N. Korea says it has scrapped armistice that ended Korean War

N. Korea says it has scrapped armistice that ended Korean War

www.washingtonpost.com

North Korea said Monday that it had “completely scrapped” the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, following up on a threat made days earlier and increasing the likelihood for a strike against or a skirmish with the South, analysts said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

the armistice has kept a shaky peace on the peninsula for 60 years, and the North’s apparent withdrawal — coupled with its severing of a communications hotline at the demilitarized border Monday — makes it more difficult for the South and the United States to prevent and resolve disputes with Pyongyang.

This is quite worrying to say the least. I know people will write this down as nothing substantial, or just normal behaviour on the side of North Korea...but they are finally starting to follow through with their threats.

First cutting communication ties with SK and the USA, now they have completely scrapped the armistice, the thing which halted the Korean War. If they are following through with these threats, what is not to say that they will follow through with some of the more extreme ones too?

Time will tell just how serious this will become.

www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by daaskapital


They've tested 3 nukes with in seven years, to me it feels like they don't have much nuke to spare.

reply to post by daaskapital


Just saw this on CNN. Crazy, I didn't think they were going to follow through. I really doesn't seem like they're bluffing. What is this leading to?

Man Jr is really wanting to push for war. This news is more interesting now than I've ever seen. So which side is going to give in to dear leader?

www.wolframalpha.com...
www.wolframalpha.com...

I don't know guys, it looks pretty even to me......

The piece of paper is not what stopped the war, it was an agreement between governments to stop the shooting.
As it stands, no one has gone against that and started shooting.
nothing but political blustering.

Dennis Rodman: "Kim said, I no want war. I want peace. I want Obama to call me."

So call the guy. Prevent a war.

If there's any country/regime that feels backed into a corner - it is North Korea.

This is a cry for help, and many good people's lives are at stake for these ego games.

So this is what the 7th time at least? I always think it is odd they scrap it and then a few years later scrap it again without ever telling anybody they were back on board with it.

reply to post by ThinkingCap
A cry for help can be made with a phone call..and the one looking for the help can make the call.

The number to the White House is 202-456-1414 and that is a number operators really ARE standing by 24/7 for. If Kim means anything beyond the worthless propaganda the guy is becoming so well known for, he can pick up a phone and dial out the number.

It's not Obama's place to call him. The U.S. isn't in the the bad position right now. North Korea is. ...I think we all know he's as serious about wanting that phone call as wanting the U.S. Air Force to come by and say Hi though. He's pretty good at the propaganda.

Not quite his Father's match. He's still good though..... One stunt with with a US celebrity and he has some feeling bad for him. Not bad at all...

reply to post by MrSpad


You are correct, I can think of at least twice in the last 20 years, where they scrapped the agreement. These are reports from the news that I remember. I have searched for the number of times they did this, and can't find one source. All you get is page after page of the current threat.

reply to post by ThinkingCap

Kim said, I no want war. I want peace. I want Obama to call me."

That is a bold faced lie.

At anytime in the last 60 years, any of the Kim's could have picked up a pen, and signed a peace agreement.

The have stated there goal is to unify the peninsula, by any means.

reply to post by daaskapital


It amounts to a declaration of war.

We will witness a strange limbo while no shots are fired, but when 2 nations that held an armistice agreement toss it away, it's a clear return to the previous state, which is war.

I'm finding very strange all this courteouness coming from DPRK.

reply to post by sylent6


they are - technically - at war now.
But as I said, no shots were fired yet (I think...)

Originally posted by rockymcgilicutty
reply to post by MrSpad

 

You are correct, I can think of at least twice in the last 20 years, where they scrapped the agreement. These are reports from the news that I remember. I have searched for the number of times they did this, and can't find one source. All you get is page after page of the current threat.

edit on 11-3-2013 by rockymcgilicutty because: (no reason given)

I wasn't aware of this.

I'm picturing Kim Jong Il (the old dear leader) tossing the armistice document at the trash can only to pick it later later, ironing it, and saying quite candidly: see, it's still here.

reply to post by maoklein


Except........

January 1967
North Korean artillery targets a South Korean vessel, the Dangpo, patrolling in the Yellow Sea with 70 sailors on board. The ship sinks, killing 39 of the crew.

January 1968
A team of 31 North Korean commandos crosses into South Korea and breaks into the presidential palace, the Blue House, in an attempt to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. The attempt is crushed by South Korean security forces, Mr Park survives but seven South Koreans and most of the commandos are killed.

January 1968
The research ship the USS Pueblo is captured by North Korea while on a surveillance mission. One crew member dies during the capture and the remaining 82 are taken to prison camps in the North.

