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North and South Korea reportedly set to announce official end to war
- dogruck 9y agoIf this news comes to fruition, then this is a major win for Donald Trump’s administration. It’s conceivable that he will win the Nobel Peace Prize.
- titanix2 9y agoIf the peace is signed he merits it more than the former US president that got it for other things than his actions. But I don't think this prize is given on merit only, so it's unlikely to happen in my opinion.
- tshibley 9y agoIt will be fascinating to watch the modernization of North Korea if we end up heading in that direction. I'm particularity interested to see if it is possible for a leader/party with a brutal a reputation as that of Kim Jong Un to retain power as the country opens up (although to be fair we are a _long_ way from any real change).
- Brockenstein 9y agoI think China might already be an example of how that can go, where they've had a pretty strict regime for a long long time but we've seen that evolve over time. I think North Korea is fascinating because it's been so isolated, and progress is bound to be huge. And the 21st century makes everything so much more visible. And seeing history happen is pretty exciting. Although yes, the current state of North Korea's government does make meaningful progress difficult to imagine. But it's also not permanent. Either the government will evolve, or Kim Jong Un will die someday...
- malnourish 9y agoTo be fair we've seen that evolve over time back into a single leader holding nearly all the power
- azernik 9y agoThough still with a higher level of individual security and freedom than during the worst of Mao's rule.
- malnourish 9y agoFair enough
- dmihal 9y agoThis doesn't sound like NK is any closer to opening up, just that NK has completed their nuclear program and is looking to reassert their influence on the Korean peninsula.
- mrarjen 9y agoSome forms of modernization has been going on for years now, but mainly in the shadows as it's all rather illegal. But a peace would certainly help speed up this process hopefully, let's see how this will go. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-03/north-korea-activists-sneak-films-music-usb-drives-regime-change/9210928 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-03/north-korea-activists-...
- adventured 9y agoInterestingly, Kim Jong Un can easily make the argument in hindsight that he inherited the brutal system and then set about to change it for the better (and that it would take time). That first they had to secure nuclear weapon delivery capability to ensure their security; once that was accomplished, they could then negotiate peace on a more level playing field, from a position of strength, with the US. If they want to spin it, that's an easy way to go. Kim Jong Un becomes the benevolent dictator that brought a Vietnam-style boom to North Korea (I reference Vietnam, because it wasn't very long ago that their Communist regime was still very closed and brutally repressive, more like a pre Deng Xiaoping China).
- IAmEveryone 9y agoHe could make that argument, but he'd be laughed at all the way to De Hague. He always had the option of just laying down the weapons, opening the border to the South and letting others make the decision from now on. It's not like South Korea are actually their enemy in want-to-kill-them terms.
- verelo 9y agoI'm super ignorant on the topic, but when i try imagine being in his shoes for a moment...the concept of doing exactly what you're proposing feels like it might result in some kind of uprising or assassination from within the leadership ranks. Given the state of the country for the last ~70 years, the last 24 months has seen what looks like massive progress. Perhaps he has different goals and is going through a fairly methodical process of getting popular opinion on his side before moving forward on what he really wants?
- chongli 9y agoHe always had the option of just laying down the weapons, opening the border to the South That's a pretty naïve supposition. Being a dictator is not like playing a video game, despite how fun and easy Sid Meier's Civilization makes it seem. In the real world you can be shot by your own soldiers if you alienate the wrong person.
- chongli 9y ago
- Eurongreyjoy 9y agoI'm curious as to why the motivation now? The West has been placing sanction on North Korea for years with seemingly no effect. I wonder what role, if any China played in brokering this deal? This is only a report of what is expected to happen at the summit, so we will see if Kim Jong Un will follow through, since his military presence and proximity to South Korea and Seoul has been his best bartering chip.
- boomboomsubban 9y agoMoon Jae-in ran on the platform of increasing diplomatic ties to North Korea, and the negotiations surrounding the Olympics saw a strengthening bond between the two countries.
- ianhawes 9y agoDonald J. Trump. I would imagine this is not a popular opinion here, but he had the entire world convinced he would use nuclear weapons against North Korea. That has to have some effect on the North Korean regime.
- maxxxxx 9y agoI think he did the right thing by offering a meeting with Kim Jon Un. And he was the only one able to do it. If Obama had done this the Republicans would have thrown a total fit.
- north_east_dev 9y agoIt's like that old Vulcan proverb "Only Nixon could go to China."
