text: NK Missile Test Strategy? - THR
  NK Missile Test Strategy?THR > Social Situations > Legal > NK Missile Test Strategy?
  IronbarrJune 22, 2006, 10:22 AMToday - 06/22/06 @ 10:08 EDT the talking heads and "news alerts" are sweating out a (test) launch of a missile potentially a threat to CONUS. US fleet units are in place off NK; POTUS says "NO" to US/NK sitdowns; bells and whistles are on alert. The world awaits a NK decision to go and a US decision to stop it.
  Launch is destroyed. NK cries foul, marches a million man invasion of SK pushing in deep. US has to catch up - what to do? "Blah, blah, blah...."
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  ojibweindianJune 22, 2006, 01:32 PMWe're not the only military presence in South Korea; they have an army, too. Plus we've got B-52's in Diego Garcia, and of course there's always the bombers on 24x7 alert status at Offut AFB.
  NukemJimJune 22, 2006, 08:43 PMIt'll be a lot harder than you think for the North Koreans to pull off an invasion of its brother to the south
  Sorry but I am not sure about that. My understanding is that NK has been planning/preparing for an invasion of the south ever since the "end" of the "Korean War". Evidence given for this was the continued infilatration of recon/commando teams, incusions by NK Navy and Air Force into SK water/air, size/compostion of their military particularly their army, the continued building of tunnels that originate North of the DMZ that exit South of the DMZ (IIRC some large enough to take tanks, supply vehicles and narrow gauge RailRoad tracks). Combine the above with NK's history of reckless (by US Standards) disregard of losses during offensive modes, Korea's hilly terrain which (from my limited knowledge of Nuclear Weapons) greatly reduces the effectiveness of Nuclear Warheads especially if the enemy is properly trained and prepared in defensive measures against such devices. Frankly (and I hope I am wrong I most definetly do not know) I do not think the US could save SK from NK with conventional forces. We are stretched too thin. Hurt them? Yes, but they have had 50 years to develop and practice a plan. If NK were serious then we would have to go Nuclear in order to stop them. Furthermore I do not believe they would stop for only a few unless we were going to use them to destroy cities.
  I hope nothing occurs and if it does that I am 100% wrong. NukemJim
  IronbarrJune 22, 2006, 10:37 PMYou have put details to my general suspicions.
  ojibweindianJune 23, 2006, 08:52 AMMy understanding is that NK has been planning/preparing for an invasion of the south ever since the "end" of the "Korean War".
  Combine the above with NK's history of reckless (by US Standards) disregard of losses during offensive modes, Korea's hilly terrain which (from my limited knowledge of Nuclear Weapons) greatly reduces the effectiveness of Nuclear Warheads especially if the enemy is properly trained and prepared in defensive measures against such devices. We don't need nukes to beat the NKs. Conventional weapons would be sufficient. MOABs, and cluster munitions can take out concentrations of troops, and our precision guided weapons can take out vital infrastructures with relative ease. Also, though hilly/rough terrain is conducive to hiding and protecting forces from attack, it also makes it difficult for an attacking army to manoever at will, forcing the attackers to use well known passes and major thoroughfares to travel to their objectives. Attacking forces would be more concentrated at these places, allowing us to use these weapons to magnify the casualties inflicted upon the enemy.
  BikerJune 23, 2006, 08:58 AMAs I recall, NK has something like 8,000 arty pieces trained on our boys in SK along the border. That's a whole lotta boom-boom.
  IronbarrJune 23, 2006, 09:10 AMGuess I'm an old nag - might have something to do with watching stubby-bowed destroyers limp home from NK/SK waters in the '50s. Wish I had your confidence. As for modern arms, maybe... http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/709
  ojibweindianJune 23, 2006, 09:29 AMI'm from the new Navy. Aegis cruisers and destroyers are much more capable than the tin can Navy from WWII. Believe me.
  rev214June 23, 2006, 09:37 AMi know its could of/should of, but the :evil: Clintonians :evil: had an opportunity to take care of this mess called North Korea back in the early/mid 90's...but the administration geniuses got outfoxed in a lousy agreement...now its another Clinton mess (and a more dangerous one at that) that Dubya has to deal with...:banghead:
  armoredmanJune 23, 2006, 09:56 AMKim Jung Il pulls the trigger, a lot of people will get messy dead, and he will lose. It may take a while, and rivers of blood, but he will lose.
  HankBJune 23, 2006, 10:29 AMNK has been planning/preparing for an invasion of the south ever since the "end" of the "Korean War". A nuke-armed lunatic like Kim Jong-Il isn't something we can safety ignore, and Seoul, being right on the border, is vulnerable. But I don't see how repelling an invasion of South Korea should be primarily a US responsibility.
  NK GDP: ~$40 billion SK GDP: ~$800 billion NK military budget: ~ $5 billion SK military budget: ~ $21 billion South Korea has twice the population of NK, an economy around 20 times larger (even though there's a lot of guesswork in the NK numbers) . . . if SK can't or won't put together a military capable of stopping an NK invasion - particularly with US airpower, cruise missles, etc., backing them up, I don't see any real reason for a US "boots on the ground" campaign there again.
  dfaughJune 23, 2006, 11:24 AMIt'll be a lot harder than you think for the North Koreans to pull off an invasion of its brother to the south.
