Ultimately, the last thing China wants is the US in North Korea. I think that when China believes NK has burned all of its bridges they will take action to avoid a serious US attack. They apparently were pretty put off by the recent assassination.
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Here's the kind of damage North Korea could do if it went to war.....
Harry J. Kazianis, writing for The National Interest, notes that the Kim regime has five weapons that could cause mass fatalities and sow extreme panic throughout South Korea and even possibly in the US.
North Korean operatives could sneak through the tunnels carrying the materials necessary to plant dirty bombs in major cities throughout the South.
Additionally, Kazianis writes, North Korea could simply place raw nuclear material on a short-range rocket bound for Seoul. Even if inaccurate, the weapon would still cause mass panic.
Secondly, North Korea could bring to bear chemical and biological weapons against South Korea. The Nuclear Threat Initiative notes that Pyongyang most likely has the third-largest stockpile of chemical weapons on the planet, including various nerve agents.
Additionally, a North Korean defector to Finland brought 15 gigabytes of data that showed Pyongyang tested chemical and biological agents on its own citizens.
The third extremely dangerous tool North Korea could use in a war would be a nuclear strike against Alaska or Hawaii. The success of any strike is a definite long shot, Kazianis says, but it could be increasingly plausible in the coming decades.
Fourthly, North Korea could cause extreme damage against South Korea simply with conventional artillery. The Kim regime has the world's largest artillery force, with about 10,000 active pieces, all of which are aimed directly at Seoul.
North Korea's last major lethal weapon, according to Kazianis, is its cybermilitary abilities. Little is definitively known about North Korea's cyberarmy and its capabilities. But this army has proved extremely adept......snip~
http://www.businessinsider.com/damag...-to-war-2015-8
North Korea can wipe out most of South Korea in less than 5 mins with their Short range Missiles. They can also hit Japan with their Med ranged Missiles. They would destroy our Troops on the DMZ and Seoul in a matter of minutes.
Moreover, N Korea would also use lasers, electro magnetic weapons, and of course Biological weapons.
As much as I disagreed with President Obama's policies overall, I do think that he handled NK with near perfection. He didn't over-react. He didn't play into their hands. He didn't seem to under-react. I'd like to see DT continue Obama's policy in that regard.
There was a movie out -- Camp 14 or something like that. I watched it once. It's scary what that country does to its people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihUOHARC_Og
Child labor exploitation starts young in No. Korea...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Report: North Korea exploitation of workers begins in childhood
June 14, 2017 -- North Korea sends tens of thousands of forced laborers to work outside the country annually – and the system works because many North Koreans supply free labor to the regime as children.
See also:Quote:
Voice of America reported Wednesday Pyongyang has frequently claimed children in the country have "nothing to envy" but the reality is harsh for young people of less privileged backgrounds. A teenage defector who escaped to the South told VOA she was forced to provide manual labor as a young girl in elementary school. The defector, who goes under the pseudonym of Kim Ji-yeon, said as a third and fourth-grade student at an elementary school in South Pyongan Province, she had to carry gravel to road construction sites or bring sand to sports grounds – work that should be carried out by adults. "Small things a child could bring, I was required to carry without condition," Kim said, adding the biggest challenge was carrying rocks and sand on the coldest winter days or the hottest summer months.
http://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/i/418149...-childhood.jpg
North Korean youths are required to carry material to construction sites after school and in harsh weather conditions, a defector says.
North Korea continues to deploy a low-wage adult work force to countries like Russia and China despite international condemnations, but work-related accidents are drawing attention to their plight. Human Rights Watch issued a report on Wednesday on working conditions at seven World Cup stadium sites in Russia, where researchers documented worker exploitation, non-payment of wages, wage delays and dangerous working conditions. A global trade union has reported 17 worker deaths at Russia's World Cup stadium sites, according to HRW.
