How do you feel about North and South Korea possibly going to war with one another?

I hope they don’t. There are enough wars going on already and enough insanity out there. Those crazy Koreans better smarten up. Haven’t they’ve learned from all the strife they’ve been through in the last 100 years??

I hope they back down too, but I think that Kim Jong Il may not feel able to now. He seems very wrapped up in his “image”.

@MRSHINYSHOES I also hope they don’t! There are millions of lives at stake and it just seems like extreme nonsense. Also, I need to correct what I wrote in my post *South Korea is wanting to take the shots and North Korea is promising to retaliate. I’m just so baffled by this, my apologies!

@tigerlilly2 Yes, it is extreme nonsense. And it’s scary too. If a war breaks out there, it could spell dire consequences because some of the major superpowers are involved over there (unfortunately!).

I think also that the CIA should have listened to Bruce Bueno de Mesquita.

Same old world drama since the dawn of man.

Hope for the best and don’t let your Corn flakes get soggy over the news.

@Coloma True and I am trying not to worry but as the daughter of a military veteran and someone in the process of joining the military, my heart goes out to these soldiers.

@tigerlilly2

Of course. I didn’t mean to sound flippant, but…I just don’t get into world drama, there’s far too much to keep up on, and it will go on far after we are all gone. lol

I find it amusing since North Korea literally has no one backing them currently, and as I am of Korean descent, I would like to see this nearly 60 year long conflict come to a close and Korea reunited. And the actual chances of both sides resuming the war from where they left is minimal actually. It’s probably just another saber rattling contest (yes, another) in which both sides will eventually cool off but will be able to exert even more dictatorial control over their civilians via fear of the other side.

But if war does breakout, this time it’ll be bittersweet, Korea’s civil war will most likely finally come to a close and I think everyone will be glad to see international tensions end in one part of the world, but lives will be lost to achieve this, but what noble endeavor that shaped the path of mankind did not come at a price as such?

@Winters war in the Korean peninsula is a truly horrific prospect, i think we should put our personal political persuasions aside and pray for peace with all our heart, i really don’t want to see screaming naked Asian kids running around the street engulfed in fire for Christmas.

I don’t believe we are on the eve of destruction.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard i don’t think the Universe is going to explode either, lets hope it’s merely dick waving, let’s hope both sides square up for the cameras, bark at each other a bit and back off.

@mammal, I agree with you.

Looks like we’re right too. Dick waving as usual.

FLASH: North Korea army says it is not worth reacting to provocation from South Korea’s exercise – KCNA

Called your bluff, lil kim

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard good call, at least give the following decade an outside chance of peace.

@mammal, one can hope.

Not going to happen, neither side has anything to gain. As others have said the “wonely guy” (Kim Jong) likes to rattle his blunt little sabre occasionally. He’s showing off again, this time to his putrid offspring…....heir apparent.

War is ugly and not good, of course.

@Blackberry good for business though.

How come no one is talking about the fact that we keep intigating North Korea?
Along with South Korea, we have been helping with live-fire drills, which North Korea warned each time that if drills were done in that area, which is a disputed area, they would retaliate.

I dont understand why we think because we are America, we can do whatever we want all around the world and get a positive response. We never want to see the other side of the story. We occupy all of these different countries and when people get mad that we are occupying their countries and retaliate, we call it terrorism and lose all of our freedoms. We really need to start putting ourselves in other peoples shoes. How would we feel if China or Russia was doing drills in the Gulf of Mexico? How would we feel if Iran was doing war drill down by Mexico with Mexico?

I am American, but am becoming less tolerant to the ignorance and lack of history going on in this country. Americans accept the fact that we are an “empire,” and somehow we have the right to tell other countries how to live, who to trade with, what laws to pass, and even who their next leader will be and Americans think this is ok. This is not ok. We can not continue to live the way we are living. We have so many problems in this country and yet we are supposed to be the “moral authority” across the world? Seriously?

@chris6137, We never want to see the other side of the story.

I’m curious. What do you propose is Kim Jong Il’s “side of the story?”

