[Updated]U.S hold diplomatic Summit with North Korea
 

BREAKING: China State TV says Air China Flights between Beijing and North Korean Capital, Pyongyang, will be suspended from Monday due to activity at a Nuclear Missile test facility.

Looks like China has had enough.

North Korea officials say they will be going ahead with a Nuclear missile test, despite warnings from China and U.S President Donald Trump that there will be serious consequences if they go ahead with the strike.

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/0...ng-monday.html

Re: North Korea
 

More here:

The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-...uclear-n746366

Just what the world needs - more instability...

Re: North Korea
 

To be fair. 'We' can't stand around and simply let North Korea get a viable nuclear capability. 20 years of sanctions haven't achieved anything because China haven't been on side with them and now 'we' really have to put our foot down before fat boy figures out how to nuke more than his own back yard.

Re: North Korea
 

Don't get me wrong, I agree something needs to be done, I just wish it didn't. If the N. Koreans are as mad as they appear I guess the US will be trying to destroy their nuclear weapons capability but even if they manage to do that what's to stop the NKs doing something like spreading radioactive material, nerve agents or chemicals around the neighbouring area by whatever means they can? :erm:

Re: North Korea
 

For most of the time we were doing ok. It was always a case of just managing them, they might start causing trouble, and we would use a carrot and stick to stop it. China generally did enough because they don't want the West coming in and everyone would rather a slow path to unification rather than the entire and sudden collapse of the country.

However since Kim Jong-un they've got more antagonistic and less predictable. His father would ultimately behave with a degree of rationality and his provocations were usually a intentional attempt to extract a concession from the world. Now Kim Jong-un seems like he really does want to start a fight.

I think it would be better to leave it to China. It's entirely in Chinese interests to stop North Korea getting a missile, they understand the region and the regime better, and they have more influence. We also want to keep China onside considering we're going to have enough problems with Russia to deal with.

Re: North Korea
 

kill the fat little git .why should millions of people have to fear him and get dragged into war .

Re: North Korea
 

I don't think that we were doing ok. They now have nuclear capability, more or less, despite our efforts. All they need now is miniaturisation and a viable delivery method.

Re: North Korea
 

I imagine that possibility has come up more than a few times amongst the US military and relevant security services. Who knows what'd happen if...

Re: North Korea
 

One of those Afghan MOABs was lobbed into the middle of the celebrations that NK are about to have. Could put our dear leader into real orbit. :D

Re: North Korea
 

Nukes in the hands of dictators, ain't good.

Take out Kim and NK will be reunified with the South.

Re: North Korea
 

Looks like this is getting as real as it has ever been. SkyNews saying China has posted tens of thousands of its troops along South China / N. Korean border.

Japan has said it is sending destroyers to assist with USS Carl Vinson Strike force armada that are currently positioned in the Sea of Japan.

Re: North Korea
 

An estimation of 150,000 troops.

Re: North Korea
 

Re: North Korea
 

It's time for China to step up here. If they are the Asian superpower then this is a test of that. They're so wary of taking a more active role.

Re: North Korea
 

The instability within the north korean regime has thrown everyone and china is within range of what missiles the north koreans have and can no longer be certain that they won't be targeted. Kim jong un is and always has been an unstable spoilt little brat living in a world where his threats were carried out and he now approaches the world with that​ attitude that worked for him in his personal sphere. Unfortunately he has managed to surround himself with military sycophants and the general brainwashing of the NK population has been ramped up in the last few years meaning an assassination is neither likely to work or even practical as we'd then be dealing with a martyr and plenty of lunatics willing to follow him to the grave regardless of the damage they did.

This whole situation has developed because no one wanted to take action when it could have been done on a vastly smaller scale then it will now. Russia has been increasing relations with north korea and at this time there is no accurate intelligence on what the russians may have given NK. This whole thing plays out well for russia no matter how it goes and i believe there is a great deal of russian manipulation involved here giving a silly little man weapons and technologies he is not able to use rationally.

North Korea is now a problem that only has a happy ending if it's resolved from within it's own borders but that's not very likely and anyone from outside solving this is going to create one hell of a mess.

