You really believe that the North Korean People have a choice?

Yes. Same as a choice that was made in the 1770's in North America and in many other places and times.

Why do you always assume everyone must make the same choice you would?

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Perhaps this choice about THAAD might interest you.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/09/06/Activists-in-South-Korea-brace-for-latest-round-of-THAAD/9571504709699/?utm_source=fp&utm_campaign=lh&utm_medium=8

More than 300 activists from Seongju and nearby Gimcheon city were outside the THAAD site, in what they say is their 41st assembly demanding the removal of all THAAD launchers, News 1 reported Wednesday.

"We were hoping to resolve the issue through peaceful means, and without fighting, but all have ended in failure," the activists said. "There is only one solution, to block" incoming launchers.

The activists also expressed fear of "clashing with a gigantic police force."

"We are nervous and frightened, but we will fight to the end and win," said activists, many of them senior citizens and long-term rural residents of North Gyeongsang Province.

Local newspaper Kukmin Ilbo reported Wednesday a total of six civic groups opposing THAAD have gathered, and the usual force of 200 conscripted police have been replaced by 360 regular police officers.

SK and NK have the same choice that was made in the 1770's in North America and in many other places and times.

SK made that choice in the 50s as did NK.

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THAAD launchers on Seongju golf course?

Trump must be furious. Destroying a golf course like that.
But already several months ago a group of residents announced that they will sue the South Korean defense minister Han Min-gu, which they accuse of violating their will and for failing to first obtain consent from the city to make it a missile launch site.
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6647104

Where do you get the idea that dictatorships hold "free" elections?

I guess you didn't understand I was just asking him to provide evidence regarding his belief opinion that the North Korean people chose their present enslavement.

Maybe he is of the opinion that they cannot bite the hand that feeds as it provides just enough for them to survive on while the other hand holds a gun.

You ever stop to think of that in your deliberations?

Kim uses the public funds as his own property.
Traveling round the country like Santa Claus giving presents to people that are loyal to him.
And from "The People's Economy" it's now about "Gift politic" and military projects.
About 60% of NK's economy are in the hands of Kim to do what he like to.

No one dare to bite his hand.

Money & Power in North Korea. The Hidden Economy Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKYBu9xIfac

Maybe he is of the opinion that they cannot bite the hand that feeds as it provides just enough for them to survive on while the other hand holds a gun.

DEM/Libs Do Da Same with Their STRANGLEHOLD on VOTES from dA Inner Cities. CA; NY; ILL; OR; WA; et al

BEST and GREATEST PREZ EVER sayin' FOOK dA RINOs and Made DEAL with DEM/Libs Today. What A Guy!!!

WINNING, as Usual, Like a mO fO

45ers Gots Your Back. Always, BIG GUY.

By dA By. NOKO Soon to be......[CharpDots]......

DEAL Makin' Yap

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May we All have a METAMORPHOSIS. REASON. GOoD JUDGEMENT and LOVE and ORDER!!!!!

Some people say it may be best to just let NK flaunt it's nuclear capabilities, and I kind of agree with that. I just don't see how any logical talks are going to entice NK to pull down their weapons and play nice. Even if China decided to cut off all trade, I think NK would pull a rabbit out of it's hat and keep on going.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Some people say it may be best to just let NK flaunt it's nuclear capabilities, and I kind of agree with that. I just don't see how any logical talks are going to entice NK to pull down their weapons and play nice. Even if China decided to cut off all trade, I think NK would pull a rabbit out of it's hat and keep on going.

Quite correct. He has them and they aren't going away. No amount of wishful thinking, no amount of appeasement trade deals, there is nothing that can be offered to them to make them give them up. We lost because we didn't go for the kill 60+ years ago and it is over.

Like I said, let him rattle his sabers all he wants and just park a destroyer off the coast and shoot down every missile he launches when it reaches international waters. He'll run out of missiles long before we do.

As to the North Korean people, do they know that their government is a totalitarian state? When the State has controlled their lives for as long as their's have been, do they know that a better form of government exists? The entire border between North and South Korea is a controlled zone preventing contact between the two peoples and preventing anyone from the North to escape to the South if they knew of a better life. This begs the question of what is the border to the north between NK and China like? Does the NK state also prevent people from escaping there? Does China prevent anyone from crossing into its land? Do we and other civilized Nations have a right or even a duty to go in and change their form of government? To bring them the lifestyle of a free people with all the benefits and rewards and evils that come with it?

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... and still I fear, and still I dare not laugh at the Mad Man!

Queen - The Prophet's Song

Looks sorta porous by wiki but not a gateway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93North_Korea_border

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As to the North Korean people, do they know that their government is a totalitarian state? When the State has controlled their lives for as long as their's have been, do they know that a better form of government exists?

You have just projected your value judgement upon another and decided to make decisions for them. Shame on you. Korea is for Korean's, it isn't for the USA, China or Russia. After all, they may enjoy living in a controlled society as hard as it is for you to accept. They don't have to make the many hard decisions on life free people do. Besides being roped in to a specific way of life is exactly like being roped into a religion and being told to do this or not do that, and there are a lot of people who chose religion.

Do we and other civilized Nations have a right or even a duty to go in and change their form of government?

Translation can we force our values on them? No. And shame on you for thinking we should.

The prime directive worked well in Star Trek, it should work well on Earth too.

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Do we and other civilized Nations have a right or even a duty to go in and change their form of government?

