Is the latest news on North Korea propaganda?

I wish this information was more available…after the World Cup Horse and Pony show we saw from those guys, I’d love to get an update on the craziness that comes out of their news from time to time.

I’m not sure. The bigger the lie, the higher the likelihood our brain will go “Well they couldn’t lie about that – could they? Someone would say something…”

I hope not. I’m not fond of yet another war starting. We have enough unresolved continuous wars as it is. I’d like to hope that both sides will use diplomacy and come to a meeting.

The last thing the current US administration wants is another war. We’re stretched too thin as it is. It’s precisely because we’ve got our hands full right now that the North knows it can get away with its aggressive behavior. South Korea doesn’t want another war either—Seoul is within range of conventional North Korean artillery and would be devastated.

N Korea apparently has nukes, and the leadership is crazy enough to use them. The last thing anyone would want is to provoke that kind of insanity.

The last thing the US administration wants is a war where they lose more casualties in one day, than they have suffered during the entire Afghan/Iraq campaign. i’m no expert, but North Korea look like a handful, militarily speaking.

Why America is creating a scenario whereby the slightest mistake could cause the region to erupt is beyond belief. Maybe China should send a couple of subs to Cuba, where does it end?

@mammal America isn’t creating this scenario, North Korea is. But it is probably just gamesmanship on their part.

If you are referring to the US decision to proceed with joint naval exercises with South Korea—the first Korean War may have started partly because we allowed our enemies to think that we would not defend South Korea from aggression. We must not make that mistake again.

Again North Korea is a lost cause and their government knows it and they are unconsciously creating an end to their crazy system. It is just a matter of time before it pops unless everyone helps them create another society through reconciliation and massive help and that is not going to happen.

@submariner so you think adding a Super carrier to the area is a good idea?

by the way it’s not gamesmanship it’s called brinkmanship, and it’s not really a game, except to people living comfortably far enough away to enjoy the spectacle.

No one lives that far away.. I agree but that is not going to stop North Korea from acting like idiots. They will just find another way to creater chaos.

@richard444 it is a circus of idiots, i couldn’t tell any of them apart to be honest, this could well be Obama’s Cuban missile crisis though.

agreed

@mammal Brinkmanship is the more literal term. Gamesmanship (“the art of winning games by using various ploys and tactics to gain a psychological advantage”) is more metaphorical. You are correct that brinkmanship is the better term, especially when dealing with those who can’t grasp metaphor, or who quibble over semantics in lieu of providing substantive responses.

I think making it clear to all involved that we will stand by our allies is a good idea. I think making the North Korean military establishment realize that they stand to lose a lot if they continue to support the Kim dynasty is also a good idea. Whether sending a carrier group is the best way to do that or not is “beyond my pay grade”, to use Obama’s phrase, but I can imagine more creative responses.

The reports are probably genuine, but it takes two sides to argue, and I think we tend to see more of the “bad stuff” that the North Koreans are doing than the “bad stuff” the South Koreans are doing. It’s the work of the West in promoting this “one-sided” story. I also don’t like how the U.S. is upsizing the military exercises there with South Korea——again, not minding its own business, but I also don’t like how China isn’t doing enough in reprimanding or at least having a firm discussion with North Korea.

@submariner gamesmanship sounds like a euphemism, to me, i was merely emphasising the gravity of the situation which most people are too dazed or lazy or unimaginative to fully grasp. North Korea have been preparing for this war for 50 plus years. They are ready and willing, and if there is any justice in the world, America will suffer a thrashing, one that is well overdue. Alternatively, America could quit it’s brutish Gunboat diplomacy and seek more civilised resolutions to their political differences, which are based upon a virulently psychotic attitude to communism, which is virtually dead anyways.

4 people are dead, 4 too many, that counts as a border skirmish, nothing more. it certainly does not warrant this kind of build up.

I believe the stuff so far has been legitimate, from what I’ve seen. I was really worried the sinking of the South Korean warship a while back was going to be the start of something. I worry like you that there’s someone behind the scenes pulling the strings to move all parties involved closer to war. Especially the sudden revelation of the uranium plant to a known expert feels like it could be engineered by a small group with the intent of raising the alarm.

Does that make it propaganda? I’m not sure. To me it seems there has be an element of justifying something based loosely on the facts but with unfounded conclusions for it be propaganda and no one is justifying anything to US public as of yet. So far the whole situation seems to have been handled with some restraint outside of the North and South Korea.

No other country/group in the world worries me as much as North Korea. They have military power, history, instability, madness in charge, and the backing of China. It’s like the US and China each put one of their little brothers into a small room and said “you guys don’t fight, but if you just happen to, we’ve got your back”...

If a group in China wants to call the US out, this is the easiest way to do it.

If someone in North Korea wants to prove some sort of dominance, take offense to a slight, or is just convinced of their own infallibility, South Korea is the easiest target and it seems to cascade from there.

So while it doesn’t seem the US is itching for an excuse to fight, one of the other parties involved might be and unfortunately it seems the US doesn’t have the desire or ability stay out of it.

The whole thing worries me more than the Middle East ever has. I really hope nothing more comes of it.

@mammal – I agree that the US has been trigger happy lately, especially with the attacks and wars resulting from 9/11, and share your feeling that war is not a good solution. But, to say a military thrashing is long overdue seems to show a far more callous attitude than the simple word change you’re accusing others of here. A military thrashing of the US would involve tens of thousands of deaths for soldiers on both sides. It would be a world changing event like most people have not seen in their lifetime. To say it’s deserved or overdue in the same post you accuse others missing the gravity of the situation seems either vengeful or myopic.

funk daddy, you said diplomatically what I wasn’t able to. Thanks.

Iam one of the most anti-war people I know and my gut is saying that the US is really not looking for a fight with North Korea. That doesn’t mean there won’t be one, but I don’t think we are looking to get engaged in a third unpopular, unsatisfactory military conflict while we are economically bleeding to death.