North Korea

[haggis catcher]

A scary thought if this gets out of hand.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/north-korea-pl ... 54034.html

[flyingscot68]

Can't decide who worries me the most, them or the yanks.

[j2 lot]

North Korea has always been one of the biggest threats to world peace and since the death of the former leader it has slowly clicked up the threat level - partly I suspect as Kim Jong-un tries to prove to his own military leaders that he has big enough balls to lead them. Scary indeed

[Shug]

Currently, they are chucking stones at a brick wall with the tech level they are at with those ICBMs. If they continue as they are, however, it might be a much scarier proposition in a few years time. Sanctions may be holding back their development, but they can't stop it.

Worrying indeed...

[andyc]

Just looked at my map of the world on work cupboard.....N Korea is tiny compared to USA. Could they possibly take down the yanks?

[Shug]

One of the biggest armies in the world, a massive proportion of their budget is devoted to the military and they seem to have no qualms about a first strike once they have the nuclear capacity. All that and a totally subjugated populace who are fed propoganda about North Korea's place in the world.

Would they survive a nuclear exchange with the States? No. Are they just about insane enough to do it anyway? That's the question - even a small nuclear strike would devastate chunks of the USA and who knows how the population would react on a world level.

Scary times.

[woody]

Ironic then that the US their "arch-enemy", supplies via the UN NK with a lot of the food it can no longer grow for itself. Kim Jong Un was schooled in switzerland, so he knows what the West is really like, I wonder if a large part of this posturing is to appease the generals and other behind the scenes power-brokers and convince them he is hard line enough?

More worrying is Seoul, one of the most populous urban areas in the world and an integral part of the World economey is a mere stone's throw over the border.

[andyc]

How can they possibly have one of the biggest armies in the world...it's only about 15mm top to bottom
They must be funded my Samsung eh?!
Stop buying Samsung products now and buy Apple to help fund Americas armed forces

Edit: Is Samsung North or South lol

[woody]

How can they possibly have one of the biggest armies in the world...it's only about 15mm top to bottom
They must be funded my Samsung eh?!
Stop buying Samsung products now and buy Apple to help fund Americas armed forces

Edit: Is Samsung North or South lol

Edited: Samsung are South, rather obviously.

[andyc]

Of course....they both start with the letter 's'

[robin]

And Samsung is a high tech manufacturer - something you won't find in NK ...

BTW, Apple use a lot of Samsung parts and assemble a fair amount in China, NK's biggest ally. So actually if you're worried about supporting NK you should buy Samsung not Apple ... just saying

[andyc]

HaHa Robin....Mr Anti Apple!
Maybe Apple are actually all Comeees!!!

[BiggestNizzy]

Ironic then that the US their "arch-enemy", supplies via the UN NK with a lot of the food it can no longer grow for itself.

The populus are told that the stuff they get from america is "tribute"

There is a good article somewhere about the only person to ever escape a work camp. I will try and dig it up.

[Rosssco]

Not that NK is insignificant, but the larger worry is China getting involved as understandably it wouldn't want a conflict, nuclear or otherwise, on its doorstep, along with its symbolic ally.

There will come a time though when the threat level to the US become too high that they cannot risk not acting. In which case, going by previous events, the US will act (unilaterially if required) to knock out NK's capability to create an actual real threat.

Its no surprise the US is pulling out of Afganistan, and is hesitant to engage in other conflicts over the last 2 years - NK and Iran are in their sights..

[tut]

Nuke 'em before they get chance to develop it any further.

tut