About North Korea - Locked

[Sferrin]

I'm probably as guilty as the next guy when it comes to responding to political posts. Perhaps a solution going forward would be for the mods to get downright draconian. Anybody even hints at politics, be it between countries or different political parties' stewardship of nuclear forces, they get a one-week timeout, no exceptions. Second offense is a banning. I could definitely get behind that.

 

[kaiserd]

A serious question for you - do you prefer the idea of a war, a possibly nuclear war over the idea that diplomacy might work? Does anybody? I don't and no one I know does.

Sanctions have worked. They have curbed the DPRK's ability to build and militarise their nuclear weapons.

My question is. why does the DPRK feel the need for nuclear weapons?

Could it be because they remember the events of 1950-53 slightly differently to how the West does?

Nuclear weapons are weapons of last resort, not first resort. The DPRK is seeking a means to prevent "regime change". Your country has a long history of attempting "regime change". If the US stopped threatening the DPRK what do you think the outcome might be? If the US actually honoured it's promises regarding the DPRK's energy needs, what do you think the outcome might be?

Yes, I prefer war, including the possibility of a nuclear one. You seem to proceed from the assumption that North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are purely defensive. However, the end game of these programs is the unification of the Korean peninsula under the Kim regime. I am not prepared to throw South Korea under the bus as the price of your peace.

Well said.

You say you don't want want to throw South Korea under the bus.
You are proposing as a choice instigating military action that would likely see them heavily bombarded with conventional, chemical/ biological and potentially nuclear weapons to forestall a scenario where the continental US comes within range of nuclear tipped North Korean ICBMs.
You are joined in this argument by other contributors, some of whom have previously argued for the withdrawal of the US nuclear umbrella from many of its allies, including South Korea.
Have you any idea or care what the South Koreans themselves actually want?
They want increased capabilities to help deal with a potential North Korea attack but the last thing they want is to instigate a conflict with North Korea.
I don't think South Korea's interests or wishes are actually that high in your priority list.

 

[bobbymike]

I'm probably as guilty as the next guy when it comes to responding to political posts. Perhaps a solution going forward would be for the mods to get downright draconian. Anybody even hints at politics, be it between countries or different political parties' stewardship of nuclear forces, they get a one-week timeout, no exceptions. Second offense is a banning. I could definitely get behind that.

I also put myself in this category but the problem is that this prescription can be so subjective as politics is so intertwined with defense decisions. You might be making a very important and valid point and someone yells POLITICS at you and gets you banned.

 

[Sferrin]

I'm probably as guilty as the next guy when it comes to responding to political posts. Perhaps a solution going forward would be for the mods to get downright draconian. Anybody even hints at politics, be it between countries or different political parties' stewardship of nuclear forces, they get a one-week timeout, no exceptions. Second offense is a banning. I could definitely get behind that.

I also put myself in this category but the problem is that this prescription can be so subjective as politics is so intertwined with defense decisions. You might be making a very important and valid point and someone yells POLITICS at you and gets you banned.

I'd be willing to give it a go and let the mods be the arbiter, and be looking at the spirit as well as the letter. We know there are those who will skirt as closely as possible and then claim ignorance in an attempt to get somebody else banned. It's not difficult to spot those. The original intent of this thread was to discuss systems, their utility, and whether or not they were technically feasible/useful.