A united korea at the winter olympics

[urvile]

This has nothing to do with Trump. NK has spent decades building up an army to take SK, even at the expense of starving their citizens to death. It's All They Have.

They want the US gone so they can do that, and the longer we let the situation persist, the more we are forced into either vacating SK and giving up on it being taken, or letting NK progress their nuke tech and warhead count before entering into a war that will only be worse.

NK is getting annoyed that Trump isn't playing into their game, that's all. Once Trump has left office the only thing likely to change is that it will be easier for them to increase their nuke production rate.

Nothing speaks louder than NK putting all their money into military, long before Trump came to office and long after he's gone.

It amazes me that some don't see this. If you put all your money on a high stakes gamble, what happens if you don't win?

No, it's more likely trump's warmongering via twitter that's the issue for south korea and north korea. Both koreas are being put into the position of potentially being destroyed. If the US is ruling out diplomacy due to trump's ego. Then they aren't left with any other choice.

You can bet china is heavily involved behind the scenes. While the trump administration does it's best to make the US completely irrelevant. Keep arguing for nuclear Armageddon on the korean peninsula as the best way to resolve this though.

EDIT: Look at it from the koreans point of view. They are dealing with a man so inept he makes childish threats and calls kim jong names on twitter. The south koreans must be losing their minds.

This guy is president of the united states and this is his approach to a potential nuclear conflict in asia a) no diplomacy b) (just to reiterate) calling people childish names on twitter.

 

[trenchfoot]

The only folks I'm truly sympathetic for are those North Korean athletes who must face the prospect of losing in the games and then going back home to face their own 'roid infused version of Trump.

It seems to me they're either going to be hailed as heroes of the state even if they lose (state owned media will make some ridiculous excuse for them) or fed to the pigs to be made examples of from defying Kim's orders to win, literally, at all cost.

 

[Starbuck1975]

It feels like chaos theory in that sense -- a butterfly flapped its wings, Trump got into office, and his clueless, hard-headed approach to politics pushed the Koreas to do something on their own. The problem, of course, is that the planet is stuck with Trump in the aftermath of this fluke.

Not really. Chaos theory assumes that a small change in a dynamic system can get amplified due to the complexity of feedback loops and other related conditions.

Trump rather deterministically and assertively engaged North Korea as he would any business competitor. While that recklessness probably served him well as a developer in NYC, and most certainly helped him wipe out his competition politically, it is a bit horrifying when applied to foreign policy.

Then again, its not like American foreign policy has had any strategic direction since the Berlin Wall came down.

 

[pcgeek11]

Germans managed it

East Germany was far from the conditions in North Korea.

 

[cytg111]

And the diplomacy continues:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/09/asia/korea-north-south-meeting-olympics-intl/index.html

Waiting for the next childish tweet from trump to Fuck the whole thing up.

Obviously at the moment we arent seeing much more than good intentions but could this be the beginning of the end for US influence in Asia?

Quite the opposite. What is happening is the rest of the world is consolidating around the fact of a missing US in international diplomacy.

 

[KMFJD]

East Germany was far from the conditions in North Korea.

They managed it...it wasn't easy but nothing worthwhile ever is...

 

[Puffnstuff]

East Germany was far from the conditions in North Korea.

That is true in that the Soviets were controlling it and had a place to fall back to leaving the territory open. NK is in their homeland and those who are participating in the dictatorship will find it difficult to assimilate into a western style democracy.

The people on the other hand would welcome it with open arms and since they are the majority the good of the many outweighs the good of the few. Their collective humanitarian needs should supersede all other considerations.

 

[cytg111]

That is true in that the Soviets were controlling it and had a place to fall back to leaving the territory open. NK is in their homeland and those who are participating in the dictatorship will find it difficult to assimilate into a western style democracy.

The people on the other hand would welcome it with open arms and since they are the majority the good of the many outweighs the good of the few. Their collective humanitarian needs should supersede all other considerations.

I would not take it off the table, Kim has tasted the forbidden fruit, I can see a scenario where acquiring nukes is a strategic move in the process of reentering the international community. I hope so.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I can see a scenario where acquiring nukes is a strategic move in the process of reentering the international community. I hope so.

I can see a scenario where acquiring white rabbits is a strategic move in the process of entering Wonderland.

