Simple Question of International Import

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

What are the odds that this gets a LOT worse by the traditional spring time offensive season when a young general's fancy turns to invasion?

Brief timeline:

North Korea is accused of torpedoing a South Korean warship.

South Korea fires at North Korean fishing boats crossing the maritime border North Korea refuses to recognize.

North Korea is revealed to have highly modern facilities for nuclear material enrichment.

Not to mention, North Korea is facing the challenge of passing along the regime to a third generation of the Kim family.

North Korea is known for rattling its sabre and demanding to have attention paid to it when it is being ignored, but this is looking like a very different than recent years -- South Korea really has to retaliate...and half of South Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area within artillery range of the DMZ.

So a question -- is North Korea suicidal or are they betting that this behavior can get them some more winter grain shipments?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/-wanderer-/]

(which it probably should)

I dunno... I don't know that the world or Koreans would be better served with the two countries reuniting. It would be East and West Germany x 100 with regard to how difficult that would be. My guess is that you'll see less and less drive to reunite in SK as the older generation dies off and living people don't remember a united Korea.

[http://users.livejournal.com/-wanderer-/]

The fact that we have not placed automated gun towers on the US Mexican border shows just how false this statement is.

China does not place automated gun towers on its borders, either.

The US is far from a saint but in the last 40 years it has grown very squeamish about civilian casualties on either side and clearly does not have the stomach to actively commit genocide even on a small scale any longer.

But if the comparison is China, the US has still killed more civilians (in war).

[http://users.livejournal.com/-wanderer-/]

Yeah, that was exactly what I thought. They pulled crazy shenanigans to build up Kim Jong Il's cult of personality in the 90s, IFRC.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

People of DPRK support their government, isn't it? It seems they like this style of life, if Kims are still in charge.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yeah, yeah... Elections, elections, elections.
Is Barak Obama a legally chosen President?
Did he perform all of pre-elections obeys?
Is it true that the most (who voted for Obama) of the America people want to collapse their country? I think not. So why you have elected a man who's running to collapse? Is there any guarantee that the next elections will drive the American nation away from collapse?

BTW, DPRK (according to Wikipedia) also have had an elections in 1998, 2005 and 2008

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

And where are all of these Ottomans, Romans, British Empire, German Empire?

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

In fact, that's the consequence, but not the source of a problem

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

What is democracy? They live the way they like using their own resources, no matter how it is called.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

There is nothing of "friendship" in global politics. USA closed global markets to NK so they physically cannot reach mass production efficiency. USA did it by threatning the world with their armed forces, not because some are 'bad' and others are 'good'.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

They're interconnected.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

They live the way Kim likes. Has anyone asked any of the remaining 24 million North Koreans?

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

No, as I can see :)
Where are these citizens of Rome?

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Yes. If it's YOUR ocean. ROK was warned not to do so, they tried.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Mostly Chinese and local manufacturing. You're right here.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

Man, thats simply... crazy.

Ever heard of brainwashing? And/or fear of political persecution?

I think you have. Given your apparent origin.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Indeed. That will be their own decision.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Not only heard ;)
I'm learning to handle it inside this community as well.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Is Barak Obama a legally chosen President?

Are you contending that the last presidential elections were, by chance, rigged, therefore illegitimate? That's some pretty huge conspiracy we're talking here. Got some evidence? We're about facts here, right?

Did he perform all of pre-elections obeys?

Obeys? Didn't get that part too well. I assume you meant promises. Well, that's a problem. Does any politician ever fulfill 100% of their promises? What do they do promises for, during elections?

Returning to Kim - he says he'll bring prosperity to his people. Has he done it? And if not, who would hold him accountable for failing on his promises, and more importantly, how? Is that possible at all, since he holds all power tools in his country?

Is there any guarantee that the next elections will drive the American nation away from collapse?

Is there ever a guarantee for what would or would not happen in the future? Who can guarantee the future?

BTW, DPRK (according to Wikipedia) also have had an elections in 1998, 2005 and 2008

And let me guess. 100% of everybody voted for dear Kim. Right? Everybody just adores him so much they're afraid to even question him why they're so poor and starving. Love is crazy, isn't it?

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

Doesnt make any sense for ROK to shoot at NK first. They're so scared shitless of NK they wouldnt even dare call them names.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

To each according to their respective biases ;)

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

1. No. I believe Barak Obama is legally elected (according current laws).
2. Thanks for corrections, I've meant promises of course. Adolf Hitler, for example, did. Kim fulfiled his promises. People of NK live much better than 10 years ago (AFAIK). Sure, it's looks like latest Soviet Union on photos, but that's just the question of time.
3. God can :) Just follow his regulations, and everything will be Ok (with the highest possible degree of probability).
4. Have no information on that point to be honest. But it looks like yes. I don't see the problem here. This is not the selection between two or more candidates. It's mostly the procedure of people acceptance of the previously chosen leader.

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Sure. Chatting with you guys help me a lot to see different views of an event. Every message received is biased to accomodate transmitter's goals. But there is always the true part of event and a noise covering it, we just need to filter it up with the right stuff.
Thanks for your thoughts!

[taurus-1.livejournal.com]

Put any country leader (Barak Obama for example) in place of Kim Jong Il -- and this sentence will still be true. The only difference is in scale. USA says "give me more resources -- oil, cheap workers, minerals etc), and have a lot of nuclear weapons already. Nothing changes in general. This is a major rule of the politics (AFAIR). You're strong -- and you rule. You're weak -- and you're ruled. DPRK is strong, while ROK is weak.
DPRK is a subject of global politics, ROK is just an object of it.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

Pretty much. I think you might find this (http://community.livejournal.com/talk_politics/437151.html) interesting.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

People of NK live much better than 10 years ago (AFAIK). Sure, it's looks like latest Soviet Union on photos, but that's just the question of time.

There's some inconsistency here. First you say they live better than they used to (for which by the way you haven't provided any citation/evidence, as have you neither for any of your other claims) - and then you say it's a question of time (which implies it still hasn't happened but is bound to happen sometime in the future). Notice the discrepancy?

God can :) Just follow his regulations, and everything will be Ok

Which god exactly? There's no god in Juche ideology, you talked about the Koreans not wanting anyone to impose their foreign beliefs and systems on Koreans, didn't you?

It's mostly the procedure of people acceptance of the previously chosen leader.

It would only be fair if people were offered several alternatives to choose from. They weren't.