North Korea: "We are now at war with South Korea"

Zoombie · Mar 29, 2013

Now, before we start panicking, I don't actually think that this is quite as bad as that might sound, simply because...there was never a peace treaty signed. Rather, it was an armistice. Right?

Still, it is a continued escalation of the local madness. Hopefully, the North Koreans will back down again.

"From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly," a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/30/us-korea-north-war-idUSBRE92T00020130330

maxmordon · Mar 29, 2013

How long before the bluff is up?

missesdash · Mar 29, 2013

Haven't they threatened to strike Washington like a million times?

Goofballs.

Snowstorm · Mar 29, 2013

I'm more annoyed than anything. Kim can threaten to cut the phone lines, then cut the phone lines. He can threaten to prepare a plan to prepare the missiles, yadda yadda. I'm interested to see what happens when all the prep work is done and the only thing left is to pull the trigger (or press the button).

clintl · Mar 29, 2013

missesdash said:
Haven't they threatened to strike Washington like a million times?

Goofballs.

Apparently, he was looking at maps of Austin, Texas, this time around. At least in the photos of the planning session he released, according to the NBC News tonight.

Kaiser-Kun · Mar 29, 2013

clintl said:
Apparently, he was looking at maps of Austin, Texas, this time around. At least in the photos of the planning session he released, according to the NBC News tonight.

Or he finally replaced his New York/Washington dartboards.

I'll start worrying the moment they stop epicfailing everything.

missesdash · Mar 29, 2013

clintl said:
Apparently, he was looking at maps of Austin, Texas, this time around. At least in the photos of the planning session he released, according to the NBC News tonight.

Wait, Austin, Texas? THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

BenPanced · Mar 29, 2013

cornflake · Mar 29, 2013

South Korea says -

Yawn.

...the South brushed off the statement as little more than tough talk.

The two Koreas have been technically in a state of war for six decades under an armistice that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Despite its threats few people see any indication Pyongyang will risk a near-certain defeat by re-starting full-scale war...

There was no sign of unusual activity in the North's military or anything to suggest an imminent aggression, a South Korean defense ministry official said.

North Korea has been threatening to attack the South and U.S. military bases almost on a daily basis since the beginning of March, when U.S. and South Korean militaries started routine drills...

The South Korean government brushed off the North's latest statement on Saturday, saying there was nothing fresh in it to cause greater alarm...

blacbird · Mar 29, 2013

missesdash said:
Wait, Austin, Texas? THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Jesus. Why can't they at least go after Houston?

caw

efreysson · Mar 30, 2013

"From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly," a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency said.

Just what ARE the issues raised between North and South? Has the South ever done anything to upset these loonies? It has been my impression that the Kim bunch just stir up trouble whenever they want attention or the voices tell them to.

Don · Mar 30, 2013

North Korea is the Westboro Baptist Church of the international scene; absent the publicity they so desperately crave, they would fade into obscurity. They're every bit as threatening and successful as any other communist state that's postured importance on the world stage, propped up by the admiration of the fourth estate and the fear-mongering politicians who need a boogie-man to keep their own populations in line and willing to surrender liberty for safety. They're the Cuba of the 2010s; second banana and backup threat in this era starring "global jihad" instead of the USSR of my youth.

Srsly, the NK leadership has to know on some level that it would take nothing to punch their light out. Literally, their light, singular. They've had to keep the rest of their population in the stone age to manage to produce even that little spark of light.

Alessandra Kelley · Mar 30, 2013

As far as I can tell the point of this talk is entirely for domestic consumption.

As in many countries, North Korean leaders care a hundred times more about local politics and their image among their constituents than they do about a bunch of foreigners.

I think this talk is to impress North Korean citizens with their leader's awesomeness.

regdog · Mar 30, 2013

Don said:
North Korea is the Westboro Baptist Church of the international scene.

That had to been quoted and said again.

robeiae · Mar 30, 2013

Alessandra Kelley said:
I think this talk is to impress North Korean citizens with their leader's awesomeness.

Sexiest Man Alive and Master of Unicorns, what else is left?

Snowstorm · Mar 30, 2013

Alessandra Kelley said:
I think this talk is to impress North Korean citizens with their leader's awesomeness.

That's what I think too.

The only thing is when Kim has reached the end of his war "prep", it'll be interesting to see what he does. He's spun up his people, now marching in the street, and he's made all these grandiose threats. When there's nothing else for him and his military to do but pull the trigger, and he does ... nothing.

Alessandra Kelley · Mar 30, 2013

Snowstorm said:
That's what I think too.

The only thing is when Kim has reached the end of his war "prep", it'll be interesting to see what he does. He's spun up his people, now marching in the street, and he's made all these grandiose threats. When there's nothing else for him and his military to do but pull the trigger, and he does ... nothing.

Kim's people control every source of information in North Korea, even who is allowed to have a radio. All an average citizen of North Korea will know is whatever the news says.

The news can say anything they like about foreign lands; how could a North Korean possibly determine the truth?

If there is no local evidence that North Korea has been hit with nuclear bombs, it may simply look to locals like foreign powers are afraid of attacking North Korea.

In many ways North Korea is a fantasy land. It helps to look at things from the perspective of someone living inside it unaware of the realities of the rest of the world.

maxmordon · Mar 30, 2013

At least this will spice up somewhat those daily Two Minutes of Hate sessions.

Manuel Royal · Mar 30, 2013

Don said:
They're every bit as threatening and successful as any other communist state that's postured importance on the world stage, propped up by the admiration of the fourth estate ....

What fourth estate? They don't have one of those in North Korea.

DPRK has missiles that can (with luck) reach Alaska, and certainly reach a U.S. base in South Korea. Putting a working nuclear warhead on one, though, is another matter.

maxmordon · Mar 30, 2013

Isn't the Fourth Estate the Proletariat in this context?

cornflake · Mar 30, 2013

While I agree it's just generally the same posturing, mostly for internal consumption, as usual, some of the recent happenings give me a little pause.

The shutting off of the phone connection, for instance, doesn't seem to have an internal payoff, particularly. Would the average NK citizen even have known such a line existed? What big power move could KJU say was gained by turning it off even if they did?

Cutting it does, however, seem to indicate a real something - an intent to say there wouldn't be discussion no matter what, a lack of people left who can or will acknowledge the reality rather than the posturing, a signal of some plan in case of not-so-accidental-accident (like a childish 'I couldn't ask you for a cookie, you were sleeping!').

Maybe it's just more of the same but some of the stuff like that seems to have such little potential payoff in terms of the NK populous and such potential for actual trouble someplace down the line that it's kind of worrying.

firedrake · Mar 30, 2013

I've just read that the North Korean government has threatened to shut down the joint venture industrial complex at Kaisong. There's some speculation that they may hit that.

Manuel Royal · Mar 30, 2013

maxmordon said:
Isn't the Fourth Estate the Proletariat in this context?

The fourth estate refers to a political or social force that's influential to some degree but isn't officially acknowledged to be. Usually, it means the Press (or news media in general).

Cyia · Mar 30, 2013

clintl said:
Apparently, he was looking at maps of Austin, Texas, this time around.

blacbird said:
Why can't they at least go after Houston?

What? No "Don't Mess with Texas" jokes?

I'm very disappointed in all of you.

SomethingOrOther · Mar 30, 2013

BenPanced said:

Reminded me of

North Korea: "We are now at war with South Korea"

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