Invasion of North Korea in the Works?

There is a great deal of speculation running about over the recent deployments of 7 U.S. carrier groups now out to sea. And now it seems many other nations have joined this supermassive show of force in what has been called a "Training Mission"

I would like to offer my view on this topic for discussion.

North Korea has more than shown it's threat to global security, more important they have shown through veiled threats against the U.S.A. that they will continue banned nuclear plans and are building nuclear weapons and long range missiles to deliver them.

In the following report released by ABCNEWS.com you will see that the U.S.A. is planning on removing a large number of troops from the border region known as the DMZ between North and South Korea.

But why the urgency in moving these forces far south of the border region is what I think should be a signal.. and North Korea is seeing it as just that a signal that the U.S.A. is planning military action or an invasion.

The proposed troop withdrawal would be the first major U.S. reduction since the early 1990s, though there was a bigger one in the early 1970s when President Richard Nixon removed one-third of the roughly 60,000 troops in South Korea amid a measure of detente with Moscow and Beijing.

Prior to that, the United States carried out large troop reductions in the years immediately after the Korean War, winnowing down the number from about 325,000 troops at the end of the war.

The two allies finished two-day discussions Tuesday over another sensitive issue: plans to move U.S. troops away from the tense border with communist North Korea to points farther south of Seoul.

North Korea could view the move as a sign of U.S. weakness as the North wrangles with its neighbors and Washington over its nuclear weapons development. Alternatively, North Korea might think the United States is aggressively moving its troops out of harm's way so it has more flexibility to conduct a military strike on the North. U.S. officials have said they have no plans to invade North Korea.

Full report link:

ABCNEWS.com


Why is it so urgent to move U.S. troops to areas far south of the border with North Korea??

Why is North Korea seeing this as a provocative move?

I think it is quite possible.. and far more likely than any scenario I have seen yet.

I am leaning toward this as the best explanation of this naval and military movement.





[edit on 8-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

Interesting but I don't see any invasion any time soon. Well not until Iraq has settled down more. Talking of north Korea, watch a documentry about the country lass night. Talked about the experiments on plitical prisoners using chemical and bio agents. Very scary stuff. Would they use chem/bio on any attacking army, I say yes they would.

ahh now just had this thought, the next terrorist attack in the USA uses a chem/bio agent. Nortn korea get the blame for supplying USA invades NK. Just a thought.

If the US were to go after North Korea anytime soon, I doubt it would use many troops. It will probably involve just bombing the crap out of them until there's nothing left. If this were to happen, North Korea would start moving south, so then the US could gauge the weapons deployed on the South Koreans. Then the US would be able to bring their troops back up, or just bomb the crap out of them some more. I could see it as a move to take troops out of harm's way, like they said. But I doubt it will happen anytime soon...

Again this is just my thinking here, but if I am right this will be a super massive strike and when launched it will be over in just hours overwhelming the enemy. but I am sure there will be some retaliation from North Korea but it will be Kim Jong Ill's famous final scene.

You cannot believe that the world is just going to sit by and let this insane man build nuclear weapons while making threats can you? ... over a year of hardline diplomacy has failed in every way. But then again this "show of force" may scare the North Koreans enough that they back down, let in an inspection team to supervise the destruction of their weapons and reactors... or else!

You can do a lot of arm twisting with 7 aircraft carrier groups. while backing it with real overwelming power.

But then again what the hell do I know?

Gazz

[edit on 8-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

I'm torn on this one.

I see your point Gazz, however, I also sort of agree with Britman.


I guess if I had to choose, I'd think that the U.S. would try to get a better grip on the situation in Iraq, before deploying more troops for a conflict in another country.

I'm really hoping that the recent deployment really is for a "training exercise".

Anyway, good post, topic and thread !



good to see people thinking outside the box.

A thought,


the US could not access Afghanistan or near countries, due to the USSR prior to it's collapse.


the US could not do much about NK due to China as an ally, although that seems to be changing also.

I think it could be more show than real threat, however if it comes back down to it I am sure it will not involve any land invasion. It will be massive bombing from overwelming air power and missiles launched from battle ships.. I'm not sure what the ultimate outcome would be. only time will tell.... I am just reading the signs here and when you put them together it points to North Korea.. there is no reason to move U.S. troops away from the DMZ to southern South Korea unless there was a good chance of an air strike in the North.. of course these are just my opinions.. as for the situation in Iraq... well the planned hand over of power is under way and on schedule wink wink!

