"What's Different This Time in Korean Standoff?" Topic

"For years, North Korea's litany of threats has been largely dismissed — Seoul, after all, is still not drowning in a "sea of fire," despite Pyongyang's repeated promises to make it so.

As the clock ticks down on a Saturday ultimatum for the South to remove propaganda loudspeakers or face war, however, there's worry that Pyongyang could finally mean what it says.
So what's different this time?

Partly, it's North Korea's apparent willingness to back up an earlier vow to attack the anti-Pyongyang loudspeakers and also on the specificity of its Saturday deadline…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

The Chinese will permit their lap dog to bark, but not bite.

Isn't the other difference that South Korea is not backing down this time, after a series of North Korean provocations?

This is the yearly North Korean Provocation to force energency negotiations in order to get food aid to stave off starvation this coming winter. Just like clockwork. Remember the artillery duel on the islands? Remember the torpedo attack?

Nothing new here.

Couple of differences this time.

New leadership. Earlier presidents enacted "sunshine" policies focused on really engaging with the north. This made the south much more willing to ignore northern transgressions. This has been largely regarded as a complete failure and the new president has promised no leniency.

Change in people's attitudes in support. ROK citizens understand that there is no real way of negotiating or reasoning with the North. The new DPRK's leader has been the posterboy of violence+crazy with no indication of wanting to better his cou try.

This has increased the willingness by the south to commit violence in retaliation.

I know that the Norks are always playing brinksmanship, but it seems that they may have "blinked" this time.

Perhaps an indicator of fatty Un's inexperience or weakness.

Some Chinese news site are reporting columns of PLA tanks and other AFVs driving through the city of Yanji near the Chinese/NK border, heading south.

Quite a few user comments on these sites are basically saying it's about time to teach "Kim Fatty no.3" (KJU's nickname among the Chinese netizens) a lesson.

A PLA preemptive strike to take control of Pyongyang and the NK government?

China wouldn't invade the DPRK ( at least not yet).

Way too expensive an adventure to dismantle the north's military.

The Norks may have most of their weaponry pointed south, but they don't trust anybody and the people haven't been taught to think of China as a friend.

In their history, they don't know that it was only because of China's invasion and extreme loss of life that resulted in a stalemate and ultimate survival of the DPRK. In their "world" they think Kim Jong-un rallied the people and defeated an invasion by the south led by the Imperialist Americans.

They'd fight just as hard against the Chinese.