Re: North Korea
 

Good job the donald is going to be isolationist and not get involved in these foreign wars and the like :D

It comes to something as well when China is the voice of reason, interesting times we live in, let's hope that continues, the living that is

Re: North Korea
 

Funny how they all say that to start off with.;)

Re: North Korea
 

:eek:Right I'm just going to be sitting under the dining room table for a while..:shocked:

Re: North Korea
 

put clean under wear on go out with dignity ;)

Re: North Korea
 

Yes the US is now claiming that c. 90 terrorists have been exterminated like the vermin they are but I'd imagine there's a whole lot more who've been rendered deaf. Imagine a bang like that in such an environment. Do you reckon the pressure wave forced into all those tunnels would have the same effect as Bose waveguide speaker technology does? :)

---------- Post added at 09:24 ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 ----------

The flip side of that coin is that extends to any direct military involvement it might spurs them on to further expand their armed forces and become more belligerent in their dealings with other nations in the South China Sea area for example.

Re: North Korea
 

if - is a big word china claims to have all this super weaponry but does it work

we know the power of the USA Russia and European nations we have seen it in action , there are always claims we have the best this that and the other but until its battle tested no one knows .

Re: North Korea
 

kims getting the plane revved up

Re: North Korea
 

I hope America takes out North Korea they are a 1 of 2 things either wanting to be recognised as a country that is now playing a part in the world or they are totally crazy and will start to threaten not only America but smaller countries with nuclear weapons.

I think no 2 he needs to be dealt with as soon as they have threatened America for a long time now it's getting serious because nukes are now becoming a reality and we can't have crazy in control of things like that

---------- Post added 16-04-2017 at 00:50 ---------- Previous post was 15-04-2017 at 23:05 ----------

North Korea has attempted to launch a missile on its east coast but it has failed, South Korea's military has said.

The launch attempt took place in the Sinpo area of the North the day after a huge military parade took place in Pyongyang.

The US military said the launch took place at 10.21pm UK time (5.51am local time) but the missile "blew up almost immediately".


http://news.sky.com/story/north-kore...itary-10839274

Re: North Korea
 

There will be another launch soon they are ramping up their testing schedule and at this point only major military action stands a chance of dealing with this. There are only two capable of doing that but both risk serious consequences in initiating military action and it will cause regional instability whoever does it. We need to definitively identify who is pulling the strings in NK as they wouldn't risk what they are unless they felt they would be supported or protected, i know who i think it is we will have to wait and see for sure.

Re: North Korea
 

Trump ‘ready for pre-emptive strike North Korea’s nuclear sites’
DONALD Trump is reportedly ready to wipe out Kim Jong-un’s nuclear sites – and may launch a pre-emptive strike at any moment.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/late...-jong-un-china

and for those who don't like the Star

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/n...ites-5xvd2jv20

Re: North Korea
 

WORLD ON THE EDGE: North Korea's missile launch FAILS after military march in Pyongyang

NORTH Korea has launched a missile

somebody got some splaining to dooooo :)

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...nald-Trump-USA



this article explains it all
why he's fat and full of it

Kim Jong-un learned to drive at three – and does not need to use the loo

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...t-family-myths

Re: North Korea
 

There are really no good options to deal with NK, other than possibly getting their ally China to put some serious pressure on them not to make a bad situation worse.

Striking NK now is gonna get messy, a whole lot of hurt is likely to land on SK.
Letting NK get practical nukes and long range missiles would be worse.

Kim wrong-un is surely as evil as any other leader that has been battled... he's a classic James Bond villain (kills incompetent underlings) that unfortunately has power

Beware Trump - NORTH KOREA
 

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/...cid=spartanntp

I think that DT should keep his mouth shut.

Re: Beware Trump - NORTH KOREA
 

I think that you should open your eyes. We already have a Trump and North Korea thread. Your new one has been merged with this one.

I think that fatty dictator in Pyongyang, should be the one to shut up with his silly threats.

Re: North Korea
 

Mick, l couldn't find the thread, otherwise l would have done that

Re: North Korea
 

Ok, however, I don't know how you missed them this one was the 6th or 7th thread listed down, Trump is 9th thread listed. ?

What are you views on Kim-Fat-Un? Do you not think his persistence of silly threats is not a problem? That him getting Nuclear capability is a problem to be ignored ?

Re: North Korea
 

Russia is moving tanks and soldiers to its 11 mile border with NK.

