North Korea - how serious should we take them?
Discussion
FN2TypeR said:
Arse licking fkr. He knows China is pretty pissed with him lately and he knows some difficult talks are coming up with the US. He'll need all the friends he can get if that goes tits up, so China is his first call. Especially now they are having a trade spat with Trump.Cobnapint said:
FN2TypeR said:
Arse licking fkr. He knows China is pretty pissed with him lately and he knows some difficult talks are coming up with the US. He'll need all the friends he can get if that goes tits up, so China is his first call. Especially now they are having a trade spat with Trump.Efbe said:
whoami said:
Efbe said:
whoami said:
It'll be fine. I'll send you a postcard. 
You will be fine, but if I may, one phrase that will really help you out on north (and south) korea..."nannen meegoo sarami anida."
(thats as close as I can remember it sounding (10 years since I was in NK or SK)
meaning, I am not American!
It's currently a moot point anyway as US citizens have been banned from travelling to the DPRK since last September.
(the anida at the end is the negative part of it, saying nannen meegoo sarami would be saying you are american, so make sure you remember the anida!)
I assume going through china(is there a route from russia/SK now??), in which case they don't mind the yanks or brits. Always feel a bit of a celebrity there.
oh and last tip on the nationality thing. should someone hate britain. say you are from scotland. works every time. everyone loves sean connery.
With regard to getting there, we fly into Pyongyang from Beijing and get an overnight train back out. We've added on an overnight in Sinuiju on the DPRK side of the border and then another in Dandong on the Chinese side before rejoining the train back to Beijing.
Let's hope it goes as planned - there's a lot of but's and if's though.
You couldn't trust NK not to keep on developing, they've lied before. Fatty will have to agree to unhindered international inspections for decades to come, and I can't see that happening.
Trump and SK will have to agree to stop their annual war games. That's doable, but if NK demands the yanks out of SK, that may be difficult. I guess the recent charm offensive with the South and today's awayday return to China will have involved a bit of 'you want the US out of Dodge like I do....?......then I look forward to your support in the next few months (wink).'
You couldn't trust NK not to keep on developing, they've lied before. Fatty will have to agree to unhindered international inspections for decades to come, and I can't see that happening.
Trump and SK will have to agree to stop their annual war games. That's doable, but if NK demands the yanks out of SK, that may be difficult. I guess the recent charm offensive with the South and today's awayday return to China will have involved a bit of 'you want the US out of Dodge like I do....?......then I look forward to your support in the next few months (wink).'
Cobnapint said:
Let's hope it goes as planned - there's a lot of but's and if's though.
You couldn't trust NK not to keep on developing, they've lied before. Fatty will have to agree to unhindered international inspections for decades to come, and I can't see that happening.
Trump and SK will have to agree to stop their annual war games. That's doable, but if NK demands the yanks out of SK, that may be difficult. I guess the recent charm offensive with the South and today's awayday return to China will have involved a bit of 'you want the US out of Dodge like I do....?......then I look forward to your support in the next few months (wink).'
Yeah, go as we all want it toYou couldn't trust NK not to keep on developing, they've lied before. Fatty will have to agree to unhindered international inspections for decades to come, and I can't see that happening.
Trump and SK will have to agree to stop their annual war games. That's doable, but if NK demands the yanks out of SK, that may be difficult. I guess the recent charm offensive with the South and today's awayday return to China will have involved a bit of 'you want the US out of Dodge like I do....?......then I look forward to your support in the next few months (wink).'
It at least seems like good news compared to all the f
ktard news with everywhere else in the world.moustachebandit said:
whoami said:
Silverbullet767 said:
whoami said:
I'm going to DPRK later this year.
I hope they behave until then.
1 Question, why?I hope they behave until then.
I've watched the viceland guide to North Korea, you'd have to be nuts to consider it.
I had actually booked to go in December 2016 but the Supreme Leader had been playing with his toys again so we cancelled.
Booked to go in October this year, together with South Korea and Beijing.
Also booked for a trip over Pyongyang in an Mi-17 (Mrs Whoami has bottled that part).
Every tourist dollar goes directly towards funding an oppressive and brutal regime, military, nuclear tests, labour camps and more. I personally wouldn't be cool with my money being used in this way irrespective of how unique a travel destination it might be.
It's totally devoid of anything, so there isn't actually anything to see.
MellowshipSlinky said:
Well, I must say from where I stand I think NK have played this brilliantly. They've dug in, developed nuclear weapons, and then been able to come to the table on a stronger footing.It may well be that they'd have been welcomed to the table on just such an equal footing had they taken another path, but crucially it is likely that they would not have *felt* that they were in that position - which would have caused much distrust, paranoia, and so on, not to mention the political fall-out.
If the talks can lead to a peace, and if the NK leadership can spin it to their people as "we kept our dignity by maintaining a tough line, and now we are treated as equals - and we faced-down the evil Western oppressors", then there's a potential win-win for everyone.
The only question is this: did Trump's talk, and the ramping-up of sanctions, hasten the talks (by weakening NK), or hasten the talks (by accelerating their missile programme leading to a feeling of strength and therefore a platform for talks), or have some other (or no) effect?
MellowshipSlinky said:
I wonder if the NK's have started this knowing that Trump would pretty much give anything in a deal to be able to claim this as his success.Makes perfect sense, if you feel your now on an equal footing, declare the war over, sort the border out get trade started, they still have their nukes but no doubt a country not at war and negotiating is better than a rouge state with nukes. The war staying ongoing doesn't solve anything for anyone
skwdenyer said:
MellowshipSlinky said:
Well, I must say from where I stand I think NK have played this brilliantly. They've dug in, developed nuclear weapons, and then been able to come to the table on a stronger footing.It may well be that they'd have been welcomed to the table on just such an equal footing had they taken another path, but crucially it is likely that they would not have *felt* that they were in that position - which would have caused much distrust, paranoia, and so on, not to mention the political fall-out.
If the talks can lead to a peace, and if the NK leadership can spin it to their people as "we kept our dignity by maintaining a tough line, and now we are treated as equals - and we faced-down the evil Western oppressors", then there's a potential win-win for everyone.
The only question is this: did Trump's talk, and the ramping-up of sanctions, hasten the talks (by weakening NK), or hasten the talks (by accelerating their missile programme leading to a feeling of strength and therefore a platform for talks), or have some other (or no) effect?
The previous escalation of tensions certainly didn't help, but I imagine NK were waiting for the olympics, which undoubtedly was reported on in both NK and SK as a joint exercise.
For all those thinking they should have folded to the US and UN sanctions, I think this outcome (as opposed to the outcomes of many other third world countries trying to keep their regimes/political views) shows that sticking to your guns, not being walked over and developing nuclear weapons is the way forward.
Not sure this is the message they wanted to give out, but it is certainly the one the North Koreans(and Pakistan), have learned, and one to be followed by other dodgy regimes the world over.
The big question is what next? I imagine huge pressure on the US to vacate SK will follow from Russia, China and NK. Their justification for their SK bases is eroding.
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