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It's no different than the crazy person I walk by every morning on the way to work. They have nothing to lose. I have everything. It's not worth it for me to ge
by cheeze 7y ago
It's no different than the crazy person I walk by every morning on the way to work. They have nothing to lose. I have everything. It's not worth it for me to get involved.
- u10 7y agoNorth Korea not crazy, but incredibly intelligent and calculating. It's rather foolish and dangerous to think otherwise.
- murphy214 7y agoWhat was intelligent and calculated about the incident in question?
- monocasa 7y agoTheir demonstrated willingness to defend against even trivial encroachments.
- u10 7y agoAsserting their power projection over the DMZ, whether it is legitimate is irrelevant. It's the same with the development of nuclear weapons. There is a near-zero probability that North Korea will engage in a first strike with nuclear weapons, but a very rational way of self-preservation. The North Korean regime is reprehensible but their actions are rational, from a self-preservation perspective.
- idiot900 7y agoYes. They have extracted concessions and aid from the western world for decades, and have essentially never kept any of their promises. They are excellent at the game.
- mikeash 7y agoThey have crazy priorities, which they pursue in a calculated and intelligent fashion.
- monocasa 7y agoWhat about their priorities are crazy? As the old saying goes, you're not crazy if everyone is actually out to get you.
- mikeash 7y agoTheir single-minded pursuit of self-reliance has led to enormous suffering and, ironically, a strong dependence on a few other countries to keep them afloat. The extreme economic hardships mean they have a tough time deterring aggression (a quarter of their GDP goes to the military and, even so, the nukes are the only reason anyone takes them seriously). Consider a world where they followed a similar path to countries like China and Vietnam. Their people would be a lot better off, they’d have a much stronger military, and they’d be able to be much more of an equal partner with their allies.
- ummonk 7y agoChina is 50 times North Korea’s size, which was why it was able to prioritize economic development at the expense of the military.