North Korea, what should be done?

We will have to come down hard on them. if we show any weakness (civility or compassion) they will not listen at the bargining table. They have to remember just one thing. Their nukes can't reach us but ours can sure as hell reach them. We also need to make them understand that if "nessacary" we will use ours. This is going to be a Royal rumble and they won't give in easy. Hopefully they can talk it out, but I doubt it.

Crippled them, one coastline at a time. Send top infiltrators and sabotageurs. Destroy their radioactive supply routes. Topple Kim.
Send UN into it afterward

Well, the first thing we need to do it cut off all monetary aid going to N. Korea. The threat of joining the Nuclear club has been their favorite ploy for bilking money out of the U.S. and other countries. Well, if they want to push it to this point, we should just tell them, Ok, if you want nukes, fine, but you'll never see another dime in aid.

Kim Jung Il's off on the same despotic masturbatory fantasy that brought down Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein. "Look, I so powerful I can take on U.S.!!!" So, let's take away his girlie magazine and practice "quiet diplomacy."

I'd like to see China and Russia handle N. Korea. I'd be putting my diplomatic efforts into persuading those two countries that they have the most to lose from a nuclear armed lunatic in the region, and giving them behind the scenes incentives to tame the beastie.

Ideally they could threaten/promise away till he either a) dies, b) gets killed, c) is overthrown, d) backs off.

The worst case scenario there, though, is they decide to do it by invading and trying to own the Korean Peninsula. Then we might have to intervene before they started a war. (Fortunately they didn't interfere that way with us and Iraq.) Hopefully by negotiating with China and Russia behind the scenes we could exert some control/influence over how they handled their attempts to control Kimmie boy.

I like what Nash hints at, employ N. Korea's large and close neighbors to apply pressure to N. Korea.

...of course, since they have WMD's we should just invade them right now. (just kidding Bushie warhawks, don't get excited)

I say we work on getting Kim Jung II assasinated. This would probably bring the whole bloody mess to a halt. I am not saying we should be the ones to do it, but there is no reason we couldn't sponsor someone that has a desire within his own country. I am sure it wouldn't be that hard to find someone that would like to take over the reigns and become a hero....just have to be picky about not getting into another Noriega situation...

say we work on getting Kim Jung II assasinated. This would probably bring the whole bloody mess to a halt. I am not saying we should be the ones to do it, but there is no reason we couldn't sponsor someone that has a desire within his own country. I am sure it wouldn't be that hard to find someone that would like to take over the reigns and become a hero....just have to be picky about not getting into another Noriega situation...

Wouldn't take a lot. Just a couple of Marine Corp sniper teams. (One shot, one kill.)

But if they screw up, that's pretty much a declaration of war.

Snipers don't screw up. They either hit the target or they don't shoot. History channel did a segment on snipers a little while ago. You should watch it. It explains things a lot better than I can.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I saw that special. I was more talking about being captured or spotted. It is unlikely, but the consequences would be disastrous.

Yes they would be. But neither would happen. That's a MAJOR part of their training.

Threaten China with the possibility of a nuclear S. Korea, Japan, and/or Taiwan.

I agree with Gene Nash - China is a much better threat than the US. NK citizens have always been told that the US is evil, but China has never really been that big a target for propaganda. When it threatens NK, it'll be like being savaged by a previously friendly dog. Just so long as China doesn't feel it'll be supported if it invades the whole thing should work a bit better than the US going it alone.

Of course if China is responsible for the overthrow of the regime it will set up its own, more amenable puppet government in NK - this could have serious consequences for US influence in the region, particularly considering the immediate border with South Korea.

North Korea is a symptom of the larger threat that is China. China is currently paying lip service to Washington's desires while privately supporting North Korea. My opinion is, if North Korea can keep the US occupied with worrying about nukes, this allows China to continue brokering oil deals with Iran, Venezuela, and the countries around the Caspian Sea.

China is not only trying to solidify its energy base, it is positioning itself to challenge American hegemony around the world. America lacks the resources to fight a war in Korea and continue to attempt to subjugate the Middle East. China knows this, and furthurmore knows that it can really hurt the dollar because of the amount of US debt it holds.

Don't rely on China to put pressure on North Korea, y'all. Kim Jong Il is small potatoes compared to what's on the horizon.

I say we work on getting Kim Jung II assasinated.

This plan certainly worked on Fidel Castro. You guys have been watching too much James Bond.

I say we work on getting Kim Jung II assasinated.

This plan certainly worked on Fidel Castro. You guys have been watching too much James Bond.

Yeah but at the time that was tried the US did not have a sniper program. It was not reconstituted from WW2 till the early 70's

welcome to the great unwashed.

Kim Jong Il is small potatoes compared to what's on the horizon.

This is true, but that doesn't change the problem of DPRK. For the PRC has had its problems with, what some have considered its proxy. Due to economic mismanagement DPRK has become a liability to the PRC. The PRC is constantly dealing with refuges from DPRK and thus providing a minor strain that Beijing would like to do without. And thus why DPRK is trying to play both sides of the table.

They are attempting to be nice to the ROK (which they are still officially at war with (there was no peace treaty signed at the end of hostilities)) to provide capital to its beligered economy, and at the same time trying to play tough to extract international aid and assistance from the US in particular (as they did in the 90's). This way they can continue to spend as high as 25% of the GDP on a large military in the hope of one day uniting the Korean Peninsula under their rule (which they almost did, if it wasn't for the UN mandated US-led Force (which the US and ROK forces still technically operate under on the Korean Peninsula (for the ROK was created by a UN mandated election which DPRK didn't participate in))).

As for what I think we should do, there are multiple options which we can attempt. By cutting off their aid, we have threatened DPRK with starvation. Where as currently its self imposed, since most food and medical aid which we currently provide is tranfered to support their military. Thus, in a possible scenario they can either roll-over and accept our demands and thus regain the aid which we provide; or they can launch an attack across the DMZ in a desporate attempt to force our position and thus gain territory and regain aid that we had cut off (if they are successful, and if we sue for peace).

We can continue down our current course and continue with threatened nuclear armarment, and have more stalemate. Given enough time and clandesticly provided material, DPRK will eventually gain the capability that they claim they posses. If they don't have that capability already. Thus creating another stalemate position.

We can attempt to assasinate him and his brethren. However, like in Iraq this would be very difficult to infultrate DPRK due to the large internal police and counter-intellegence force. If we succeed DPRK may possibly fall into anarchy and its neighboors will have to deal with the mess that insues. If we fail, it'll lead towards a renewel of hostilities.

As in the National Government Simulation (a now defunct Message board based Legislation simulation), I propose that we move our forces beyond their artillary range, except for a perimeter around Soeul/Inchon, thus creating a buffer for us to react to a potential DPRK attack. Former US positions along the DMZ can then be manned by either a minimal number of forces, or by ROK forces. This will give us time to focus our superior, numerically smaller, force so that it can be used more effectively while bring into play reinforcements located along the Pacific Rim. Even ground forces in Japan, to be sent to Pusan will take roughly 5-7 days time. Not to mention forces in Hawaii and on the West Coast.

If anything?