North Korea threatens to follow up nuclear test and 'destroy South Korea'

[alp227]

Source: Reuters

North Korea has threatened South Korea with "final destruction" during a debate at the UN Conference on Disarmament , saying it could take "second and third steps" after a nuclear test last week.

"As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea's erratic behaviour would only herald its final destruction," North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong told the meeting.

Without specifically referring to the nuclear test, Jon said North Korea had recently taken a "resolute step for self-defence", which he described as "strong counter-actions to a foreign aggressor".

He added that if the US takes a hostile approach towards North Korea, Pyongyang "would be left with no option but to take the second and third stronger steps in succession".

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/19/north-korea-threatens-destroy-south-korea

[iandhr]

1. Yawn

North Korea threatens to destroy South Korea on a daily basis.

[SkyDaddy7]

40. Right...But...

The little boy in charge might want to make a name for himself...They really do think they have what it takes to unify the peninsula & destroy the USA so he could take a shot. We will see.

However, I do agree with you they come up with a new threat almost every week. They have been trained by US & China that if they act like a little spoiled child then you get freebies from countries who just want them to stop setting off nukes like firecrackers.

[yurbud]

44. no one in their military brass can be stupid enough to think they can take us on and even if...

they were, China would quickly disabuse them of that notion.

Attack South Korea would be cause massive casualties in the South, but at the end of the day, North Korea would no longer exist.

So essentially, all their threats are really a gun pointed at the own head and we give them things to prevent their blood and brains from getting on our and South Korea's nice clothes.

[Wait Wut]

2. Makes me happier to be an American.

Until Canada decides to invade.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. The United States of Canada:

[Wait Wut]

14. LOL!

Tell me there's a wall involved!

[yurbud]

45. Jesusland is being carved up by North Mexico. And South Florida is already Narcotopia

or Scarfaceland.

[Botany]

3. if North Korea put a missile that was tipped w/ any sort of nuclear warhead on a launch pad ...

.. it would be destroyed in under an hour. This is just N. Korea wanting the world to pay
attention to them and get them some food in order to stop some of the hunger.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

24. We'd have to be very sure there was only one missle to target

or target them all simultaneously. Then after they were destroyed what to do about the advancing NKA? Airburst.

Let PRNK have their tantrum and ignore it.

[Botany]

25. you can be sure that at least 2 or 3 spy satellites are parked over N. Korea .....

.... and yes i am sure this is just a look at me tantrum. I say give 'em some
food because that is so much cheaper then spending $$$ on the military ...
I think it is just a matter of time when N. Korea crumbles.

[Posteritatis]

4. "... this is a recording." (nt)

[Ash_F]

5. Love the double standards

"In the 30 years of my career I've never heard anything like it and it seems to me that we are not speaking about something that is even admissible, we are speaking about a threat of the use of force that is prohibited by Article 2.4 of the United Nations charter,"

This is all right after South Korea threatened to strike North Korea. The NK diplo's statement was a direct response to that. How about nobody threatens to strike anybody?

[lupulin]

7. What threats did South Korea issue to North Korea?

[Ash_F]

9. I remember a day when Duer's read the the article linked in the OP before commenting

The Golden years. Seems so long ago.

[lupulin]

13. It's good to have memories.

It would also be helpful to point out where in the article there is mention of South Korea issuing threats.

[Ash_F]

15. You seem be able to string together sentences

Maybe you can read too? I recommend reading the entire article. Reading is good for you and can be an enriching experience.

[lupulin]

20. I must lack your brilliance and reading comprehension.

I look for your benevolence to shine down upon me and tell me which sentence to focus on.

[Ash_F]

23. See post 18

You must have read the article after I had. I guess maybe they cut it down in between.

[MynameisBlarney]

21. I read the entire linked article

and unless I missed something, I did not see anything stating that SK had previously threatened NK in this exchange.

[Ash_F]

18. Hold on a second. I may owe you an apology

It seems they pared down the article since I last looked at it.

