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North Korea Kills Phone Line, 1953 Armistice; Kim Jong Un's Funds Found In China
eldavojohn writes "Last week, North Korea promised a "preemptive nuclear strike" prior to a UN vote on new sanctions. Despite the threat, the sanctions were unanimously approved. North Korea has responded by killing a Red Cross hotline with Seoul and claims that it has canceled the 1953 Armistice although the UN notes this cannot be done unilaterally (North Korea attempted the same thing in 2003 and 2009). While everyone thought that Kim Jong Un would ride out the sanctions on slush funds, the United States claims to have found his funds in Shanghai and other parts of China totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Beijing has reportedly refused to confiscate these funds despite voting for the very UN resolutions sanctioning North Korea that read: 'More specifically, States are directed to prevent the provision of financial services or the transfer of any financial or other assets or resources, including 'bulk cash,' which might be used to evade the sanctions.'"
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2009/05/28/46/0401000000AEN20090528004200315F.HTML
Was stationed in S. Korea many years ago. Every year, the U.S. has conducted a large-scale joint military maneuver with the ROK. Every year, N. Korea goes on a rant about the exercise. Usually their rant is just the usual propaganda about an impending invasion, and their great General Kim Il Sung foiled the Imperialists once again until next year. But now that they have a new Fuhrer, maybe he feels he needs to kick it up a notch to be noticed. N. Korea is a dangerous country, but 99% of their rhetoric is for internal propaganda purposes. Maybe the recent rebellions in the Middle East + new leader + China no longer being their unconditional ally are taking a psychological toll.
Also because the regime would probably decide to go out in a blaze of glory (or rather bombs and chemical weapons.) Even if they didn't cause major damage in their death throes, North Korea collapsing would mean a flood of North Korean refugees coming into the country, even closer to starving than they are now and not really useful for anything other than worshiping their leader. And NK is a bargaining chip for China anyway.
I'm pretty that a cease-fire CAN be broken unilaterally. All you have to do is start attacking the other side again.
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange has revealed that John McAfee has smuggled 5,000,000 ::Cue::Cats to the DPRK. A young boy by the name of Sinuj has dug out his C64 from where it was hidden under a chickencoop and is liveblogging the amazing changes to his country as the regime collapses. Apple is going to be the first to break the sanctions by opening a Apple store in Pyongyang and a 20,000,000 sqft factory in the suburbs. SCO is suing Kim Jong Un over the blatant infringement of their copyrights in his "Klinux" operating system.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Damn, it feels good to be a banksta.
The answer is on the front page, just a couple stories down: Apple sues Samsung. Perhaps you're familiar with the quote "What's good for General Motors is good for the country" (Charles Erwin Wilson, though that's not actually what he said). That's even more true in South Korea which is, more or less, a subsidiary of the Samsung Group.
Steve Jobs promised thermonuclear war and if he can't get it in the courts, he'll get it on the battlefield.
Side node: by now it should be clear that Steve Jobs is not actually dead -- if he was, his embalmed body would be on display.
There was a mystery passenger on Eric Schmidt's visit to North Korea. Could it have been Steve Jobs, offering iPads in exchange for war on South Korea?
Much like animals sensing a storm and fleeing a storm before it arrives, Apple has been diversifying their supply lines so as not to use any parts from South Korea. Could they know something that we don't?
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
This kind of reminds me of Michael Keaton's character in "Multiplicity" wherein he says "You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as sharp as... well... the original." Each iteration of the " Leader" gets a little less stable than its predecessor. Given this one's extreme youth and actions thus far, I wonder if we will ever see round 4 of this franchise.
This kind of reminds me of Michael Keaton's character in "Multiplicity" wherein he says "You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as sharp as... well... the original." Each iteration of the "<insert adjective> Leader" gets a little less stable than its predecessor. Given this one's extreme youth and actions thus far, I wonder if we will ever see round 4 of this franchise.
I somehow doubt that someone of his age and inexperience is really in charge. I suspect Kim Jong Un is really a figurehead while North Korea is being run by the top brass of their army.
You are right and it should also be pointed out that one reason that China supports them is that they do not want hundreds of thousands of NK refugees coming over their border.
Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro
Here is my exact view: North Korea wants to be invaded, because of the spoils of war that the US will bring it. Imagine getting wiped off the globe by the US in a 3 day war, and then have the next 10 years of "Nation Building" infrastructure improvements that we've become accustomed to giving the vanquished foes. It is brilliant plan!
I do believe there was a movie with this same plot, though I don't recall the title off hand.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
There was a book, subsequently made into a move: "The Mouse that Roared". The only flaw in their plan was that their tiny little invasion force actually landed on the East Coast, managed to capture a Doomsday device the US had built, and thereby won the war. Hilarity ensued!
It's like taking a bandage off.
Nah, it's more like taking a diaper off.