The lunacy that is North Korea

[Sava]

A man at my gun club, one of the directors, was in the marines and served at the Chosin Reservoir. IIRC he was also at the Incheon landings. He's got some really cool stories but some of the stuff about Chosin he refuses to talk about. He just says, "it was bad."

[Alexander's Horse]

Yep. The best opportunity was before the Chinese jumped in - it was pretty naive to think we could roll up NK all the way to the Yalu and China do nothing about it. But there's MacArthur for you.

This is still a big problem - China does not want to share a border with a major US ally, so it holds it's nose and keeps the odious North Korean regime on life support.

The PLA has no problem at all with the DPRK, as it didn't with the Pol Pot's murderous regime. In both cases these rogue regimes create a useful element of strategic uncertainty for the US and its allies, if say China decided to grab islands off Japan or in a worst case return Taiwan to the motherland by force.

[-Jrabbit]

Kim Jong Un will save the North Korean economy with his global viral hit!

[onodera]

I remember Kissinger blaming MacArthur in his book for forgetting about politics and simply pushing forward, leaving the most defensible line behind and getting rolled back far behind it later.

[Alexander's Horse]

Lo, Seoul is great place and I spent a lot of nights in Gangnam, so that brought back memories, thanks JR.

Unfortunately I can't embed this for some reason, but enjoy, cracks me up every time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sBaPI2AKu2g

[PLATO]

He wanted to bomb China AFTER they invaded.

Indeed...this is true. After doing just a little reading, it appears that MacArthur assured Truman that the Chinese would not invade...even though they had massed 5 divisions just north of the Yalu. Bad Call Doug.

[Dinner]

I remember Kissinger blaming MacArthur in his book for forgetting about politics and simply pushing forward, leaving the most defensible line behind and getting rolled back far behind it later.

Yep, it was actually an unpopular move in the US and MacArthur had such a giant ego (even claiming victory over Japan was all due to him while openly telling people how much he hated Truman) that many people were actually happy when Truman fired him. Several of the President's political advisors didn't want to advance to the Yalu River as Communist China said they wanted that as a buffer zone but while the politicians were discussing it MacArthur just went ahead and ordered his forced to advance. Now, that would have effectively ended the Korean war with victory but by entering the buffer area it he pissed off the Chinese and started a whole new phase of the war, all while disobeying the President, and it is that type of BS which got MacArthur canned.

[Dr Strangelove]

There were intelligence reports about the Chinese moving across the Yalu river weeks before they launched their attack on the UN forces. I wonder what would have happened if UN forces had pulled back to the mountain ridges and dug in? Considering where their front lines were at the time they would have had to fall back less than 50 miles. It would have afforded an opportunity to link up with some of the more slow moving elements and if they had held the line it would have left North Korea cut in half.

On a more serious note, now that Kim has vowed to bomb all of China's best export markets why do the Chinese put up with him?

[onodera]

On a more serious note, now that Kim has vowed to bomb all of China's best export markets why do the Chinese put up with him?

Barking dog seldom bites?

[Kaak]

Not to change the subject, but AH - how did you get into NK? I'm going to SK in the next month or two... Any chance I could get across the border?

[SlowwHand]

Why? Like wallowing in squalor?

US to beef up missile defense against NKorea
By ROBERT BURNS | Associated Press – 15 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will add 14 interceptors to a West Coast-based missile defense system, reflecting concern about North Korea's focus on developing nuclear weapons and its advances in long-range missile technology, officials said Friday

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel planned to announce the decision later Friday. It was first reported by Fox News.

In advance of Hagel's announcement, defense officials confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The Pentagon intends to add the 14 interceptors to 30 already in place in California and Alaska. That will expand the system's ability to shoot down long-range missiles in flight before they could reach U.S. territory.

James Miller, defense undersecretary for policy, said in a speech Tuesday that the Pentagon has the ability to deploy up to 14 additional missile interceptors, "if needed." He did not say in the speech that a decision had been made to do so.

"As we think about our homeland missile-defense posture, we do not have a 'just-in-time' policy," Miller said. "Our policy is to stay ahead of the threat — and to continue to ensure that we are ahead of any potential future Iranian or North Korean ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capability."

Miller noted that last December, North Korea launched a satellite into space, demonstrating its mastery of some of the same technologies required for development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"Our concern about Pyongyang's potential ICBM capability is compounded by the regime's focus on developing nuclear weapons. North Korea's third nuclear test last month is obviously a serious concern for all nations," he said.

North Korea recently threatened to reduce Seoul to a "sea of fire" and stage pre-emptive nuclear attacks on Washington.

"North Korea's shrill public pronouncements underscore the need for the U.S. to continue to take prudent steps to defeat any future North Korean ICBM," Miller said in his speech on Tuesday.

[Dinner]

Not to change the subject, but AH - how did you get into NK? I'm going to SK in the next month or two... Any chance I could get across the border?

Last I heard no one gets across the DMZ and if you want a tourist visa to NK, which costs like $10,000, you have to enter from China and you can only go on one guided tour where you can't leave your government minder on pain of being tossed into a NK jail forever. They'll dictate everything from what pictures you can and cannot take as well as where you go and when you go there.

[Sava]

sounds like a bad idea