- rainbowmverse 9y agoI like the original Klingon version: "Only Picard could go to Qo'noS."
- swebs 9y ago
- jmhuret 9y ago"You're Welcome" - Dennis Rodman
- quantumwoke 9y agoHeck, I would hate to be the person to have to clean up the 1 million+ landmines on the border [0]. [0] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3362127/north-korea-landmines-border-south-land-invasion/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3362127/north-korea-landmines-...
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoJust turn the border into a nature preserve like it is already. Add some bridges and done.
- HenryBemis 9y agoI can think of a few companies that will be glad to take on this contract (and it's most likely the same companies that made these mines). But, this (if it plays out) is something good for Humanity.
- quantumwoke 9y agoI just hope it won't end up like in Cambodia, which has had something like O(10^5) deaths/amputees over the years. Of course, this would be more of a problem for North Korea, which presumably has not properly informed its citizens of the danger. It will probably take many years because of how isolated North Korea is likely to remain.
- jandrese 9y agoThe good thing about Korea is that those mines are largely concentrated in a narrow strip of land. You can clear out some roads, keep the existing fences around the rest, and mostly avoid the Cambodia situation.
- GotAnyMegadeth 9y agoIn case any passers by don't know about an extra factor that makes Cambodia even worse: lots of the country floods annually. This means that you can clear an area of landmines, but then when the floods come it can wash in landmines from other areas into the areas you thought were clear. It's very sad :-(
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- bloak 9y agoPresumably this would be purely symbolic. It is ironic that North Korea and South Korea have been officially at war since 1950, while there are have been thousands of military conflicts in the world since then without a war being officially declared. Let's hope the end of the official war between the Koreas isn't a prelude to actual military conflict...
- berberous 9y agoThis appears to be very thinly sourced, specifically: "Newspaper Munhwa Ilbo cited an unnamed South Korean intelligence source". I don't know how reliable that newspaper is, but the fact that it's an unnamed intelligence source as well makes me skeptical. Hopefully it's true though.
- rainbowmverse 9y agoThe paper has been around for 28 years, so you can probably find strong opinions on its credibility if you look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munhwa_Ilbo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munhwa_Ilbo
- jandrese 9y agoI'm with you. Good if true, but this is not a highly trustworthy source.
- abhiminator 9y agoHere's a New York Times article on the subject: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/world/asia/kim-jong-un-north-korea-talks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/world/asia/kim-jong-un-no... -- it appears a "high-ranking Official" from the South was the source behind the article.
- foobaw 9y agoOddly, none of this is being reported in the Korean news.
- reverend_gonzo 9y agoI highly recommend reading Nothing To Envy by Barbara Dendrick, which is about six people who escaped from North Korea. It was a very interesting, though sad, book, as was the AMA she did on Reddit a few years ago. It would be great to see those borders open up (legally) and let and modern amenities flow into that country.
- darrenf 9y agoIt's Barbara Demick (a search for Barbara Dendrick does not bring up the correct alternative, at least for me).
- hyperpallium 9y agoHave they been set to announce this before? People were reluctant to get excited over recent peace talks, because they had led nowhere before. Is there anything new about this development?
- kushti 9y agoThis is a good movement,and lets hope that sanctions on the people enforced by authoritarian psychopathic Western regimes will be lifted up. The only known way (historically) to liberalization is through making people richer through trade,not enforcing them to be alone with poverty and populists.
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoNorth Korea is directly part of the topic at hand, and yet you single out Western regimes as being authoritarian and psychopathic? That's quite a moral inversion.
- liberte82 9y agoI think this is probably all a ruse, a game to King Jong Un. Trump gives us a first hand look at how dictator-wannabes think and act - it's always with ambiguity, never certainty, to keep people guessing, confused and divided. This is like Trump announcing sanctions on Russia while simultaneously refusing to enforce them. Watch King Jong Un's actions, not his words.
- thowawayburnout 9y agoLike him or not. This is a very massive win for the Trump administration. Even if he played 0 role, most people think he did.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- Tomminn 9y agoThis is bizarre if true and is followed up by NK removing all those artillery pointed at Seoul. It puts them in a very precarious state. The only remaining bulwark against US invasion would be upsetting China. The other obvious one is the nuclear threat. But the nuclear threat to the US mainland has to be negligible at this stage, and is, if anything, an incentive to invade asap before their nuclear threat becomes reliable. I think without the decimation of Seoul on the table, many generals will be licking their lips at this.