N. Korean Missile Launch-pad Moved Into Firing Position

[colesie]

So, what are you all going to do Post-Nuclear war?

Start a government to shepherd the survivors into an Utopian community to save mankind.

MagicmanICT. We are trying to have a serious discussion about world politics and all you do is come in here with your racism and call North Koreans sheep
REPORTED.

[MagicManICT]

I think you read that with entirely too little thought into everything I was saying.

On the serious side... I've been reading a few analyses of this. Kim is playing the cards he's dealt. He's not his father. Something will likely break internally, but I'm not sure what the consequences could be. I can only hope the Chinese or S Koreans have moles inside to prevent any major disasters.

[Sachaztan]

I can only hope the Chinese or S Koreans have moles inside to prevent any major disasters.

They are about as likely at having moles on the moon as having them in north Korea

[dageir]

The US. and S. Korea will sit tight and maybe do some small time retribution while trying to avoid full scale war.
None of the participants want war. N. Korea is just trying to get better cards dealt and the young "leader" needs to show he is a tough guy to his people and his military.
One slip up though, and N. Korea will be "droned" into oblivion. A big artillery assault on Seoul will most likely result in total war.

Expect there to be drafting again, american men..
You and we might have to face the chinese again..

[Aeneas]

The Missile is ready to fire ... see you in another live folks ...

[Ikpeip]

The US. and S. Korea will sit tight and maybe do some small time retribution while trying to avoid full scale war.
None of the participants want war. N. Korea is just trying to get better cards dealt and the young "leader" needs to show he is a tough guy to his people and his military.
One slip up though, and N. Korea will be "droned" into oblivion. A big artillery assault on Seoul will most likely result in total war.

Expect there to be drafting again, american men..
You and we might have to face the chinese again..

The draft being reinstated in the United States in response to conflict in Korea is highly unlikely. The military leadership (as well as most of the rank-and-file) of America's Armed Forces do not want a draft, and all recent proposals to reinstate the draft were merely propaganda plays by anti-war politicians, to try and stir up the civilian populace. The U.S. military has undergone major institutional changes since becoming an all-volunteer force, increasing its effectiveness both tactically and logistically. Conscripts would undermine these changes, and result in lower overall effectiveness.

The military also has several other options to pursue to increase the number of active personnel:
-Stop the current Reduction-in-Force (RIF)
-Reimplement waivers active during the OEF/OIF buildup which have since been rescinded (raising the maximum age of enlisting back up to 42, for example)
-Activate more Reserve Soldiers/Units (while the Reserves were hit heavily during the height of OEF/OIF, they have had a few years of relatively light activations)
-Offer once again the fairly generous enlistment bonuses seen in the recent past (or offer even more lucrative bonuses). Same thing with bonuses for re-enlistment of currently serving Service Members. Throwing money at a problem can indeed be a solution

That aside, a war in Korea, even with Chinese involvement, may not require a massive surge in forces (although I suspect the military will, of course, push for as much of an increase as the public is willing to pay for). The Air Force and Navy will be much more in play in such a conflict, compared to the relatively light burden they've had to shoulder in our last two major conflicts. While the Army and Marines will surely want more Soldiers/Marines, it's not like we're not going to be trying to invade and hold China.

[sabinati]

lol you think China would back N. Korea?

[thl111]

Doubt that very much. They gain nothing and would lose more from such action.

[dageir]

China backed North Korea last time. China is not interested in a united Korea under US control on their doorstep. They want their buffer zone even if its a crappy place. Worse: A united Korea would cause hian to lose face, which is serious business.
The US hawks might see this as an opportunity to put the Chinese in place, even if it might trigger WW3. (I dont think Obama wants this though.)

The peoples liberation army consists of 1,7 mill men. Reserve of 800k. Also I guess they can whip out some more from their 1,2 bill population. N. Korea has 1 mill, but most will be crap and easy drone food.

The US regular army fielded 560k men in 2010. It has superior air forces and naval forces and would most likely "win" a conventional war with China, ie. take over N. Korea. This would in turn throw the world into the deepest eonomic depression ever.

This in turn would open the gates to fundamentalists of all colours in Asia and Europe.

Hope this doesnt happen.

[Dallane]

you forgot to mention that their military tech is still in the 50-60s.

China wont do **** to help the north if they fire those missiles. They have way too much invested with the US to get into a war.