The North Korean missile threat

Forostar said:
Just guessing but a same sort of "service", run directly from the political top, that puts hundreds of thousands of people in camps or controls and punishes otherwise. I expect some methods that are not so different from methods under Stalin (NKVD). It also puts the military under control and takes action where needed.
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Yeah, but you see, I believe these generals are the political top.
 
I would not doubt that Kim would do this if he felt he had to. I still think it is a bluff.
 
I'll say this, while that plant was open, I was pretty close to 100% sure it was a bluff, since this operation was a pretty substantial economic benefit to North Korea. I am still pretty sure it is a bluff, but less sure than before.
 
I could see Kim closing it for a couple months, and then quietly going back to it once things settle. I still believe this is internal politics.
 
I'm sure it raises up the concern level of everyone in the situation...but that's what this is about too. Kim is probably reacting to the reports on the BBC that the USA does not think this is anything more than the usual cycle...
 
That could be, but I wonder how much of it is aimed at South Korea. I think South Korea has been operating under the assumption that a reunification will happen at some point and things like this plant, family visits, etc they have pushed for have been good moves to try to ease the eventual (though probably pretty far off in the future) reunion. They have the benefit as looking at the pluses and minuses of what happened with the German reunification and it looks like they have been taking some proactive steps (at least as much as possible) to avoid some of the pitfalls.

Honestly, I am not all that up on Korean politics/history. My main hope is that Corporal Klinger does not need to find where he put his dress collection. The unfortunate thing is that even if this is a bluff, the people that will take the biggest hit are the citizens of North Korea. But I would also assume that shutting these plants down will have a negative effect on South Korea economically and for some of their exports.

The key will end up being what kind of blackmail North Korea expects to end this and how far South Korea/the west will be willing to go and what China eventually does.
 
I don't think the East/West Germany situation was anything like as tense or as complex as the Korean one. As far as I know there was actually communication and movement across the Iron Curtain (World Slavery tour anyone?) but Korea is ruled by an insane dynasty on a peninsula that has been messed around for a millennium by the Chinese, the Mongols, the Japanese, the Russians and the Americans. The only way I see reunification happening is if the Kim dynasty is taken out in a war.
 
Yeah, but it is a good thing to look at for South Korea, since it will be reunification but a hundred times worse.

Also, BW, you don't recall the 50s or 60s...things were pretty locked up then. The World Slavery Tour took place during glasnost.
 
It is not exactly the same as Germany, but I do think there are many similarities. Clearly though the longer the split occurs, the more difficult it will be.
 
And it won't. I'm sure Il knows if he even sneezes at S. Korea he'll have the U.S and Europe (NATO) squashing his nation like an ant.
 
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