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I know this could've gone in the other thread but... it's a bit to big of an issue for that if you ask me.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/07/north-korea-threatens-nuclear-strike-us

So.... this is not going well, even though we are pretty sure they aren't even capable of launching a nuke with that kind of range, it's still quite a threat to make....

Honestly, don't really know what to say about this except, this will not end well.

The thing is they may not actually try to stick the thing on a missile. They could just throw it on a shipping container and set it off when it gets there. Or smuggle out enough material for a dirty bomb and do the same thing.

Just bomb the entire country into ashes. Jesus.

Yeah, kill all the people who happen to suffer under an idiot leadership. That's a great plan.

Yeah, it's just the regime that needs to go, the problem is, most of the population are so indoctrinated that it's almost impossible to get a new type of government in there without the people themselves rising up.

Heh. Nuklear.

Anyway, we're all screwed.

We gravely warn that at a time when we cannot avoid a second Korean war...

They had better get to finishing the first before starting a second eh?

Typical NK sabre rattling before a UN meeting.

What else can they say to get a reaction at this point?

 Easy E wrote:
Typical NK sabre rattling before a UN meeting.

What else can they say to get a reaction at this point?

I surrender?

 Ratbarf wrote:
The thing is they may not actually try to stick the thing on a missile. They could just throw it on a shipping container and set it off when it gets there. Or smuggle out enough material for a dirty bomb and do the same thing.

I don't think they have the reasonable ability to do even those things.

 Rented Tritium wrote:

 Ratbarf wrote:
The thing is they may not actually try to stick the thing on a missile. They could just throw it on a shipping container and set it off when it gets there. Or smuggle out enough material for a dirty bomb and do the same thing.

I don't think they have the reasonable ability to do even those things.

They'd probably put it in the wrong contained and blow up some country no one care about

Yeah, okay, North Korea's 3-5 nuclear warheads against the United States thousands (or are we down to the hundreds now)? Yeah, no you know what, we won't even use friggin nukes, we'll give them a fighting chance and do it 100% conventional.

That isn't a threat, its a friggin joke.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Yeah, okay, North Korea's 3-5 nuclear warheads against the United States thousands (or are we down to the hundreds now)? Yeah, no you know what, we won't even use friggin nukes, we'll give them a fighting chance and do it 100% conventional.

That isn't a threat, its a friggin joke.

The amount you have doesn't really matter, one going off is one too many.

WhatyoutalkinboutSoladrin? Nuclear war is awesome!

Joking aside, allow me to clarify, "North Korea's 3-5 nuclear warheads of 10-20 kilotons, dubious reliability, and questionable delivery method against the United States thousands (or are we down to the hundreds now) in the multi-megaton range, with proven delivery within 30 minutes or your money back?" Point being: North Korea has only a handful of warheads, which it would struggle to get anywhere close to the US (aside from maybe Alaska), let alone anywhere near Washington D.C., meanwhile the US has enough to destroy the entire country in a radioactive cloud several hundred (thousand?) times over. The 'threat' of attempting a nuclear attack against the US is a total joke, simply by the fact that the retaliation would be swift and fierce and far more than North Korea would be able to handle. The only time nuclear warfare even looks remotely attractive is when your enemy has none or you and your enemy are roughly equally matched, otherwise its kinda like pulling out a bbgun and aiming it at an abrams tank. You might nick the paint some, probably piss a few people off if you take a few shots, but you're going to get blown away regardless.

I guess my point is: its an empty threat, if he goes through with it, he ceases to exist as a complex series of molecules, and he knows that, and Washington knows it (and no doubt they don't really consider it much of a threat either), and he knows that Washington knows it. Its an attempt at saber rattling by someone who has no clue how to rattle a saber.

Now, had he threatened SEOUL instead, it would be more credible. Yeah, there are a thousand and one ways that N. Korea might possibly deliver a warhead there, and South Koreas ability to counter the North is far more limited without US assistance.

Given their track record on missiles, they'd probably explode over the launch site and nuke their own country.

If they did ship the bomb, the detonator probably wouldn't work.

Still a serious threat. South Korea is who's in real danger.

Well IF this happens, then North Korea ceases to exist.

Not worried... if they try it via their rockets, we'd shoot them out of the sky. Easy Peasy. Then, we'd probably just launch a conventional airstrike leveling their army/government offices.

Now, if they try to sneak it on a shipping container and detonate on America Soil? Sorry... NK is glass'ed.

Interesting thing about communists and military dictators, they don't tend to be big on the rewards in the hereafter.