Here is the original directly from Reuters, who was the originator.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/nkorea-threat-idUSL6N0BJA6T20130219

[bhikkhu]

39. That's a better article, but the "threats" were from the US

...as in pushing for more sanctions. South Korea continues its "sunshine" policy, more or less, under new president Park, though the north has just been up to its old tricks. Wishing the best for all over there, I wish there were some way out of the mess that didn't take another 50 years of posturing.

[Ash_F]

41. Well no, see this quote

"Since the North tested a nuclear bomb last week in defiance of U.N. resolutions, its southern neighbour has warned it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent."

The NK diplo's comment did not come out of thin air. It was a direct response to this.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Neah neah-neah neah neah booga booga booga. . .

[Myrina]

8. Someone needs to take those 2 kids out for an afternoon play-date ...

.... so they can work on their issues and come to a deal, once and for all.
They sound like school-aged siblings.

[AsahinaKimi]

10. They Sure love to Rattle their Sabers up there.. what They need is a good dose of

SNSD: Girls Generation

Those girls would be declared National Treasures in North Korea

[davidthegnome]

22. Lovely

Those young ladies ought to be declared as National Treasures in any Country. I liked the opening, it was beautiful and graceful... once they start singling in English though, it all sounds kind of silly. What language are they primarily singing in? Is it Korean? I learned a little Japanese when I was younger - didn't recognize any of the words though.

Perhaps it's a male thing, perhaps a western male thing, but I've always found Asian languages to be somehow more graceful than English. In particular, I love listening to Japanese music, even when I only understand a few of the words, but I suspect i imagine the words and the messages are... probably not as profound as I imagine them to be. That's one of those things about not understanding the words, it can be whatever you imagine it to be.

In a couple years, I'm hoping to spend a Semester over seas. Haven't decided yet whether I want to go to Japan or South Korea.

[AsahinaKimi]

29. They are singing in Korean

I have a video about living in Japan, you might want to check out; http://www.democraticunderground.com/1250992

I don't know that much about South Korea, even though my grandmother came from there. She never ever spoke English that I can remember. I could speak to her in a little Japanese. I was never taught Korean. I understand Korean is easier to read than Japanese, as Japanese gets a bit complicated, with not only Chinese style writing called Kanji...but you also need to know how to read Katakana and Hiragana. Korean just uses hangul. My mom speaks Korean, Japanese and English fluently. She was an English teacher. My Dad speaks Kansai ben, which is a dialect from the Kansai~Osaka area. Unfortunately, when I was growing up I had little exposure to the language of my Ancestors, so I had to go out and learn it on my own. (Parents eventually did help, but it was more about me wanting to learn it and doing it on my own.) I am still learning it.. Its my life long goal to be completely bi lingual and be able to speak Japanese fluently.

[happyslug]

27. They do it a little bit different in North Korea

Last edited Tue Feb 19, 2013, 07:48 PM - Edit history (2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zQe6RZ39eNo

Popular in China also:
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="

?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1vA4T1wfJLE#t=5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1vA4T1wfJLE

[AsahinaKimi]

30. Well one must wonder after the hoopla is over during the day

If those ladies can tear up a rug when they are by themselves and no one is watching. It be interesting to find out.

[davidthegnome]

31. I find those videos... disturbing

To say the least. Beautiful women in uniform, with automatic weapons, ready to shoot you down. It's sexist, but I've always seen women (and girls) as somehow more fragile, so I've always taken care to be much more gentle with them than I am with men or boys. Which is not to say I'm terribly aggressive in any event, just that... if a man were to hit me, I wouldn't hesitate to hit him back. If a woman did, I'd end up getting my ass kicked because I don't think I could force myself to fight back. I guess these things would make me a poor soldier.

Perhaps it's old fashioned, outdated and so on... but the idea of women on the front lines fills me with dread. Mothers, sisters, daughters.

I'm no warrior, no soldier, but I wonder about men (and women) who are. Is it a strictly male thing that we see women as more fragile? Softer? Or do women have the same sort of frame of mind? Can the best trained soldiers, the sort of righteous men and women we want in uniform...pull the trigger with the same simplicity as they might when gazing at a man? War is sick in any event. To me though, this makes it even more despicable, somehow.

