive fallout, and the panic).

But meaning that no, one single nuke in another Continent is not something that registers beyond possibly measures of radiation in months to come (if winds take fallout your way).

Plus, the nukes that the US, Russia, etc actually have in arsenal aren't the most powerful they've ever developed, by a factor of 100x. Those were deemed too cumbersome.

I was more thinking some kind of rumble, but I don't suppose so, specially 'only' being that size.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ts-to-syria-intercepted-in-six-months-un-told

Two shipments from North Korea destined for the Syrian government agency responsible for chemical weapons have been intercepted in the past six months, according to a report provided to the United Nations security council in early August.

“Syria’s chemical weapons programme was basically built up by Iran and Russia,” he said. “But the North Koreans have been desperate for currency and have been happy to sell technology to anyone. It has always been a real concern that they would sell their chemical and nuclear expertise.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t speak to a wider involvement in the CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence] sphere, especially by the jihadis.”
So now Kimmy has been found shipping chemical weapons to Syria.
 
He isn't a threat to world peace though remember that. If we leave him alone everything will be fine because people on the internet say so.
 
Kim launches a missle while Trump is focused on the Hurricane. This could escalate.

 
Multiple missiles have been launched. FFS.

Kim is playing with his own survival. If one of them accidentally goes astray and hits something or if he's even more insane and tries to hit something off limits, then he will get wiped out and so will much of northern South Korea.
 
Kim is playing with his own survival. If one of them accidentally goes astray and hits something or if he's even more insane and tries to hit something off limits, then he will get wiped out and so will much of northern South Korea.

Yup, that's what i'm worried about. That and Trump's unpredictability and also his desperation and need to gain approval. Kim's always just pushed and prodded, I just think this time he's picked the one person who is insane enough to call his bluff. As you say, it only takes one to go off target and it's game over anyway. Feck, these morons playing with our lives. I've never ever been worried about North Korea before, but now it's a completely different ball game.
 
wtf, 'warning out to jap citizens to take precautions for missle'
 
If some govt could soon provide confirmation that it splashed down in the Pacific, that would be much appreciated.
 
It's definitely flown over Japan. There was warnings going out in North Japan apparently.
 
Can't be allowed to stand, they continue to move towards their own destruction (and sadly the death of thousands of innocents im sure)
 
fecking hell. I'm more scared of Trump's reaction than anything else.