The relative ease with which Libyan air defenses were taken down has not been lost on the Hermit Kingdom:
As they have watched the attacks in Libya this week, senior North Korean leaders “must feel alarmed, but also deeply satisfied with themselves,” said Rüdiger Frank, an adjunct professor at Korea University and the University of North Korean Studies, writing on the Web site 38 North. North Korea is believed to have 8 to 12 nuclear weapons and last year disclosed a new uranium-enrichment plant.
Mr. Frank said that the Libyan situation was “at least the third instance in two decades that would seem to offer proof that they did something right while others failed and ultimately paid the price.” He said North Korea would probably see object lessons in the Soviet Union’s decision to end the arms race and to “abandon the political option to use their weapons of mass destruction,” and in Iraq’s agreement to accept United Nations nuclear inspectors and monitors. And now, Libya.
“To put it bluntly,” Mr. Frank said, “in the eyes of the North Korean leadership all three countries took the economic bait, foolishly disarmed themselves, and once they were defenseless, were mercilessly punished by the West.”
“It requires little imaginative power to see what conclusions will be drawn in Pyongyang,” he said, adding that anyone in the senior leadership who favored denuclearization “will now be silent.”
So long to the Six Party Talks. Stand by for more saber rattling and provocations.
And the hits just keep on coming!
Anyone have the odds at either Vegas or London bookies on how soon the NORKs will execute another either another weapons test or just shoot at a South Korean unit?
Wow, I would respectfully submit that Herr Doktor Profesor Frank is reaching. If I was NORK I would see that three times, countries with the very same air defense systems as they have, have been whacked silly. I would also submit that it’s less the dubious nature of their nuke capability than the fact that they have a whole load of tubes all within easy range of Seoul and they are just butt-crazy enough to start blowing the living daylights out of Seoul if any decadent, imperialist running dogs have the temerity to affront their glorious, progressive People’s Utopia.
But if there is any serious, sustained revolt of the masses, coupled with mass defection of People’s Army units to the revolt, stand by for a fracas.
I think the major reason the NORKs don’t start south is Kimm knows dear leader will die along with his regime. He he goes nuclear, then the NORK capital becomes a smoking, radioactive Heffalump pit.
The Red Chinks know it too, so they try to keep Kim quiet.
NORKS operate on the same level Teenagers operate on, that being that ” Negative attention is better than no attention at all”
NORK Leadership will only get what they want when like the petulant teenager, they act out in an attempt to get the grown-ups attention….If they miscalculate that this is the time to pull something serious, they will find out that regardless of what Momar is doing, we have other forces ready to deal with their sorry arses…CHICOMS have just as much to lose if their whacky cousins act out so they would likely be the ones adminstering the discipline also.
What we need here is some kinetic EMP action. We have a low-yield EMP weapon dangling from a balloon that drifts over PyongYang and goes “boom”. then announce to the world that the NORKS have suffered a terrible nuclear accident. How can we help? Either that or just spew out tons of carbon carbon fibers over his grid.
G-man? *What* grid?
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/dprk-dark.htm
LOL, Max. That classic pic sure does remind one of the validity of the old “A picture is worth a thousand words” saying.
The first time I flew into Osan at night, the funny guy in the right seat turned the radar display intensity down so that I could “get my night vision”. Coming out of the clouds at about 9000 ft I thought I was heading back over the water since heading north there was nothing but darkness – not a light to be seen. A glance back to instruments confirmed I was where I was supposed to be. Larry just laughed and said everyone had the same reaction – just utter disbelief that the darkness was North Korea. Darkness in more ways than one.
Point taken.
No worries….after application of the Nuke NORKS Removers (try saying that fast three times in a row) you won’t have any issue as the northern half of the peninsula will glow in the dark…..for sure.
Dadgummit! I promised myself to never again go to Global Security’s site. Ugh! Should have checked the link first, and saved myself the grief! The whole site is completely bugged now!
The NorK’s have been bucking for a place on the endangered species list for quite a while. Perhaps we might fast track the paperwork.
I’d be much happier with the Extinct Species list.
One would have hoped it would show the slopeheads that their air defenses can be surgically castrated prior to a massive air strike on them, and there is just about nothing they can do to stop it, should the US get tired of their shit. But their greatest assurance of safety is the turd in the white house til 2012. He isn’t going to go up against anyone who could possibly embarrass him. And that is all he would be worried about too.
I wouldn’t say that Russia was punished. By any means.
With respect to actual Nork warheads, call me skeptical. Last I heard, their most powerful test was the equivalent of a trigger, not a full-blown warhead. And now we’re supposed to believe they’ve manufactured 8 to 12 functioning warheads? Perhaps.
Agree with most here, that this avenue makes them more vulnerable, not less. Few countries (and their people) have much of a sense of humor about nukes these days, and the threats to use them. Certainly Japan & South Korea -the two most powerful nations in East Asia today- take the saber-rattling seriously.
I suspect that if North Korea is going down this route to gain more shakedown goodies, they will become severely disappointed.
TLAM-N airburst, anyone? Consumes the missile and leaves a telltale radioactive signature. I’m sure we must have some Chinese Uranium around somewhere.
Why waste a good missle? Let the NORKs starve in the dark.