North Korea....

[Jiberjabber]

As Stalin once put it, numbers is a weapon of its own.He certainly was proven right, and North Korea is using the same doctrine. Its army far outnumbers south Korea, and the US put together , and if you add the support China has always provided, and Russia as well if they are forced to make a choice.
Do the math and you will see that he might be crazy but he is not stupid.
There is a potential for a serious mess over there.

Do you really honestly think the number of people you have on your side determines how well you do in modern warfare?


You always seemed a bit brighter than that for some reason ...


The NK army are so starved to death they couldn't even march to their own borders, nevermind to Seoul. You think China and Russia would stand against an alleged threat to American national security? Did you not see how the world curled up its own ass-hole when American went to war 14 years ago?

Are you having a laugh like?

[nonpareil]

People associated with the regime are usually well looked after (about 10 % of the population).Ordinary people are believed to have starved in the past in North Korea.
The army will be better feed than a lot of the general populace but would be no match for the US and South Korea combined.
This sabre rattling has been going on for decades so this is nothing new.S. Korea is always prepared for a possible Northern attack.But with a lot of dictators and dictatorial regimes, the posturing is as much for their own people as for outsiders.The outside world is unsure of all the regime's motives.Is Kim Jung Un consolidating his power, is he fully in control etc.There have been a number of high rankers executed in recent times including the leader's uncle.China and Russia have no interest in North Korea going to war.In fact China may act as a restraining force of sorts.And as long as N. Korea doesn't have a functioning nuclear weapon , so much the better.
It is pretty much business as usual on the Korean Peninsula. And as likely as not these rumblings will blow over as well.A change of regime in such places may take
several years before it settles down.

[dawson28]

This happens every year NK wants cheap fuel/food for the winter, start ranting on about glorious army ,hammer blows
raining down on traitors, new weapons that will give South Korea well deserved trashing. Then after a few months
they are given a few bob, and it dies down for a few months then off again. Technically they have been at war for
about 65 years

[willie wacker]

This happens every year NK wants cheap fuel/food for the winter, start ranting on about glorious army ,hammer blows
raining down on traitors, new weapons that will give South Korea well deserved trashing. Then after a few months
they are given a few bob, and it dies down for a few months then off again. Technically they have been at war for
about 65 years

Yep bud well said and you hit the nail on the head
They can,t take on SK since they will get their asses kicked and he prob end up with the Baghdad kiss!!
Don,t think China will help either , they now rely too much on the west for export and lots of money invested here as well

[10inchesandcounting]

Do you really honestly think the number of people you have on your side determines how well you do in modern warfare?


You always seemed a bit brighter than that for some reason ...


The NK army are so starved to death they couldn't even march to their own borders, nevermind to Seoul. You think China and Russia would stand against an alleged threat to American national security? Did you not see how the world curled up its own ass-hole when American went to war 14 years ago?

Are you having a laugh like?

I remember how the world curled up its own ass-hole when Russia invaded Ukraine last year(right on our doorstep I might add), and I don't see it any different if it comes to blow in the Korean peninsula. Japan, Taiwan and The US will side on together with probably most of the rest of the world , but ultimately for some historical and socio-politico-economic reasons China and Russia will not.

In modern warfare, the advancement in logistic and technology is to prevent the lost of human life (your own troops),and it is not as efficient when your enemy has an endless supply of cannon fodder with the will to use it.
nobody will go nuclear in an area about the size of my side pocket, so it will be boots on the grounds that will win the day, and at the risk of repeating myself, number is a strength of its own, a fact proven over and over.

[Zealot7]

I went to SK a few years ago had a great time but wouldnt go back, found the taxi drivers in Seoul to be really hostile to westerners, strange but true.
Did prefer the more southerly regions that was much friendlier probably because of the US military bases nearby.

The DMZ was bizarrely interesting though!

I've only seen the DMZ from the North side, but apparently it's far more relaxed. I gather seeing it from the South side involves quite a bit of indoctrination.

Come to think of it, most of my interaction with our guide in the DMZ (who was a soldier in the DPRK army), was him being highly amused at my Irish red hair.

NK was a seriously bizarre but intereting place to visit as a tourist. I'd actually love to go back there. :P

[nonpareil]

South Korea can provide far more boots on the ground than the North ...bigger population.
It is not in the interest of China to have any war either.
The Americans have a large scale presence on the ground and they are far more technologically advanced than N. KOREA .
The West was never in a million years going to intervene in a civil war situation in Ukraine on Russia 's doorstep.US would likely respond in Korea to a incursion from the North but in the absence of China , N. Korea would get its nose bloodied.
The Chinese would likely act as a brake on any such eventuality rather than promoting it.
And N. Korea would do well to be heedful of their main trading partner and supply line.
This is the usual sabre rattling bs that always goes on there and is about keeping the N.Korean people in awe and supportive of their leadership as much as anything else.

[10inchesandcounting]

South Korea can provide far more boots on the ground than the North ...bigger population.
It is not in the interest of China to have any war either.
The Americans have a large scale presence on the ground and they are far more technologically advanced than N. KOREA .
The West was never in a million years going to intervene in a civil war situation in Ukraine on Russia 's doorstep.US would likely respond in Korea to a incursion from the North but in the absence of China , N. Korea would get its nose bloodied.
The Chinese would likely act as a brake on any such eventuality rather than promoting it.
And N. Korea would do well to be heedful of their main trading partner and supply line.
This is the usual sabre rattling bs that always goes on there and is about keeping the N.Korean people in awe and supportive of their leadership as much as anything else.

for the most part you are right, logic and common sense dictates it, but this is not what we are debating. NKorea's actions are not based on rational reality but on utopic doctrine and pride.
what I am saying is it has the potential to be more than just a local skirmish(regardless of who wins or loses) with a domino effect not many seem to realize .
Some thing similar to what happened in Europe in 1914 with the killing of the archiduke. An insignificant figure in the grand scheme of things, but yet...
One more thing worth remembering, is that Asian way of thinking and mentality is different from the west.
One case in point is Japan's attack on pearl Harbor.
Japan felt threaten by the US economic policies , and thought it was losing face, and its response to that was to apply retaliation first.
The Japenese never planned to defeat the Us on the battlefield, they just wanted to cripple them and force the states to acknowledge them and back off.
How badly they misread the yanks is now in the history books, and you would think someone learnt something from that mistake, but well ....

[nonpareil]

What you say is possible but unlikely.
The big boys , China , US etc will have no advantage to be gained from. repeating what they did in the early 50s.
Admittedly, the N. Korean regime is unpredictable and difficult for outsiders to fathom but the likelihood of this sparking something global is low.
Something regional , yes, but even that is probably unlikely in the near future.

[10inchesandcounting]

What you say is possible but unlikely.
The big boys , China , US etc will have no advantage to be gained from. repeating what they did in the early 50s.
Admittedly, the N. Korean regime is unpredictable and difficult for outsiders to fathom but the likelihood of this sparking something global is low.
Something regional , yes, but even that is probably unlikely in the near future.

I think it is unlikely it will sparkle at all despite all the sabre rattling and all, but if it does sparkle, I think it will be more than just regional.
That is the point I was trying to make.