@chris6137
This is nothing new, and I fully support the naval exercises that keep sea areas open, even when belligerent nations proclaim that “they own” parts of the sea. We went through the same kind of bullshit with “Colonel” Kaddafi in Libya over the Gulf of Sidra, which he claims is “Libyan”. It’s not, but if we accede to his claim, and Kim Jong’s claims of sovereignity over parts of the ocean that touch North Korea (or China’s infrequent claims, for that matter), then we may as well not even have a Navy.

For our part, we never liked Soviet submarines off our coasts, either, though we knew they were there. The oceans aren’t free because we all play nice, they are free to the degree that tinhorn dictators are put in their place and reminded that it’s not their call. As the USA would be reminded were it to make similarly foolish claims.

@chris6137 We’re in the wrong? I seem to recall a ship that was torpedoed without provocation and a village shelled and people killed for very little reason. Give me a break.

North and South Korea have been “lining up against one another” since the 1940’s (or earlier). In fact, the border between the two is one of the most heavily fortified on earth.

As for them “going to war”, I believe that they have technically been in a state of war since the Korean conflict as there was never a formal end to the war, only a negotiated cease fire.

In short, nothing has changed and business will go on as usual unless one of them decides to do something stupid and start shooting again.

I sincerely hope that North Korea is ready to go to war with the U.S., if this occurs. since our troops are in Sourth Korea, any attack will involve the U.S.

I believe N. Korea is just a bigmouth on the surface and a chicken at-heart.

No way for N. Korea to win and they know it.

@chris6137 You speak of “ignorance and lack of history”, however you seem to lack a grasp of the larger context of global conflict and how America, or for that matter any of the other major players, fit into that context.

Before you buy into the idea of America as “the evil imperialist empire”, I suggest you consider taking a few courses of study in the history of the world since WWI in the early 1900s up through today. Pay particular attention to philosophies regarding governance and the attitudes towards individuals as citizens vs. subjects. During that course of study you should consider reminding yourself that all of the major players are/have been well aware that with growing technological capability war is no longer about control over chunks of territory, but rather about control of the whole enchilada.

Now ask yourself what system you would like your children’s, children’s, children to live under. To me, a system founded on individual freedom and self determination is an excellent choice. Also, don’t forget that although we have been in a relative period of calm since the end of WWII, the war still rages on in much more insidious ways, and IMHO it is in our best interest, and, in fact, the best interest of the world, for America to continue to directly oppose communist dictators like Kim Jong Il as well as continue to provide aid to others who share our desire to see such dictators fail in their desire to thrive.

North Korea does not have nuclear weapons. They have tested a couple of very crude fission bombs that have had very small yields – and they don’t have a delivery system for any others they might have built.

NK has a long history of threatening war as a way of getting attention from the international community. Most of the time, they want aid, and they figure rattling sabers is the best way to get it. Any shooting war between NK and SK would be over in a matter of days, with NK’s armed forces and government disarrayed and defeated. However, this would destabilize the entire region and devastate the South’s economy. What we saw with the reunification of Germany in the early 90s would pale in comparison to the problems faced by a reunified Korea – especially under the circumstances of war.

Both sides know this. There won’t be a war.

Anxious, like all wars.

I am just glad Sarah Palin ain’t calling the shots.

@chris6137
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard

well to both of you i would say, let us put aside sympathies and aversions, for a moment, i’m sick to death with both parties ideological positions, Kim Jong clings to power like a dog to a bone and is complicit to his peoples suffering for the sake of National pride and independence, neither trait is endearing,

As for South Korea they have no national pride at all and their leadership is a shameless troupe of marionettes whose strings extend all the way to Washington. Actually they are the real puppets, despite the images of the thunder bird parody of Kim Jong.

Korea should be a unified ethnic entity with the richest, most robust democracy of all. But instead we are faced with two superpowers endlessly pressurising the Korean people toward another particularly uncivil war.

So Kim Jong put out to pasture and American bases decommissioned, a fair exchange in my opinion, the same goes for Cuba, Democracy in Cuba, but with a simultaneous end to the embargo and a conclusion to the Guantanamo lease.

