North Korea (Superthread)

[a_majoor]

Time to re-read this again:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/10/when-north-korea-falls/305228/

 

[Jungle]

Anybody else see the resemblance between this:

And that:

Now it seems like the NK Military has a uniformity problem; the generals are wearing 2 different styles of caps. Personally, I would prefer the goofy one standing behind Kim Shlong Swill to be the standard (for NK Generals).

 

[The_Falcon]

You will also notice that have have been "awarded"  the same ribbons multiple times.  The guy in the circle has one particular ribbon 10x.

 

[CougarKing]

Now it seems like the NK Military has a uniformity problem; the generals are wearing 2 different styles of caps. Personally, I would prefer the goofy one standing behind Kim Shlong Swill to be the standard (for NK Generals).

Jungle,

Sorry for the tangent, but don't a lot of militaries have more than 2 types of "cover" or headgear? For example, the US military has overseas caps and garrison caps (which I'll leave to Tomahawk6 to confirm). And doesn't our own RCAF have the forage caps for wearing with dress uniforms and the blue berets for wearing with CADPAT? Please correct me if I'm wrong about the RCAF question.

And we now return you to our regular scheduled "North Korea programming."  ;D

Kim Jong Un spoof

 

[cupper]

You will also notice that have have been "awarded"  the same ribbons multiple times.  The guy in the circle has one particular ribbon 10x.

It's the most coveted "You survived the purge of the General Officer Corps" with the "Supreme Leader Butt Kissing" bar.

 

[Jungle]

Jungle,

Sorry for the tangent...

Huuh... I was trying to be funny, guess I failed again. I was trying to link this with all the pomp and pageantry threads we have on here... maybe a smilie would have helped... but nevermind.

I wonder if they have decent combat boots ??  >

 

[Edward Campbell]

My guess hope is that the phone lines are burning between Beijing and Pyongyang. I guess hope that many of the DPRK's most powerful generals and officials are in the pay of the Chinese government - I hope that enough of them are Chinese puppets to prevent Kim and his (few?) loyalists from doing anything really stupid.

I know I'm repeating myself, but:

1. While it is in China's interest to have the DPRK keep Japan and the USA off balance; and

2. While it is also in China's interests to have the DPRK distract attention away from China's other actions in the region;

3. It is most certainly not in China's interests to have a war that involves South Korea. South Korea is one of China's major trading partners; it provides technology and management to China; it matters far, Far, FAR more than North Korea ever will; and

4. The Chinese want a, peaceful, prosperous and unified Korea, under a Seoul based democracy, that is friendly towards China and is devoid of US troops.

 

[larry Strong]

You will also notice that have have been "awarded"  the same ribbons multiple times.  The guy in the circle has one particular ribbon 10x.

This might explain it......



Larry

 

[Edward Campbell]

And don't forget their weapons of mass distraction: 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Against whom the Chinese can deploy these:

Hmmmm ... choices, choices.  :nod:

 

[GAP]

Against whom the Chinese can deploy these:

Hmmmm ... choices, choices.  :nod:

Like good wine & food......you'll just have to try both for comparison sake, if nothing else....... ;D

 

[George Wallace]

This might explain it......



Larry

WOW!....Run out of tunic space, so they have to mount medals/awards on their pant legs.  Interesting concept.  Can't see it being practical and catching on over here though.

 

[Journeyman]

Can't see it being practical and catching on over here though.

Practical? No.  Catching on?  Hard to say; the Directorate of Gongs and Badges has been pretty busy over the past 5-6 years. 

Hopefully, we should be about an "1812/1914-17 warrior powerpoint badge" away from assuaging the penis-envy felt by the non-deploying Staff Officers in the face of their US counterparts, that's driving this bling-fest.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Hopefully, we should be about an "1812/1914-17 warrior powerpoint badge" away from assuaging the penis-envy felt by the non-deploying Staff Officers in the face of their US counterparts, that's driving this bling-fest.

