OK, Worst Case Scenario... North Korea is stupid enough to launch toward the US or ...

[Rosco T.]

.. they smuggle in some suitcase devices to go off in major city(s)

Missiles, shot down before they get halfway here.. the other.. not so much.

So, worst case scenario... the US has to go on major alert, state of readiness, build up of equipment/manpower....






Who will be the first idiot in the GOP demanding cuts to 'pay for it'????

[Drale]

1. Na if this kid attacks he's going to attack directly

no suitcase bombs, its gonna be missiles falling into the sea of japan or a few miles into south korea.

[Rosco T.]

2. Yeah, I agree on that, but...

.. there will still be some response, so my original question still stands.

[longship]

3. They probably have no functional nuke.

Let alone a deliverable one. Let alone a suitcase one.

Their three tests show zero indication of success. And believe me, that's not something anybody can hide.

Furthermore, even if they had a successful test, it would still be a long way from having a deliverable weapon, let alone one that would fit their small to medium range missiles -- which themselves do not appear to function very well.

But presuming that they had weaponized a functional nuke and loaded it on a missile, if they launched it at Soeul (for instance), I would worry more about it coming down in Pyongyang than coming even close to South Korea. Such is their technology.

The US, South Korea, Japan, China, and others in the region have to. But I trust them to do what they have to do to calm jitters. It's what governments do.

So they put ABMs in Guam so people their can sleep at night. They send three destroyers near Korean waters. But they know what's really up here. And it certainly is not a suitcase nuke, or probably not any nuke.

Why would anybody else take anything Pyongyang says seriously?

[upaloopa]

4. I remember the Cuban missile crisis. People were too busy going to

confession and shitting their pants to be political.
I imagine if the shit really is about to hit the fan tea party patriots will be hiding under their beds. They probably would be praying Obama saves their no good asses.

[Gregorian]

5. Maybe the kid's in trouble, and this is the only way to prevent a coup

Or he could just be flexing his muscles after being newly hatched, and will soon settle down.

The whole thing is weird.

[ColesCountyDem]

6. I'd bet my last dollar that behind-the-scenes talks are following this script, to a large degree:

U.S. to P.R.C.-- "If Kim jumps, we're lancing that festering boil on the buttocks of the world he calls 'North Korea' once and for all".

P.R.C. to U.S.-- "OK, but we're going to have to make the obligatory scary noises, if you do".

U.S. to P.R.C.-- "We understand and accept that. Our troops will stop at the Yalu River".

P.R.C. to U.S.: "We believe you, but what about your allies in the South?".

U.S. to P.R.C.: "They'll do as they're told, and like it".

P.R.C. to U.S.: "Deal! *shaking hands*".

[daybranch]

7. why not

pay him off to leave the country and live a safe secure existence in China using American dollars? I know all the rambos who never fought will find this demeaning but for many veterans who have nothing to prove may find this pragmatic solution better than the alternatives. We gave the ruler of Iraq no choice and we ended up killing many many Iraqis and for what- bragging rights? I guess the question is is either country acting like the adult in the room or our egos destroying our reason? How many North Koreans are we willing to kill for our pride? Like Vietnam do we have to kill them to save them?

[DFW]

8. He'll never take the deal

Unless, that is, we provide him with a lifetime supply of video games and live feed to all Chicago Bulls games. Without those two clauses, we should prepare for war.

Pragmatically speaking, we are not going to send our armed forces into a country with a standing army of 1.2 million soldiers who know that the only ones who get enough to eat in their country are the army. If the North sends 750,000 men over the border at once, Seoul falls. At least temporarily. But to get there, they'd have to make some very visible moves to get 750,000 men in place, and we'd be sending in swarms of drones long before they were ready.

There have been jokes about the move, but there may be some substance behind them. The tests so far have yielded less than spectacular results. Maybe Kim really is fed up with the results of his missile failures landing on land where people can see them.

[Rosco T.]

9. If they send 750,00 men over the border...

300,000 will defect before you can blink