Considering the vast majority of world leaders are all sociopaths at heart, well…what’s the big surprise when threat of war breaks out?

Duh! lolol

@Coloma i don’t believe that.

@mammal

I’m not asking you too, no problem.
But..there is more than a grain of truth in my words.

Kim Jong is textbook.

@Coloma still not convinced, sorry… history doesn’t bear that out, thankfully. We have yet to witness the nuclear suicide bomber, thanks be, to a fragment of humanitarian impulse that survives even the most maniacal of leaders. What is infinitely more dangerous is the assumption that any leader is in fact that crazy and thus brings about the most unwarranted death and destruction upon them and their citizens. see Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

if only we could but resolve our differences along these lines or these :)

As a Korean, I would like to discuss a few points I saw brought up since I last answered.

Sure there may not be anything to gain persay, but one of the greatest desires of the people both North and South is to reunite the country, the trouble is under what government.

That “Koreans have no national pride” (whoever said it) is an ignorant statement that clearly shows that you do not have an understanding of either the people, the culture, or history of Korea. Koreans are a very proud people, if you meet one, you’d probably see that. South Koreans are also very new to the concept of democracy, having struggled with military dictators and corrupt officials for the last 60 years, the current president of South Korea seemed like a good choice at the elections but after he took office he showed his true colors and that he was the world’s bitch (pardon my french) which caused millions of Koreans to storm the capital in what was at first peaceful protest but once the government unleashed aggressive (by aggressive I mean riot police equipped with brass knuckles and water cannons capable of giving a concussion and popping your eyes out of your head) force to “quell” the “riots which were undermining the president’s authority” the protests in turn turned violent.

3) South Koreans actually want the US military there (just don’t take their women or they shun them like they did my Mom). It’s a reassuring presence, and we do not use that force to force South Koreans to do what we want. They are an independent nation state politically. Yes, you see riots of college students protesting the US’s presence, but the few times we said, “okay, lets start withdrawing,” an even larger portion of the Korean population clamors together all but begging the US to keep our military presence there. And we have with the 2nd ID (SECOND TO NONE! sorry my Dad was part of the 2nd ID so it was completely necessary to do that).

Also, we are truly the only Nation really involved with this conflict at all currently. China has shown tremendous disgust towards North Korea these past 15 years, as well as nearly every other nation through out the world, indicating that they plan to either stay out of it for the most part, or support South Korea.

i hope they don’t,oh no,BigBang must move out from South Korea then ^^

Isn’t it a little coincidental that we recently signed a trade agreement with South Korea and are now instigating North Korea? Who would have the most to gain by a unified Korea and an extra 23 million people? My opinions is the corporations.

“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don’t want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” Hermann Goering

How many times, over and over again, are we going to fall victim to this quote? We are bombing Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. We have troops all over the world. We are not fighting for freedom or democracy. We are fighting for corporations. How are we not the threat to the world?

I would love for someone to show some serious proof on here, that North Korea torpedoed a South Korean submarine or that North Korea shot at South Korea without being provoked. Did we ever think that maybe, just maybe, we are victims of propaganda?

@yobob
Freedom and Self-determination?
America to continue to directly oppose communist dictators?
What America do you live in? Those things sound great on paper, but are the complete opposite in real life.
How do you explain our support of freedom and opposition to communist dictators, when almost every product we buy, comes from China or Saudi Arabia?

@chris6137

“How do you explain our support of freedom and opposition to communist dictators, when almost every product we buy, comes from China or Saudi Arabia?”

It’s because in an ever shrinking world isolationism is a loosing game. The best way to avoid future conflict and to promote stability is to create mutual best interest. China and Saudi Arabia have much less interest in a shooting war with America at this point in time simply because we are there best customer, and being there best customer gives us a bit more leverage when it comes to pushing for incremental improvements in human rights. Yes, China has a very poor track record when it comes to those issues, but as a major customer our voice is a bit more audible than any of the toothless global human rights organizations out there.

“It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea” – Robert Anton Wilson