Posted on 07/06/2006 3:04:07 AM PDT by IrishMike
July 5, 2006: While everyone's attention was focused on North Korean missiles, the real story is the North Korean economy. It continues to fall apart, and more North Koreans are unhappy about that. Worse yet, more North Koreans are finding out how badly they have been screwed by their leaders. Meanwhile, North Korean officials engage in even more bizarre behavior. For example, food and fuel supplies sent to North Korea have been halted, not to force North Korea to stop missile tests or participate in peace talks, but to return the Chinese trains the aid was carried in on. In the last few weeks, the North Koreans have just kept the trains, sending the Chinese crews back across the border. North Korea just ignores Chinese demands that the trains be returned, and insists that the trains are part of the aid program. It's no secret that North Korean railroad stock is falling apart, after decades of poor maintenance and not much new equipment. Stealing Chinese trains is a typical loony-tune North Korean solution to the problem. If the North Koreans appear to make no sense, that's because they don't. Put simply, when their unworkable economic policies don't work, the North Koreans just conjure up new, and equally unworkable, plans. The Chinese have tried to talk the North Koreans out of these pointless fantasies, and for their trouble they have their trains stolen. How do you negotiate under these conditions? No one knows. The South Koreans believe that if they just keep the North Korean leaders from doing anything too destructive (especially to South Korea), eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse. Not much of a plan, but so far, no one's come up with anything better.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
And we want Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore types in the white house in this time?
The Chinese dont want to take them out and in fact the Chinese take up for the train thieves in the UN.
I sure can't figure out why the world is so scared of what North Korea is going to do. They can't even feed their people or provide simple things like water, sanitation or electricity. The first sign of battle and their huge army will desert.
....South Korea does not want North Korea to fall apart or it will become unmeasurable burden on their economy.
I see similarities with the Mexican non-economy and the United States. I wonder at the effect if the hard dollar currency being sent to Mexico from illagals and legals here was stopped.
To be honest, I'd rather not fire missiles in the direction of those people. How can they help the standard of living their psychotic leader has inflicted on them? It'd have to be Iraq all over again. We would take out the leadership and rebuild the country from the ground up. There is no happy way out for the N. Koreans.
Ahmedinejad is jealous of Kim's mastery of lunacy. He's watching closely and studying.
Whew! 1984 minus a budget.
I imagine that most of the engineers working on the missile project are doing their best to sabotage it, while they risk horrible punishments for failure. God help them.
I looked at the photos. Actually, in those, I didn't see too much different than what I used to see in China in the 1990s.
"eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse"
Haven't we been hearing that...for 50+ years.
I must apologize to all on this forum, as I worked as a "diplomat" under Mme. Halfbright for my last two working years. She is truly the most embarrassing cabinet officer ever to have schlepped any portfolio.
When I was stationed in South Korea (Army) that was something you heard often within the military ranks.
We can only hope NK will implode rather than explode and take Seoul with it.
"eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse"
Haven't we been hearing that...for 50+ years.
CUBA RING A BELL !!!!!!!
...I often wonder why we don't have assassins on the ground near lunatics like N. Korea's dictator (plus Iran's, plus Osama).
There is something or some law about assassinations with reference specifically to foreign 'leaders'.
I cannot remember details .... we cannot do it.
I'll do a little research
"eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse."
Thus bringing China down with it.This must not be allowed to happen.If it does It will create a power vacuum in north eastern Asia which could lead to widespread civil war.If anything ,when Nrth. Korea goes down we must be prepared to prop up the other Asian states.(Or it may end up like a gigantic Iraq.)
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