Kim needs nukes as a doomsday weapon so that he gets left alone. The end. As long as he has the power to turn SK into a smoking crater if we try to Saddam Hussein his ass we can't Saddam Hussein his ass. THAT is the extent of his strategic planning.

 

[Thump553]

I can see a scenario where acquiring white rabbits is a strategic move in the process of entering Wonderland.

Kim needs nukes as a doomsday weapon so that he gets left alone. The end. As long as he has the power to turn SK into a smoking crater if we try to Saddam Hussein his ass we can't Saddam Hussein his ass. THAT is the extent of his strategic planning.

Exactly. Kim (and his father) often cited what happened to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya as a prime reason why NK went after nuclear weapons. Gaddafi was an international sponsor of terrorism in the 80s-causing the bombing of the PanAm flight, a bombing in a German nightclub packed with US troops, etc. After 9/11 Gaddafi by all appearances saw the light and was extremely cooperative with the US in it's anti-terrorist efforts. Then came Arab Spring, ending up with Gaddafi deposed and shot dead in a ditch.

 

[cytg111]

I can see a scenario where acquiring white rabbits is a strategic move in the process of entering Wonderland.

Kim needs nukes as a doomsday weapon so that he gets left alone. The end. As long as he has the power to turn SK into a smoking crater if we try to Saddam Hussein his ass we can't Saddam Hussein his ass. THAT is the extent of his strategic planning.

I suspect you are right. Time will yell.

 

[FerrelGeek]

Anyone that thinks that little fat boy will descend from divine throne to meld in brotherly love with his southern brethren is smoking bad crack. A man who's perfectly willing to starve his own people, kill anyone that worships another deity besides him, kill anyone that screws up, etc., is a Miltonian example of an earthly devil. He'd rather be the ruler of a smoldering ash heap, sitting atop a million rotting corpses, than consider being an equal (or less) in a unified government. Fat boy and his sister are playing the people that have Lennon's 'Imagine' playing in the vacuous crevasse between their ears. Sure, it'd be nice to think that something good could come of the Olympics, but that's not reality.

 

[K1052]

SK will strike a deal with NK that will trade a military de-escelation and probably some limits on their nuclear arsenal/delivery systems for economic relief. NK keeps their deterrent (and ruling family in power more importantly for them) and SK gets some peace of mind. No US strategic goals will be achieved.

Reasons why we're now seeing Pence claim that he'd meet with NK with no preconditions when just months ago Trump was demanding the denuclearization to even start talking. NK has started the charm offensive and will soon follow up with bilateral SK talks. Once SK makes a deal the international sanctions regime will swiftly collapse.

 

[NostaSeronx]

A united Korea lead by North Korea would be devastatingly dangerous for China-Taiwan, and Japan. As it would create the largest military in the region that has access to modern equipment.

- THAAD
- F-22/F-35
- K1A2
- Modern ROK battleships
- etc
So on... all of which would then be part of the North Korean control. Do to the weak military presence other than Korea in the region. It is in fact in everyone's interest to not allow reunification.

China with Japan in particularly has long resentment for the nationalistic conservatives in both North and South. If the unification occurs with North Korean leadership intact then Nazi Germany would look like child's play.

The longer United States shares technologies with South Korea the worst the reunification with NK-leading is.

Do to proximity of the region, wiping out Beijing and Tokyo with a well placed nuke. Would allow NK-led UniK instant wins with brief wars.

 

[urvile]

A united Korea lead by North Korea would be devastatingly dangerous for China-Taiwan, and Japan. As it would create the largest military in the region that has access to modern equipment.

- THAAD
- F-22/F-35
- K1A2
- Modern ROK battleships
- etc
So on... all of which would then be part of the North Korean control. Do to the weak military presence other than Korea in the region. It is in fact in everyone's interest to not allow reunification.

China with Japan in particularly has long resentment for the nationalistic conservatives in both North and South. If the unification occurs with North Korean leadership intact then Nazi Germany would look like child's play.

The longer United States shares technologies with South Korea the worst the reunification with NK-leading is.

Not to mention SK manufacture some of the most advanced automated weapons systems in the world. They export weapons too the aus defence force recently bought the samsung "Thunder" artillery system.