North Korean laborers are included in the death toll, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. A North Korean man was found dead while working on a football stadium in St. Petersburg earlier this year, according to Josimar magazine in Norway. Russia is one of the top destinations for North Korea forced laborers, who are sent to work in labor-intensive industries in the country to earn foreign currency for the Kim Jong Un regime. It's estimated about 40,000 North Koreans work in the country.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...l&utm_medium=2
Report: U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea for pro-West material
June 14, 2017 -- A U.S. citizen who is being held in North Korea on charges of "hostile acts" against the Kim Jong Un regime may actually have faced different charges at the time of his arrest, according to an eyewitness.
Quote:
James Leigh, a Canadian visitor to North Korea, told Radio Free Asia he was in the same detention room as Tony Kim, aka Kim Sang Duk, who was detained April 22. Leigh and Kim may not have seen each other, as a room divider separated the two men, but Leigh said he heard North Korean security agents accuse "Professor Kim" of spreading "a pro-West curriculum" at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a school that opened in 2010 as the first privately funded institution in North Korea. The North Korean side claimed they were detaining him because he had been teaching unauthorized material and engaging in inappropriate activities, Leigh told RFA.
The statement from Leigh contradicts the more serious claim North Korea made in May. "During his time in our country, U.S. citizen Kim Sang Duk attempted to overthrow the state, a hostile crime. According to our laws, he was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport at 8 a.m., April 22," KCNA stated in May, while providing no further information on his actions. Leigh said he was detained in the room at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport for four days on charges of spying on North Korea military facilities. Leigh also said North Korea security claimed he was spying on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump, and that he had been sent to assassinate Kim Jong Un.
Leigh was eventually released while Kim remained in the country. The witness also said North Korea authorities did not use force against him, but were tough. During his detention, Leigh said he was provided with one meal a day, and slept on a blanket on the floor. North Korea released another hostage, Otto Warmbier, after 17 months of captivity on Tuesday. There are now three U.S. citizens being held in the country.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...&utm_medium=16
Will the Donald have to ride inna oxcart when he goes to talk to Kim?
:shocked:
North Korea tells people to use 'oxcarts' as fuel costs rise
March 13, 2018 -- North Korea is coping with high gasoline prices and the state is urging ordinary people to use oxcarts to carry heavy equipment, rather than trucks, according to sources in the country.
Quote:
The price of gasoline per kilogram hovers between 13,000 and 18,000 North Korean won, and diesel is being sold at 7,000 to 8,000 won, Daily NK reported Tuesday. There is no official exchange rate, but about 8,000 to 10,000 North Korean won is equivalent to 1 U.S. dollar. Prices have doubled since March 2017, when a kilogram of gasoline was being sold at 8,000 won, and is up from February, when in Yanggang Province gasoline was estimated to be worth about 13,000 won per kilogram, the report stated. Daily NK's source said fuel is scarce because "little crude oil is coming in from China, and it is being used for national defense and for farming," leaving a low supply for other uses.
https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi/868...costs-rise.jpg
Oxcarts are being promoted as an alternative mode of transportation in North Korea as fuel costs rise in the country as a result of oil sanctions.
Vehicles on the roads have also decreased significantly owing to sanctions. "The number of cars have reduced by about 40 percent," Daily NK's source said, adding state authorities have called on people to tap into "self-reliance" and use oxcarts for transportation. The last round of United Nations Security Council sanctions that came with the adoption of Resolution 2397, following North Korea's Hwasong-15 missile launch, may be squeezing the regime. More reports from the U.N. indicate sanctions are being enforced in countries like Singapore, where North Korea has had access to commercial trading firms that could supply the regime with luxury goods.
The BBC reported Monday the Singaporean government has begun investigating two companies, OCN and T Specialist, which are being probed for illegal sales of luxury items to North Korea. The goods sent to the North include wines and spirits, most likely being used to reward elites for loyalty. Transactions exceeded $2 million between 2011 and 2014, according to the report.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-N...l&utm_medium=7