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North Korea Declares a State of War

paysonwelch writes "North Korea has declared a state of war against South Korea, stating that neither peace nor war has ended. Quoting the news release via Reuters: '1. From this moment, the north-south relations will be put at the state of war and all the issues arousing between the north and the south will be dealt with according to the wartime regulations.' The DPRK goes on to say that this will be a 'blitz' war and that they will regain control of the south, and destroy U.S. bases in the process." Great line from the declaration: "[The U.S.] should clearly know that in the era of Marshal Kim Jong Un, the greatest-ever commander, all things are different from what they used to be in the past." A senior U.S. official called this statement "pot-banging and chest-thumping." The official said, "North Korea is in a mindset of war, but North Korea is not going to war."

36 of 628 comments (clear)

  1. Surely they wouldn't start it unless they can win. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our glorious new Democratic overlords.

  2. Didn't they get the memo? by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Korean "war" never ended. It has been ongoing since 1950

    1. Re:Didn't they get the memo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I have to agree that Marshal Kim Jong Un is the greatest-ever commander...after all, most commanders have lost lives, while Kim Jong Un hasn't lost any lives, or even a single battle. What US commander in chief could say that?

      Now, if he actually does have his people go to battle, I'd change my opinion, and call him an egomanical turd.

    2. Re:Didn't they get the memo? by data2 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I realize reading TFA is frowned upon, so just for you:

      "The state of neither peace nor war has ended on the Korean Peninsula."

    3. Re:Didn't they get the memo? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Imagine you're a guy in your mid-30s, educated in Switzerland, a smart enough guy. You're not particularly interested in politics, just want to have a good time and enjoy the luxuries you've always been accustomed to. Then all of a sudden, you're dragged from your your cosy, relatively anonymous life and told you're the leader of one of the world's remaining military dictatorships.

      You don't particularly want to lead, you'd rather continue your life as a pampered playboy, but the people around you are murderous, and will brook no signs of weakness. This is a roller-coaster you're on, you have very little control and you can't get off. How do you stop it? What do you do?

      If you go soft, you'll be assassinated, you know that because it almost happened. One way might be to push harder than the generals expect and try to provoke the rest of the world into stopping the ride for you.

      Just a thought...

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  3. Nothing New by rolfwind · · Score: 5, Insightful

    IIRC, North Korea has declared war on the South multiple times since the armistice. In short, it's nothing new.

    NK has had particularly bad farm yields and has trouble feeding it's army - recently China returned 12 NK soldiers that tried to escape. In years past, this wouldn't have happened as NK was keen to always make sure the Army got food but rations were cut last year. It needs an increase in foreign aid to hold itself up. That's what all this sword rattling is about. I hope that everyone lets them drop.

    1. Re:Nothing New by binarylarry · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unified Korea and scores of dead North Koreans.

      But the people in North Korea have created this mess, so it's only right they take the heaviest losses.

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    2. Re:Nothing New by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The North Korean military isn't any match for the South Koreans & the USA. Everyone knows that.

      The real threat is because Seoul is so close to the border. You'll get thousands (millions?) of artillery shells fired at Seoul, resulting in lots of civilian casualties & destruction.

    3. Re:Nothing New by CdBee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or it could be ended in 5 minutes if anyone had the balls to use a neutron weapon in the role it was designed for.

      --
      I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
    4. Re:Nothing New by dinfinity · · Score: 5, Funny

      but they have weapons and personell in quantity

      Half of them are photoshopped, though.

    5. Re:Nothing New by gtall · · Score: 5, Informative

      N. Korea attacked first. History is always an interesting read.

    6. Re:Nothing New by bruce_the_loon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      All four nuclear nations had designs and probably operational devices for enhanced radiation reduced blast weapons, aka neutron bombs, that released the neutrons generated by the initial phase of the bomb instead of the full ionizing and shock blasts. They did this with fission-fusion bombs with deliberate ineffective X-ray and neutron mirrors. The US W79-0 had a neutron bomb mode.

      All such weapons were destroyed as part of SALT and SALT II, but who knows what still sits in a cupboard.

      --
      Trying to become famous by taking photos. Visit my homepage please.
    7. Re:Nothing New by Luckyo · · Score: 5, Informative

      They are pretty useless in modern theatre, which is why no one really objected to their destruction. They were originally meant as tactical weapons, as they have very low range, to take out massed tank forces. They became utterly inefficient as armour on tanks became thick enough to effectively prevent terminal effect of neutron bombardment around 70s-80s.

      They could still be used against uncovered enemy, but their low range makes them largely unfeasible for this purpose. If you're willing to use nuclear weapons, you're much better off with conventional nuclear warheads that produce the destructive effect through combination of high temperature and pressure shockwave.

    8. Re:Nothing New by unixisc · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If North Korea collapses and becomes part of South Korea, thereby uniting, it would create a lot more real estate for the Koreans as a whole, and enable them to fill up the country. Like East Germany, the population, once it recovers, can be a part of the Samsung/LG/Hyundai success story. The South Koreans, instead of outsourcing their manufacturing to China, can instead outsource it to their Northern comrades for much cheaper, while they do the quality checks. A united Korea will be the biggest economic challenger to China

    9. Re:Nothing New by rastoboy29 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nice theory, too bad it's nonsense.  Seriously, do you have any evidence?

      Isn't it much more logical that it was simply a struggle for control over Korea by the more powerful nations, that ended in a deadlock?

      Korea had never been a potent independent economic player in history--I very much doubt the current status of the south, for example, was something anyone from outside Korea was expecting.

      It's *not* that big a country, bro.  Your argument doesn't make any sense, and you have no evidence, so please don't spread drivel.  Bad enough we have Glen Beck conjecturing on camera...

