Update: South Korea says it will send actual, meaningful numbers of troops into Pyongyang within thirty-one days, bringing a formal end to conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
/s but you know they’re thinking about it.
Doesn’t NK have one of the biggest standing armies in the world? I figured they could toss some troops into the blender and not care.
Also doesn’t NK have a nuke? They’d definitely detonate one if they were invaded.
Only when crashing into the ocean, thousands of miles short of its target
Edit: seriously, though, it’s pretty clear that they can build nuclear warheads (how many and what size is unclear), but their problem is getting the bomb to its target.
Rocketry is hard. It’s uber-expensive, and it requires a great deal of trial-and-error. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had gotten data, etc, from Russia and China like some guidance (or even rocket plans), but NK’s best physicists and aerospace engineers are both: not that great, and working entirely alone with a budget that is a minuscule fraction of anyone else who has tried this.
They’ve been trying to launch an ICBM successfully for almost 2 decades. They haven’t had much success yet.
Does this count as a world war yet?
My bets have been on Taiwan being the flashpoint for well over a year now. Standing firm.
And my bet is and has been “before Christmas of 2024.”
Especially if there’s “voting irregularities” or Trump wins outright. The Chinese would definitely take advantage of the confusion.
China starting it like that had been my firm suspicion for years, but after the past year or so, I’ve changed my mind. They still could be the ones to trigger it, but there are so many more players now. Russia could start it (or have already done so without us realizing it yet). Israel could start it. China could start it over island territories that they have no legitimate claim over–oh wait, that includes Taiwan.
I thought about that for a long time, and, honestly, it seems that Russia may have stolen China’s thunder there by invading Ukraine. As a result, the whole world (mostly) super-hates and has united against Russia with untold billions of weapons and aid to Ukraine.
What’s China to think of their Taiwan plan, now? Well, I think it’s obvious by watching what they’re doing, what they’ve been doing.
Although they’ve become more aggressive in the South China Sea, what with building all their fake islands and atolls in order to claim some sovereignty to the waters. But most of what they’re doing merely amounts to harassment and bullying of surrounding nations. And while there’s been a good amount of somewhat-incendiary talk re: China’s intentions towards Taiwan, they’ve actually done very little to accomplish that goal, as of late. They’re being careful, weighing their options, and proceeding slowly but surely.
Will Taiwan become the next place invaded? A new flashpoint? I don’t think so, or, at least, not for a while. The Ukraine War, Russia’s almost-collapsed economy, and their need for aid of all kinds has put China into an uncomfortable position, and they seem to be reprioritizing. Also, Taiwan has had a defense buildup for several years, and they’re far more capable of defending themselves than before.
If China makes any serious move against Taiwan, IMO, it will be a while from now.
Idk. We’ve choked China out of AI supremacy. All of our mega GDP makers rely heavily on TSMC. Heavily.
I mean, entirely.
Like Biden throwing billions at chip manufacturers. Tensions in the South China Sea are ridiculous. The stakes have never been higher, and it’s right in what they see as their back yard. Taking down TSMC cripples the US economy, causes a worldwide kerfuffle (especially with tensions from Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Israel/Iran, US/Israel, US/Ukraine, US/Iran relationships.
I get what you mean that you’ve been thinking that for a decade. Ive been seeing it for as long. But it’s gotten real with the AI bubble and tech sanctions. If it doesn’t burst before 2030, there’s no way China doesn’t act. Frankly, I’m betting on less than 6 months.
Its possible the keg is done being packed and we’re watching the fuse dwindle
They will die horribly. This is a way for North Korea to purge people. It’s fucking disgusting.
That, or depending on how mistreated they were in North Korea, the soldiers surrender immediately because I’d have to assume Ukrainian prisons/jails/whatever are nowhere near as bad as just living in North Korea.
I believe this is a possibility, esp. considering how openly Ukraine will accept surrenders/defectors. Russia may be a shithole for a lot of people, but Ukraine doesn’t have a huge amount of benefit to offer most Russians (to surrender/defect) compared to North Koreans. Ya, know, aside from the freedom from chattel military slavery… but most in NK have it much worse than Russians, so the appeal would be greater.
The Ukrainians should just fire back with delicious food and free visas for defectors.