Re: North Korea
 

I can't see that being true at all. although I have seen random sites I've never heard of reporting that crap

Re: North Korea
 

Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly sent troops and weapons to the country’s border with North Korea as tension continues to escalate in the region.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world...-a3518796.html



Russia ‘moves troops and equipment’ to North Korea border, as Kim Jong-un warns of 'super-mighty pre-emptive strike'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...e-will-reduce/

Re: North Korea
 

It's a juicy headline but the truth is Russia has always had a large presence on the border with north korea all that's changing is better equipped and more capable units are being moved into place in case there is an incident.

Re: North Korea
 

http://news.sky.com/story/north-kore...rrier-10847828

Not only has he threatened wipe out the American aircraft carrier in a single strike, he's also threatened to wipe out Japan and south Korea and to take things further if Australia get involved he will nuke them as well lol...he''s either very smart or very stupid

Re: North Korea
 

I'd wager the latter of those options although he could just be a deluded psychopath.

Re: North Korea
 

Very stupid with nukes - a bad combination

Re: North Korea
 

The only reason China is involved is because they are worried that America will flatten NK and then have a presence right up until the chinese border.

If this wasn't the case they wouldn't give a toss

Re: North Korea
 

In fairness to China i don't think anyone saw NK going as stupid as it has and they much like the west figured he might be a bit of a nutter but he'd only hurt the NK people as previous rulers have not become a global nuclear threat. I would imagine the pakistan scenario is being altered to accomadate NK specifics right about now and the Russian placement of combat forces along with China's increase in military forces on the NK border with the US carrier group would back that up.

Re: North Korea
 

BREAKING: North Korea has test fired a ballistic missile from a region North of Pyongyang according Yonhap News Agency.

http://news.sky.com/story/north-kore...ssile-10855244

Re: North Korea
 

Perhaps they should all stand back and try this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gACCCmFKP80:D:D:D

Re: North Korea
 

Apparently it blew up shortly after launch. :D

CNBC live

Re: North Korea
 

and apparently Kim blew up shortly after lunch. :D

Re: North Korea
 

Somebody's gonna have a really bad last day if they fouled up :sniper:

Re: North Korea
 

It seems that Pres. Trump want to meet Kim Jong Un when the circumstances is right.

Re: North Korea
 

Has North Korea got a golf course? Otherwise it ain't happening :D

Re: North Korea
 

Certainly seems to as his father had proved:

Source

No doubt his son will eclipse that. :rofl:

Re: Beware Trump - NORTH KOREA
 

I agree. You can't just ignore these people. Carry on ignoring them and their resentment will grow and worse will ultimately follow. Fat boy Kim craves attention and ignoring him will drive him to even more dangerously outrageous behaviour.

But Kim is just a front. There is an even more dangerous military establishment that is propping him up, and if he doesn't tow their line, well, you can guess what will happen.

Pyongyang is where the elite live in North Korea. The vast majority of his slaves are working on the land in the countryside. If Trump's efforts fail to calm Kim down (and let's face it, everyone else has failed), one of America's blusterbombs on Pyongyang might be the only answer to this corrupt and dangerous regime that can work.

Then at last those poor starving people in the countryside of North Korea can be liberated and the world could be a safer place.

As long as the US has learned to manage the peace, of course, otherwise ISIL will move in.

---------- Post added at 09:25 ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 ----------

Don't be silly. Why would Trump want to play Kim on a golf course when he knows he would need to let him win by a ridiculous margin? Never going to happen!

Re: North Korea
 

Trump should just offer him out, Mad Max style. Two men enter, one man leaves.

Get it on Sky PPV: Dramatic entrance music, MC and all the trimmings. Never mind your Joshua v Klitschko

Re: North Korea
 

Mullah Omar offered the same deal, him and George Bush alone in the mountains with a klashnikov each. George bottled it just like Vietnam.

Re: North Korea
 

One eyed sniper versus idiot who doesn't know the difference between the two ends of a rifle. I see why Bush passed on that one.

Two rather rotund chaps with tiny hands duking it out to the death sounds far more entertaining.

Re: North Korea
 

He could've evened it up a bit by not using his good eye I guess.

I'd like to see the two berks go it to, they could have preliminary rounds to get to pick stipulations like in the wrestling for home advantage and choice of match etc start of with a smallest hands contest, then silliest hair and finally a death match live on PPV it could even be the main event of ufc or wrestlemania.

