North Korea

Housey · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:10

Azza said:
Will Kim and co. see Trump's words as a joke with no substance like the rest of the world does?

I'm guessing not.

They are posturing I don't think it's anything more. I don't think he can be that stupid...

Iraklis F.C. · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:23

StriderX said:
I like that the US exaggerates someone else's military prowess to make it seem more of a threat, but when it comes to the environment where there can be errors as high as 100% of emissions, nah its cool man, this tiny minuscule effort we put in will be enough.

The media are going ballistic over the latest reports of NK capable of nuclear strike. Iraq WMD fiasco vol 2.0? this time will be "spicy" though , the people behind all this will not hesitate to turn the Korean peninsula into a nuclear wasteland...sad really to say the least

Rroff · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:25

Iraklis F.C. said:
Iraq WMD fiasco vol 2.0?

This ain't Iraq - medium range, potentially long range capable, missile launches have been independently observed likewise transit of materials and Plutonium production + apparent test detonations. The only thing somewhat ambiguous is actual level of progress and intent.

Malevolence · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:33

Azza said:
President Donald Trump says North Korea "will be met with fire and fury" like the world has never seen if it threatens the U.S.

Say Sky News.

Brilliant.

Does Trump have a dragon too?

Housey · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:33

There is little doubt that Merca doing what Merca does right now would suit the Trump agenda.

Iraklis F.C. · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:34

i dont believe NK , a nation in starvation using animals for transportation still have the capabilities to develop nuclear warheads and place them on reliable rockets which can deliver the payload across the ocean, never mind the sea of Japan...test detonations mean nothing, it takes a hell of an effort to go from an actual nuclear device to an integrated ICBM with live warheads. And even then how many can they produce? Thats why i wrote WMD vol 2.0.. I believe we are over-exaggerating their capabilities which i still believe we do.

And the answer to all these threats is full scale attack from US and its allies in the region? well i for one believe he can be taken out with ease...

Rroff · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:39

Iraklis F.C. said:
i dont believe NK , a nation in starvation using animals for transportation still have the capabilities to develop nuclear warheads and place them on reliable rockets which can deliver the payload across the ocean, never mind the sea of Japan...test detonations mean nothing, it takes a hell of an effort to go from an actual nuclear device to an integrated ICBM with live warheads. And even then how many can they produce? Thats why i wrote WMD vol 2.0.. I believe we are over-exaggerating their capabilities which i still believe we do.

And the answer to all these threats is full scale attack from US and its allies in the region? well i for one believe he can be taken out with ease...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_versus_butter_model

NK have a culture of putting 90% of their resources into military projects they aren't just starving because of shortages - massive amounts of resources are smuggled in via Russia, etc. people hugely underestimate this aspect.

They also did a lot of tech sharing with Iran who seem to be the ones that have helped them perfect missile tech by a long way beyond the previous pace of their own advances and it looks like have given them a leg up towards actual perfection of the technology that they'd probably still be 10-20 years away from otherwise.

EDIT: There is more to it than just developing a working nuclear capable ICBM however - the US has vast ABM technologies but once they have that level of ability they only need to find a way to deliver even one device.

Mr Badger · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:47

Iraklis F.C. said:
i dont believe NK , a nation in starvation using animals for transportation still have the capabilities to develop nuclear warheads and place them on reliable rockets which can deliver the payload across the ocean, never mind the sea of Japan...test detonations mean nothing, it takes a hell of an effort to go from an actual nuclear device to an integrated ICBM with live warheads. And even then how many can they produce? Thats why i wrote WMD vol 2.0.. I believe we are over-exaggerating their capabilities which i still believe we do.

Unless they are supported from a foreign power, which is out of discussion afaik.

But that's how they do it. A ridiculous proportion of their economy is focused on the military whilst much of the population lives in near or actual poverty.

North Korea spends about a third of income on military: group

And from Wikipedia:

The KPA faces its primary adversaries, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and United States Forces Korea, across the Korean Demilitarized Zone, as it has since the Armistice Agreement of July 1953. As of 2016[update], with 5,889,000 paramilitary personnel, it is the largest paramilitary organization on Earth. This number represents 25% of the North Korean population

North Korea has universal conscription for males and selective conscription for females with many pre- and post-service requirements.[citation needed] Article 86 of the North Korean Constitution states: "National defence is the supreme duty and honour of citizens. Citizens shall defend the country and serve in the armed forces as required by law."[17]

KPA soldiers serve a minimum of 10 years of military service in the KPA, which also runs its own factories, farms and trading arms.

