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North Korea says it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
It's all baby steps, and they continue to overstate capability, but there is little doubt they're creeping closer to legitimate ICBM capability.
I have to admit, apart from regime protection, I've never understood too much about their strategic planning.
Idk, make the world think they are psycho?
Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
the problem is for all intents and purpose they are Psycho.
We do well to worry.
We do well to worry.
Ben Dhyan
Veteran Member
Given it reached an altitude of 1,700 miles, the warhead could potentially hit anywhere on Earth. Most satellites orbit in the 400 to 800 Km altitude, so this dummy warhead was well and truly in orbit, the difference between satellites and warheads is that the payload must deorbit using onboard thrusters at the appropriate time to hit the target.
Having said that, it is SOP to downplay the potential of DPRK's military capability, hence the Alaska scenario. Given that they have launched satellites before, they have long been able to reach the US, but a nuclear warhead is relatively heavy and it is only now that apparently they are able to realize their goal of orbiting a nuclear warhead capable of striking any city in the US, or the world for that matter.
It's funny, belief that regimes don't simply act psychotically (even when they practically are) has me to read a LOT about various infamous historical regimes, from Robespierre to Pol Pot.
But there are times the answers seem pretty hard to grasp in truth. For me, this is one of them. I can only really make any sense of it in terms of being a cult of personality, which is what leads me to think the nukes are about regime protection more than anything else.
Wishful thinking, perhaps...
ICBMs (even if this were truly one) are suborbital. Their range, while extreme, is limited.
That's without worrying about North Koreans particular technical hurdles, including getting an effective payload up, and then also getting it effectively shielded through re-entry.
Closer and closer to the day that China realizes what a threat they are. We have nothing to worry about. Its only S. Korea and Japan that are really under any kind of threat.
The worry is that a local conflict would draw us in.
It's not predictable how far this could go.
We would be all in. I have no doubt about that, and I would be one of the first to die. Its possible, however, to reunite S and N Korea. This should be USA's real long term strategic goal, just as it should be China's goal to prevent such reunion. The nukes are being used as a distraction to keep us from focusing on that.
If practical, I'd prefer to be all out.
It would be wise, but we aren't wise. We're Americans. We're blessed, favored, brave and free.
Yeah.....that's scary.
The situation is not hopeless. N. and S. Korea believe in reunification, and I think they will reunite. That of course means that they won't, because I'm always wrong when I make predictions.
It could be that they're psycho, although in post-revolutionary situations, there may be a strong motive towards revenge against one's former enemies. Of course, one might argue that anyone who seeks revenge is mentally ill.
I have trouble grasping all of this as well. Historically, Korea has been more of a client state being pushed around by larger powers. Their strategic location made them a source of dispute between Japan and Russia. They were resentful of Japanese occupation, but to make matters worse, the major Allied powers divided the occupation of Korea, which ultimately led to the Korean War and the situation we're facing today.
I suppose if we had refrained from intervening in the Korean War and simply let the North Koreans have South Korea, then Korea would be unified and might very well be more "normalized" today - similar to what China has become. Even Vietnam has somewhat mellowed out in recent years, but would they be that way if South Vietnam was still intact?
Strictly speaking, I don't really blame North Korea (or any country) for being fearful and resentful towards what they see as "Western imperialism." The North Koreans know they're being watched and targeted, and they've seen US military aggression and interventionism all across the world. We're worried about a single missile which can take a pot-shot at US soil, while we have an entire arsenal of ICBMs, bombers, ships, tanks, etc. They certainly know what we can do to them, so they likely see themselves as the desperate underdog going up against a behemoth.
Russia and China might have some influence in the region, although the more we antagonize Russia, the greater the likelihood that they may want to aid North Korea to be an even bigger thorn in our side.
Ben Dhyan
Veteran Member
Sure, but in this case DPRK could not risk overflying other countries and so sent it up 1700 miles and brought it down in the Japan Sea. ICBMs can be modified to launch satellites and I do not doubt that the DPRK have developed a nuclear payload to go with it which is capable of reaching any designated US city.
esmith
Veteran Member
China does not want a unified Korea.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Space is only around 62 miles straight up.
1700 miles?
I'm taking its the range of the missile.
Ben Dhyan
Veteran Member
No, the range could be up to 4,970 miles, this is how it works....
The North's state media said the missile, Hwasong-14, flew 933 km (580 miles), reaching an altitude of 2,802 km (1,741 miles) in its 39 minutes of flight.
Some analysts said the flight details suggested the new missile had a range of more than 8,000 km (4,970 miles), which would put significant parts of the U.S. mainland in range, a major advance in the North's program.
North Korea says its ICBM can carry nuclear warhead; U.S. calls for global action
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
They also say that the dear leader could drive at the age of 3 and doesn't need to poop.