Re: North Korea
 

BREAKING: U.S President vows North Korea, will be met with "fire and fury" if it threatens the US, with it's breakthrough in to it's Nuclear capability and it now has a Nuclear Warhead small enough to fit in to a ballistic missile, according to U.S Intelligence Officials.

http://news.sky.com/story/trump-n-ko...-fury-10979965

Re: North Korea
 

Just the sort of diversion the Donald needs atm. Wouldn't surprise me if he was funding North Korea's missile programme.

Re: North Korea
 

Well we're all doomed.

Re: North Korea
 

Nothing surprises me, how much you stretch something far beyond the realms of bizarre, with no substance. :rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 22:54 ---------- Previous post was at 22:41 ----------

In what way ?

Trump may not be experienced militarily, but he has experienced US Generals surrounding him. They know, or should do not to go in, guns blazing. This is not a situation to be taken lightly.

It's not like Trump has not tried all other avenues, like to apply pressure with China, who has the capability to stop this but chooses not to, so what is left to do ?

They have gone down so many Sanctions, that clearly, fatboy Kim, clearly is determined to provoke and threaten the U.S and now they have the nuclear capability, they are a major threat, they may not be able to hit U.S mainland just yet, but could strike Japan or South Korea.

Regardless of who is President, this has been a recurring problem for years, decades, does the U.S and the rest of the world just sit back and allow Kim Jong-Un's dictatorship state, to grow their Nuclear power ?

---------- Post added at 23:33 ---------- Previous post was at 22:54 ----------

North Korea State TV just now:

North Korea is carefully examining a plan to strike the U.S Pacific territory of Guam with missiles. They are prepared to carry out the strike when Kim Jong-Un gives the order, which they say could be at any moment.

Re: North Korea
 

It's a safe bet that special forces will have already trained to take control of the few sites in North Korea that are capable of launching an ICBM and likely with quiet agreement from China and Russia as neither of them need this instability continuing for any length of time. This will have been a training scenario for some years as you didn't need a mensa level IQ to see where this was all going and scenarios as well for Pakistan should an extremist islamist party take power. Despite Trump's rhetoric small unit operations to neutralise any missile's North Korea has is the most likely action as that would be more surgical and agreeable to both China and Russia over any sort of missile strike or bombing by aircraft.

North Korea does possess a lot of conventional weaponry but it's years out of date and not upto much beyond mass bombardment of the city of Seoul to cause mass civilian casualties and they would only get a few salvos off before being hit by land and air forces. At this point how much stability or even common sense remains in the upper echelon of the NK regime is anyone's guess and I'd be surprised if some form of military action doesn't happen within the next couple of month's. Dangerous times for all of us and could end up being a devastating demonstration of what happens when you ignore a problem you don't think can be a problem outside of their own border's.

Re: North Korea
 

In a 'were all dead' kinda way.

I just mean because they've got a nuclear warhead. Not because of Trump (although that's a bit scary too)

Re: North Korea
 

From Twitter If I couldn't laugh, I would cry.

I thought we had left the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction behind us in the 90's?

Re: North Korea
 

We have a mad man in North Korea with nuclear weapons and a loud mouth frog in America with nuclear weapons, this is only going to end badly :(

Re: North Korea
 

Problem with MAD is that it assumes the participants are all rational. :erm:

I'm not too worried about the States because of the stability of the military and political system but North Korea do come across as a administration that would nuke someone for the attention alone.

Re: North Korea
 

As long as the Secretary of Defence verifies and passes on the order, the President can launch a nuclear strike.

That's all it takes.

Re: North Korea
 

Mattis seems rational though? Plus Trump will have everyone arguing against it.

Re: North Korea
 

It worries me that we are counting on the person below the person in charge to be rational...:shocked:

Re: North Korea
 

Regardless of what people think of Trump, he did once say on the campaign trail, I think he said during one of the TV debates, when Hillary was accusing him of being trigger happy, he retaliated by suggesting he would prefer a nuclear weapons free world and that he does not like them, but while others have them, the U.S cannot be left defenseless.

But his stance is that he knows Russia has spent a fortune upgrading it's military capability, that he feels the US must do the same, he accused the Obama administration of letting things slide in this area.

The other thing with Trump is, he does not reveal his intentions, which is why the 59 missile strike on the Syrian Air base that was responsible for the chemical weapons attack earlier this year, was a total surprise.