Gazz

Originally posted by UM_Gazz
You cannot believe that the world is just going to sit by and let this insane man build nuclear weapons while making threats can you?
[edit on 8-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

What, we let REagan build 'em. Hell, we let Musharaf in Pakistan build 'em, and then let him off with little more than a 'tut tut, bad dictator' when his chief scientist sold all sorts of kit to, you guessed it, those nice wee folk the North Koreans.
Maybe we're not gonna sit by, but I don't think he's just developing nukes, but has 'em. And if he's gonna be taken out, then I think the psychotic wee swine might well fire them. As has been pointed out, he's gonna get pummeled anyway. If, of course, any of this has any basis in fact.

North Korea has literally thousands of artillery pieces trained on Seoul. They could literally wipe the place off the face of the map within minutes.

As for the US withdrawal. It's not "urgent". It was planned months ago and has already been discussed here on ATS.

Wild speculation is so much fun. Especially if you do not have many hard facts to work with..............

1. We are with drawning troops fromKorea to shore up the 'troop level' and burn out rate because of the 'mess' in Iraq; you should also be aware that there is a draw down also taking place in Germany.

2. We withdrew troops from the 38th Parallel several months ago because of the nuke threat posed by N.K. It was done on orders of the Sec. of Defense over the 'concerns' expressed by S.K........an under-reported event- and designed as such.

3. There have been massive ship movements for 2 reasons:

a. 2 flattops were dispatched - 1 to Italy the other to English Channel - to "protect" Bush's sorrya$$ on his overseas visits.

b. The others are in support of the new Bush Policy(also under reported and designed so) as I posted some time ago............


TheWorld's Policeman

The Unites States has just put in motion what is called the "Regional Maritime Security Initiative". President Bush announced the establishment of the Proliferation Security Initiative which would result in the creation of international agreements and partnerships that would allow the US and its allies to search planes and ships carrying suspect cargo and seize illegal weapons or missile technologies.

The Navy�s, Pacific Command has undertaken and begun one of the most ambitious and complicated ventures in the war on terrorism as it seeks to prevent seaborne terrorist and criminal assaults on nations bordering the Pacific and Indian oceans. Called the Regional Maritime Security Initiative, it is intended to prevent terrorists from seizing a vessel(s).

The U.S.�s Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI), the forming of a regional peacekeeping force, and the expected entrance of Pakistan into the ARF. In spite of Washington�s attempt to allay regional fears by stating that RMSI is open for change and accommodating to regional desires, the press reaction was mixed. While some welcomed the proposal, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Marty Natelegawa, stated that the �proposal is one that should be initiated and led by countries in the region.� Malaysia�s decision to host a maritime security seminar later this year will provide all parties another opportunity to discuss the future of RMSI.

So in other words, the USA has unilaterally undertaken using its Navy to patrol the waterways (first in the waters of S.E. Asia) to stop and search the ships of foreign nationals with the pretext of searching for WMD and fighting the war on terrorism.

I had always been under the impression such an act was technically an �act of war�.

But I guess those �treaties� Bush spoke of were mere formalities; that the misunderstanding Rummy speaks of is the ignorance of those who do not understand that �might makes right� and the �ends justify the means�.

Remember 2000 Bush Campaign for the Presidency. Did he not promise that the US would not be the World�s Policeman?

But of course this must be different, I wonder what, as they say in French - crottin de b�uf � they will concoct.

www.nytimes.com...
quote.bloomberg.com...
www.buenosairesherald.com...
www.globalsecurity.org...

I dpnt think the US start a war with South korea, on the fact that there ally is China!

Originally posted by Leveller
North Korea has literally thousands of artillery pieces trained on Seoul. They could literally wipe the place off the face of the map within minutes.

Not much of a threat if we take them out in quick massive strikes.

Of course maybe we'll just throw some rice at them.

Someone said something about wild speculation being fun.. and you are right.. but who is speculating?

Time will show it go one way or the other here. untill then it is ALL wild speculation. But the U.S. and allied naval forces are out in record numbers for a reason. but maybe it is just for training. hmmmm

Gazz

[edit on 8-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

China don't care about NK. China is booming right now, a war would destroy there growing economy, and they don't want that..... just yet. Let the west use up resoures fight in Iraq, Afganistan and maybe NK. Then they attack alog with Russia.

