North Korea

Im watching! I not happy about it! Is it just posturing or does he mean it?

N Korea's sole support until now has been China. China doesn't want N Korea to have nuclear weapons either and has withdrawn support. That's one reason Kim has thrown his rattle out of the crib and is shouting his head off. China won't come out and tell him to stop it publicly (socialist brotherhood) so they are happy for the US to do so and for S Korea to take the flak as usual.

I could not agree more. This is very serious. He is b----y NUTS and dangerous beyond belief.

I am watching RT Today (I appreciate it does have it's own agenda at times) and they are reporting N. Korea have claimed their army has 'final approval to launch a nuclear strike on the US'. The US has sent missile defence systems to GUAM. Naturally they have to take the situation seriously.

Today N.Korea stopped S.Koreans from working in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, an area that has been shared by both north and south. All the signs are there that N.Korea are detatching themselves from any 'normality' and behaving aggressively. China must enter into this problem, unless they want this to happen!!!.

Now watching SKY. NKorea says it has formally informed the US that it has approved 'Merciless' strike on US.

God help the world if this ever happened.

I still think it's huffing and puffing. Young Kim is controlled by the Generals, never a good thing. But, at the end of the day if they did make any form of strike against South Korea or the US, then it's game over for them and they must know that and if the gloves were off, they'd be wiped out. China is distancing itself, not sure N Korea would compensate for it's loss of the US market. The US also has financial control of S Korea in terms of limiting their nuclear capability

A weird mind set nevertheless and one wonders what they think they have to gain.

This brings back memories of the Cuban missile crisis. DGDs 1 and 2 were staying over Easter and were obviously worried enough to ask questions and seek reassurance. I remember doing the same when I was 14.

Glad you are further north and out of the line of fire! I was 10 during the Cuban missile crisis and we were given dog tags and practiced huddling down in the halls.

Envious my partner is American and he told me of the drills at school when everyone had to get under their desks. I remember praying and when the crisis was averted, I thought I was responsible

I don't think this is to the same level though - but, yes, being in the line of fire heightens things enormously.

Sel

We all hope you are right I'm sure.

Enviousamerican.

I hope to God this is all bluff and bluster, it must be very worrying, things get out of hand so quickly. He certainly is an egotist and that is where the danger lies. He probably has no thought that he could loose a battle, his life has been so surreal.

Yes it is worrisome.Just read Cameron made a conserned statement about the seriousness and how all of Europe would be at risk.

Our twelve year old DGD, who likes to joke about anything and everything, said you can't take a man with ridiculous hair seriously. Fourteen year old DGD retorted that Hitler had a ridiculous moustache.

We grew up in the cold war which surprisingly rewarded us with a lengthy peace. I hate to think our children and grandchildren will have to worry about conflicts we hoped were behind us.

The BBC are reporting, Reuters, N Korea have asked the Russian Embassy to consider evacuating their staff from Pyongyang.

Missiles on the move, evacuation of Russian Embassy, possibly, shutting down legal movement in Kaesong Industrial Complex, threat to be 'merciless' in an attack on the US.

Yes they are dangerous, I wish I was as confident as some this is all bluff and bluster and they have limited nuclear/missile capabilities to do as they say.

I wonder why N Korea have mentioned April the 10th as a date for Embassy staff to have left.

Having lived, like most of us through the cold war, I am for the first time really worried about the possibility of a nuclear conflagration.

The only consolation is that the US is unlikely to respond with nuclear weapons. North Korea is a one shot country. If they fire a nuclear weapon. The Americans should be able to blow it up before it reaches its target, that will not remove all the danger but it will help to mitigate it, but will respond with conventional weapons using surgical strikes by rockets and drones that will take out everything that matters in North Korea, its leadership and its key government and military control centres.

The Americans are not fools, well not since George W Bush ceased to be President, they will have been planning for such an eventuality as this for years. In a perverse way it could almost be a good thing. It would remove one of the worst governments on earth and quite literally liberate the starving and oppressed people of that country.

Clarissa Tan thinks that N Korea's blustering is towards other eastern countries rather than the west. Interesting article.

Well, could it be the eve of something nasty tomorrow, the 10th, or will it be yet another trigger happy fool in charge of an asylum without caring what he says.

I feel sorry for the South Koreans and what they must be thinking as they go to bed tonight.. Japan is hardly very happy either.