N Korea sentences US reporters to 12 years labor

[Easy Bakes 253]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_journalists_held

The Central Court in Pyongyang sentenced each to 12 years of "reform through labor" in a North Korean prison after a five-day trialquote>

There was a trial?

[hamsterTK 93]

who knows, maybe North Korea won't exist in its present form 12 years from now, right?

[Patricius Maximus 236]

There was a trial?quote>

They called it a trial, although I doubt if it was a real trial.....

[edmonton_stinks 5]

A trial in name only.

[Explodingsims 3]

Whaaa...

Lousy Fake Trials

[Yoman3 5]

I don't really feel to inclined to help the reporters at the cost of giving NK something, they really should've known they were looking for trouble by doing something illegal in NK.

[funkychicn 1]

I never even heard about this, what actually happened.

It doesn't surprise me that NK wouldn't have a trial though.

[Doofenshmirtz 0]

Well it doesn't exactly shock me, but it seems NK is acting in a way that'll get it bombed by the Un one of these days. They might have failed last time round but now what with superior weapons i daresay we could take on any rebellion against civilization by the Northkoreans

[Kryptowhite 9]

Well North Korea is looking for every little way to smite the west because they've run out of options really. They are basically on borrowed time.

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: Doofenshmirtz

Well it doesn't exactly shock me, but it seems NK is acting in a way that'll get it bombed by the Un one of these days. They might have failed last time round but now what with superior weapons i daresay we could take on any rebellion against civilization by the Northkoreansquote>

In terms of weapons superiority the best time to attack was back when Bill Clinton was President.  The military planners told him this, but he wanted to believe that the diplomats were right when they claimed that North Korea would always be bribable.  Unfortunately, it seems they were wrong and the military planners were right.

[your_adress_here 11]

What would an attack on NK accomplish?

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: your_adress_here

What would an attack on NK accomplish?quote>

Knocking that lunatic Kimmy-boy out of power.

Hell, if anything, it'd be more effective than the attack on Iraq was, since the people of North Korea, once they see what the rest of the world is actually like, will probably be much more open to the idea of having a free democratic society - because they aren't divided into two factions that have a thosand-plus year history of wanting to rip each other's heads off, and thus won't revert to doing that in the absence of an iron-fisted dictator to suppressing it.

Though, the fact that they hate America does mean we really shouldn't be directly involved if it is to be done.

And even then, I'd only use it as a last resort. We don't need to invade North Korea. Just give South Korea a few nukes. Then he knows he's got them pointed at him and can't just decide to attack them as he pleases, since you take away his advantage (he has nukes, they don't). That ought to muzzle him a bit.

And if we do end up needing to go from passive to active, we've got plenty of misslies and bombers to just sit back and throw at him without ever setting so much as a toe on North Korean soil. No muss, no fuss, I say.

[Loney 22]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: your_adress_here

What would an attack on NK accomplish?quote>

Knocking that lunatic Kimmy-boy out of power.

Hell, if anything, it'd be more effective than the attack on Iraq was, since the people of North Korea, once they see what the rest of the world is actually like, will probably be much more open to the idea of having a free democratic society - because they aren't divided into two factions that have a thosand-plus year history of wanting to rip each other's heads off, and thus won't revert to doing that in the absence of an iron-fisted dictator to suppressing it.

Though, the fact that they hate America does mean we really shouldn't be directly involved if it is to be done.

And even then, I'd only use it as a last resort. We don't need to invade North Korea. Just give South Korea a few nukes. Then he knows he's got them pointed at him and can't just decide to attack them as he pleases, since you take away his advantage (he has nukes, they don't). That ought to muzzle him a bit.

And if we do end up needing to go from passive to active, we've got plenty of misslies and bombers to just sit back and throw at him without ever setting so much as a toe on North Korean soil. No muss, no fuss, I say.

quote>

There is one problem though, NK could dish out serious damages onto SK, China (if they also invade), and UN invasion forces by vomiting nukes on anything that twitches, assuming they can produce a large stockpile in time.

Plus, NK citizens have been force-fed with propaganda for the past few decades, that could present trouble for us after knocking out the NK dictatorship government since you have many hard-core communist-dictatorship citizens still left to dealt with.

EDIT: And you might end up with another Iraq-War scenario.

[Kryptowhite 9]

^The minute american "peacekeeping" troops arrive with food and what not the north koreans should be converted. Keep in mind how little resources they are allowed in north korea, and how many famines there have been.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

ABC News reports that Bill Clinton made a visit to Pyongyang and they might get the journalist back by tomorrow.

[Easy Bakes 253]

What about the Hikers that were captured last week in Iran?

Do they get Jimmy?

[dabadon5 295]

Well it apears that the two reporters have been pardoned. Maybe this is a sign that N Korea is changing and maybe they will stop trying to build nuclear weapons !

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

Originally posted by: dabadon5

Well it apears that the two reporters have been pardoned. Maybe this is a sign that N Korea is changing and maybe they will stop trying to build nuclear weapons !quote>

No, it is not a sign of anything.  Pardoning the journalists has absolutely no impact on NK's grand plans.  If it does anything, it provides them with more propaganda (as in... ooh, big American came to beg for release of prisoners... we are supreme enough to grant their wish.  We are the coolest!).

Barbarossa

quote>

Yeah, I have to agree with you. I was expecting North Korea would use them as pawns and eventually release them.

[SomeRandomAmerican 5]

I'm surprised they did it that easily. I was actually expecting something more like the Iranian Hostage Crisis on a smaller scale.

On another note, an attack on North Korea is still feasible. In all likelihood, the North Koreans won't be able to produce a reliable ICBM for several more years and even a small stockpile of warheads for atleast five more years. Their military is one of the most outdated in the region. The most advanced armor in their stockpile consists of T-54 and T-62 tanks, both of which were gradually phased out of Warsaw Pact armies in mid 80s. Small arms are of the standard Chinese or Russian variety, Kalashnikov rifles and RPG type rockets. There are also reports from Western visitors to North Korea that tell of military vehicles abandoned on the sides of roads, apparently from mechanical breakdowns or lack of fuel. If there were to be an attack on the country, it would have to be conducted far differently from Vietnam or Iraq. A propaganda war and then a decapitation strike against the leadership would possibly work best, to try to "win the hearts and minds" of the people and then take out the military head. With nations under their fighting style, separating them from their commanders would render them far weaker, and much eaier to take on. Then just roll up the peninsula and into Pyongyang.

[sneakeypete 16]

Well,i'm sure it wasn't "easy". Its not like he was flying over the sea of japan "oh, lets go visit NK while i'm here", gets of plan, has a chat "say, you don't mine releasing those prisioners do you" "oh sure".

It would have been planned, and terms agreed upon, weeks in advance. Heck, the reporters hadn't even been sent off to the labour camp yet, and they were convicted almost 2 months ago.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: trainguy4449

On another note, an attack on North Korea is still feasible.quote>

Tactically feasible, sure.

But politically feasible? Hell no.

[SomeRandomAmerican 5]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: trainguy4449

On another note, an attack on North Korea is still feasible.quote>

Tactically feasible, sure.

But politically feasible? Hell no.

quote>

True. Didn't factor that in, I suppose.