What might really get North Korea some big-time attention would be to launch a nuke-tipped ICBM and have it detonate over, say, the central Atlantic. By doing so, it would demonstrate that it’s solved all the technical issues associated with nukes and ICBMs, that its range can definitely reach America and beyond and and any nation in the world it wants to, and also get insane attention since there hasn’t been such an open-air test in decades.
That’s the kind of attention North Korea doesn’t want to get.
But being able to recognize the abilities of other people, and being willing to actually listen to their advice, also suggests that he’s not stupid or insane.
Just being willing to listen to his advisors puts him well above Trump in the not crazy or stupid competition.
I wasn’t aware that he listened to advisors. Surely he would be advised not to execute someone with an anti-aircraft gun.
See, you’re coming at this from an American Perspective, where that seems over the top. But a lot of places like over the top.
Like I said earlier, I don’t question his brutality. But when dealing with an entrenched dictatorial state, that you need to maintain control of, the occasional Artillery Execution is actually quite rational. Blow one guy out the end of a cannon, and you’ll see how quickly the rest fall in line.
And I’d bet good money his sister told him that.
How did that work out for the British?
Yeah, I have to echo Horatius on this one. This isn’t a nice Westernized democracy. In a brutal regime, a dog-eat-dog world where you the dictator could be assassinated or overthrown at any moment, the most rational advice may indeed be, “Kill one or a few of your enemies in horrifying fashion and you’ll establish yourself as someone not to be trifled with.” Along with feeding people to the 120 starved dogs at Chongjin and who knows what else.
North Korea’s walking a tight rope. They want attention, they want the US and its allies to recognize the North as an intimidating nuclear power, but China does not want North Korea to do anything that might force the US into a preemptive posture.
This seems to be a good place to post the most ridiculous propaganda video of all time. It’s related to the recent test of their intercontinental ballistic missile which landed in Japanese waters (but which has the capability of reaching the US).