The prisoners are released 11 months later after the US gave an apology and assurances the vessel had not been spying - both were later retracted. The Pueblo remains in North Korea as a museum - the only US warship in captivity.

December 1969
A South Korean airliner is hijacked and forced to fly to North Korea. Dozens of passengers are taken hostage. In January, 39 of the hostages were released but the remaining 12 are not known to have been freed.

August 1974
President Park's wife dies during a second attempt on his life - she is hit by stray bullets after a suspected North Korean agent opens fire at a public function.

October 1983
North Korea bombs a hotel in Rangoon, Burma, during a visit by President Chun Doo-hwan. He survives but 21 people, including some government ministers, are killed.

November 1987
A bomb, allegedly planted by North Korean agents, explodes on board a South Korean airliner travelling to Seoul from Baghdad. All 115 passengers and crew are killed.

September 1996
A North Korean submarine runs aground near Gangneung, off the east coast of South Korea, while allegedly conducting a spy mission. The crew of 26 escape to the shore, sparking a manhunt.

Eleven of the crew are found dead, apparently shot by their compatriots, but the rest go on the run for nearly two months. One alleged spy escapes, one is captured by South Korean security forces and the rest are killed. Several South Koreans also die in the operation.

March 2010
A 1,200-tonne Corvette, the Cheonan, mysteriously goes down near the disputed maritime border with North Korea - the Northern Limit Line. Many of the crew members escape but 46 are killed. After an extensive investigation, Seoul rules that a torpedo explosion directly beneath the vessel sank it and that the only "plausible explanation" is that North Korea was responsable.

NK makes threats all the time, and never follows through.

This time feels different.

The successful(?) launch of an object into orbit, and a more powerful nuclear (possibly thermonuclear?) test indicates troubling times ahead.....they might actually have the means to follow through with the threats this time, even if it is just a single nuke fired at south Korea.

I certainly wouldn't just dismiss this as just a typical NK threat.

reply to post by maoklein


That would be one wrinkelly piece of paper.

Nothing we haven't seen before. However, the threats are becoming more frenzied and it's only a matter of time before something sparks a conflict. It's just inevitable. Also, the mass media seem to be largely ignoring NK's latest outburst (hardly surprising considering we hear threats from NK all the time...) which might not go down too well with Kim Jnr - he wants the attention and if he's not getting it he might have to do something more provocative. It's a tired old analogy that NK is like a naughty child, but it really is a very accurate comparison.

Having looked at the situation here is what could possibly going on.

The new leader of North Korea, is a young man, who took over the reins of power from his father. He is young and having to show his strength, and a military conflict would be one of the options that he has infront of him. He is kept in power by the people under him, and by those who are advising him. It is hard to determine what he wants, as he can see that all of these sanctions are hurting his people, that much he can see. North Korea, looking north and south see what ultimately it is doing to them, and it could be that their people are starting to get restless.

He has to do something to placate them, but then again, based off of what all is seen, there are 3 other things he is wanting. The first is that he wants the 6 party talks to resume, getting all sides back to the negotiating table to try to save face, if the talks resume, he appears to show strength and that way he can further point out such to his people for their worship, and ultimately use that to prevent and solidfy his power among those who are keeping him there. The second is that he wants to show China that his country is a valuable ally, however, this could be a mistake as China is publically not willing to go along with a nuclear armed Korea, nor would it support if it launched a nuclear attack against anyone, especially against the USA. The last thing it wants in its backyard is a nuclear exchange, where it ends up the loser. China would have alot to gain if it the talks resumes, that was it can keep up the aid to North Korea and if a more favorable outcome at the negotiating table comes out of such, it will look like the hero in the worlds eyes and boosts its prestige. The third is that North Korea is drawing the attention of the world. Once again North Korea is making the biggest ruckus, thus allowing its allies, namely Iran and Venezula to move without much notice.

In the past, when one wanted to maneuver without notice, one of those three countries would make a noise, get the attention of the world and then sit back as it did its part, and North Korea and Iran are very close allies, with a common enemy. The main problem is that the countries that support both North Korea and Iran do not want them to have nuclear weapons or to use such as it would draw them into a position of either support or cutting them off. It is a lose/lose situation that has come about from the geopolicital world.

We can only wait and see, something tells me that if they do start an act of aggression it will either be to goad South Korea into attacking, or it will throw the first punch and see what the response is, and there in lies the problem. if there is no response to such, it will only embolden them to continue on their path, if there is a response, it could mean a renewed conflict on the Korean penisula, to which neither China nor the US wants to be involved in, but are already involved. We can only wait and see, hopefully this is just simple rhetoric.