If the current U.S. - North Korea tension comes to war, what would a U.S. or SK occupation look like

Great Debates
1

I’ve read a lot of articles on what a war with North Korea or regime collapse might look like. Seoul ravaged by artillery fire. Lots of starving North Koreans heading towards China and the DMZ. Now fast forward, what kind of arrangement would be in place.

What would be the first thing that would happen? How would the country deal with the problems of destroyed infrastructure? Would there be an insurgency? Would you see wholesale destruction of the cult of personality? How would the average indoctrinated North Korean react? Would the Worker’s Party of Korea be fully disbanded and any thought of it banned? Would there be a coalition in place? What kind of temporary government would be put in place? Environmental remediation? What would happen when and if we discover the alleged concentration camps? How would the top leadership (if they survive surgical strikes on their locations) be dealt with? What would China’s role be? How long would it take for North Korea to at least reach China’s level of prosperity (I’m not expecting a South Korea replication, no)?

2

Moved from General Questions to Great Debates.

samclem, moderator

3

Obviously war is the least desirable alternative.

But if war would become unavoidable, then it behooves the United States, South Korea and China to make a deal.

China has to be uneasy about an unstable regime on their border. They are troubled by Koreans constantly sneaking into China to avoid starving. They also rely on North Korea for a fair amount of mineral wealth. Stabilizing the situation would be highly desirable for them. On the other hand they absolutely would not want a mid-level hostile power such as South Korea there either.

The benefits of either not fighting or of winning a war are obvious for the South Koreans and Americans.

What if the US and Korea agree to make the current North Korean territory a permanent demilitarized zone and also agree to abide by all current North Korean - Chinese trade agreements? In exchange China would agree not to aid North Korea militarily and agree to offer the members of the Kim regime asylum in China.

If such an agreement could be made and its terms made known to Kim, maybe the war could be avoided entirely.