Althouse: "The Korean People’s Army will reduce the bases of aggression and provocation to ashes with its invincible Hwasong rockets tipped with nuclear warheads..."

March 20, 2017

"The Korean People’s Army will reduce the bases of aggression and provocation to ashes with its invincible Hwasong rockets tipped with nuclear warheads..."

"... and reliably defend the security of the country and its people’s happiness in case the US and the South Korean puppet forces fire even a single bullet at the territory of the DPRK."

63 comments:

Rusty said...: Knock yerself out Li'l Kim.; 3/20/17, 10:12 AM
Fernandinande said...: I'll betcha "the Korean People" would enjoy seeing that pudgy little psycho-monkey hanging from a lamp post....if they had any lamp posts.; 3/20/17, 10:14 AM
zipity said...: "Come back here....! I'll bite your legs off...."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhRUe-gz690; 3/20/17, 10:15 AM
DanTheMan said...: ... and Jimmy Carter pulls back into the lead for "worst President", but the race for "worst Ex President" may be heating up.; 3/20/17, 10:15 AM
DanTheMan said...: >>Knock yerself out Li'l Kim.

He might. But he might take a few million innocents along with him.; 3/20/17, 10:17 AM
Rusty said...: Dan.
He'll get exactly one chance and maybe not even one of those. The minute those missiles reach the atmosphere, he's toast. Literally.; 3/20/17, 10:23 AM
Fernandinande said...: South Korean Puppy Forces; 3/20/17, 10:26 AM
William said...: I think Kim is capable of walking off a cliff and that most of his regime will follow. I can't think of a scenario where this ends well. There are different levels of disaster, however. In any event, it is all Trump's fault.; 3/20/17, 10:27 AM
YoungHegelian said...: This is one of the unexpected consequences of the NATO invasions of Iraq & Libya.

Both Iran & NK saw that if the West really wanted to invade & take out your government, there wasn't much you could do about it. Oh, your people could have guerilla operations against the occupation, but that wouldn't help the members of the now-deposed government who were now dead or in prison.

A battle with conventional weapons meant that the Western powers would win. The only way a pariah 3rd world government can resist NATO invasion is by nuclear deterrence. So, those governments developed nuclear weapons.; 3/20/17, 10:28 AM
Greg Hlatky said...: Didn't click the link. Is this an OFA announcement?; 3/20/17, 10:31 AM
buwaya said...: North Korea certainly does have lamp posts. The worlds finest lamp posts, created through the genius of our leader, or his father, or grandfather, I forget, who applied his genius to this problem of illumination and thus achieved a world-historical breakthrough. This also serves to illuminate the glorious spirit of juche, with which we will break the waists of the crazy enemies.

(writer subsequently executed with anti-aircraft guns, for forgetting); 3/20/17, 10:33 AM
Lance said...: I'll betcha "the Korean People" would enjoy seeing that pudgy little psycho-monkey hanging from a lamp post....if they had any lamp posts.

There's a lot more of them than there are of him. I'm pretty sure they can take him out any time they want.; 3/20/17, 10:41 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: I assume they have figured out the likelihood of being able to destroy the launch sites quickly enough, and that the answer to that is determining the next steps.; 3/20/17, 10:42 AM
Anonymous said...: exhelodrvr1 said...
I assume they have figured out the likelihood of being able to destroy the launch sites quickly enough, and that the answer to that is determining the next steps.

It's a two part problem.

1. The nuke sites
2. all that conventional Artillery within range of the 10 million people in Seoul.

We can first strike the first, but not the second.; 3/20/17, 10:46 AM
Fernandinande said...: Dear Leader and his Juche goo machine. Juche goo is the best goo!

buwaya puti said...
(writer subsequently executed with anti-aircraft guns, for forgetting)

That beats a poisoned needle.; 3/20/17, 10:50 AM
Jake said...: Appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak.; 3/20/17, 10:57 AM
Michael K said...: "This is one of the unexpected consequences of the NATO invasions of Iraq & Libya."

Mainly Libya. That was one of the worst decisions in world history, right up there with 1914.

Gaddafi gave up his nukes after Iraq but the decision to take him out made the point that you NEVER do that if you are a dictator.

I have read that NK is a warlord state but that was a few years ago and the current Kim may have consolidated power, with AA guns among other things.; 3/20/17, 10:57 AM
Rusty said...: I doubt if the average south Korean want's unification. There is no upside to it for the south. The population of the north is solely dependent on the largesse of the state and the skills they have consist of digging holes or piling rocks.; 3/20/17, 11:00 AM
rhhardin said...: The rocket names are great.; 3/20/17, 11:08 AM
Darrell said...: Trump would be made powerless if all the Hillary voters and anti-Trumpers went to North Korea to act as human shields.; 3/20/17, 11:15 AM
hawkeyedjb said...: The end of the world will start with a nuclear strike by Iran or North Korea. After that - ashes to ashes, dust to dust.; 3/20/17, 11:15 AM
Known Unknown said...: "There's a lot more of them than there are of him. I'm pretty sure they can take him out any time they want."

