A Second Korean War Looms

by Swan | April 2, 2008 at 10:04 am

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What does one do with a naughty child who keeps taunting and smacking other children? Well, smacking their hand back seems appropriate, since it is a punishment that fits the crime.

At the moment, North Korea is that 'naughty child' and the U.S. is not able to anything, as we sit by and watch them flexing their small muscles and taunting South Korea with how big and mighty they are and issuing veiled threats to it's counterparts in the south.

They also would like us to believe that they are now a power to be reckoned with in the nuclear arms race.

SEOUL: The United States called on North Korea on Wednesday to resolve an impasse at nuclear disarmament talks quickly, while South Korea urged the North to halt what it called recent provocations that have stoked tension on the Peninsula.

The increased pressure from Washington and Seoul comes after a series of actions by the North in response to a tougher policy line from South Korea's new conservative government, which has refused to shy from criticizing Pyongyang or seeking concessions in return for aid.

One has to wonder that if another brutal war ensues between north and west - if it would be the same as the last Korean War, with the north committing terrible atrocities to those in the south.

South Korean officials have issued their first formal response to recent moves by North Korea, labeling some of the North's recent statements "inappropriate." The exchange comes as high-level American and South Korean envoys warn time is running out in diplomacy to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

Although the first Korean war officially ended in 1953, there has never been peace between the two halves of Korea. There have been several times since 1953 that the 'top and tail' of Korea have come close to warring once again.

No doubt if the U.S. steps in during another civil war, we will get the usual detractors back here in the U.S., complaining about us entering another war - but can we really afford to allow such atrocities such as slow torture and sleep well at night?

"More than 5,000 American prisoners of war died because of Communist war atrocities and more than a thousand who survived were victims of war crime . . . Approximately two-thirds of all American prisoners of war in Korea died due to war crimes".

There still remains a heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the 38th Parallel, dividing north from south.

However, if there were a second Korean war, I doubt that we would have the same participants as last time:

Those who supplied combat units during the Korean War:

Australia (2,282
Belgium/Luxembourg (944)
Canada (6,146)
Colombia (1,068)
Ethiopia (1,271)
France (1,119)
Greece (1,263)
Colombia (1,068
Netherlands (819)
New Zealand (1,389)
Philippines (1,496)
Republic of Sth. Africa (826)
Thailand (1,294)
Turkey (5,455)
Great Britain (14,198)

Medical units were supplied by Sweden, India, Denmark, Italy and Sweden.

At the moment the U.S., is at an impasse with nuclear disarmament talks. The current fear is that North Korea will back out of the Six-Party Agreement, which includes, the U.S., Russia, China, North and South Korea and Japan.

Professor Siegfried S. Hecker of Stanford University, who recently visited Yongbyon, said:

``North Korea will have only limited capacity for plutonium production if the country decides to break out of the six-party agreement and restart nuclear operations.'[...]

``Whereas the U.S. should continue to press for a complete and correct declaration, it is more important to stop additional production than it is to substantiate whether the current inventory is 30 or 50 kilograms and to find out to exactly what level they developed uranium enrichment,''

North Korea claimed in 2007, to have a total separated plutonium inventory of 30 kilograms, or enough to make 4-5 nuclear bombs.

Other revelations have not been forthcoming, but Nth. Korea is definitely rattling their sabres, or to put it another way - they're itching for another fight.

I don't believe that Kim Jong has any intention of disclosing how far along his nuclear program really is - but I do believe that he is a megalomaniac with delusions of ruling both ends of Korea.

And if that's true - the world is in for a 2nd Korean war - and all this reporter can say is, that I hope tensions do not escalate into the cruel, sadistic tragedies that made up the Korean war last time.

All the images are taken during the Korean War - is this what we really want again?

The painting was done by Pablo Picasso and is his view of the Korean War.

Sources:

International Herald Tribune
U.S. Urges North Korea to Cooperate
Associated Press

Voice of America
South Korea Calls on North to Tone Down Rhetoric
by Kurt Achin

Korean War Educator
A Brief Account of the Korean War
by Jack D. Walker

Wikipedia
Korean War

Washington Post

Yongbyon Search

Image Sources:

Wikimedia Commons

Korean War Educator
Photo by Dr. Birney Dibble