The #1 North Korea 2013 tension thread [with rolling updates!]

[Sephire]

'muricans calling the bluff, Kim running out excuses NOT to go to war

 

[Zeze]

'muricans calling the bluff, Kim running out excuses NOT to go to war

The whole world called NK's bluff.

 

[LightPattern]

I lol'd.

Certainly North Korea no longer merits much respect among ordinary Chinese, who have taken to insulting Kim Jong-un as "Fatty Kim" or "Fatty the Third", in reference to his father and grandfather, on the Chinese internet.​

:awe:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...to-consider-evacuating-Pyongyang-embassy.html

 

[Slew Foot]

Anyone who thought otherwise is a retard

 

[Agent11]

The only question is if they have pushed too far to back down without losing too much face for them to handle.

 

[Michael]

I live in China (and actually just flew back from Sanya where the conference that the Chinese President spoke - not that I was at that conference) and can confirm that a lot of Chinese call him "Fatty Kim".

Michael

 

[Jaskalas]

KIM UPS ANTE

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul.

Where have I heard this before?....Pretty sure this has been a headline since Friday, but we don't have enough beating the drums of war from the media, so we up the ante. Now we recycle recent stories to keep people scared.

FFS.

 

[WelshBloke]

I live in China (and actually just flew back from Sanya where the conference that the Chinese President spoke - not that I was at that conference) and can confirm that a lot of Chinese call him "Fatty Kim".

Michael

I preferred "Fatty the third". Sounds more dignified.

 

[Doppel]

And from what I understand most of the artillery is in hardened positions that they pull out, fire, and retreat back into

Does this even work anymore? Modern guided ordnance is good enough to hit basically anything to an effectively perfect degree of accuracy. If these are in a mountain in a little hole and come out on tracks, take the tracks out.

I preferred "Fatty the third". Sounds more dignified.

Agreed.

 

[WelshBloke]

KIM UPS ANTE
Where have I heard this before?....Pretty sure this has been a headline since Friday, but we don't have enough beating the drums of war from the media, so we up the ante. Now we recycle recent stories to keep people scared.

FFS.

I don't think people are scared in the west. I think they are a combination of bemused and amused.

They did a piece on that on Radio 2 on the BBC (should we be scared or amused) where they basically played clips of NK rhetoric with either "O Fortuna" or "Yakety Sax" (theme to the old spice ads or Benny Hill theme) playing in the background. Yakety Sax definitely suited it more.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Does this even work anymore? Modern guided ordnance is good enough to hit basically anything to an effectively perfect degree of accuracy. If these are in a mountain in a little hole and come out on tracks, take the tracks out.

Tracks get you an extra 30-40 ft at the most. Easy enough to replace
Also, the hidi-holes may have blast doors. damage will occur if you can get an explosive inside the blast doors.

Open the door, roll the rail car forward, elevate the muzzle as needed
fire,lower muzzle, roll back & close the doors;
3-5 minute most time of exposure.

If on tires; Same issue exists.

 

[Doppel]

Tracks get you an extra 30-40 ft at the most. Easy enough to replace
Also, the hidi-holes may have blast doors. damage will occur if you can get an explosive inside the blast doors.

Open the door, roll the rail car forward, elevate the muzzle as needed
fire,lower muzzle, roll back & close the doors;
3-5 minute most time of exposure.

If on tires; Same issue exists.

So, bunker busters for each one? Are BBs prohibitively expensive or hard to put on as many planes as more common bombs?

 

[irishScott]

So, bunker busters for each one? Are BBs prohibitively expensive or hard to put on as many planes as more common bombs?

I thought bunker-busters were mini-nukes. Wouldn't using them en-masse create a radiation problem?

 

[Saint Nick]

KIM UPS ANTE
Where have I heard this before?....Pretty sure this has been a headline since Friday, but we don't have enough beating the drums of war from the media, so we up the ante. Now we recycle recent stories to keep people scared.

FFS.

Yeah, that's not a new statement. Oh well, he has to keep up the front for his people.

 

[AmdEmAll]

I thought bunker-busters were mini-nukes. Wouldn't using them en-masse create a radiation problem?

They are not mini nukes

"A bunker buster is a bomb designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_buster

 

[EagleKeeper]

Tracks get you an extra 30-40 ft at the most. Easy enough to replace
Also, the hidi-holes may have blast doors. damage will occur if you can get an explosive inside the blast doors.

Open the door, roll the rail car forward, elevate the muzzle as needed
fire,lower muzzle, roll back & close the doors;
3-5 minute most time of exposure.

If on tires; Same issue exists.

So, bunker busters for each one? Are BBs prohibitively expensive or hard to put on as many planes as more common bombs?