Re: North Korea
 

The Russian military budget is $70 billion in the last year, and the USA's is $611 billion - nearly 9 times as much.

Hillary didn't want to not have nuclear weapons, she was concerned that someone who tweets angrily at 4am in the morning if he's upset would be in charge of them.

Re: North Korea
 

No need for the dramatics Hugh, 6 months in he's managed well so far.

Re: North Korea
 

If a measure of his success is that he hasn't blown the World up yet, it's setting the bar a bit low imo.

Re: North Korea
 

Kim Jong Un seems to like his life, and power.

He must surely know that if he actually attacked anyone he would be blown out of existance.

I think he'll stick to acting big, but not really try to kill himself.

Re: North Korea
 

Yes, hopefully he's more rational than he seems on the surface.

Re: North Korea
 

Kim Jong Un is completely rational and far from mad. He is doing exactly what he should be doing for the good of his country. At no point will he send nukes at anyone, no matter how much western governments through media try to scare people.

Anyone with nukes know the minute they send one towards another country legitimately, they will have nukes sent to obliterate their region. So nukes are a deterrent. Having nukes stops countries invading you. More specifically... war happy American military terrorists and whichever countries they can rope in to help and legitimise the invasion.

King Jong has learnt from history. Libya had nukes which America eventually got it to disarm through negotiations and then....invaded Libya by helping the rebels get rid of Gadafi. They also tried sanctions and everything to get Iraq to get rid of it's nukes and once they were not usable...America invaded them and got rid of Saddam.

Looking at that history, if you were responsible for the well being of a country, would you not make sure you had nukes to make sure muricaaaa didn't invade your country? :P

Yes be patriotic but don't be sheeple when it comes to the Kim Jung Un is evil and so is Putin. Every other country does the same things they do but strategically the Russia, China and Korea coalition are together to protect against the EU and America coalition and vice versa, when you simplify it that way.

Re: North Korea
 

On scale of 1 to 10 how doomed are we? I'm going with 10.

Re: North Korea
 

Another good reason not to bother with a pension... :erm:

;)

Those of us who lived through the 60's and 70's had the very same worry, many of us convinced that WWIII was imminent and we'd all be blown sky high or irradiated by Warsaw Pact nukes. We thought those days were gone with Gorbachev's reforms but...

Re: North Korea
 

He's doing what's best for him, not his country, just like his father and his father before him. The people of North Korea have not benefited from their isolationist and provocative government which has seen concentration camps for minor transgressions against the regime, famines or just the everyday abject poverty outside of Pyongyang.

You don't need to be a sheeple. You can read the accounts of those who've escaped North Korea, a very dangerous endeavor considering you're not allowed to leave with special exemption, to see what the regime is like.

And there is no Russian/Chinese/Korean coalition. China tolerate North Korea because they don't want American power on their doorstep but that's the extent of their interest in North Korea in recent decades. Russia's interest dropped away after the end of the Soviet Union and with it their financial support for the country. I doubt either is enthusiastic about the prospect of them having nuclear weapons. There is no nation state lending any real help to North Korea.

People can go too far the other way with this (healthy) skepticism of Western foreign policy and lending any moral or political legitimacy to North Korea is one such example. They're a immoral, dangerous and failed state.

---------- Post added at 16:04 ---------- Previous post was at 16:03 ----------

Knew I should have got that Tesla. :mad:

Re: North Korea
 

Actually you are right about him doing it to protect himself. But also not having America invading your country is good for the people too. You know how indiscriminately they bomb innocent people.

While North Korea has some bad stories about what happens to some people there, the same could be said for a lot of other countries worse, including some African countries for example. Also plenty that are allies of the west. Remember we will happily sell bombs and weapons to the Saudie's and keep their questionable stuff out of the news. It's our governments view that Russia and North Korea be the bad guys now, as they have nowhere else to immediately attack to keep the military industrial complex money flowing.

But the point being North Korea is not going to invade other countries even though America has tried to starve the country through sanctions, constantly attacking the country in this way. China is North Koreas biggest trade partner and keeps them in food and fuel as well as criticising the sanctions and action against them, much in the same way an ally would.[COLOR="Silver"]

Re: North Korea
 

There's still time ;)

Re: North Korea
 

I doubt it's good for them. The good for them would be reunification of Korea but South Korea don't want this yet because of the economic strain it would cause due the health and education of the North Korean population.

