They said that if the US is about to start a nuclear war they reserve the right to make a pre-emptive strike, just like all nuclear armed countries do. There is no threat of action, merely a warning to the US that NK will defend itself.

Seroiuslly. Don't respond, don't even acknowledge they are talking. Absolutely ignore anything everything they say.

It's like a child having a fit. If you ignore them long enough, they get tired and shut up.

...is if they're truly feeling suicidal or not.

If you think that they could get through anything like that alive you're smoking something.

It's not only the US or NATO that would strike either, it would be Russia and their buddies in China as well. There would be nothing left.

Go read Dune. When one family uses "atomics" then everyone else combines and destroys them.

According to which translation exactly?

I'm not even sure this kind of stuff can be said unambigiously in the Korean language, or even in English.

There's is a reason French was and still is used a lot for diplomatic traffic: it has lot's of checkbits countering exactly these kind of ambiguities.

This is sabre ratteling and nothing more. The US still has the mutualy assured destruction plan to prevent the use of nukes. An attack whould be the end of N Korea and they know it as destruction is assured. This is what kept the US and Russia from trading barbs for a long time during the cold war and eventualy led to peace. We watched each other carefully, then figured each other was worried someone would do something stupid. It never happened.

It would be unfortunate if N Korea did something stupid and triggered the assured destruction portion of the plan.

The US is not going to drop nukes first. A pre-emptive strike won't prevent a return due ot the run silent run deep capibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_assured_destruction [wikipedia.org]

Correction to two posts above:

1. Not every nuclear nation reserves the right to a pre-emptive strike. Russia for example has a no-first-use policy. The U.S. on the other hand changed to a more aggressive stance under Bush II, where it may use ("mini") nukes to attack targets not reachable by conventional weapons.

2. N.K. has quit the armistice with an effective date of March 11. So ever so technically we'll be back to an active war.

Actually, if you look at the behavior, it's pretty rational. Their behavior has been pretty standard in the last few years. Before a big conference: ratchet up rhetoric -> During conference: ratchet down rhetoric in exchange for food and other random guarantees -> rinse, repeat. There are two ways out of this: ignore NK rhetoric, which only works to a point. Once they put their missiles on ships for exports, their doing more than just talking big. The other way is to take NK at their word, which also only works to a point - are we really going to nuke NK? NK knows both limits pretty well, because they've been playing them quite astutely.

Now, could NK actually be crazy and do something stupid? No one really knows - another beauty of the NK foreign relationship game. Personally, I would ignore NK completely, cut them off from the world, and make it clear to China that they're risking their harmonious society because one of their buffer zones is the equivalent of a schoolyard bully with a gun. The only way we're going to "solve" NK is by making it China's problem. And then that brings up the question of how SK will look at NK essentially becoming a Chinese territory.

The only foreign policy problem that's worse than the NK question is the Palestinian question. And not by a huge amount.

Their missiles can maybe, possibly reach San Francisco with a bit of luck and almost certainly Honolulu. Of course, that means praying the US doesn't have any sort of missile defense or the missile gets through by freak chance... not a good bet when you only have a few nukes.

Yes, they will notice them.

They would be concentrated in a relatively small area: the area just north of the border. Of course slowly spreading out.

They arrive all in a very short time.

They don't have homes.

These people speak most likely only Korean, so it's pretty much impossible for them to get jobs (knowing Mandarin or the local version of Chinese is a must for that). As a result, you can expect many to turn to crime just to survive. Thefts, robberies, pickpocketing, prostitution. Later organising themselves to become a "Korean mafia" or so.

The Chinese have been itching to get back Japan. Specifically those aged 50 and older (whom have politically climbed to the top within the rank and file). Many younger Chinese don't "hate" the Japanese. But they are very nationalistic due to a boost in confidence from growing economic conditions. Of course, that generation has yet to feel the real impact war on the home front. Then again, same could be said of the US or Japan. Also worth mentioning is that the younger Japanese generation are also becoming nationalistic too. It's a giant recipe for a disaster that ought never happen. I believe war will breakout between China and Japan and we will get politically sucked into it if not out-right militarily.

Two things need to happen.
1. Japan needs to grow a pair and acknowledge their past unjust aggressions toward China, the invasion and make amends to the raping of nanking.
2. China needs to just drop the pride thing and move on.

I have a feeling none of that will occur.

I'm pretty sure China would step in and make sure NK behaves going forward, and reprimand and remove the current power structure.

Retaliation would then mean war with China, as they claim NK as a new semi autonomous region within their borders.

China would love the excuse to outright take NK.

Official US position is that use of weapons of Mass Destruction against the US homeland, US troops or allies protected by the "nuclear umbrella" will result in nuclear retaliation.

MADD can only work if you are willing to retaliate in kind. It would be foolish of the US NOT to retaliate with nukes as it would empower enemies with the idea that we won't attack. Al Queda sprang from that very idea after the bombing in Lebannon and the lack of US retaliation along with half a dozen other instances where the US did essentially the same thing when confronted with attacks.

Do you know what the South Koreans and North Koreans both share?

Disdain for the American's meddling in their country from before the Korean War, because remember a American puppet Dictator started to kill off anyone who was deemed centralist to left wing before the Communist Party of Korea declared war due to those actions.

Followed by this never ended state of war, that multiple South Korea Dictatorships have kept up, working for the Americans. And even the current "Democratic" South Korea, who is feeling the American's pressure at every turn to keep this "conflict" going.

Remember Psy's Anti-American songs? That is just the tip of the iceberg for most South Koreans. A single death and lack of prosecution due to a American Imposed Status of Forces Agreement in Korea. Want to see what the South Koreans will do if a second American caused war happens? It won't be like the first time.

You'll be far more likely to see South Korea joining the North Korean side then North Korea using a nuclear weapon on Seoul.