# North Korea has nukes. When do we go to war? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 17, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605 "2002-10-17T01:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jonpluc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/41 "2002-10-18T20:36:06Z")
The simple reason why we will go to war with Iraq and not with NK is that NK has bigger friends than Iraq does. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/42 "2002-10-19T01:54:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tejota \* > **Only if you believe that Shrub’s real reasons for pushing war with Iraq are the ones he’s been claiming. Given how loose Bush has facts and reasons for war up until now, it’s pretty unlikely that WMD is his real motivation.** [Bush On Economy: ‘Saddam Must Be Overthrown’](http://www.theonion.com/onion3838/bush_on_economy.html) (Ain’t _The Onion_ wonderful?) ---
**Author:** ![d\_redguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@d\_redguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d_redguy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/43 "2002-10-19T05:17:02Z")
\ **elucidator** - If it makes you feel any better, I got it. Of course I, possibly much like you, watch way too much TV.:)\ Anyway, some time ago on this very board (sorry, I refuse to tax the hamsters with this) that North Korea scared them a whole lot more than Iraq. That struck a chord with me at the time, and here we are… ---
**Author:** ![Sempaltvs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Sempaltvs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sempaltvs)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/44 "2002-10-21T14:08:29Z")
DPRK(North Korea)'s admitting of having nuclear weapons actually comes at a right time, i think. -Bush is too far into the Iraqi invasion thing, on top of the anti-terror war; he cannot possibly back out now. He also has lots of domestic problems to solve, although he doesn’t seem to be doing so. DPRK’s revelation only serves to add trouble to Bush, so most likely he will solve it using diplomatic means, which doesnt require a tremendous effort as toppling Saddam. -DPRK’s revelation will put DPRK on an equal footing with the US on the round table. the nukes are more of a political apparatus to make the US agree to certain DPRK demands, perhaps recognising DPRK as an equal to RoK (South Korea), or to give aid. -DPRK’s improvement of relations recently with Rok and Japan has come a long way, so revealing at such a time will discourage the US from creating a major fuss with DPRK and sour things up with RoK and Japan as a result. so it’s doubtful DPRK will fire any nukes soon unless relations _really_ sour big time. also RoK’s media like blowing things out of proportion to a certain extent when it comes to reports on DPRK. ---
**Author:** ![Shah\_Jehan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shah\_Jehan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shah_Jehan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/45 "2002-10-21T14:30:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\*When do we go to war? Not in the foreseeable future. But I confidently predict the White House will seek a Congressional resolution in late August of 2004. \*\* No it has to be now. August 2004 is when Bush will figure out that France has nukes. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605/46 "2002-10-21T20:13:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jonpluc \* > \*\*The simple reason why we will go to war with Iraq and not with NK is that NK has bigger friends than Iraq does. \*\* The simple reason why we will not go to war with North Korea is that Seoul, South Korea, home to over 10 million people, is within artillery range of the DMZ, and the Pentagon (over several administrations) believes that there is no realistic way that Seoul could be defended - the U.S. could not get enough troops over there fast enough to prevent its capture. And that capture, given both the normal horrors of war and the fact that North Korea can’t feed itself, much less a massive captive population, would mean millions of civilian casualties. Whether or not North Korea has nukes (and IIRC, the Clinton Administration believed they had one or two) is irrelevant. It already has all the deterrent it needs. Sua [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-nukes-when-do-we-go-to-war/132605.md?page=2)