Russia and North Korea are not synonymous here. Whilst they're both a problem for the West the former is at least a functioning country with a rational, if aggressive, government. These things do exist on a scale and North Korea are at the end of that.

Most of these other states are at least functioning and do not develop nuclear weapons and pose a existential threat to their neighbors. Iran might be the closest that springs to mind but they're still relatively functioning. North Korea is something special here. It's not just 'our governments view' that North Korea are the bad guys, they are to anyone that takes even a passing interest in them.

America has not tried to 'starve' the country. That is the fault of the North Korean government. If it wasn't for America, South Korea and others in the 1990s then their famine would have been even worse. They stopped providing such assistance a few years ago but then started again last year. The country has been struggling since the collapse of the Soviet Union and their cash cow. They never developed any other economy or infrastructure, especially outside Pyongyang, and failed hard. The sanctions only hit the ruling classes as there is no developed wealth to lose outside of capital. China's interest is limited to stopping the place collapsing entirely and having a immigration and security crisis (and America) on their doorstep. They're not allies.

Re: North Korea
 

Trump tweeted this this morning.

How is it 'now far stronger and more powerful than before'? It takes years to renovate and modernise nuclear weapons, not six months.

No new Executive Orders or legislation has been signed/passed to make this happen. The only thing that has been done in this area was a Presidential Memorandum in January ordering a 30 day Readiness Review and a Nuclear Posture Review.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...s-armed-forces The only DoD funding request that's gone to Congress this year (in March) was for $30 billion in additional funding, and the only think in that linked to the Nuclear Posture Review was this -

http://comptroller.defense.gov/Porta..._Amendment.pdf Also, the US Military did not start the Nuclear Posture Review until April, and isn't due to deliver until at least October.

https://www.defensenews.com/space/20...t-to-look-for/

Re: North Korea
 

Trump is actually listening to his advisors a little bit now. They know that if he wants to say something, he will say it so they are giving him words to use that they think will be of benefit and told him that will make him better. Hence the "fire and fury" words he had to read from his notes.

Re: North Korea
 

North Korea is not a passive nation it has threatened every country near it bar Russia and China and has continued to develop it's ballistic missile program. China could have shut all this down long before now and we wouldn't be where we are now but they couldn't be bothered and just like the west underestimated NK. KJU doesn't care about the people of NK in the slightest he has continued the policies that do nothing but create hardship for his people enforced military service and a reliance on food imports to maintain a basic diet.

Both Russia and China are committing military forces to their respective borders with NK and it isn't to support NK as neither of them are prepared to take the losses both economically or in personnel that helping to defend NK would involve. Everyone ignored NK writing them off as that little state that's locked itself away from the world and never expecting them to be any real threat and even when they started down this road of missile development they were not taken seriously.

I would still put my money on surgical ground attacks to remove the threat rather then a more intense approach but i guess we will find out soon.

Re: North Korea
 

Wrong as always but way to go for taking what I said out of context Mr K. Try the whole line next time. :rolleyes:

Re: North Korea
 

Kim Jong Un is just posturing for the "benefit" of his own people.

The danger we have to watch for is an over-reaction by Donald Trump, who likes to be seen to be taking action hence the self-promoting use of social media.

Obama would have been a lot cooler about this and would simply have made arrangements to shoot down any US-bound missile coming from North Korea.

Kim Jong Un is merely trying to get attention for himself. Trump reacts to him, Obama would make quiet preparations but publicly he would simply ignore him or make a calm low key response.

Re: North Korea
 

You really think ignoring or making low key responses is the way to stop nuclear proliferation by dictators?

Re: North Korea
 

We are in this position because we have ignored NK not sure that's a practical strategy anymore.

Re: North Korea
 

Corbyn's right hand man Milne reckons that it's entirely logical for NK to have nuclear weapons, presumably because they're just the sort of deterrent they don't reckon Trident is... :spin:

Anyway if Trump is all talk then he won't be pressing any buttons any time soon so we're all ok.... ;)

Re: North Korea
 

At the moment, Kim Jong Un is just talking a good fight. We are at the sticks and stones stage. As long as the US has measures in place to shoot down any North Korean missiles there is no point getting worked up about it.

