North Korea declares War on South Korea

[CLARENCE 2015!]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

[Silent Hunter]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

It's because the North does not appear to be reasonable that the US does not want to give them an excuse. The Cuban blockade in 1962 came pretty close to triggering war as well.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Man, Kim's trolling is getting really boring.

[Yank2133]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

It's because the North does not appear to be reasonable that the US does not want to give them an excuse. The Cuban blockade in 1962 came pretty close to triggering war as well.

Bingo.

This seems like a responsible thing to do.

[Supersonic]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

Maybe it's time for...

[bullmoose88]

1) I believe the range for the dummy warheads/mirvs to target is where, marshall islands? Kwajalein atoll?  How quickly could that trajectory be detected by say China or even North Korea?  Probably better to be safe than sorry and not give NK an excuse to say we're provoking them...especially since

2)  To me it seems that the Chinese aren't going to allow their little "brother" to kick a war off, and who knows, hopefully they'll be the ones to put the fire out...but what if We/ROK, preemptively attacked?  Would China be ok sitting this one out or even helping us in a way?  Or would that massing PLA group on the border not be such a nice thing after all?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

It might not cool tensions, but I think you are greatly overestimating the value of this test.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

It's because the North does not appear to be reasonable that the US does not want to give them an excuse. The Cuban blockade in 1962 came pretty close to triggering war as well.

Bingo.

This seems like a responsible thing to do.

War hawks got the wrong message from the Cuban blockade. The Soviet Union got exactly what they wanted, which was the missiles in Turkey aimed at the USSR were removed.

[bullmoose88]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

It might not cool tensions, but I think you are greatly overestimating the value of this test.

Agree.  A minuteman III test in the face of heightening tensions is hardly analogous to breaking a blockade, setting up a naval blockade with nuclear war on the line...

Supposing that we launched the missile, what exactly would that accomplish?  Dropping 3 dummy warheads on an abandoned, of sorts, island?  That'll show the North.

[Yank2133]

BTW, comparing this to the Cuban Missile Crisis is laughable.

The Russians were putting nukes 90 miles off the coast of FL.......while NK is threatening us with antiques that chances are can't even hit us.

No need to go Defcon 2 on them.

[Middle-aged Europe]

This is one of the dumbest, most cowardly, shameful moves I've seen from our nation's leadership in history...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176455606/u-s-delays-missile-test-over-tension-with-north-korea

Delaying a missile test to "cool tensions" is ing moronic... as if the North Koreans are reasonable people who will then reciprocate. This shows weakness I haven't seen our nation display perhaps ever...

Soviets blockade Berlin- we airlift supplies
Soviet missiles in Cuba- we blockade
North Koreans threaten us with nuclear weapons- we cancel missile tests


I was very pleased and proud of our government's response to the crisis until now... Now, I am ashamed

The question is what good conducting the missile test would do.

Airlifting supplies prevented people from running out of food, blockading Cuba stopped the deployment of more Soviet weapons to the island... but what's the benefit what would arise from testing that missile now? It surely wouldn't open up Kaesong again.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

These things get nasty when people overreact... not when they don't.

[Dereich]

So North Korea is pulling its people from Kaesong. The escalation continues.

[Middle-aged Europe]

So North Korea is pulling its people from Kaesong. The escalation continues.

So, they're practically burning their money now.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

So North Korea is pulling its people from Kaesong. The escalation continues.

So, they're practically burning their money now.

Not the first time, actually.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That was a stupider move than Smoot-Hawley.

[Dereich]

That was a stupider move than Smoot-Hawley.

Assuming it can't be quickly reversed. I wouldn't be surprised if the South Koreans forgave and forgot how the north has been messing with Kaesong as part of a new sunshine policy.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The thing is the South can deal with Kaesong being closed a hell of a lot more than the North. The problem is that those in charge in the North might be the only people on Earth who don't realize this.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

At this point, what is Kim hoping to accomplish? It's not like he's going to prove anything else to his people by keeping this up aside from a willingness for self-destruction. Of course, there's the off chance he really is crazy enough to instigate an attack (which either means he wants to go down in a blaze of glory or he actually has support from China, both of which are highly doubtful)

[Middle-aged Europe]

At this point, what is Kim hoping to accomplish? It's not like he's going to prove anything else to his people by keeping this up aside from a willingness for self-destruction. Of course, there's the off chance he really is crazy enough to instigate an attack (which either means he wants to go down in a blaze of glory or he actually has support from China, both of which are highly doubtful)

Xi Jinping himself has already publicly voiced his disapproval on what is North Korea is doing right now. Which is also worrying in a way, because it means that Kim doesn't seem to give a f**K about China's wishes.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

Just got this on my iPhone

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[Eraserhead]

Just got this on my iPhone

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This could get ugly.

[Beet]

Test fire ballistic missiles or fire ballistic missiles at real targets?

I have come to the conclusion that the West should simply cave to North Korea and accept it's nuclear program. The reality is that once they have acquired nuclear powers, they really can black mail you. It would have been nice for the North Korean regime to have fallen, but the short-sighted (IMO) Chinese regime continued to back the "we don't want refugees" line for too long. Caving to North Korea means heightened military presence in northeast Asia, but it's better than a nuclear war breaking out.

[Benj]

Test fire ballistic missiles or fire ballistic missiles at real targets?

I have come to the conclusion that the West should simply cave to North Korea and accept it's nuclear program. The reality is that once they have acquired nuclear powers, they really can black mail you. It would have been nice for the North Korean regime to have fallen, but the short-sighted (IMO) Chinese regime continued to back the "we don't want refugees" line for too long. Caving to North Korea means heightened military presence in northeast Asia, but it's better than a nuclear war breaking out.

Oh, please. If you're that concerned, we should be launching an all-out attack right now to stop the progress of their nuclear program. The reality is that North Korea probably doesn't even have real nuclear weapons, and certainly doesn't have the ability to launch them at Seoul, let alone the US.

[The Mikado]

North Korea can't really back down because they have no position to back down from.  Their country's entire rationale for its own existence is that North Korean military power protects the Korean people from the American Imperialist threat.  Truly backing down would destroy any reason for people to take Kim Jong-Un seriously.  The North Koreans are desperately hoping that at some point Washington and Seoul will blink and back down and that they can claim this as a victory over the cowardly Yankee Imperialists and their lapdogs in the south.  If that doesn't come, Kim has no choice but to continue to escalate: a display of weakness destroys his entire claim to legitimacy.

On a related note, watch this video.  Yes, I know it's an hour long.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292562-1