# North Korea: What's next? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 9, 2006, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775 "2006-10-09T03:22:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/141 "2006-10-13T14:31:41Z")
It’s amazing how that happens once people start calling the other guy a madman. It happened with pre-war discussions of Saddam, it happens in discussions of Iran, and now it’s fucking over discussions of what to do about North Korea. -Oops, almost forgot bin Laden, mustn’t forget _that_ madman. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/142 "2006-10-13T14:40:52Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] That sounds like you’re just making crap up. Can you produce a certificate to validate your statement? [/QUOTE] Well gee Squink, the guy portrays himself as the son of god. You can either believe he’s crazy, or start praying to him. I don’t care. The man is the political head of a country that desperately needs the basics like food, water and energy and his only concern is maintaining the 5th largest army in the world. I’m no going to bicker over what brand of psychosis he suffers under. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/143 "2006-10-13T14:46:14Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] While I agree with your conclusions, let’s not get carried away with the Kim = loon hypothesis. He’s actually operating in a perfectly rational manner if we assume that his primary goal is to remain in power in one of the most repressive regimes that we’ve seen in the modern era. Assume he is a loon at your peril. I think the guy knows exactly what he’s doing. [/QUOTE] As the leader of his country he’s not capable of rational thought as it applies to his “cinstituents”. He’s pissed away all his countries resources to maintain personal power which would include the death of any NK that gets in his way. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/144 "2006-10-13T15:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=Magiver] You can either believe he’s crazy, or start praying to him. [/QUOTE] So you’ve got nothing but a false dichotomy to back up your claim. Whether we think the man is crazy or not, we still have to _deal_ with him. How does assuming he’s crazy advance our ability to do that? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/145 "2006-10-13T17:21:59Z")
WHOOPS! No radiation! > **[U.S. intelligence statement: N. Korea radioactivity detected - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/13/nkorea.test.sample/index.html)** > > A preliminary analysis of air samples from North Korea shows "radioactive debris consistent with a North Korea nuclear test," according to a statement from the office of the top U.S. intelligence official. Of course, it ain’t a final result, but given the relatively small blast size, & the lack of rads, it’s begining to look like Crazy Kim gets a new Title: King Of The Bullsh^tters! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/146 "2006-10-13T17:37:43Z")
[QUOTE=Magiver] Well gee Squink, the guy portrays himself as the son of god. [/QUOTE] I think you’re confusing Kim Jong Il with Sun Myung Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/147 "2006-10-13T18:03:30Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I think you’re confusing Kim Jong Il with Sun Myung Moon. [/QUOTE] An acceptable (and official) alternative name for Kim is “The Sun of the 21st Century.” A prophetic name, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/148 "2006-10-17T14:34:03Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] WHOOPS! No radiation! [/QUOTE] WHOOPS [North Korean Fuel Identified as Plutonium](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/world/asia/17diplo.html)! > [@](#): > > The plutonium that North Korea exploded was produced, according to intelligence estimates, either during the administration of the first President Bush or after 2003, when the North Koreans threw out international inspectors and began reprocessing spent nuclear fuel the inspectors had kept under seal. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/149 "2006-10-17T14:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > The plutonium that North Korea exploded was produced, according to intelligence estimates, either during the administration of the first President Bush or after 2003, when the North Koreans threw out international inspectors and began reprocessing spent nuclear fuel the inspectors had kept under seal. > > Unlike the Clinton administration in 1994, the current Bush administration chose not to threaten to destroy North Korea’s fuel and nuclear reprocessing facilities if they tried to make weapons. So just how does Bush blame Clinton for this with a straight face? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/150 "2006-10-17T15:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] WHOOPS [North Korean Fuel Identified as Plutonium](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/world/asia/17diplo.html)! [/QUOTE] \ NKS.O.B.! :mad: 😉😃 At least I started with the appropriate “whoops”. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775/151 "2006-10-19T02:50:05Z")
> [@](#): > > “If we get intelligence that they’re about to transfer a nuclear weapon, we would stop the transfer, and we would deal with the ships that were taking the — or the airplane that was dealing with taking the material to somebody,” the president said. [Bush: U.S. will stop N. Korea nuke moves](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_interview_5) Slam **DUNK!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-whats-next/375775.md?page=7)