The populace is so brainwashed and without access to the elements of revolt that I do not think it at possible as you.; 3/20/17, 11:17 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: the drill sgt,
Agreed, the question being that if they felt they could eliminate the nukes and Kim, would they would be willing to risk the initial stages of a conventional war? Do they think that he will eventually use the nukes if they aren't eliminated? Are the South Korean leadership willing to make that call rather than live under the fear of Kim launching at some point?; 3/20/17, 11:25 AM
Brando said...: I find that "people's happiness" stuff adorably quaint. Until I remember this is a country where half the people are forced to subsist on bark and grass. Then it's just depressing.

Why are we still there again? We're not fulfilling any function on the peninsula that South Korea cannot fulfill without us. They're a wealthy, populous country now.; 3/20/17, 11:30 AM
cubanbob said...: Let us not forget that thanks to Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright NK wouldn't be such a problem today. Special shout out to Jimmy Carter for his participation in this mess.; 3/20/17, 11:31 AM
gspencer said...: "A stitch in time will save nine."

or to put in today's predicament,

"A stitch in time would have saved nine."

Donald, at this point, get out the darning tools and solve this growing problem.; 3/20/17, 11:35 AM
Brando said...: "Let us not forget that thanks to Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright NK wouldn't be such a problem today. Special shout out to Jimmy Carter for his participation in this mess."

Problem would have been solved if we'd pumped enough troops into the original conflict to hold the line at the Yalu, or at least farther up the peninsula so Seoul wouldn't be within NK artillery range. That threat is the only reason we give NK any thought at all.; 3/20/17, 11:48 AM
wholelottasplainin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/20/17, 11:57 AM
wholelottasplainin said...: Has anyone noticed those fawning, cringing sycophants around Kim always seem to be holding a small notepad and pencil, all the better to take down every Word of Wisdom uttered by Dear Leader?

My God, it's gotta SUCK to be a NORK.

I bet they all long to be in Havana, which is basically Pyongyang with Palm Trees.; 3/20/17, 11:59 AM
JPS said...: Brando,

"Why are we still there again? We're not fulfilling any function on the peninsula that South Korea cannot fulfill without us."

The function we fulfill is making sure the Norks know for certain, if they start a war with the South they're starting one with us too. How much less likely does this make a second Korean War?

I don't actually know. If I were running North Korea, I wouldn't want to take on the RoK militarily even if they had no American help. But then I am (largely) rational, not to mention disinterested. If I were Fat Kim, might I instead remember that under my grandfather we took Seoul three days after we rolled south? And delude myself that without an American/ UN coalition response, we might batter the prosperous South, with so much to lose into suing for peace under terms favorable to us?

I might. Which would pretty much suck for all concerned.

Seeing your followup at 11:48 I want to see you that solution and raise you Professor Terguson at :57:

http://tinyurl.com/lhvhpq6; 3/20/17, 12:01 PM
Brando said...: "The function we fulfill is making sure the Norks know for certain, if they start a war with the South they're starting one with us too. How much less likely does this make a second Korean War?"

That's the justification, anyway, that our forces (even a small force) is a deterrent because the Norks know we wouldn't allow the South to be overrun. But I think our calculus since 1953 has changed a lot, as RoK got richer (and a much better army than they used to have, and the capability of making that army bigger if necessary) and NK got poorer and more isolated from allies (at least in 1950-53 they had China and USSR behind them--now it's questionable that China would help them in an offensive war).

I could be wrong, of course--clearly our government has decided that even today keeping a few divisions there helps make war less likely. And whatever we save (in money and risk) by taking our forces out may not be worth it if war is more likely. I just wonder if this was something they seriously considered recently, or if our policy is a product of inertia.

Though NK's rocket and nuclear weapons program adds another wrinkle. Whether the forces we currently have on the peninsula help us deal with that any better is another question.; 3/20/17, 12:16 PM
Achilles said...: The question will be if NK can successfully detonate a nuke in the Ionosphere over SE Asia. I don't think our grid would fair too well if that happened over us. I am betting Japan will be somewhat ok but what about China?

NK missile technology is sufficiently behind enough that our anti-missile systems should be able to protect the ground targets. But if they go straight up...; 3/20/17, 12:19 PM
Sigivald said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/20/17, 12:21 PM
Static Ping said...: It is hard to tell with North Korea what is bluster and what they actually believe. I'm not sure they are connected well enough to reality to know the difference at this point.