So, I'll sit up and gak bricks if a religious regime gets nukes and starts screaming about holy war, can't say I give much of a gak about the same from a country as utterly devolved as NK. I'm convinced that most of the high ups are far too comfortable living like kings among the abject horror and poverty to risk that if their country gets turned to glass.

The more time goes on, the more I think China's patience will wear out and they'll make some management changes in NK.

Thing is, if they somehow did sneak it over in a container, their nuclear weapon yields are so small (and given that the explosion would be occurring more or less at sea level, and probably be largely contained by the ships hull and surrounding containers) that any attempt to do so would result in a sunken cargo ship, damage to.nearby port.facilities, and not much else. Unless they packed it with an extra ton of radioactive materials, even the impact from fallout/radioactivity would be minimal. It would be a point of pride rather than an effective strike...

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
Interesting thing about communists and military dictators, they don't tend to be big on the rewards in the hereafter.

So, I'll sit up and gak bricks if a religious regime gets nukes and starts screaming about holy war, can't say I give much of a gak about the same from a country as utterly devolved as NK. I'm convinced that most of the high ups are far too comfortable living like kings among the abject horror and poverty to risk that if their country gets turned to glass.

The more time goes on, the more I think China's patience will wear out and they'll make some management changes in NK.

Total agreement with there.

I dunno guys, what color of stone do you think is good for the Pyongyang Memorial Parking Lot? The President has me heading a task force to design a tasteful memorial statue to be airdropped in once we're done glassing the place

chaos0xomega wrote:
Thing is, if they somehow did sneak it over in a container, their nuclear weapon yields are so small (and given that the explosion would be occurring more or less at sea level, and probably be largely contained by the ships hull and surrounding containers) that any attempt to do so would result in a sunken cargo ship, damage to.nearby port.facilities, and not much else. Unless they packed it with an extra ton of radioactive materials, even the impact from fallout/radioactivity would be minimal. It would be a point of pride rather than an effective strike...

If any country even attempts to detonate a nuke on US... regardless of how small... the appropriate response is to fething glass that host country.

That's how nuclear deterance works... and I believe NK knows that. Which is why it won't be from them.

Given that NK declaring war on anyone would be national suicide for them, I'd say this is typical NK boasting of stuff they don't really have in them.

Just what happens to the world economy if they nuke Tokyo, anyway?

Bad things.

But worst would be the birth of Godzilla.

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
Just what happens to the world economy if they nuke Tokyo, anyway?

First of all, it'll never get there... second of all.. nuking ANY city would tank the world's economy.

If they even get a missle in the air weve had maybe 60+ years to develop a defense strategy for such a situation. The moment that thing leaves the pad/silo the whole world knows. Given the time it would take for it to travel across the Atlantic (or even to Tokyo for that matter) Im sure we could get a drone in the air and pop the intertia or guidance systems and dunk it in the ocean for recovery.

Either way, that country needs to be flattened. Too bad about the civvies though.

 d3m01iti0n wrote:
If they even get a missle in the air weve had maybe 60+ years to develop a defense strategy for such a situation. The moment that thing leaves the pad/silo the whole world knows. Given the time it would take for it to travel across the Atlantic (or even to Tokyo for that matter) Im sure we could get a drone in the air and pop the intertia or guidance systems and dunk it in the ocean for recovery.

Either way, that country needs to be flattened. Too bad about the civvies though.

Naw... just Pyongyang and the military installations... I'm mean, c'mon... do you really think the civvies truly knows what's going on? Just look at this map for cripes sake... see who has powah and who doesn't?

 kronk wrote:
Bad things.

But the awesomest would be the birth of Godzilla.

Corrected your typo.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Thing is, if they somehow did sneak it over in a container, their nuclear weapon yields are so small (and given that the explosion would be occurring more or less at sea level, and probably be largely contained by the ships hull and surrounding containers) that any attempt to do so would result in a sunken cargo ship, damage to.nearby port.facilities, and not much else. Unless they packed it with an extra ton of radioactive materials, even the impact from fallout/radioactivity would be minimal. It would be a point of pride rather than an effective strike...

Actually, a poorly made Nuke will create more radiation risk than a proper one.

The less complete reaction creates more long lasting particles.


The bombs we, and most other Nuclear armed countries have, are relativly clean. They bath the immediate area in immense radiation, but after that the radiation quickly tapers off.

Compare this to a less complete reaction(or a Reactor meltdown) and you have incomplete Fission/Fusion. The particles are carried by the wind to other areas, they also stay in the environment longer and give off more radiation.

A Dirty Bomb like this is much more dangerous than a proper Nuke. And way easier to make. Its one of the dirty little secrets nobody mentions, that you can do as much or more damage with a poorly made bomb/conventional bomb and radioactive materials as you can with a proper Fission/Fusion bomb.