It's not that women don't have the right to fight for their Countries, their lives. It's just that the idea of having to fight one fills me with dread.

[happyslug]

32. I have seen Ukrainians and Russia women goose stepping in Military Parades.

Last edited Tue Feb 19, 2013, 09:35 PM - Edit history (2)

Fredericks the Great's Father would be proud (Frederick William I is considered the inventor of the Goose Step, to impress people on the might of his army) and now it goes from Europe to the Chinese sea.

It was invented by Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, but Anhalt-Dessau was a vassal state of Prussia and thus he was a General in the Prussian Army Under Frederick William I AND Frederick the Great. In many ways Germany did NOT become a united country till AFTER WWI, many of the previous vassal states retain a good bit of their feudal rule, including a very divided government system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I,_Prince_of_Anhalt-Dessau

Please note, the Goose step was ALWAYS A PARADE STEP, never done in the field UNLESS it was part of some ceremony. It was NEVER a Combat step.

[treestar]

33. The Chinese pinkish color uniforms

with white boots and hats are more like cheerleader uniforms. They look incongruous carrying the rifles.

[davidpdx]

34. They probably got them at a bulk discount

[octothorpe]

35. They reminded me of stewardesses during the 1960's...

[davidthegnome]

12. Are they crazy enough to do it?

They've been sabre rattling for years, but it seems to me that they're honestly capable of using nuclear weapons now. So I guess the question is whether or not they will do it. Throughout history, the only Nation insane enough to use nuclear weapons was the US - and this was under really severe circumstances.

A lot of us (myself included) have friends and/or family in South Korea. If Pyongyang decides to obliterate it... well, this young man might finally join the army.

[MynameisBlarney]

17. If they do

Even NK's allies will not be able to stop the inevitable retaliation.
I don't think China, and to a lesser degree, Russia, will let NK fire off any nukes in the first place.
Pretty sure they're just posturing.

[davidpdx]

36. No, because they know exactly what would happen

I live in South Korea and have been here 9 years. I looked at a map and estimate the location of my house is about 26-30 miles from the border (depending on what point of their border you use). As MynameisBlarney pointed out, they would get pummeled if they did attack South Korea (bolded to make sure anyone understands we are referring only to an attack by the North first). While they have a bigger army, we (South Korea and the US) have better technology including missiles that can pinpoint places in downtown Pyongyang and wipe out areas without sending in troops. They would have to be pretty stupid to attack the South as it would bring an end to the regime.

[MynameisBlarney]

16. North Korea...

Reminds me of that one guy at parties that talks shit to everyone and no one really pays him very much attention, but eventually everyone gets sick of his shit and kicks him out of the party and then call his older brother to come take his stupid ass home.

[Hulk]

19. When you have nothing to lose....??

This is scary, in my opinion. North Korea has NOTHING to lose. The people are already starving to death. The only thing they have is this massive army and a lunatic for a leader.

[rtracey]

26. not to worry

I believe China, NK mainstay in life does not have the stomach for nuclear anything. The last nuclear test in NK pissed the Chinese off, so if NK went further, I believe instead of getting into the fray, China would allow "intervention"

[Hugabear]

28. China has absolutely no interest in a unified Korea

You think the Chinese want American (or American-friendly) troops near its border?

If you don't think the US would take advantage of a unified Korea to establish military bases north of the current DMZ, that seems pretty wishful thinking.

[davidpdx]

37. Yep, that's why the continue to prop North Korea up

providing aid and protecting them from the UN. The sanctions don't matter much if China is handing them the stuff to help them survive anyway. The only thing it stops North Korea from doing is trading its missile and nuclear bomb knowledge with other countries (and even then I think they are getting around it).

One of the only positive things is that information is getting inside North Korea more easily including news, TV programs, and movies.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

38. I expect N Korea will be dust soon?

[Witan00]

43. Either that...

...or glass

[ronnie624]

42. "if the US takes a hostile approach towards North Korea"

A threat is an expression of an intention to inflict harm. That isn't what the selectively quoted portions appear to be.

Pure propaganda for inducing fear and maintaining and element of hostility toward N. Korea in the collective American world view.

Don't be fooled by this sort of nonsense.