However, I would think that if they ever actually used them, that would be the end of the regime as they have crossed all lines that anyone could tolerate. Then the question becomes whether North Korea nukes themselves like a cult mass suicide.; 3/20/17, 12:39 PM
Brando said...: "It is hard to tell with North Korea what is bluster and what they actually believe. I'm not sure they are connected well enough to reality to know the difference at this point."

That's the rub--we assume they wouldn't use them and are just playing at being crazy because a sane man might play at crazy to their advantage. But countries have often acted against their best interest, and who can tell what NK might do?; 3/20/17, 12:47 PM
Birches said...: I saw the headline of the post and wasn't sure if it was a legitimate statement or a headline from this parody account.

That's how crazy NK is, I guess. I just finished the book, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. I think more people are aware of the lies because there have been so many defectors, but rebellion is not within their capability.; 3/20/17, 1:34 PM
Lance said...: The populace is so brainwashed and without access to the elements of revolt that I do not think it at possible as you.

Nonsense. These are humans we're talking about, not robots. They know who has the food and medicine and who doesn't. They see who has cars and houses and who doesn't.

And the Nork military are part of that. Even more than the civilians, they see what's going on.

Whatever the Kim regime is doing to prevent dissent, it only works if the people go along with it. If there's a significant percentage of the North Korean population that's ready to revolt, there's no indication of it.; 3/20/17, 1:43 PM
Jim said...: When I studied this in detail, more than ten years ago and using open source information, I decided that Korea could make a device. I figured they had enough material for a handful of them. The missiles they had at the time could hit Hawaii or the Aleutians. But, they could not make a serviceable warhead that could hit mainland USA. So I say, NORKS, knock yourself out. We will make the rubble bounce and also settle some reliability questions about our stockpile.; 3/20/17, 1:56 PM
Michael K said...: "I doubt if the average south Korean want's unification"

South Korea has been cooperating with China to prevent collapse of NK for years. They have returned defectors that sought asylum in their Chinese embassy. They watched what happened when East Germany collapsed.; 3/20/17, 1:59 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>Nonsense. These are humans we're talking about, not robots. They know who has the food and medicine and who doesn't. They see who has cars and houses and who doesn't.

Don't underestimate the effect of generations of 24x7 brainwashing. They may actually believe that the southerners have even less than they do.

Of course, even if you are correct, and they all realize the truth, it's easier NOT to think about things you can be shot for saying.; 3/20/17, 2:03 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: This is all bad news because of China's ally relationship with NK. Lil Kim does know the USA would come to SK aid. We are there right now doing exercises to reinforce that notion, using SOF in joint ops for the first time. NK can start another world war, which nobody wants, and would likely lead to Iran trying to make their move on Israel while we are occupied on the peninsula. But then we all know what would happen.

The media/DNC complex would hammer the "It's Trump's fault" meme 24/7 until most people give in and agree. Carter, Clinton and Obama malfeasance right down the memory hole, neat as a pin. Somewhere there is a democrat (or lifelong republican) wishing for this very scenario right now!; 3/20/17, 2:07 PM
Scott M said...: Single bullets get fired inside the DMZ all the time.; 3/20/17, 2:10 PM
Etienne said...: One of the fears the Chinese have, is having American forces on one of its borders. The same goes for Russia.

To that end, I would negotiate with the Chinese and Russians, that no US or Allied Forces would ever be deployed north of the 38th Parallel, and over a period of years, complete ending of our defense alliance.

Also, that we would welcome a unified non-nuclear Korea, void of all foreign military powers. A constitution not unlike Japan after the World War.; 3/20/17, 2:19 PM
Quaestor said...: Kim's puppy porn is disgusting. I realize the BDSM scene is "upwardly mobile" as it were, but puppy bondage is beyond the pale.

I hope Trump can work out a deal with Japan to base an anti-missile defense system on its territory, otherwise, we'll be forced to permanently naval assets in the Sea of Japan equipped with RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) anti-ballistic missiles.

Suppose we shot down their next "test shot" on the grounds that we suspected an attack on Japan or Hawaii? After all, people who issue threats shouldn't be surprised if they're taken seriously.; 3/20/17, 2:27 PM
Quaestor said...: Dr. Althouse, why don't you block welas asih?; 3/20/17, 2:36 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/20/17, 2:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Dr. Althouse, why don't you block wells asih?"

I don't have a way to block people. My only options are to delete it after it is posted or put everyone on moderation. I have been doing the former.