  4. They got the wrong idea from the Korean War by HangingChad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know you're seriously off the rails when you start provoking the planet's grand champions at killing people and breaking things and Russia and China are telling you to calm down.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:They got the wrong idea from the Korean War by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

      Even OJ Simpson was quoted as saying, "Cool it, Kim. You should ratchet things down by looking for the real killers who sunk that South Korean destroyer."

    2. Re:They got the wrong idea from the Korean War by JudgeFurious · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think at this point China wouldn't have anywhere hear the concerns they had 60 years ago with a unified Korea provided that unification got an agreement from the US to withdraw from the mainland. The resulting "Korea" would be a competitor but not a military threat and it would be a competitor that was saddled with the cost of trying to absorb the North. I think that the US pulling back to Japan would be well worth the trouble of shutting down "Best Korea".

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
  5. Go ahead by Hentes · · Score: 5, Interesting

    But China won't help you out this time.

    1. Re:Go ahead by Rockoon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nobody really wants a nuclear war in Asia.

      Nobody?

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  6. Re:Ut oh. by firex726 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well China has recently voted in favor of sanctions against NK; previously they did not.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21710919

  7. Suddenly... by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 5, Funny

    Suddenly, Zergling rush!

    --
    My first program:

    Hell Segmentation fault

  8. This little guy by blackholepcs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Can someone explain to me what it is that gives such a small country that has comparably weak military (they are ranked number 28 in the world according to http://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp) and pretty much zero chance of surviving a week in a real war the balls to be so dickish and war-hungry?

    Are they really THAT brainwashed and misinformed (or uninformed) as to believe that they can just threaten nuclear war every time they don't get their way? It's like a little kid threatening to run away every time he has to eat his broccoli.

    The only scary thing here is that sometimes, very rarely, the little kid DOES run away for an hour or so. Well, I hope for the sake of any innocent people in North Korea that this little boy doesn't run away, and instead learns to shut the fuck up and eat his broccoli.

    --
    Halitosis - (n.) Halle Berry's Camel Toe.
    1. Re:This little guy by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can someone explain to me what it is that gives such a small country that has comparably weak military (they are ranked number 28 in the world according to http://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp) and pretty much zero chance of surviving a week in a real war the balls to be so dickish and war-hungry?

      It keeps working.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:This little guy by Subm · · Score: 5, Informative

      This series of posts describes North Korean strategy at a high level -- http://joshuaspodek.com/north-korea-strategy-preview

  9. nothing major by crossmr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Since i live in South Korea, I base my concern level on the people around me, rather than western media.

    Today all the girls were out in their 6 inch skirts, 10 inch heels, and all the guys were out following them around.

    Seems to be just another day.

    1. Re:nothing major by sydneyfong · · Score: 5, Funny

      Pics, or it didn't happen.

      --
      Don't quote me on this.
  10. Schrodinger's war by CanadianRealist · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's Schrodinger's war: neither peace nor war has ended

    They're just threatening to open the box and have a look.

  11. What if US stealth candy bombed Kim's house? by raymorris · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder what would happen if the US used a stealth bomber to drop a 500 lb. bag of candy on Kim's house, just to make the point that we can drop anything on him at any time. Just a reminder that he lives precisely as long as Obama chooses to allow. Maybe follow it up with dropping a few thousand teddy bears on major population centers.

    1. Re:What if US stealth candy bombed Kim's house? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That doesn't seem useful.

      Kim Jong Un knows that the US can kill him at any time, Kim Jong Un also knows that the North Korean military leadership can kill him at any time. He has to appease both, which he does by rattling the saber enough to please the military and not quite enough to make the US really angry.

  12. Blitz by wisnoskij · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is not how you conduct a blitz.

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  13. Re:Ut oh. by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, I think that's what's going to be different this time. There are signs that China is getting tired of North Korea's crap.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  14. Re:Ut oh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obama isn't bending, so North Korea is losing face. The only thing they can do to regain face is a military victory. In the past this has involved attacking ships and shelling islands. Let's not kid ourselves, while a war with North Korea is unlikely, they still might kill people just up to the point where the US and SK would respond.

  15. Re:US Desires this - nad deliberately PROVOKED it. by Forty+Two+Tenfold · · Score: 5, Funny

    They're close to losing control over their own country, either because the population is rising up (unlikely here) or because they're out of resources because they've built a state system filled with people used to divert state resources to personal ends (very likely the case here).

    This won't end well, as it will force China and the US into a confrontation when the cleanup happens.

    I'm lost... Why are you calling the U.S. a communist dictatorship?

    --
    Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
  16. Re:Ut oh. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obama isn't bending, so North Korea is losing face. The only thing they can do to regain face is a military victory. In the past this has involved attacking ships and shelling islands. Let's not kid ourselves, while a war with North Korea is unlikely, they still might kill people just up to the point where the US and SK would respond.

    Saw an editorial yesterday that said what might be different this time is that Junior is inexperienced at how the game is played, and might think actually starting some sh*t is a good idea.

    Millions of people stand to get killed - Seoul is targetted by a *huge* collection of conventional artillery - but if he thinks there's any outcome that won't leave him as a smoking hole in the ground, he's delu...

    Uh-oh, the world's in trouble.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  17. Re:US Desires this - nad deliberately PROVOKED it. by Luckyo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    NK has value of a buffer. Neither South Korea nor NATO who's bases it houses are friendly towards China. North Korea is near Chinese heartland.

    This is the same issue as "holy shit, USSR has tactical nukes in Cuba" for USA. Only imagine if Cuba had land access to US mainland. And USSR put their best tanks and tactical bombers in there as well.

    There will be a cold day in hell before China lets North Korea fall to the West.