Nitefly · 8 Aug 2017 at 21:59

'Fire, fury and power.... the likes of which this world has never seen'

:s

Housey · 8 Aug 2017 at 22:08

He is such a turnip

Iraklis F.C. · 8 Aug 2017 at 22:09

Rroff said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_versus_butter_model

NK have a culture of putting 90% of their resources into military projects they aren't just starving because of shortages - massive amounts of resources are smuggled in via Russia, etc. people hugely underestimate this aspect.

They also did a lot of tech sharing with Iran who seem to be the ones that have helped them perfect missile tech by a long way beyond the previous pace of their own advances and it looks like have given them a leg up towards actual perfection of the technology that they'd probably still be 10-20 years away from otherwise.

EDIT: There is more to it than just developing a working nuclear capable ICBM however - the US has vast ABM technologies but once they have that level of ability they only need to find a way to deliver even one device.

Iran? http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-sources-iran-missile-strike-a-flop-with-most-missing-target/ . 90% of their resources and still its not enough. Anyway i believe the NK regime can be taken down far easier than with the use of a war

StriderX · 8 Aug 2017 at 22:15

Nitefly said:
'Fire, fury and power.... the likes of which this world has never seen'

:s

Which is strange frankly, as we've seen twice nuclear weapons going off Japan, and then hundreds of blast tests around the world, the statement is pointlessly aggressive.

If we're talking about military action without nuclear weapons, pretty sure we saw plenty in Afganistan and Iraq...

Kutter · 8 Aug 2017 at 22:36

The way its going i wouldnt be suprised if old kimmy popped a EMP over the top of the US before the end of the week. Between Trump thinking he can just threaten to destroy NK and they will back down and Kim being a complete nutjob, looks like im going to be living in the 1800's next week.

Rroff · 8 Aug 2017 at 22:36

Iraklis F.C. said:
Iran? http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-sources-iran-missile-strike-a-flop-with-most-missing-target/ . 90% of their resources and still its not enough. Anyway i believe the NK regime can be taken down far easier than with the use of a war

2-3 years back they test fired variants of a missile based based on NK tech successfully the missiles in your link I think are a different design albeit it shows Iran's overall capabilities might still have some way to go.

doofski said:
The way its going i wouldnt be suprised if old kimmy popped a EMP over the top of the US before the end of the week. Between Trump thinking he can just threaten to destroy NK and they will back down and Kim being a complete nutjob, looks like im going to be living in the 1800's next week.

The US has a considerable ABM shield even against EMP utilisation chances of a NK missile getting through are slim though not zero. Some experts believe the somewhat odd trajectories are due to trying to figure out an approach that is harder to counter. End of the day it appears the focus of their development is towards some kind of fairy tale ending where they march victoriously into Seoul while holding the US at bay with threats of nuclear weapons rather than using them.

Roar87 · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:03

doofski said:
The way its going i wouldnt be suprised if old kimmy popped a EMP over the top of the US before the end of the week. Between Trump thinking he can just threaten to destroy NK and they will back down and Kim being a complete nutjob, looks like im going to be living in the 1800's next week.

NK atomic weapons aren't very powerful, there's no existential risk to the US like in a war with Russia for instance. There's a possibility of thousands of deaths, and it's a big *if* they were able to strike a populated area, but not tens of thousands or millions. In return the US would annihilate NK within a month.

Kutter · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:08

Roar87 said:
NK atomic weapons aren't very powerful, there's no existential risk to the US like in a war with Russia for instance. There's a possibility of thousands of deaths, and it's a big *if* they were able to strike a populated area, but not tens of thousands or millions. In return the US would annihilate NK within a month.

you dont need a big nuke for an EMP, it would be way more effective than nuking 1 city.

Uther · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:13

NK is run by a bat**** crazy leader, and America is run by a bat**** crazy leader.
Why is one allowed to have nukes and the other isn't...

Nate--IRL-- · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:15

doofski said:
you dont need a big nuke for an EMP, it would be way more effective than nuking 1 city.

Interesting...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse

Starfish Prime
In July 1962, the US carried out the Starfish Prime test, exploding a 1.44 megaton bomb 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the mid-Pacific Ocean. This demonstrated that the effects of a high-altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a microwave link.[8]

Nate

Trusty · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:16

https://twitter.com/sangwonyoon?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

Azza · 8 Aug 2017 at 23:43

So now NK is going to carry out its own pre-emptive strike...

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?!