Source?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Perhaps they think that by acting like the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, in the Mouse That Roared, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/ they can stop letting their people starve from grass soup.

The hillbillies of Asia :facepalm:

 

[Fishbone Jones]

This might explain it......



Larry

Their very own LoF!  ;D

 

[Journeyman]

..... that's driving this bling-fest.1

Source?

How would you explain 1812 Pins? Bieber medal? The Peacekeeping Service Medal (awarded on the basis of already having a tour medal)?  I assure you that these good idea faeries are in NDHQ, not the field force.  I can think of several other more worthy places to expend the defence budget.



1.  Opinion, Journeyman, 31 Mar 2013

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I was just hoping you had info to expand on, that's all.  :bunny:

 

[Old Sweat]

Perhaps they think that by acting like the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, in the Mouse That Roared, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/ they can stop letting their people starve from grass soup.

The hillbillies of Asia :facepalm:

It also may be a face saving gesture. See, they're all scared of us.

 

[CougarKing]

National Post link

North Korea vows to double down on nuclear arsenal one day after declaring it’s in a ‘state of war’

SEOUL, South Korea — A top North Korean decision-making body issued a pointed warning Sunday, saying that nuclear weapons are “the nation’s life” and will not be traded even for “billions of dollars.”

The comments came in a statement released after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over the plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party. The meeting, which set a “new strategic line” calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal, comes amid a series of near-daily threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks, including a vow to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and a warning Saturday that the Korean Peninsula was in a “state of war.”

Pyongyang is angry over annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and a new round of U.N. sanctions that followed its Feb. 12 nuclear test, the country’s third. Analysts see a full-scale North Korean attack as unlikely and say the threats are more likely efforts to provoke softer policies toward Pyongyang from a new government in Seoul, to win diplomatic talks with Washington that could get the North more aid, and to solidify the young North Korean leader’s image and military credentials at home.

North Korea made reference to those outside views in the statement it released through the official Korean Central News Agency following the plenary meeting.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons are a “treasure” not to be traded for “billions of dollars,” the statement said. They “are neither a political bargaining chip nor a thing for economic dealings to be presented to the place of dialogue or be put on the table of negotiations aimed at forcing [Pyongyang] to disarm itself,” it said.

North Korea’s “nuclear armed forces represent the nation’s life, which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats exist on earth,” the statement said.

North Korea has called the U.S. nuclear arsenal a threat to its existence since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war. Pyongyang justifies its own nuclear pursuit in large part on that perceived U.S. threat.

While analysts call North Korea’s threats largely brinkmanship, there is some fear that a localized skirmish might escalate. Seoul has vowed to respond harshly should North Korea provoke its military. Naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the Korean coast have led to bloody battles several times over the years. Attacks blamed on Pyongyang in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.

The plenary statement also called for strengthening the moribund economy, which Kim has put an emphasis on in his public statements since taking power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011. The United Nations says two-thirds of the country’s 24 million people face regular food shortages.

The statement called for diversified foreign trade and investment, and a focus on agriculture, light industry and a “self-reliant nuclear power industry,” including a light water reactor. There was also a call for “the development of space science and technology,” including more satellite launches. North Korea put a satellite into orbit on a long-range rocket in December. The United Nations called the launch a cover for a banned test of ballistic missile technology and increased sanctions on the North.

The central committee is a top decision-making body of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. The committee is tasked with organizing and guiding the party’s major projects, and its plenary meeting is usually convened once a year, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. South Korean media said the last plenary session was held in 2010 and that this was the first time Kim Jong Un had presided over the meeting.

The White House says the United States is taking North Korea’s threats seriously, but has also noted Pyongyang’s history of “bellicose rhetoric.”

On Thursday, U.S. military officials revealed that two B-2 stealth bombers dropped dummy munitions on an uninhabited South Korean island as part of annual defense drills that Pyongyang sees as rehearsals for invasion. Hours later, Kim ordered his generals to put rockets on standby and threatened to strike American targets if provoked.