Tango01 | 30 May 2017 9:04 p.m. PST |
"Once again tensions on the Korean Peninsula are extremely high. Rumors of war are spreading like wild fire. North Korea has been conducting nuclear and ballistic missile tests on a regular basis, thumbing its nose at the world. President Donald Trump said there was a risk of "major, major conflict" with North Korea during meetings with Chinese leaders in April. Very few times in the history of the two Koreas have sabers been rattled as hard. For over sixty years both sides have prepared for the day when their two armies would clash once again. Throughout South Korea you can see pre-dug fighting positions with sector sketches laminated and posted so that any soldier could fall in on the position and be ready to fight. Obstacles which could block any north/south road are just waiting to be emplaced, and preplanned artillery positions are marked down to the meter just waiting for guns to arrive…" Main page link Amicalement Armand |
VVV reply | 31 May 2017 1:04 a.m. PST |
One thing that people never seem to mention is delivering your nukes by sea. OK it may be slower but means you don't need to develop missiles and no one needs to know who did it. |
Lion in the Stars | 31 May 2017 2:08 a.m. PST |
You can still tell where the nuke came from via materials analysis. Each alloy has a slightly different set of chemicals in it, and I'm pretty sure that the Russians and Chinese would be very quick in providing samples from their weapons to prove that it wasn't a Russian or Chinese weapon used to destroy a US city. And then it's time to put on the king-sized asskicking boots. |
GarrisonMiniatures | 31 May 2017 2:08 a.m. PST |
Personally I wouldn't bother. Finely divided plutonium mixed with convention explosives/incendiary material, assemble in the city you intend to attack – I believe plutonium burns quite well, plus a large conventional explosion to scatter the radioactive material. Choose the right weather conditions to help ensure an even greater spread. Result? large irradiated areas that are chosen for maximum effect. |
Patrick R | 31 May 2017 3:34 a.m. PST |
The purpose of the NK nuclear arsenal is not to destroy the US (no matter how delusional you are, it's not going to happen) but they are trying to build enough of them that the collateral damage would not be worth a preemptive strike by the US. NK nukes are not about trying to destroy the most powerful nation in the world, it's about surviving being in the sights of the world's most powerful nation. |
Garand | 31 May 2017 11:33 a.m. PST |
It's a very dangerous game they are playing. Those nukes they are developing to prevent an overthrow by the US & allies may make them just enough of an imminent threat to provoke an overthrow by the US & Allies. Damon. |
VVV reply | 31 May 2017 1:18 p.m. PST |
America is very urban. I think you could take out a fair amount of the population by destroying the 12 largest cities. I reckon regime change in North Korea is being planned for. |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 31 May 2017 2:34 p.m. PST |
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Lion in the Stars | 31 May 2017 5:24 p.m. PST |
@28mm: You betcha. @VVV reply: Yeah, you could kill a lot of people by hitting the major ports. And then the US would turn the Korean peninsula into the Korean island. And no other nation on earth would say anything about it. Look, ONE Ohio-class SSBN carries more firepower than was unleashed in all of WW2 (including the two nukes) combined. The US has 14 of them in service, with about 3/4ths of them deployed at any given time and roughly half in the Pacific (though I think even the LANTFLT boats could drop warheads on Korea). |
VVV reply | 31 May 2017 9:21 p.m. PST |
@VVV reply: Yeah, you could kill a lot of people by hitting the major ports. And then the US would turn the Korean peninsula into the Korean island. Of course rather tough on the poor old South Koreans and China :) |
Lion in the Stars | 01 Jun 2017 4:13 p.m. PST |
I'm pretty sure the Chinese would be racing towards Pyongyang with most of the PLA in an attempt to avoid that ending. And the South Koreans would be pissed, mostly at the loss of their old territory (South Koreans don't consider the North to be a legitimate government, kinda like China and Taiwan). The Japanese would be pissed at the fallout, but would probably understand the reason why. |
ROUWetPatchBehindTheSofa | 03 Jun 2017 12:22 p.m. PST |
Finely divided plutonium mixed with convention explosives/incendiary material, assemble in the city you intend to attack – I believe plutonium burns quite well, plus a large conventional explosion to scatter the radioactive material. Choose the right weather conditions to help ensure an even greater spread. Result? large irradiated areas that are chosen for maximum effect. Lion's comments about nuclear forensics still applies and plutonium would actually make a pretty crummy irradiation weapon – its principally an alpha particle emitter, frankly you can play with plutonium dust with your bare hands and not worry. Just, don't ingest or inhale it, or otherwise get it inside you. I'd also broadly agree with Garand the nukes are essentially to stop anyone interfering with the Kim family's personal fiefdom. Though their insistence on rubbing everyone's noses in their rhetoric is making me wonder whether they have reached the point where they are beginning to believe their own propaganda! |
Lion in the Stars | 04 Jun 2017 2:25 a.m. PST |
frankly you can play with plutonium dust with your bare hands and not worry. Just, don't ingest or inhale it, or otherwise get it inside you. But 'salting' a conventional explosive with a couple kilos of plutonium would result in about as much radioactive contamination and deaths as Nagasaki, because it's almost impossible to avoid breathing in the dust. And then the US would strap on the big ass-kicking boots to stomp a mudhole in whoever dared to nuke/dirty-bomb us. |
ROUWetPatchBehindTheSofa | 04 Jun 2017 5:21 a.m. PST |
Your problem is that generally you'd end up 'killing' a lot of those people 10+ years down the line from cancer. I'm not sure what effect the knowledge of having an elevated risk of cancer would do to moral. Decontamination is possible though a lung lavage is as revolting as it sounds! Also bits of the Korean peninsula are quite wet. |