“Denuclearize the peninsula and US troops leave as well. A win-win for everybody.”
Don’t be a fool. It’s been NK strategy for 50 years to remove the US from protecting SK. They developed their nukes and ICBMs as a deterrent to US defense of SK. If the US leaves the Norks will suddenly ‘find’ some of their misplaced nukes and extort SK and deter the West. They never keep their word. They’re a terrorist regime. That’s what they do. I’d sooner trust ISIS than NK.
It's now NK strategy to blackmail our troops with tactical nukes. We need to get our troops out of there ASAP.
South Korea has twice the population and 50 times the economy of the North.
They are capable of defending themselves. If they are not, then they better get started. It is no longer our responsibility.
This is an intra-Korea problem, an internal affair, NOT OUR BUSINESS.
Sorry, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. The U.S. troops in South Korea are there basically as a tripwire. The real deterrent to NK using nuclear weapons for blackmail is that we will still have ours. And if the NK's "suddenly find" their nukes, we can put troops right back there if that's what we want to do.
The relative military balance between ROK and NK has shifted over the last few decades to the point where the ROK's are fully capable of defending themselves. If we can verifiably ensure that NK has gotten rid of its nukes and launch capabilities, then withdrawing U.S. troops and signing a permanent peace treaty is actually a win for us, for the ROK's and for NK.
Sorry, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. The U.S. troops in South Korea are there basically as a tripwire. The real deterrent to NK using nuclear weapons for blackmail is that we will still have ours. And if the NK's "suddenly find" their nukes, we can put troops right back there if that's what we want to do.
The relative military balance between ROK and NK has shifted over the last few decades to the point where the ROK's are fully capable of defending themselves. If we can verifiably ensure that NK has gotten rid of its nukes and launch capabilities, then withdrawing U.S. troops and signing a permanent peace treaty is actually a win for us, for the ROK's and for NK.
That wasn't true decades ago when the ROK's really needed us there for our ability to defend on the ground.