War time/NK's "sacred war" threat...merge

[Deep Sea Isopod]

[b]Backseat HUSKY.jpg[/b]

AWWW! Cute Husky!!

Animal Friends.jpg

[Gawdzilla Sama]

[b]Backseat HUSKY.jpg[/b]

AWWW! Cute Husky!!

Animal Friends.jpg

The Endangered Wolf Center has the world's largest population of Mexican Grey Wolves. (33 at last count) So anything grey and doggie is "close enough".

[Don't Panic]

I'm about 85~90km away from Seoul, which would most likely be ground zero. Not sure if I could get a decent shot of the mushroom cloud from here. Maybe if I go up to the roof...

Unless the North has made some major leap in technologyfrom the puny bomb they built a couple years ago, you might not even see it that far away.

If they have the materials then the rest of it is easy, a boosted fission device with a 50-100kt yield is pretty straightforward from an engineering perspective, a proper 2 stage device would take a bit more work, and probably some testing.

[FBM]

I'm about 85~90km away from Seoul, which would most likely be ground zero. Not sure if I could get a decent shot of the mushroom cloud from here. Maybe if I go up to the roof...

Unless the North has made some major leap in technologyfrom the puny bomb they built a couple years ago, you might not even see it that far away.

If they have the materials then the rest of it is easy, a boosted fission device with a 50-100kt yield is pretty straightforward from an engineering perspective, a proper 2 stage device would take a bit more work, and probably some testing.

You've given me new hope.

[Toontown]

You can't hide tube artillery from "the eyes in the sky". He'll learn this.

I can't imagine he doesn't already know it. He doesn't want to do it, he just wants the rest of the world to be scared he's going to.

How does the world being "scared he's going to" advantage him?

If I'm seriously "scared he's going to", I'm likely to pre-empt the chuckie doll. It is always good to be the first one to know when a fight is starting. And invariably bad to be the second one to know.

[Trolldor]

lol.

Clearly you don't see the wisdom in using fear against an enemy you can't beat by force of arms.

[Toontown]

lol.

Clearly you don't see the wisdom in using fear against an enemy you can't beat by force of arms.

Perhaps that's because there is no wisdom in it.

[Robert_S]

You can't hide tube artillery from "the eyes in the sky". He'll learn this.

I can't imagine he doesn't already know it. He doesn't want to do it, he just wants the rest of the world to be scared he's going to.

How does the world being "scared he's going to" advantage him?

If I'm seriously "scared he's going to", I'm likely to pre-empt the chuckie doll. It is always good to be the first one to know when a fight is starting. And invariably bad to be the second one to know.

Maybe "Scared he might" would have been a better way of putting it. But the thing is, if those shells hit Seoul, then there will be massive fucking loss of life. Could the US and/or the South reliably take out all that firepower before hell rains down on a mass of civilians?

So, as long as the North can present a plausible threat, they can bargain. But following through would be the death warrant for the DPRK.

[Hermit]

lol.

Clearly you don't see the wisdom in using fear against an enemy you can't beat by force of arms.

Perhaps that's because there is no wisdom in it.

It's called 'bluffing'. Sometimes the bluff isn't called, in which case it's a successful strategy.

[RuleBritannia]

North Korea 'fires artillery into Yellow Sea'

North Korea has fired shells into the Yellow Sea near its border with the South, South Korean sources say.

A battery reportedly opened fire around 1730 local time (0830 GMT), directing shells into its own waters.

The firing came just after the end of South Korean-US naval exercises which had provoked warnings of retaliation from the North.

Tension between the two states rose this year after one of the South's warships was sunk.

The South accuses the North of sinking the Cheonan in March with the loss of 46 sailors.

Earlier, the UN reported that the North had agreed to a new meeting on the sinking of the ship.

Colonels are due to meet at the Panmunjom truce village, which straddles the two states' border, on Tuesday.

It will be the fourth round of such talks.

It is not the first time that North Korea has tested its artillery in this way, having sent a similar number of shells into the same waters in January, the BBC's John Sudworth reports from Seoul.

