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North Korea Knowns and Unknowns
Townhall.com ^ | October 19, 2017 | Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on 10/19/2017 5:02:04 AM PDT by Kaslin

No one really knows all that much about North Korea's nuclear or conventional military capability or its strategic agenda. Are its nuclear missiles reliably lethal, are they as long-ranged and accurate as hyped, and are they under secure command and control?

Conventional wisdom states that Seoul would be destroyed in minutes by at least 10,000 North Korean artillery and rocket batteries that are now aimed from right across the Demilitarized Zone. Such guns are said to be capable of firing 500,000 rounds within a few minutes.

As a result, South Korea and its allies are supposed to be veritable hostages, with no strategic choices in countering North Korea's newly enhanced nuclear threat.

But is Seoul really being held hostage, and would it be doomed if war broke out?

In fact, no one can be sure of the actual size, nature and readiness of the North Korea arsenal -- or the degree to which it is coordinated and effectively aimed. Much less does anyone know how well North Korea's guns have been pre-targeted by American and South Korean planes, counter-batteries and missiles.

Seoul itself is a huge city of 10 million urban residents. Indeed, greater Seoul and its population of some 24 million are sprawled out over a vast area of more than 250 square miles. The idea that the North Korean military could destroy the world's third-most-populated metropolitan area in minutes with conventional weapons is unproven.

Take the example of Israel and its existential enemies. The Iranians now claim that their Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon have targeted 80,000 rockets at Tel Aviv. Israel's enemies brag that together they could bombard the tiny country with 200,000 rockets and missiles in a matter of minutes should Israel ever again go to war.

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: kimjongun; northkorea; nuclearweapons; war

1 posted on 10/19/2017 5:02:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: aposiopetic; bestintxas; Bodega; BroJoeK; carolinablonde; COBOL2Java; DuncanWaring; EXCH54FE; ...

Victor Davis Hanson Column


Please Freepmail me, if you want to be added, or removed from the ping list

2 posted on 10/19/2017 5:03:24 AM PDT by Kaslin (Politicians are not born; they are excreted -Civilibus nati sunt; sunt excernitur. (Cicero))
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To: Kaslin; All
I believe VDH is off the mark on this. He drank the Kool Aid.

Our satellites have pegged every military installation in the North.

3 posted on 10/19/2017 7:31:53 AM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn't common any more.)
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To: Cobra64

RE: Our satellites have pegged every military installation in the North.

My friend who is now retired, used to work at Northrup Grumman and he tells me that the above is true.


4 posted on 10/19/2017 8:31:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

I believe our stealth B2 bombers and F22s will decimate almost all of NK offensive hardware. The stuff hidden in caves will never See the light of day into firing positions.


5 posted on 10/19/2017 12:32:12 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn't common any more.)
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To: Kaslin

We are in the middle, not at the end, of a long North Korean crisis.


I disagree. Trump has as little as three years left in office. When he leaves, the national cajones go with him, and li’l Kims belly-rubs wiil resume.


6 posted on 10/19/2017 12:45:48 PM PDT by sparklite2 (I'm less interested in the rights I have than the liberties I can take.)
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To: Kaslin

The American options for pressuring the Chinese and the North Koreans, short of war, are said to be few. Most likely, they are almost endless.<>

<>But we need to ensure that worries over how the crisis escalates will be all Chinese and North Korean — and not our own.<>

Give China something to think about if President Trump decides to help nuclearize Japan and Taiwan.


7 posted on 10/19/2017 2:49:12 PM PDT by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
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