Bunker busters are created more for a horizontal target; Not so for a vertical target. They can be laser guided; usually requiring a ground infiltration team.
Also, because they are so big; there is only a limited class of aircraft that can carry/deploy them

B52 can carry two of them (GBU-57) when modified.
The B2 can also carry them - unsure on how many at a time.

 

[Zeze]

April 8, 2013

North Korea said Monday it will suspend operations at a factory complex it has jointly run with South Korea, pulling out more than 53,000 North Korean workers and moving closer to severing its last economic link with its rival as tensions escalate. "Look at me now!"

The whole world is now against NK: UN, US, SK, Japan, Germany, and even Philippines.

All this rhetoric has given US a genuine reason to bolster their Western forces in Asia- the exact opposite of what China wants.

NK's sole financier and support China isn't feeling too hot about them either. Cuba & Iran, while they rebuked US, have openly called for NK to show restraint.

 

[(sic)Klown12]

I thought bunker-busters were mini-nukes. Wouldn't using them en-masse create a radiation problem?

No, bunker busters are hardened casings with conventional explosives. There was some research into nuclear bunker busters, but funding has been cut since the end of the cold war.

 

[TechBoyJK]

I lol'd.

Certainly North Korea no longer merits much respect among ordinary Chinese, who have taken to insulting Kim Jong-un as "Fatty Kim" or "Fatty the Third", in reference to his father and grandfather, on the Chinese internet.​

:awe:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...to-consider-evacuating-Pyongyang-embassy.html

Chinese intern here called him 'fatty mc3rd' as we were talking about it. He's here for school. He said he didn't live anywhere near NK border, but he isn't aware of many people that are 'fond' of NK.

 

[TechBoyJK]

So, bunker busters for each one? Are BBs prohibitively expensive or hard to put on as many planes as more common bombs?

Bunker busters would be good for hidden nuclear sites, etc.

For for taking out thousands of hidden artillery pods.. I don't see anyway we could effectively take it all out 'in time' to prevent some massive retaliation.

 

[CPA]

I didn't think it was possible but the son may be nuttier than the father.

 

[sunzt]

I didn't think it was possible but the son may be nuttier than the father.

I think the son is weaker than the father and that the generals control his actions.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I really have no idea how NK is going to play this out. What is everyone's speculation?

Here are the options as I see it:
1. NK launches a full out attack on SK, Japan, or a US territory. I just don't see this happening. They have to know that they would be utterly destroyed if they did this.
2. NK launches a single small attack on some outlying area/individual military unit. See the sinking of the SK sub and the shelling of the island from several years ago. I could see this happening. They escaped from the previous incidents unharmed, so maybe they'll try it again.
3. NK launches a test missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean. They may or may not announce that this is a test prior to the launch. I could see this happening. They want to raise tensions even more to force the issue of reduced sanctions and show off their military capabilities.
4. NK backs down completely. I don't see this happening. I think that this would ultimately make them the "boy who cries wolf" so that they're never taken seriously again or some faction of the military would decide it's time to execute a coup.
5. A preemptive strike from another nation. I don't think there is any chance at all of this happening.

If I had to guess, I'm going with #3 followed by #2. They'll do a test launch and only announce it once the missile is in the air. This will not get them any concessions. They will eventually be forced into #2. I don't know how this will be responded to, however. Maybe everyone stops ignoring them and some country bombs their launch sites?

 

[Zeze]

Here are the options as I see it:
1. NK launches a full out attack on SK, Japan, or a US territory. I just don't see this happening. They have to know that they would be utterly destroyed if they did this.

Yup, they're not stupid. This will never happen. They gain nothing and lose everything.

2. NK launches a single small attack on some outlying area/individual military unit. See the sinking of the SK sub and the shelling of the island from several years ago. I could see this happening. They escaped from the previous incidents unharmed, so maybe they'll try it again.

This was possibly their original intention two months ago. But SK has vowed to not take it up the ass again (did nothing when 50~ died) and WILL respond with military actions. The new SK president has a chip on her shoulder for North Koreans. Her dad was killed by a NK spy. And the whole world hasn't flinched an inch this time.

3. NK launches a test missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean. They may or may not announce that this is a test prior to the launch. I could see this happening. They want to raise tensions even more to force the issue of reduced sanctions and show off their military capabilities.

This is probably the most likely scenario. No one dies, NK goes home victorious in the light of Kim Il Sung's birthday (4/15).

4. NK backs down completely. I don't see this happening. I think that this would ultimately make them the "boy who cries wolf" so that they're never taken seriously again or some faction of the military would decide it's time to execute a coup.

They gotta do SOMETHING to anchor against and declare victory for their people. #3 is most likely.

5. A preemptive strike from another nation. I don't think there is any chance at all of this happening.

If they have a death wish.

My thoughts bolded.

 

[mafia]