They have pulled out of the talks and seem insane.

North Korea's "armed forces will deal an annihilating blow that is unpredictable and unavoidable, to any 'sanctions' or provocations by the US," Pak Pyong Jong, first vice chairman of the Pyongyang City People's Committee, told the crowd gathered for the Korean War anniversary rally.

Should the international community call their bluff??

Should it be someone besides the US? How about China???

I had a bad thought, what if the "freighter" is carrying a nuke, then when the US tries to board it they detonate it and destroy the US ships that are near it. It would be an act of war but it would also be a pretty big statement.

N Korea MIGHT, just might get one shot off, and then that would be the end of N Korea. I highly doubt that they would even hit anywhere in the US, but just the fact that they launched one at us would lead to their complete destruction.

I was under the impression that, while N Korea obviously has nuclear capability, they do not have a delivery system capable of carrying nuclear weapons. So their nuclear annihilation threat is somewhat empty.

And even if they could pull off some kind of attack, I seriously doubt that the US or any of it's allies would turn their country into a "parking lot".

Originally posted by tallcool1
I was under the impression that, while N Korea obviously has nuclear capability, they do not have a delivery system capable of carrying nuclear weapons. So their nuclear annihilation threat is somewhat empty.

And even if they could pull off some kind of attack, I seriously doubt that the US or any of it's allies would turn their country into a "parking lot".

If they do actually try to hit us or South Korea with a real deal nuke, we will most definitely nuke them. We have all these nukes, and if that is not a time to use them, when is?

Regardless of our right under UN sanctions to move in on the vessel, it's not N. Korea that I'm worried about. The question that the top brass will be looking at is China. China will decide the fate of this entire situation. Sure, N. Korea is just some little kid with a "short man complex", but China may very well be this kid's big brother that's the "big man on campus." We DO NOT want to get into a scrap with China!! World War III lies not in the Middle East, but right smack dab in the middle of China! And if we nuke N. Korea, what are the chances that fallout will affect China?

[edit on 6/25/2009 by Tunatarian]

Even if Nkorea nukes America the other countries reaction will be: ally with Nkorea or all be against north Korea because nukes are the extreme violence and no one likes it. its like they are breaking the rule and no one likes the one who breaks the rules... its to extreme..to me its as if they are breaking human rights

Some of you have absolutely no clue when it comes to the DMZ, NK/SK and nuclear weapons. You talk about wiping NK off the map and turning them into a glass parking lot? And I guess all the nuclear fallout and radiation would stay in NK right? THINK PEOPLE! My god. I hope the people with their hand on the red button are smarter than some of you claiming the US will just nuke NK into oblivion. It doesn't work like that. Why the hell do you think we haven't done anything militarily in the last 50 years to NK? Even one large nuclear bomb would have SERIOUS repercussions for the countries surrounding NK i.e. CHINA, Russia, etc. You think they want nuclear fallout in their backyard? The DMZ and SK would turn into a the worst firefight the world has seen before we even got a nuclear weapon launched from one of our subs. NK has been preparing for this exact scenario for 50 years. So have we but our options are much more limited being on the defensive.

Fact is the South Koreans will suffer most. There are approx. 10 million people in Seoul alone. Easily reached with standard missiles and artillery.

So it might be a hostage situation we are facing here.

China must know this is bad for business why don't they step up and board the ship themselves?

Are we therefore to assume China's tacit approval of these tactics???? I am baffled. I thought China was about making money now and left all that goose stepping, missile parading, old time commie crap behind.