
DIA: North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear warheads - chrissnell
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korea-now-making-missile-ready-nuclear-weapons-us-analysts-say/2017/08/08/e14b882a-7b6b-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_nkorea-1212p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.5c4aa00690bd&tid=a_inl
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cjslep
If anyone wonders why the North Korean are obsessed with nuclear weapons: it's
our own fault (USA).

During the Korean war, when ceasefire negotiations were straggling, both the
US and N. Koreans came to the table expecting the other to surrender. During
this time, it was suggested to Truman that the US threaten the use of the
atomic bomb to coerce them into a peace treaty. Already having nuked Japan in
WW2, Truman did not want to issue that threat. It wasn't until his successor,
Eisenhower, came to power that the US threatened the use of the atomic bomb,
and the N. Koreans begrudgingly agreed to an armstice.

Thus, the nuclear weapon is their symbol of the ultimate power of the bully,
and a way to guarantee their freedom and independence.

~~~
methodover
Oh please. North Korea invades their southern neighbor on a mission of
subjugation; we come to help, do what needs to be done to bring the war to an
end; and somehow NK's militarism and aggression is our fault?

Don't get me wrong, the US has done some horrible things. But when it comes to
NK, we've been saintly.

~~~
cjslep
I agree with you, but I think you are purposefully conflating their long-
documented drive towards obtaining nuclear weapons (of which I am talking
about) and... well, everything else that's been horrible about the regieme
(which I am not talking about: starvation, kidnapping, torture, etc).

So I think you are accidentally trying to strawman my small historical point
into something bigger and more sinister than I intended.

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methodover
Ah, my apologies. Upon re-reading your message I think I misread it the first
time around. I thought you were saying more than just "we showed NK that
nuclear weapons are the ultimate weapon" \-- I thought you were somehow
implicating us as responsible for NK's militaristic, aggressive nature. Which
you were not doing. My bad!

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TearsInTheRain
I have a lot of trouble seeing how this tension could possibly be diffused
peacefully.

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cuckcuckspruce
The alternative is likely nuclear war.

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TearsInTheRain
Maybe, I feel like we are going to try to just wipe their nukes. If we
succeed, I doubt the US or China will go nuclear. We would probably seek
china's ok before trying that if we haven't already gotten it. If NK keeps
escalating their arsenal eventual we won't ask China and just do it.

~~~
synicalx
The problem is, any sort of strike against the North is unfathomably risky -
they've basically got some 25 million South Koreans hostage, with their
obscene number of conventional artillery pieces within spitting distance of
the DMZ. If Kim decides the end is near, Seoul and anything near it is
basically done for.

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ramphastidae
I don't at all support how the NK government runs its country.

But why does the US get to dictate who and who doesn't have the right to
nuclear weapons?

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methodover
The US should act in the best interest of the people of the world as a whole.
As should every other nation.

We have the most resources at our disposal, and as such it's often up to us to
take the lead.

A nuclear armed NK is very, very bad for South Korea, Japan, and anyone else
in range. They're a threat to their neighbors and likely soon a threat to the
entire world.

These are the facts. It's not a matter of the United States saying that
someone should or shouldn't have nuclear weapons. It's a matter of us living
up to our responsibilities; it's a matter of us doing our part to ensure a
prosperous future for the whole world.