At the time, South Korea and the US reacted angrily.

There is unlikely to be any great alarm from the South Korean public, although perhaps some concern that the displays of military might could lead to a further, dangerous escalation, our correspondent adds.

'Boat seized'

The shelling appears to have begun about half an hour after the naval exercises ended.

"All we know is that North Korea fired artillery rounds into its sea off the west coast, but we have no more details as of now," Lt Cdr Yu Jae-il of the South's joint chiefs of command told Reuters news agency by phone from Seoul.

About 100 shells were apparently fired, falling harmlessly into the sea.

On Sunday, the South accused the North of detaining one of its fishing boats, the Daeseung.

The ship had stopped sending signals after a fishing trip to the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea, on Saturday.

South Korea's coastguard said they had learnt that the ship was being investigated by North Korean officials.

They called for a "swift resolution to the matter", and safe return of the vessel and its crew.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10914191

[Lozzer]

So they threaten with a "strong physical" nuclear reaction, and then they steal a fishing boat?

[Trolldor]

The stealing of a fishing boat may seem ridiculous to you, but it is a reminder that North Korea can strike at anytime, anywhere.

[FBM]

North Korea 'fires artillery into Yellow Sea'

North Korea has fired shells into the Yellow Sea near its border with the South, South Korean sources say.

A battery reportedly opened fire around 1730 local time (0830 GMT), directing shells into its own waters.

The firing came just after the end of South Korean-US naval exercises which had provoked warnings of retaliation from the North.

Tension between the two states rose this year after one of the South's warships was sunk.

The South accuses the North of sinking the Cheonan in March with the loss of 46 sailors.

Earlier, the UN reported that the North had agreed to a new meeting on the sinking of the ship.

Colonels are due to meet at the Panmunjom truce village, which straddles the two states' border, on Tuesday.

It will be the fourth round of such talks.

It is not the first time that North Korea has tested its artillery in this way, having sent a similar number of shells into the same waters in January, the BBC's John Sudworth reports from Seoul.

At the time, South Korea and the US reacted angrily.

There is unlikely to be any great alarm from the South Korean public, although perhaps some concern that the displays of military might could lead to a further, dangerous escalation, our correspondent adds.

'Boat seized'

The shelling appears to have begun about half an hour after the naval exercises ended.

"All we know is that North Korea fired artillery rounds into its sea off the west coast, but we have no more details as of now," Lt Cdr Yu Jae-il of the South's joint chiefs of command told Reuters news agency by phone from Seoul.

About 100 shells were apparently fired, falling harmlessly into the sea.

On Sunday, the South accused the North of detaining one of its fishing boats, the Daeseung.

The ship had stopped sending signals after a fishing trip to the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea, on Saturday.

South Korea's coastguard said they had learnt that the ship was being investigated by North Korean officials.

They called for a "swift resolution to the matter", and safe return of the vessel and its crew.

[img]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/4 ... _2.gif/img]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10914191

Armchair analysis: The timing, 1/2 hour after the exercises ended, was probably designed to make sure the South knew the North could listen in on their radio communications, at the least, and raise the question of whether or not the North still has spies in the upper echelons of the SK military (a couple were recently out-ed).

[Ian]

The real show is on the horizon. The Dear Leader has really been hyping up his third son, Kim Jong-Un, to be his heir apparent. That's when there will be a real geopolitical earthquake. My guess is that China is waiting for KJI to croak so they can finally move in and overhaul Pyongyang before yet another generation of Kims is firmly in place. China's sick of being the default patron to one of the most dysfunctional and volatile counties on earth.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The real show is on the horizon. The Dear Leader has really been hyping up his third son, Kim Jong-Un, to be his heir apparent. That's when there will be a real geopolitical earthquake. My guess is that China is waiting for KJI to croak so they can finally move in and overhaul Pyongyang before yet another generation of Kims is firmly in place. China's sick of being the default patron to one of the most dysfunctional and volatile counties on earth.

Any serious resistance expected?