North Korea

[Homyrrh]

I'll just say this could become quite interesting. Feel free to share your own:

Two U.S. Journalists Sentenced to 12 Years in North Korea (http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/06/08/world/international-korea-north-journalists.html?_r=1&hp)

U.S. Weighs Intercepting North Korean Shipments (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/world/asia/08korea.html?hp)


The rest of the international news section (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html)is equally harrowing...shooting deaths in Mexico...troubles with an incompetent Afghan Army...cold-war-esque tensions between China in US over greenhouse gases (?)...

[jolanar]

North Korea is such a pickle for America. There really is nothing we can do it about it short of convincing China to pressure them.

Any war started will ravage South Korea and likely Japan as well, before any international force can intervene. Also, any force that does go to intervene will have to be large enough that it threatens China's sphere of influence thus starting god knows what kind of chain reaction.

Our only real hope lies in convincing China that it's in their best interest to flex their muscles. Which it no doubt is, but China is probably the proudest country in the world so any sort of suggestive policy by the United States has the possibility of having the opposite affect because I can guarantee you nobody in China wants to feel like the US is calling the shots over there.

In other words, it may very well be in our best interest to not do anything.

[Jon Lyrik]

You don't think China would do anything if NK started waging war? Bullshit. They'd have every reason to stop Kim from going batshit, if anything. South Korea and China might not like each other, but China has nothing to gain and plenty to lose letting that kind of shit happen in the backyard.