North Korea vs. South Korea: Who Wins If They Go to War Once More?

[Hardy]

It would be over in days.

Only if China stood idly by. And perhaps not before Seoul was nuked.

If NK had a large scale, unprovoked attack on the south, do you really think China would come blindly steaming in behind them?

I don't know. Does anybody? I don't think I want to find out. But I'm damn sure US strategy is not founded on the certainty that NK wouldn't attack because it would be over in days and China wouldn't get involved.

[Kimbap]

It would be over in days.

Only if China stood idly by. And perhaps not before Seoul was nuked.

If NK had a large scale, unprovoked attack on the south, do you really think China would come blindly steaming in behind them?

I don't know. Does anybody? I don't think I want to find out. But I'm damn sure US strategy is not founded of the certainty that NK wouldn't attack because it would be over in days and China wouldn't get involved.

Fair enough,nobody knows for sure what China would do and they can be fairly unpredictable for sure.The reality of the situation is an all out attack on Seoul is not going to happen.NK and their administration are a bit mental no doubt but they're not stupid,it would be the end of their regime and NK as we know it today.They may have a huge army in terms of numbers but they can hardly feed them as someone else pointed out.
               

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

The South will win. The only way for a temporary technical victory for the North is if they did like Israel did against Egypt and make a premptive strike on all South Korean airbases and destroy the South Korean airforce and establishing air dominance with their inferior fighters. If the North destroys the Souths airbases and other countries do not intervene the North will make major inroads into destroying the Souths Navy and Army. The Souths superior Navy, Army and Air Defences will kick in and the South will use remaing missile sites and Navy assets to bomb Northern Armed Forces, Navy and target Airbases. This willl lead to another draw and we are back where we started.

Of course if the North fails to destroy Southern air assets or if there is foreign intervention, its good night Eilean North Korea.

I live and work in S Korea.My job involves working on US military bases here.There are about 38000 troops on the ground here.There's a huge Airforce base about 30 miles south of Seoul and a big Army base up near the DMZ and several smaller bases too.The North wouldn't have a hope,even if it were a preemptive strike.US (and S Korea jets) would be in the air in literally minutes.The US also have a huge military presence in nearby Japan to help them out.It would be over in days.

Just like in Iraq then. 

don't forget johnny Red is just over the border in the North and I can't see the Americans getting involved until Beijing shows its hand.

I did say if no foreign intervention as in U.S. or Japan. But I do believe the South would still win.

[Milltown Row2]

Well if they fight, whats the worst can happen?

Are some sayings here its ok for the USA to help out here, rather than the other places they are currently 'helping out'?

Let them have a go at each other. Will it effect the rest of us?

[Declan]

For those who were not watching Taoiseach's question today in the Dail the North Korean's were there too.... I kid you not

Seamus Kirk in moving between the Cowan and Lenihan bits, on behanlf of the Ceann Comhairle and the Dail welcomed the representative of the DPRK who was in the viewing gallery. He gave his name, I didn't catch it. I doubt it was Mr Kim, as he's busy bombing South Korea. There was an Irish looking guy (Iveagh House, I guess) sitting beside him, and a Korean looking chap to his left (translator/attaché?). There was polite applause in the chamber.

[winsamsoon]

Maybe they have secretly negotiated a deal for nukes for the Koreans and that is where the finaces have gone. Even more ingenious they have tricked Europe into paying for it

[thebigfella]

The NK regime are not stupid. They are very similar to Fianna Fail. They are interested in power and the retention of power.
So a full scale attack on SK is a non-runner IMO since it would result in the end of the NK regime.

Sure they are, sure they are 

[Main Street]

"In coming weeks, South Korea also will install dozens of loudspeakers and towering electronic billboards along the heavily armed land border to send messages urging communist soldiers to defect to the South."

That will work. That will win the war for the South Koreans.

[INDIANA]

Maybe we could do a deal with the north koreans to target Dail Eireann?

[BallyhaiseMan]

Maybe we could send a request for Kim Jong-il to come over here and rule us,
That would certainly show all those pricks who lived beyond their means and borrowed vast amounts of money.
Let them eat bread and rice,3 times a day for the rest of their lives,and see how they like it.
(Thats of course if Kim Jong-il didnt shoot them all first  )

[give her dixie]

A US nuclear aircraft carrier is en route to South Korea to carry out scheduled war games in a show of force against North Korea.

The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of over 6,000, left a naval base south of Tokyo on Wednesday morning to join planned joint exercises with South Korea.

The decision to send the aircraft carrier comes less than 24 hours after North Korea shelled South Korean island of Yeonpeyong, killing two marines.

The attack attracted a wave of international condemnation for what the White House described as an "outrageous act" of provocation.

President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak agreed to hold the joint military exercises following a telephone conversation in which the US reiterated its security guarantees to Seoul.

The controversial exercises in the Yellow Sea, already postponed once after objections from China last August, could raise the stakes further on the tense Korean peninsula.

"This exercise is defensive in nature," US Forces Korea said in a statement. "While planned well before yesterday's unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the ROK (South Korea)-US alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence."

[Hardy]

Gunboat diplomacy. 2010 and some things never change.

[thejuice]

And while wehave our economics hat on:

"Asian shares steadied on Wednesday from a sell-off following North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island, but tension on the divided peninsula supported safe-haven assets such as gold, Japanese government bonds and the US dollar."

Might be no harm for the US economy to keep the pot stirring in Korea for a while. As long as it doesn't boil of course.

[mannix]

Gunboats are fine as long as the other world power does not mind them in their back yard, last thing we need is us v china.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Gunboats are fine as long as the other world power does not mind them in their back yard, last thing we need is us v china.

Mightened have to payback the bond holders if they get K.O.'d