Korean peninsula at night. Notice anything?

[mickeyd]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811

[astromeria]

That whole Axis if Evil thing seems to have run its course. How about Army of Darkness? :P

[d]

that picture speaks volumes

[brewer12345]

It's sad, really. I was struck by what an Australian official said in reaction to the nuke test. Words to the effect that he was outraged that the regime was dependent on the kindness of strangers to avoid severe famine, yet they were expending resources on nuclear weapons.

[Patrick]

Looks like their plutonium hasn't gone into power generating reactors!

[Gumby]

A great place for stargazing - no light pollution.

[Nords]

Originally Posted by d

that picture speaks volumes

If you drag a sonar hydrophone up the eastern seaboard of South & North Korea you only hear background biologics. Of course many nations fish that area, including Japan & South Korea, and they've pretty evenly depleted the sea.

But if you drag that same hydrophone up the western seaboard of South & North Korea it's background quiet (south of the 38th parallel) and teeming with noise (north of the 38th). It's almost as if the fish are carrying charts and know exactly which side of the line doesn't have anybody fishing in it.

[Alex]

the photo shows how evil communism really is.

[retire@40]

If it's true they shut off the electricity at 9pm until morning, how do these people keep their fridge/freezer cold overnight so food doesn't spoil (if there is any food in the fridge) and what do the 24 hours emergency services (like hospitals) do?

If people are really treated this badly, why would the governments of the world allow that to continue? I guess when we are all comfortable in our own little world, everything is OK.

[lets-retire]

Originally Posted by retire@40

If people are really treated this badly, why would the governments of the world allow that to continue? I guess when we are all comfortable in our own little world, everything is OK.

1. The Korean War.
2. Sanctions were in place, but were lowered for our country during a past presidency.

[mathjak107]

how short does that guy have to be to have a napoleanic complex in korea?

[lazyday]

said Mr Rumsfeld.
"It says it all. There's the south, the same people as the north, the same resources north and south, and the big difference is in the south it's a free political system and a free economic system.
"The people in the north are starving, their growth is stunted. It's a shame, a tragedy."

Been watching lots of clips of Daily Show and Colbert recently, and getting a one-dimensional picture of our administration as pure incompetance and pure evil. Nice to see a quote that makes some sense to me.

Originally Posted by brewer12345

regime was dependent on the kindness of strangers to avoid severe famine, yet they were expending resources on nuclear weapons.

I thought their putting resources into nukes was an investment in increasing the kindness of strangers. Like a scary version of an old Peter Sellers movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/

[Bruce]

I don't want to downplay the danger posed by North Korea and their weapons.

However their country is about the size of Mississippi and their economy is about size of Rhode Islands's economy. 8)

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by Bruce

I don't want to downplay the danger posed by North Korea and their weapons.

However their country is about the size of Mississippi and their economy is about size of Rhode Islands's economy. 8)

True, but...

Even without "the bomb", the real threat North Korea poses is to South Korea. NK has thousands of artillery pieces located along the DMZ, mostly hidden in caves and other hardened sites. Seoul, the 5th largest city in the world with a populaton of over 10 million, is less than 30 miles from North Korea and is within firing range of a majority of these weapons. No need for nukes to kill thousands or even tens of thousands if Kim Jung Ill has a bad day and decides to take it out on his southern neighbors.

So NK may not be an immediate threat to us, but I don't think that is much comfort to the soccer moms in Seoul.

"North Korea has an estimated 13,000 artillery sites stationed in secure bunkers, many of which are aimed at targets in and around the South Korean capital, Seoul. Such a large collection of artillery could potentially drop 300,000 shells per hour on the city.
Indeed, the presence of such a large force is seen by many as a significant threat. However, due to the fact that U.S. officials believe every fourth round has a chemical tip, the artillery arm of the DPRK military could inflict a considerable amount of casualties upon the population of South Korea."

[Leonidas]

Originally Posted by REWahoo!

Even without "the bomb", the real threat North Korea poses is to South Korea.

I remember reading an analysis of why we probably won't attack NK and the main deterent was that Seoul would be destroyed - along with the millions of people that live there. The Kim dictatorship has impoverished the country by spending every penny of hard currency they can find on the military.

The world's attempts to deal with Kim and company has been a disaster - mostly because he is a solid nutcase. Ex-Prez Carter brokered the deal in which we gave zillions in aid to NK if they would promise to give up their nuke program. That worked well - Kim took the money with one hand and paid it out into the arms program with the other. The US has worked to keep the other countries in the area non nuke, and if NK really does have a nuke the ability to keep South Korea, Taiwan and even Japan out of the nuke club is in doubt. China even gave incredible aid and favorable trading deals to Kim to try and prevent a war on it's doorstep.

The result was that Kim has been playing his bad boy with a nuke status to the hilt. NK was the first nation to ever walk away from the nuclear non proliferation treaty and, in effect, tell the world to kiss its ass.

After Carter worked out the deal in the 90's to not block trade with NK and allow food aid to enter the country, Kim still went on to starve millions of his own people to death. The Koreans admit to about a quarter of a million, but others estimate as many as 3-4 million.

[Nords]

Originally Posted by REWahoo!

However, due to the fact that U.S. officials believe every fourth round has a chemical tip, the artillery arm of the DPRK military could inflict a considerable amount of casualties upon the population of South Korea."

Thank goodness the intel people haven't exaggerated or overblown the threat in hopes of getting more money for better sensors or paying for more HUMINT... why, these might be weapons of mass destruction!

[samclem]

Like many Americans, I did a tour in South Korea. I would urge anyone to visit--the Koreans have a colorful, rich, but tragic history. The country is beautiful. The Koreans have a reputation as "the Irish of the Orient"--they have a poetic side, enjoy a little alcohol and singing now and then, and love their land.
It is too bad every American can't see this place and, especially, the DMZ and Panmunjom. It is truly difficult to overstate the barbarism of the North Korean regime.