Posted on 05/28/2010 6:24:32 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N. Korea: The nightmare scenario (time to prepare for the catastrophic end)
The nightmare scenario
May 27th 2010
From The Economist print edition
Time for North Korea’s friends and foes to start preparing for the worst
DID the warped Machiavellians of Pyongyang miscalculate when they launched the torpedo that blew apart a South Korean warship two months ago? Proof of one of the worst breaches of the armistice that ended the Korean war 57 years ago has roiled waters far beyond the Korean peninsula. Escalating tensions have even helped rattle global financial markets. Thus far, North Korea’s reckless belligerence has mostly been met with an impressive show of resolve by South Korea, Japan and America. But North Korea could yet raise the stakes again. Time for all of North Korea’s neighbours to start thinking of how they might together deal with some of the unthinkables they have hitherto tried hard to ignore (see article).
/snip
What if…
If China cannot have a grown-up discussion with America about something as clear-cut as the attack on the Cheonan, how much greater will be the danger of miscommunication in the event of something hitherto unthinkable happening: an outbreak of war, say, a nuclear incident, or the collapse of the regime. Anything that sparked fears of “loose nukes” or a refugee crisis, with American and Chinese troops aiming nervously at each other across North Korean territory, could quickly make the Korean peninsula the most dangerous place on earth. China ignores such risks at its peril.
/snip
But the Dear Leader is not immortal, and when he dies the succession is likely to be fraught with danger. At that point the neighbouring powers will desperately need to talk to each other through mechanisms that currently barely exist.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
Some Economist articles are good. If this is any consolation, they went liberal on many issues over the years. So you may not get money worth when you evaluate the whole magazine content.
While I’m no fan of W-M, if we avoid active combat there, I will give them full credit.
Ping.
But you would still hit it
Yep, although possibly crude.
North Korea a Nuclear Proliferator, U.N. Report Says
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100528_4227.php
Last nuclear test was...this time last year!
North Korea faced its most recent U.N. Security Council sanctions after conducting a second nuclear test in May 2009.
Thanks for the link. I finished reading the article excerpted at the top of this thread, and at the very end I noticed the writer/writers alluded to N. Korea’s “nuclear weapons” as if they were a fait accompli. I don’t know how I managed to miss that. It’s scary. If you want one person’s opinion, yes, I think Kim would use them. What a nightmare, to quote from the title of the thread. It’s no exaggeration, either.
One of these days nobody will blink......
At some point in history, the Chinese will drop the veil of cooperation with the United States because they will no longer need the United States. They will have mined as much technology and information from our businesses and government as possible, and our consumer class will have become impoverished to the point that doing business with it no longer represents any sort of a geopolitical deterrent.
When that point in history is is anyone’s guess.
All the more reason for ROK to get this taken care of now...and the US as well. Japan and China have a stake here too.
It's time for the DPRK regime to go.
Thanks for the ping.
Bump!
Dear Leader has not been seen in over a week. Is there anything to lead you to believe he has been given a sleeping potion or needle, possibly of the permanent type?
Indeed, jocon307m, South Korea is very “loth to contemplate a breakdown in the North because of the cost of unification, given a disparity in living standards that is far greater than newly united Germany had to cope with.” Asia is as Asia does, and charitable, brotherly love is something Asia don’t do.
North Korea’s attack may have “roiled waters far beyond the Korean peninsula”, escalated tensions rattled global financial markets, but the impressive show of resolve by South Korea, Japan and America is all about the Benjamins. Those North Koreans are consigned to utter destitution for now and forever. Nobody wants ‘em, nobody cares about ‘em, and there ain’t no money in helping ‘em. See “most of Africa” for more info.
He is suspected to be near his command bunker in Yanggang Province. One other account claims that he is going around the neighborhood, ‘looking for a nice spot,’ which prompted those accompanying him to speculate that he is looking for a spot for his grave.
But who knows? The account in this story is several days old. It is possible that his health took a dive. It is also likely that he is hunkering down in the most secure bunker of his country, mindful of possible military retaliation or internal unrest or coup. I hope he is in his death bed.
Kim disappeared from public view for more than 50 days after U.S. destroyed Saddam Hussein’s regime with ‘relative ease.’ A lot faster than many expected.
Does he indulge in opiates during his stressful times in the secret command bunkers?
Maybe he’ll take (or be administered) the Michael Jackson remedy.
The world must shame China. They are the sole prop for the wretched Kim regime, and the deaths of millions of Koreans by man-made starvation and abuse is the responsibility of China.
All because they seek a weak, pliant, puppet-state on their border for perceived national security.
China has sown many evil seeds in Korea - and they will not have security because of this.
There are indeed stories coming out of N. Korea claiming that Chia Head doing drug, probably METH. It was a story circulating(in hush-hush manner) among soldiers at military's central communication headquarter in Pyongyang. It is possible but I am not sure about this allegation.
Yes, we should denounce them instead of imploring them to change their attitude. China’s image in S. Korea is taking a dive. Japan became the beneficiary of this backlash because Japan is seen much better compared with China.
China has always held North Korea on a leash, and does so today. If the Norkies are doing this, it is because China is ALLOWING it. Period. It somehow serves THEIR greater purposes, it fulfills their greater designs. For that reason neither China NOR the UN Security Council, on which China also sits and has a permanent Veto privilege, will be of any assistance, and to the contrary will be a major hindrance. When we realize that truth, THEN we might have a chance of actually dealing successfully and finally with the North Korean (and perhaps the China) problem. Until then, forget it.
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