I said it and it was said sarcastically and derisively.

To do so is a g-d damned waste of time����..in common parlance its practice is called �bullsh7tting� or �gossiping� ������..not something serious people spend to much time doing...........

I hope this clarifies it for you and sets the tone I intended...........

Thanks for your understanding.

Originally posted by gmcnulty
I said it and it was said sarcastically and derisively.

To do so is a g-d damned waste of time����..in common parlance its practice is called �bullsh7tting� or �gossiping� ������..not something serious people spend to much time doing...........

Actually I am not sure what that means.. Is it a combination of english and another language?

Anyway thanks for sharing and I always respect another view.. hell that is what makes ATS so great!

Gazz

One of my co-workers sons just got back from being off the coast in a Sub. Hes home for a week then they are going back. He has not hinted at anything out of the ordinary. I'll wait to see when he leaves if anything is said. I personally feel Iran could be next. Maybe just conquer the whole Middle East and move on from there.

Use a dictionary and please do take your time.................

As Abba Eban so aptly said: "His ignorance is encyclopedic."

The withdrawal of troops is an expected one considering the war technology which has spread world wide, you're talking about a basic "in your face" border threat that has existed since the 50's, each side knows everything there is to know about strength and armament on this border and the funny thing is it (the truce line) could be wiped out within minutes if either side decides to unleash their arsenal.

Removing our troops is something that should be done regardless of the dicey situation there. This does not make the border any weaker and saves our troops for the ensuing combat should an attack occur.

We have stretched our forces razor thin and our combat power depends on how many smart bombs & cruise missiles we have on hand. (This is the part of war America accepts cause there is almost no US casualties so it appears as a "video game" quick & painless and oh the cool shots of computer guided missiles!)(its just the boots on the ground grunt work the country finds distaste with)

We are looking at 2 volatile situations here NK-SK, and China-Taiwan so the water is simmering if not quite boiling so it definitely should not be ignored.

I am just throwing some irons in the fire so forgive me if the post seems to ramble..lol

One last thing to throw in....
I am new so this might have been brought up before.. here goes..

I found it unbelieveable that the 2 trains collided in front of the station in NK
causing the immense explosion a few weeks ago...... what was the official news report? One train carried gunpowder or ammonium nitrate and this caused the devastation? I always thought that most trains, regardless of country, slowed to a crawl when approaching any station so how could a high speed collision occur at the station.

On top of that the NK leader was supposed to be at that station at that timeframe, but for left 9 hours prior to a "talk with the kids" who were killled in the event.

Is it possible that this was a targeted assasination attempt that went wrong? Have the Chinese cracked our codes and know what was being planned and warned Kim Jong-Il which explains his hasty departure.

Just some more thoughts to ponder.....

That would be the biggest mistake that our gov't could possibly make at this point in time.

Originally posted by JacKatMtn

One last thing to throw in....
I am new so this might have been brought up before.. here goes..

I found it unbelieveable that the 2 trains collided in front of the station in NK causing the immense explosion a few weeks ago...... what was the official news report? One train carried gunpowder or ammonium nitrate and this caused the devastation? I always thought that most trains, regardless of country, slowed to a crawl when approaching any station so how could a high speed collision occur at the station.

On top of that the NK leader was supposed to be at that station at that timeframe, but for left 9 hours prior to a "talk with the kids" who were killled in the event.

I have to agree with you on this point JacKatMtn.. and by the way welcome to ATS!

You are right. and that train explosion sent Kim Jong Ill into a rage. He made it seem as if he believed that the U.S.A. had tried to kill him in that explosion. but who really knows. The fact is Kim Jong Ill is a mental case, just look into the man's life. He has a strong desire to be a Hollywood movie director.. He does have a massive military and it has cost the people of North Korea in every possible way. Starvation is wide spread there. there have been reports of people being seen eating insects, dead animals and even the flesh of dead humans.. sad and pathetic.. This man is in a rush to build even more nuclear weapons and longer range missles at the moment they are working on what they call the Taep'o-Dong 2 This missile can be made into a three stage to orbit rocket which can carry 1 large warhead. and hit many cities in the U.S.A.

Trust me we will NOT let this happen!

Gazz

[edit on 10-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]