Surprised there isn't a thread on this, apologies if there is!



Looks like all this 'rhetoric' may have some substance, gulp.



The North Korean army says it has final approval to launch "merciless" military strikes on the US, the official KCNA news agency said.



The statement quoted the General Staff of the Korean People's Army as saying it was formally informing Washington that reckless US threats would be "smashed by .... cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means".



"The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified," the statement said.



"The US had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation.



The statement said a war could break out on the Korean peninsula "today or tomorrow".



"The moment of explosion is approaching fast," it said.





The North's rhetoric has been met by a display of US military strength

"In view of this situation, the KPA General Staff in charge of all operations will take powerful practical military counteractions in succession."

They are nutters but as deperate nutters they are dangerous. The big danger of course is China's position in all this, which I am unclear of.

I think China are far less supportive of North Korea than in the past. They appear much more concerned with Taiwan/Japan and their own economy and certainly wouldn't stand with the DPRK if they continue on toward war for no apparent reason.

If the North Koreans are serious, which I doubt but if they are, then they're making a huge mistake. This kind of war is one certain Americans in the Pentagon have been dying for. A chance to use the full might of their staggering nal.

If anybody fancies a holiday with a difference my friend has a travel company that organises trips to Pyongyang.



[urlhttp://www.lupinetravel.co.uk/[/url

Nothing will happen, NK are just making a lot of noise hoping it'll keep the Yanks away, over playing their hand comes to mind.



They don't have long range missiles and even China and Russia would think twice picking a fight with America, a relatively insignificant country like N.Korea wouldn't last 5 minutes if America threw everything at them.



Considering America was relatively reserved when fighting Iraq and Afghanistan (In America's definition of reserved) they'd be bat crazy to kick off with America.



I suspect some of this is KJU trying to look as strong as his father in the NK public's eyes.

It's pretty much all for internal consumption. N. Korea seems to be run like a compulsory national Daily Mail collective; most of its citizens will likely swallow this wholesale and actually believe that fat boy is the godlike ultimate world leader and their country the cock of the world. The rest won't dare even think the contrary, a bit like watching the compulsory NK masses trying to outgrieve each other at state funerals.



Weird place. I bet no Romanians head in that direction.

It seems that experts do not believe that NK has anything like the capacity to launch long-range strikes.



[url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/german-commentary-on-decision-in-north-korea-to-restart-nuclear-plant-a-892031.html#ref=rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitterSome snippets of analysis here, from a range of German papers[/url, which give a quite interesting view.



[iSüddeutsche Zeitung[/i's question is particularly interesting: "But beyond the riddle of his motives there is a greater problem that makes the latest saber rattling sound particularly dangerous. What, pray tell, counts as reality for this young dictator? Is the new commander, amid all the bluster, still a rational actor? Or does he see the world through a lens made especially for him? Perception is everything in the end, and nowhere in the world is there a more idiosyncratic view of things than in North Korea. For 65 years, the regime has lived in a fantasy world. It's possible that Kim believes in this world so much that he would be willing to fight for it – making him a victim of the regime's own propaganda."

I suspect its a dangerous game to try to ratchet up tensions to gain US aid in return for disarmament. In other words, a sign of desperation allied, perhaps, to a younger leader wishing to embark on a degree of modernisation without losing face - in effect by trying to get and sell it as a victory over the US.



Another possibility is that they will try to attack Japan with missiles and gamble (or maybe know?) that China would be supportive. That would be very dangerous.

I have equal concern for North Korea's nuclear capability and that of Castleford.

It is said that there are divisions within the North Korean leadership and that this bluster by Chubby boy is a way of showing how strong he is and that's he's standing up to those nasty Americans. The USA would wipe North Korea off the face of the earth so quickly the North Koreans wouldn't have an inkling as to what happened.

I believe Gideon is manipulating KJU's mind, creating this whole NK/USA situation just to try and detract from the budget. I wish they'd just stop threatening and actually DO something though, the news is relatively boring these days

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/04/north-korea-trident-david-cameron?CMP=twt_fdYou'd best have a word with this barmpot then[/url



Fighting lunacy with idiocy