North Korea vow to nuke US

[Litagano Motscoud]

AFAIK the nuke would actually need to be triggered, an explosion would not cause it to detonate, so shooting it down may be a viable option.

Ah, I see.

 

[Hells Malice]

Everyone's just reading it wrong. When they said ''We're going to Nuke US'' they really meant ''We're going to nuke ourselves(US)''.

That would probably save a lot of time and effort, with the result likely being the same in the end anyway >.>

 

[Sicklyboy]

AFAIK the nuke would actually need to be triggered, an explosion would not cause it to detonate, so shooting it down may be a viable option.

Everything has it's consequence though. You avoid detonating the missile in that case, but now you've got enriched uranium just chilling out and causing environmental damage wherever the missile went down. Hopefully over water, but now you're contaminating a pretty big water supply and all of the creatures in it in that area.

Can't fucking win. -_-

 

[TLSS_N]

Everything has it's consequence though. You avoid detonating the missile in that case, but now you've got enriched uranium just chilling out and causing environmental damage wherever the missile went down. Hopefully over water, but now you're contaminating a pretty big water supply and all of the creatures in it in that area.

Can't fucking win. -_-

Danger with shooting down a nuke, depending on how it's shot down and where people could inadvertently cause an emp(electomagnetic pulse). Definitely need to do something, should they actually do it.

 

[Rizsparky]

http://www.atomica.co.uk/main.htm

Woah that was an interesting read!

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Pardon me while I nominate this entire thread to the #ShitGBATempSays thread.

 

[Sicklyboy]

Someone needs to punch Kim Jong-Un in his tiny wiener.

 

[Flame]

if this is true, how the fuck do the NK think it will end? it will be the end of mankind.

 

[Sicklyboy]

if this is true, how the fuck do the NK think it will end? it will be the end of mankind.

Pretty sure it'll be the end of NK.

 

[Flame]

Pretty sure it'll be the end of NK.

the truth is it would have been the end of NK long time ago, if it wasnt for China and Russia. the west cant do much because of China and Russia.

 

[Gahars]

Why China getting fed up with NK?

Because of shit like this, pretty much.

I'm paraphrasing someone else's explanation here because it's pretty apt. Imagine global politics is a giant house party, with China showing up. Now, China thinks the US and his broskis are all toolbags, so he brings along a wingman to back him up - that wingman is North Korea. Unfortunately, NK just gets hammered immediately, and every time China tries to woo some ladies, NK starts picking fights with doorknobs and barfing all over the TV. Just being associated with NK is now an embarrassment for China.

Now, China still tries to be a good friend and overlook it as long as he can, but his patience just gets thinner and thinner.

 

[Litagano Motscoud]

Because of shit like this, pretty much.

I'm paraphrasing someone else's explanation here because it's pretty apt. Imagine global politics is a giant house party, with China showing up. Now, China thinks the US and his broskis are all toolbags, so he brings along a wingman to back him up - that wingman is North Korea. Unfortunately, NK just gets hammered immediately, and every time China tries to woo some ladies, NK starts picking fights with doorknobs and barfing all over the TV. Just being associated with NK is now an embarrassment for China.

Now, China still tries to be a good friend and overlook it as long as he can, but his patience just gets thinner and thinner.

I wish all politics were explained this way. Maybe I could actually understand it.

 

[mkdms14]

Quickly somebody get Dennis Rodman to talk to his buddy over in North Korea!!!!!!

 

[bradzx]

Because of shit like this, pretty much.

I'm paraphrasing someone else's explanation here because it's pretty apt. Imagine global politics is a giant house party, with China showing up. Now, China thinks the US and his broskis are all toolbags, so he brings along a wingman to back him up - that wingman is North Korea. Unfortunately, NK just gets hammered immediately, and every time China tries to woo some ladies, NK starts picking fights with doorknobs and barfing all over the TV. Just being associated with NK is now an embarrassment for China.

Now, China still tries to be a good friend and overlook it as long as he can, but his patience just gets thinner and thinner.

Oh. :/ How long China is trying to befriend with NK?

 

[DinohScene]

Hmm, seems Homefront has predicted the future?

 

[Gahars]

Oh. :/ How long China is trying to befriend with NK?

Since the end of World War II, when North Korea and China installed communist governments. China even did most of the fighting for NK in the Korean War - it would've been over in weeks if it wasn't for them.

 

[Engert]

You are all going to die. All of you.

 

[tbgtbg]

Someone tell Kim Jong Un that there are easier ways to commit suicide.

 

[Dunny]

Everything has it's consequence though. You avoid detonating the missile in that case, but now you've got enriched uranium just chilling out and causing environmental damage wherever the missile went down. Hopefully over water, but now you're contaminating a pretty big water supply and all of the creatures in it in that area.

Can't fucking win. -_-

In response to the water contamination question, I present you with a small article from XKCD about how water protects against radiation:

http://what-if.xkcd.com/29/

Basically, you'll get a few square inches of radiation, then nothing... given the rather small quantity of radioactive material inside a nuclear weapon.

D.

 

[Maxternal]

AFAIK the nuke would actually need to be triggered, an explosion would not cause it to detonate, so shooting it down may be a viable option.

Actually, a nuke usually uses conventional explosives to ram the nuclear material into place fast/hard enough for it to explode efficiently so the explosion from shooting it down just might make it go off in the air. That said, on a ballistic missile, like what we're talking about here, they actually shoot the missile up into space and then it comes back down on the target. It's likely to be WAY up there when they shoot it down. The explosion itself might not destroy anything but it'll spread nuclear fallout all over the place which, depending on HOW high up it is and how thinly spread out it is, could have other negative effects.

In the article linked in the OP, NK threatens to use it's nukes against "aggressors" which could be anybody else as well and later specifically against Washington (D.C.) which is almost on the other side of the planet from them. IF their ICBM tech can reach that far the shortest path still seems to be flying over all the mainland territory of the U.S. to get there. That give them plenty of time in U.S. airspace to be shot down.

The article also pointed out that even though they have been testing ballistic missiles, that the nukes they've been testing are also probably too heavy to be flown in one ... despite the fact NK specifically they've claimed otherwise.

What I'd be worried more about is them trying to sneak up some submarines within range of the east coast and firing a surprise nuke at Washington D.C. that way. I'm sure there's still chance it would be shot down but it's much less than with an ICBM if I understand correctly. Sure, U.S. retaliation COULD be to nuke their whole country out of existence but they care a little more about civilian casualties (between the explosions AND the fallout) than NK does so it could get quite a bit more complicated than that.