The real question is why hasn't Blogger identified this as spam.; 3/20/17, 2:55 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Blogger Fernandinande said...
I'll betcha "the Korean People" would enjoy seeing that pudgy little psycho-monkey hanging from a lamp post....if they had any lamp posts.

3/20/17, 10:14 AM

The Northern ones? I'm not so sure. I remember seeing the photos of crowds wailing in grief when Daddy died and went to hell on an express train. Of course, those were propaganda photos, but we don't know how much of the grief was feigned.

They are miserable - but have also been brainwashed since birth and are incredibly isolated. They know much less about the outside world than the Soviet masses did. The Soviets had some exposure to Western pop culture, Radio Free Europe and foreigners, although most of the outsiders were from Soviet bloc countries and allied Third World countries. Has the average North Korean ever used the Internet? Can they get any broadcasts that are not state-run? For all I know, they might think everyone on earth lives like they do and has an All-Powerful leader looking after them.; 3/20/17, 2:57 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/20/17, 2:58 PM
Etienne said...: I would go one step further.

If China and Russia would declare a non-nuclear unified Korea, that we would remove all of our forces from Korea, Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands.

That we would sign a peace treaty with all interested parties in ending the Korean war.; 3/20/17, 2:59 PM
Ann Althouse said...: ""Dr. Althouse, why don't you block wells ash?""

The other option is word verification.

I've put that on. Sorry to impose the trouble on everyone else.; 3/20/17, 3:02 PM
readering said...: A key to Kim staying in power is setting up a strict class society. Folks living in the capital and the officers in the armed forces are treated pretty well. People in the provinces and the enlisted men suffer.; 3/20/17, 3:12 PM
Curious George said...: We can thank Bill Clinton and that troll Madeleine Albright for this mess.; 3/20/17, 3:22 PM
Big Mike said...: The real question is why hasn't Blogger identified this as spam.

Too much like work, perhaps?; 3/20/17, 3:26 PM
Big Mike said...: @Curious, don't forget the role that Jimmy Carter played!; 3/20/17, 3:27 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Etienne,
"Also, that we would welcome a unified non-nuclear Korea, void of all foreign military powers. A constitution not unlike Japan after the World War"

South Korea does not want that any more. That would destroy their economy - the disparity between North and South Korea is much greater than between West and East Germany.; 3/20/17, 3:35 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Thanks Obama; 3/20/17, 4:05 PM
JAORE said...: When Ronny R was criticized for "Star Wars defense" we were told it would never stop the thousands of Soviet nukes. Even then I thought I was more nervous about a rogue nation with a handful of nuclear missiles.

The Norkes set the standard.; 3/20/17, 4:12 PM
Kevin said...: "puppet forces"?

Team America!; 3/20/17, 4:16 PM
Lucien said...: So what happens if South Korea starts an annual tradition, sometime when the weather is reliably mild,of having everyone in Seoul go on a two week vacation, evacuating (near enough) the city?

Would North Korea treat it as an act of war and attack the very first time it was tried? If not, then why would it do so in any subsequent year?

Or what happens if China invades North Korea -- would North Korea start an artillery barrage of Seoul just on general principle?

If nuclear weapons were detonated in the Korean peninsula, China would suffer (literally) from the fallout, so shouldn't it be China's problem to solve?; 3/20/17, 5:12 PM
Kevin said...: "Or what happens if China invades North Korea -- would North Korea start an artillery barrage of Seoul just on general principle?"

They don't seem the kind of people who would let a good piece of artillery go to waste just because it's pointed in the wrong direction.; 3/20/17, 5:25 PM
Rusty said...: Blogger Kevin said...
"Or what happens if China invades North Korea -- would North Korea start an artillery barrage of Seoul just on general principle?"

"They don't seem the kind of people who would let a good piece of artillery go to waste just because it's pointed in the wrong direction."

That's the problem. Someone did a study on the readyness of the Nork army. It's kind pathetic. Yes they have 25 artillary pieces (something like that) for every mile of the DMZ. However those artillary are poorly maintained and the army is poorly fed and spend most of their time, instaed of training, building infrstructure-grunt work. L'il Kim has spent most of his military budget on nuclear weapons.; 3/20/17, 6:53 PM
Alex said...: Mike said...
This is all bad news because of China's ally relationship with NK. Lil Kim does know the USA would come to SK aid. We are there right now doing exercises to reinforce that notion, using SOF in joint ops for the first time. NK can start another world war, which nobody wants, and would likely lead to Iran trying to make their move on Israel while we are occupied on the peninsula. But then we all know what would happen.

Isn't is sad and pathetic that Obama told South Korea to fuck off for 8 years? South Koreans are basically in 'Stockholm Syndrome' hating America and trying to appease NK at all costs and they won't appreciate Trump's support.; 3/20/17, 11:19 PM