N. Korea threatens 'war' if satellite is shot down

[Urwumpe]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when he bins it. I believe his Son is supposed to take over, but his son seems a very different person to him. Maybe NK will change a lot over the next few years.

Well, the first thing I heard about his son was on the weekend, of intelligence community watching closely if he gets elected into parliament, which would cement him as successor of his father.

 

[Ark]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when he bins it. I believe his Son is supposed to take over, but his son seems a very different person to him. Maybe NK will change a lot over the next few years.

I always just assumed NK would take a leaf from 1984 and simply dupe the people into believing their leader never dies or steps down from office, so as to ensure their continued control over the populace. If I had to pick one country on the planet that actually stood a chance at doing such a thing, NK would be it.

 

[spec10]

I always just assumed NK would take a leaf from 1984 and simply dupe the people into believing their leader never dies or steps down from office, so as to ensure their continued control over the populace. If I had to pick one country on the planet that actually stood a chance at doing such a thing, NK would be it.

Cuba and China aren't that far behind and in Russia it's just a change of job description

 

[Mlesnoski]

Cuba and China aren't that far behind and in Russia it's just a change of job description

Boy some folks really wear politiks on their sleeves :blackeye:

None of this is country bashing, of course?

 

[Eagle]

I always just assumed NK would take a leaf from 1984 and simply dupe the people into believing their leader never dies or steps down from office, so as to ensure their continued control over the populace. If I had to pick one country on the planet that actually stood a chance at doing such a thing, NK would be it.

Sorry, but that's already the case. Reality is always weirder.
- Eternal President of the Republic Kim Il-sung(deceased)
- Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il

 

[willy88]

North Korea is incapable of sustaining a real war. It might be able to use a nuke once, then it would be pummeled with bombs and missiles (nuclear or otherwise). Many of its soldiers are starving (I've heard that they rob citizens at gunpoint for food), and their equipment is miserably obsolete.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Officially no. And we probably won't do anything.

See my post here: http://orbiter-forum.com/showpost.php?p=82318&postcount=7

BTW, is it possible to assume that an NK launcher can put a satellite into a polar orbit? What if they just pick a launch azimuth aiming away from the Pacific?

 

[Urwumpe]

BTW, is it possible to assume that an NK launcher can put a satellite into a polar orbit? What if they just pick a launch azimuth aiming away from the Pacific?

It is actually more likely, they aim for polar. eastern launches would go over metropolitan Tokio, I doubt they will risk a failed launch ending there.

The polar azimuths are going over less densely populated regions of Japan.

 

[Ghostrider]

eastern launches would go over metropolitan Tokio, I doubt they will risk a failed launch ending there.

Why? There are Godzilla and Ultraman there. It's nothing they can't handle. And should they not be available, the Techno Ninja Team Gatchaman will rappel down on the rocket at apogee and manoeuver it into the nearest Galactor base.

 

[tblaxland]

The polar azimuths are going over less densely populated regions of Japan.

By my reckoning, a launch azimuth of about 60° (shooting between Vladivostok and Sapporo) keeps you over water most of the way. That gets you to about 47° inclination.

 

[cjp]

By my reckoning, a launch azimuth of about 60° (shooting between Vladivostok and Sapporo) keeps you over water most of the way. That gets you to about 47° inclination.

What inclination/azimuth would they need for aiming at San Francisco or Los Angeles?

 

[Urwumpe]

What inclination/azimuth would they need for aiming at San Francisco or Los Angeles?

About 50° for reaching Los Angeles.

 

[tblaxland]

About 50° for reaching Los Angeles.

Thanks. I'm a bit rusty on my spherical trigonometry (very rusty actually)

 

[JamesG]

Its the fact that they are likely to proliferate weapons based on the rocket's component technologies is the problem.

What do you mean "likely"? They have been for decades. Ballistic missiles are one of N. Korea's few profitable exports.

Shooting down a NK rocket isn't all that nessissary. Simply threatening to (or doing) cut off food and oil aid should simple be enough. Kim (Sr. or Jr.)is an idiot but not sucidial. They know that starting a shooting war with SK and the US is a losing proposition for them. 99% of their tough talk and saber rattling with missiles and the atomic program is just a bluff.

I'm of the opinion that the international community needs to just cut them off and let that malignant little tumor of a country die. They aren't self-sustaining, and all the western and Chinese aid is doing is keeping a corrupt government that has it's population enslaved by ignorance propped up. It wouldn't take long before it tottered over and then the SK and UN can clean up the aftermath of all the refugees and army factions fighting each other. Its going to come one day anyway, we might as well attempt to shape it in a way that leads to as soft a "landing" as possible instead of some sudden crisis that could get really ugly.