  Yeah, I would predict that to be about the shortest war in history. As soon as the NKs do anything overtly aggressive, the US cruise missiles start flying. The Chinese are backing the NKs, BUT they will only do so in a limited way. They (the Chinese) DO NOT want to get into a "shooting war" with the US (yet, if ever). They may have the people, but WE have the weapons systems.
  This would be much more like Desert Storm, than the current situation in Iraq. In Desert Storm we kicked a$$ and took names, and COULD HAVE completely decimated Iraqs forces, but the decision (wrongly IMHO) was made to stop once we freed Kuwait. Even with our reduced military, and our presence in Afganistan and Iraq, we could bring far more "firepower" to bear on the NKs, than they could possibly cope with, even with Chinese assistance. Heck, we've got stuff, the Chinese can only DREAM about. Better Intel, better weapons, etc.
  Hkmp5sdJune 23, 2006, 12:37 PMThe only way NK stands a chance is to control the air and they cannot do that. Troops, tanks and artillery are meaningless. They can cause a lot of destruction at the DMZ for a short period of time, but will be wiped out by air power.
  gmJune 23, 2006, 12:55 PMIf NK starts something,it will lose.we have more than enough technology,more than enough ships and subs,more than enough everything to spank their behinds..24/7 rain or shine.
  BikerJune 23, 2006, 12:59 PMHere is an interesting take on NK's war strategy as it applies to the US, in particular their 'tunnel warfare' tactics. A bit of a long read...
  IronbarrJune 23, 2006, 01:33 PMI think it would take about 290 million people working feverishly to support this "Fortress North Korea".
  gopguyJune 23, 2006, 01:58 PMThough it would be hard in furious in the begining if a conflict breaks out you have to remember N. Korea can not sustain it. The population is sickly and underfed. There was a story some time back about some N. Korean soldiers who came across the border to kidnap some women. The women in N. Korea are so under fed there are quite a few who can not carry a baby to birth. These guys wanted a couple breeders and to their dismay they found the women in the South to amazons they could not take on. True story.
  BikerJune 23, 2006, 07:49 PMUS plane crashes Thursday in North Korea??? Rumors....
  ZedicusJune 23, 2006, 08:05 PMUS plane crashes Thursday in North Korea??? Rumors....
  Hm, somewhat suspicious, appears more like NK looking for an "Excuse" to start a War....:scrutiny:
  BikerJune 23, 2006, 08:09 PMIt appears that it was enough to effect the foreign exchange markets.
  Roadwild17June 23, 2006, 08:12 PMAnyone remember nam???
  however if the statement somewhere above with the figures is anywhere around correct, things should work out alright LONG AS NUKES ARE LEFT ALONE :what:
  mordechaianiliewiczJune 23, 2006, 08:24 PMIf a U.S. city is nuked, the only Kims in the world will be outide of the Korean peninsula, and Hyundais won't have a nice warranty any more.
  Roadwild17June 23, 2006, 08:26 PMI dont believe the US would get nuked, maby another country like japan or the aussies.
  feedthehogsJune 23, 2006, 08:45 PMYeah, I would predict that to be about the shortest war in history.
  HugoJune 23, 2006, 09:43 PMSomething tells me with our sensors and mining experience, South Korea and US Intel knows where all the tunnels are, and have probably placed a few tons of explosives around each of them. If NK invades SK, many, many loud BOOM, BOOM noises and a lot of sinkholes appear near the DMZ. Tunnels are useless. I bet some NK general or soldier is ready to assassinate Kim Jong Il immediately if he gets really nuts. Most North Koreans and their military are probably sick of this BS and want to reunite with South Korea quite a bit. I'd give NK as it is about 5 years tops, then Kim Jong Il is dead or in the Hague on trial and reunification begins.
  Thin Black LineJune 24, 2006, 08:11 AMThis whole thing is a bit overblown. Even if they have half a dozen nukes on three stage rockets ready to go right now, what are they really going to do with them? Launch all of them at us? What kind of response would they get back you think?
  I'm not old enough to personally remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, but plenty old enough for the MAD years with the Soviets. Dealing with NK is like going from a platoon of Soviet snipers to a big-mouthed little guy with a .25 pocket pistol. People are forgetting the little guy has a boss --he lives a block north. Do you think his Boss is going to let his business get screwed up? Especially when the Boss holds part of the mortgage on the property the little guy might take a pot shot at? This is total wag the dog for the mid-terms.....
  spartacus2002June 24, 2006, 08:33 AMI seriously doubt the Chinese would think it none of their business if we started dropping nukes on NK.
  Plus, how would the Japanese like clouds of fallout drifting over their islands?
  Roadwild17June 24, 2006, 02:11 PMEven if they did nuke us, i doubt we would relatiate, even if then, probbly not nukes. The fallout would be to bad and NK is dam close to China. They could probably get every tomahawk thats in range foloowed by sanctions, the whole while the rest of the world woould be looking at us holding there breath as is to say "Let it Go"! :fire: :fire: :fire: :fire: .