North Korea's Crazy Aspirations

[naomi24]

North Korea is now telling Britain to consider evacuating Pyongyang embassy. At the end of it all, what is it hoping to achieve?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9973951/North-Korea-tells-Britain-to-consider-evacuating-Pyongyang-embassy.html

[rockyracoon]

I just heard this on Sky news, I was very surprised that we even had an embassy there, hopefully the government will bring eveyone back tout suite.

Kim Jong whatsit is like a hormonal adolescent dog, throwing his weight around trying to be top dog, he seems convinced he has the clout to back up his rhetoric but I wouldn't be surprised if he was holed up out if the way on some remote island whilst the poor citizens of NK will bear the brunt any repercussions.

[Gromit]

It has has Nuclear weapons.
It constantly threatens its neighbours.
It refuses to sign the Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.
It does not allow the International Atomic Agency any inspections.
It ingnores the UN.

No not Korea, Isreal.

The two are almost identical in their behoviour, except Korea has been the subject of sanctions for eight years whilst Isreal is the beneficery of $billions in Aid.

Perhaps the North Koreas believe if they behave badly enough, they too will be rewarded with untold riches.

Whatever, there are double standards at play here.

[atalanta]

North Korea's leaders are constantly thinking up wheezes to distract their population from thinking about the dreadful state of their economy and their terrible standard of living compared to those of South Korea.
This is just another distraction, though a pretty desperate one.

[Gromit]

I wonder what state the Israeli economy would be in without the $114 billion+ of aid it has receive fron the US alone?

[naomi24]

That's helpful Gromit. :o/

[birdie1971]

Gromit

Your Israel / NK comparison leaves out a really important bit of information.

You make the spurious claim that, “... [Israel] constantly threatens its neighbours...”. This is highly debatable. In fact I would say that this claim is quite wrong. What precisely does Israel, “...constantly threaten” its neighbours with? Nuclear Armageddon? Hardly.

In your comparison you conveniently leave out the fact that many of Israel's neighbours do like to say that they want the country wiped from the map and every Jewish person murdered. The fact that Israel is surrounded on all sides by countries which want to see it annihilated may explain Israel's rather robust political and military stance. Likening NK to Israel in this regard is entirely wrong since no nation is threatening to wipe NK off the face of the Earth simply because of the fact that they object to its existence.

While I don't agree with quite of lot of what Israel does, I think your comparison is highly inappropriate and quite deliberately misleading.

[mikey4444]

I always enjoy it when the North Koreans start strutting around. Busby Berkeley would have been proud of them !

[Brenden]

I agree Birdie, Israel also has freedom for its people - cannot say that for North Korea.

[sandyRoe]

Israel can only exist because it squats on stolen land. Each day that passes sees more homes for settlers, 'facts on the ground', built. They are clearly demonstrating that they have no interest in a two state solution. That being the case, Israel will cease to be a state someday

[jim360]

This thread, really, was about North Korea, not Israel. In the case of Israel, I'd say there are faults on both sides. But that's probably for another thread?

Goodness only knows what North Korea is planning. If they are now warning Diplomats to leave, does that mean that they expect things to get serious? If so, how soon. Or maybe this is meant to be a game of Nuclear Chicken.

[naomi24]

Jim, precisely. Thank you.

[tamborine]

Rich business owners eg M&S, Tesco, Virgin etc in UK and lots in USA like Macys that support Israel.

NK has none & wont allow their people foreign travel

[naomi24]

I've just heard North Korea described by someone who has lived and worked there as the closest thing on the planet to '1984'. A chilling thought.

[Raleigh]

Gromit

So Israel 'constantly threatens its neighbours' does it? Seems you are a student of the Joseph Goebbels school of lies and hatred.

That statement makes as much sense as saying that during WW2 Britain was constantly threatening Germany.

You are one of those people who love to twist the facts. Such as Reuters with this recent headline:

"Israel launches air strike on Gaza; first since truce"

Then, when you read right down the article you find another bit of information:
The attack was in response to an earlier Palestinian rocket attack.

If you believe the two countries are so comparable, try going to Pyongyang and asking a North Korean to criticise his or her beloved leader - they'd scream, run and have you arrested. Try it in Jerusalem and you'd soon have a small crowd gathered round having a debate on the subject.

One is a totalitarian state run by a dangerous screw-ball and the other is a democratic state surrounded by countries wanting to annihilate it.

if you cannot tell the difference between the two I almost feel sorry for you.

[Gromit]

Birdie1971

//What precisely does Israel, “...constantly threaten” its neighbours with? Nuclear Armageddon? Hardly. //

This sounds like a Nuclear threat...

// Israeli leaders have concluded that conventional air strikes would be insufficient in curbing Iran’s nuclear program, leaving only a deployment of either tactical nuclear weapons or ground forces, according to a report in the British Sunday Times.

“The only way to finish off Iran’s nuclear program is by using the nuclear option,” said IDF Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz, the only named source quoted by the report. //

http://www.timesofisrael.com/only-the-nuclear-option-can-work-against-iran-former-idf-chief-says/

[naomi24]

This isn't about Israel. Any chance of sticking to the subject?

[Gromit]

// what is it hoping to achieve? //

Unification of Korea presumably. Countries that are divided, Germany, Ireland etc usually have some ambition to be one country again. Well some in those divided lands have that ambition. As the south prospers and grows wealthy, it become more of a prize for the North.

It may invade the South but I doubt Guam, Japan or the US are under any real threat. They all have a missile shield anyway. Our best hope is that China slaps down NK. We certainly do not want another 10 year pointless war like we have just had in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Nibble]

IMO, the actual use of NK forces won't ammount to it, as the probable resolution to this furore may well be the UN gives North Korea another pot of money NOT to do anything, then the "Eternal/Super/Idiot leader" can be seen by his military underlings as a strong & forceful leader, and the rest of the world gets on with its day.

Or, if we bring back GWB, then he'll probably go for the "bomb the b@rsteward" route - again.. with all that entails.

[naomi24]

chiilired, //There is no truth based in any of this govenment rubbish.//

Really? I see you're new here. If you know something the rest of us don't, do tell.