For these rumblings of war to emerge is now perfectly in line with china's playbook to expand into the Koreas' and 'stabilize' the situation while annexing the north while poising to take the south.
Volunteers? Right!
Just like Stalin's Zeks were "volunteers"!
One needs to ask, quite seriously, why would China want a nuclear maniac at its border? All common sense says, they don't. Maybe, it is time to let China deal with this "situation."
MI ping
....The extent of that alienation has been revealed in essays by China's leading strategic thinkers....
"Hegemony? We don't need no steenkin hegemony!!" Kim Jong-il
.....since nuclear weapons are regarded as a symbol of national strength......
"Strength through Starvation". Kim Jong-il
That's an interesting twist on the NK problem.
It would really be interesting should the Taiwanese decide to purchase the necessary materials from the North Koreans. Don't think the Chinese haven't thought of it.
Probably way under counted given the modern firepower they were herded into in Chinese "mass attack" strategies. Most veterans talk about about killing thousands in single engagements.
Not one US servicepersons toe should
be put at risk of being stubbed to
save the evil regime of Kim Jong Il.
Subheading that accidentally got deleted: Winged Pigs May Sighted
Is this meant to make us believe that China is a free country?
"...on whose behalf 360,000 soldiers, mainly volunteers, died during the Korean war 53 years ago"
Sure. They were given a choice to join the People's Army or face a firing squad, so I guess they could be called "volunteers".
On the one hand we have communist China, where human life is so cheap that the citizens' body parts are worth more to the regime than citizens are, home to mass executions, constant and mysterious disappearances and retroactive abortion. A military megalith in terms of numbers.
On the other hand we have communist DPRNK, where human life is so cheap the citizens are worth more to the government as fertilizer than as farmers, home to mass executions and constant and mysterious disappearances as far away as Japan. Flyspeck on Earth's arse and militarily insignificant without China, satellite of China....
We're supposed to WORRY for some reason?
Hey JET bet Chia Pet won't be so roaney or crying for attention if Chinese declared war on him
"These essays, in a special publication by the Washington-based World Security Institute..."
It's the whole face-saving thing. The Midgit That Roared is a huge public embarressment for them. The nuke test was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. I say let them take care of Chia Head.
B.S. NK is a proxy of China. Why are there so many stupid people no this earth?
When the Chinese stop trading oil, food and other itmes with the Norks, then we'll know they are pissed off. Otherwise, expect good cop, bad cop from China and NK. So it will run something like this - China takes over in Norkland, or supports some general who dumps Kim, then President PIAPS is so grateful, that she sells out Taiwan, or some such.
China could play a gambit in which they have a major victory:
Conquering North Korea.
To start with, China advises the US that it intends a blitzkrieg conquest of NK to secure its nuclear weapons and to regime change to a stable (puppet) government. This is so the US does not panic. Assurances are also made that once this is done, China will depart quickly.
China does quickly invade, and gets the surrender of the NK army quickly with the help of some of their top generals. A military junta is put in place with the orders to begin reunification talks immediately. Food flows to the North Korean people. North Koreans stop flooding into China as illegal aliens.
One condition only, that once Korea is unified, US forces leave the peninsula, with the exception of the naval base at Pusan. Korea wouldn't mind, and the US would probably not mind either as long as China was behaving itself.
What China gets out of this is first, a major new trading partner worth many billions every year, that is also their best buddy in the whole world. China is not threatened by their democracy, because they do things "the Chinese way", so they will be much like Hong Kong.
China also gets the US off their doorstep, and even looks like a good guy to Taiwan. Taiwan, Japan, and SKor no longer feel any need to go nuclear.
All told, China gets a load of policy victories, gets rid of an annoying pest, makes a ton of money, soothes the other SE Asian nations, and generally looks like a good guy.
I knew I'd find this in the article when I clicked on it. NK provides Japan the excuse it needs to depacify, and thus able to stand up to China. A robust Japan must be the ultimate bad for China.
I attended a talk with former Clintonista SecDef William Perry, who opined it would be terrible if Japan militarized. Obviously, this means it would be terrific.
So what. China is just a paper dragon.
Ping for Tiger.
Very good post, Jet. I think that TigerLikesRooster is the most up to speed posting Freeper on this subject. Knows his Korea region geopolitics.