Talk is cheap. If Kim Jong Un launches the first missile he will be condemned by the world and the US will be within its rights to take him out as a danger to the world.Trump just has to stay calm and hold his nerve, confident that he has measures in place to protect the US against any missile attack.

---------- Post added at 12:11 ---------- Previous post was at 12:02 ----------

We wouldn't be ignoring North Korea we would be ignoring Kim Jong Un. Trump will have measures in place to shoot down missiles sent from North Korea.

If Trump does not respond to Kim Jong Un, who is trying to wind him up with belligerent talk, Kim Jong Un will be forced either to shut up or to do something.

The moment hostile action is taken the US and the world will respond. The launching of any weapon against the US is an act of war and we all know how good the US is at producing shock and awe when it needs to.

Like all these things we'll just have to wait until events play out.

Re: North Korea
 

We do not have a 100% gauranteed missile defence system anywhere in the world so that one missile could do horrendous damage and cause millions of casualties. Israel's iron shield is perhaps the best tested system currently and that isn't close to 100%. If NK continues to use the sort of rhetoric they are and then do something stupid the people will not be happy with a leader that say's "we were confident in our defences" and NK is talking specifics now in relation to a multi missile attack on Guam. If Russia or China were on the end of this type of rhetoric they wouldn't be listening to calls for calm and reason.

Re: North Korea
 

Should be good.

we need to keep our gob shut though. we're just a dot on the map. we always forget that when it comes to playing in charge.

Re: North Korea
 

Any ballistic missile attack heading for US territory will almost certainly result in a strategic nuclear response resulting in the destruction of the North Korean state as we know it. Interception of their missiles will merely be a footnote.

I think this is the point Trump is trying to make in a roundabout way.

Re: North Korea
 

China State TV: If Kim attacks Guam, they say he is on his own. But if US strikes first, they will intervene. They are against Regime change.

Re: North Korea
 

The solution has to come from China, they seem to be the only ones to have leverage of the N Korea regime. Can't see why its its in their interests to have the current instability on their doorstep. If there's a conflict they'll have millions of refugees flooding in.

Re: North Korea
 

BREAKING: North Korea fire a ballistic missile over the North of Japan in a highly provacative move, as it lands off the eastern coast of the country.

http://news.sky.com/story/alert-as-n...japan-11010829

Re: North Korea
 

Terrifying for Japan.

Apparently the initial signals only indicated a missile heading their way and sparked emergency notifications on everyone's phones telling them to head for 'sturdy buildings'.

There are also reports that immediately following the launch the US Government and primed retaliatory strikes. We were this close to a war.

I am not sure what the US and Japan can do here other than try to keep the situation calm. China will have to do something, cut of supplies maybe, but that risks isolating the regime further and giving them nothing to lose. We can't bomb the place to dust because they can easily level Seoul before we've taken them out.

Re: North Korea
 

Who would sanctions against North Korea hit? The little porkers at the top and the military are likely to have supplies stashed away or can get them. China are probably also not comfortable with having that instability that close. With the state of mind of the North Korean leadership it may not take much for China to become a target.

Re: North Korea
 

If they keep firing missiles towards Japan things will escalate quickly as no nation can just sit and allow another nation to routinely fire missiles towards them and both China and Russia will understand that. First sign that some form of military action is coming will likely be Russia and China distancing themselves from North Korea whilst increasing their military on the border. This is not a situation that can go on long and the fact that North Korea keeps doing these stupid acts will cause alarm in quite a few top offices that the NK leadership isn't acting in a way that leaves much room for options.

Most of the long range artillery that the north has capable of hitting Seoul will already be in place and known to the US and South Korea for rapid hits the only thing that complicates this is NK's nuclear arsenal. Many military headsheds made their feelings known that allowing NK to develop nukes was a massive mistake and they were spot on and the price for that mistake may turn out to be huge.

Re: North Korea
 

BREAKING: North Korea State says it's created an Hydrogen Bomb that it says can be inserted in to a long range Ballistic Missile.

Re: North Korea
 

ALERT: North Korea Earthquake sparks Nuclear test fears.

http://news.sky.com/story/north-kore...fears-11018555

Re: North Korea
 

Sadly North Korea is a ticking timebomb which will have to be sorted out sooner rather then later IMO.

Re: North Korea
 

'Appeasement' and sanctions don't seem to be having the desired effect. All that's lacking is a piece of paper accompanied by a declaration of 'peace in our time'...