Translation can we force our values on them? No. And shame on you for thinking we should.

The prime directive worked well in Star Trek, it should work well on Earth too.

I guess someone should have told the North Korean government that when they decided to invade South Korea, starting the Korean War ... I'm pretty sure that qualifies as attempting to change South Korea's form of government and forcing North Korea's values on them.

Or does that not count?

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Chinese observers/scientists are becoming very concerned that the mountain (Mt Mandan?) that Dim Dum Sum tests his nukes under is becoming unstable. Satellite photos show many landslide features and possible fissures.

The worry is that another large detonation(100 Kton+) could cause the summit to collapse and crater releasing all the radioactive detritus associated into the atmosphere. The prevailing winds blow from there into China..............maybe self interest is about to come into play?

@ Jan......of course Kim uses 'public funds' as his personal asset, because they are his! He is the God of NoKo. All property, funds and the lives of it's citizens belong to him to use at his discretion.

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>

Do we and other civilized Nations have a right or even a duty to go in and change their form of government?

Translation can we force our values on them? No. And shame on you for thinking we should.

The prime directive worked well in Star Trek, it should work well on Earth too.

I guess someone should have told the North Korean government that when they decided to invade South Korea, starting the Korean War ... I'm pretty sure that qualifies as attempting to change South Korea's form of government and forcing North Korea's values on them.

Or does that not count?

You are aware the country was unified prior to the Japanese annexation and the USA and USSR artificially divided it after WWII, like Berlin, aren't you?
Korea is for Korean's not the USA, China or Russia.

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You are aware the country was unified prior to the Japanese annexation and the USA and USSR artificially divided it after WWII, like Berlin, aren't you?
Korea is for Korean's not the USA, China or Russia.

Yes, I am. I'm also aware that the US and USSR had World War II and the Japanese occupation of Korea to deal with, so had to do something that with our 20/20 hindsight may seem sub-optimal. Both the North and the South objected to the partition. The difference is what they did afterwards.

The government of the South accepted the situation, got to work, built a tremendous economy and a high standard of living in a modern, open and mostly free society, without ever threatening or trying to invade the North to annex them.

The government of the North instead became one of the worst tyrannies and human-rights abusers the world has ever seen, where citizens can be imprisoned in slave labour camps for years for such "crimes" as merely not using the right reply when the dictator's name is mentioned, where their lives are worth nothing and can be arbitrarily taken at a whim in these camps (children are regularly tortured and executed there, women are raped by the guards and their children are raised to become more forced labourers) where the government has total control of everything and all contact with the outside world is forbidden for almost everyone, where most of the people outside of the cities are at the edge of starvation, if not over it, while their "people's party" leaders live in luxury. Not content to oppress its own citizens, this government still thinks it is the only correct one so invaded the South in 1950, and were it not for a brilliant stroke of military planning by Douglas MacArthur was one battle away from winning!

Did their leader learn anything from this failure? No, like all sociopaths who cannot accept responsibility for their own actions, they blamed not themselves for their illegal (South Korea's defense was supported by the United Nations and the war was a U.N. military action) and unwarranted invasion, not South Korea... but the United States for upholding their responsibility to their ally. Because of this for sixty years North Korean children have been taught to hate the United States and Americans almost from birth, and the North has become per capita and GDP the most militaristic country on Earth (again, while many of its citizens are starving,) all with the goal of one day having revenge on South Korea for opposing their invasion and the United States for assisting to prevent this.

So, sorry but I have zero sympathy for the North Korean government and its so-called leaders. If they had instead diverted their resources into building their economy, normalizing trade and relations with other nations and making life better for all of their citizens, they could have achieved reunification with the South peacefully by now. Instead they chose the route of aggression, tyranny, violence and isolation. They are the ones keeping it "North Korea for North Koreans and South Korea for South Koreans" rather than "Korea for Koreans." These are fully independent and self-governing nations already, not colonies or territories.

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Spot on Mr. Kevvy.

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Well said Mr. Kevy, well said!

Personally, it spite of the way a reply was made to my questions about right or duty. I would just like to drop one Neutron Bomb on Pyongyang decapitating the NK military of its leaders and be done with it. South Koreans civilians then could literally just walk in and unify both halves and we could withdraw from the country completely and let them choose their own style of living peacefully without any loss of American soldiers.

-Walk softly and carry a great big frackin' stick!

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... and still I fear, and still I dare not laugh at the Mad Man!

Queen - The Prophet's Song

Well said Mr. Kevy, well said!

Personally, it spite of the way a reply was made to my questions about right or duty. I would just like to drop one Neutron Bomb on Pyongyang decapitating the NK military of its leaders and be done with it. South Koreans civilians then could literally just walk in and unify both halves and we could withdraw from the country completely and let them choose their own style of living peacefully without any loss of American soldiers.

-Walk softly and carry a great big frackin' stick!

If you are such a great military leader, tell me;
How do you know Kim and all the leadership live in Pyongyang all the time, and live on the surface.
How do you know that there is only one Command and Control Center and that is in Pyongyang.
How do you know that there are no contingency plans to launch missiles and open fire with all the Artillery pieces on the North/South border, in the case of total loss of contact with the leadership.

What about all the other royal palaces, there is over a dozen, with at least 3 close to the Chinese border.
What about the royal trains?

What happens if you drop your one bomb, and Kim and his trusted leadership are spread around the country?