NK leader has nothing better to do than build a missile program. US leader has nothing better to do than tweet.

A) I don't see that January tweet as a line in the sand
B) his most recent tweet is not inconsistent especially because I believe our allies and frenemies in the region probably requested a bit less bluster
C) Decapitation attack and or a coup is the solution

Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!" — Donald J. Trump

Trump has no clue.

I am pretty sure that harshly worded tweets will put an end to this issue.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Why do you take that position? I think China likes a little bit of crazy there, but not so much it starts actually causing issues

I think i said somewhere else. North korea could be a conflict you could win. It would have none of the cultural issues of the middle east

Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!" — Donald J. Trump

Trump has no clue.

Why do you take that position?

China will not put a "heavy move" on North Korea because they want them to have nuclear weapons to act as a buffer against South Korea and it's supporter (the U.S). The last thing China wants is a unified Korean Peninsula. They repeatedly said they will take strong actions but they haven't done a thing and continue to trade with NK.

For China, everything is about money and getting resources so they can make money. They are only interested in peace if the peace meets those goals. The last thing they want is a unified Korean peninsula because they could lose a big trading partner and a unified Korea would pose a threat to their security. They want a buffer between the U.S and it's allies and their own borders. They are building bases in the South China Sea for the potential oil and to provide security, that is what they do and they have zero interest in working towards world peace unless it enhances their goal of making money.

There's a difference between a unified Korea and changing the regime to a little less crazy and belligerent

I think i said somewhere else. North korea could be a conflict you could win. It would have none of the cultural issues of the middle east

So we're just going to start re-cycling our wars...uhh conflicts?

~Matt

Our friends in South Korea might have something to say about the definition of "winning." E.g. it's my understanding that though we could take out North Korea pretty quickly, probably not quickly enough to prevent them from raining hell on Seoul.

This which is why you need a coup or decapitation strike

There's a difference between a unified Korea and changing the regime to a little less crazy and belligerent

That is true but how do you do that? How does a crazy person become a little less crazy?

I don't know what the solution is but I do know looking to China for help is futile. If the world waits for China (or Russia) to solve problems, we're in for a long wait.

Even if you take out the great and the good its not as if some exiled leadership team can be brought in to assume the role. Some degree of succession planning is needed. You dont want the generals left in charge

Coup and I like I said above I think it's in China's best interest to have eccentric NK but not bat shit crazy NK.

But even then there's no guarantee.

In a perfect world you'd have an insider. Some faction of senior military with ready to seize control and issue the stand-down after the coup/decapitation. Otherwise in the confusion afterwards the military might just carry out whatever armageddon-type plans they have. As any disciplined military would be expected too.

We may not, but China would probably be down with that.

By definition a coup would be by an insider and it is my preferred method. A decapitation strike would also necessitate an insider but making contact without Chinese acquiesce or help would probably be difficult

Our friends in South Korea might have something to say about the definition of "winning." E.g. it's my understanding that though we could take out North Korea pretty quickly, probably not quickly enough to prevent them from raining hell on Seoul.

Does anyone here think China or Russia just sits there while we attack their neighbor? Didn't quite work out that way last time around. Short of North Korea doing something so completely horrific and off the charts unprovoked that the there is a world consensus they have to go any military action against them means we will be up against both China and Russia.

~Matt

Yes

No, a coup is just the seizure of power from a government. It's can be by either insiders or outsiders.

This why we don't let some people play at geopolitics and war. There are no certainties.

Here are two reads:

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...ing-n_b_9335546.html

TL;DR version - every president has tried to get these maniacs in line and all have failed. That's a fact. Even if you don't accept what is written in the above, this is not a new issue. They didn't just start testing missiles and now Trump is caught off guard.

So for the geniuses in the LR, given all the strategies employed by his predecessors have failed gloriously, what exactly would you suggest Trump does now?

I'll even allow you to cheat off prior Presidents and tell us what those other non-Twitter-using geniuses did that was so effective. Careful, though, before you answer you should at least scan what I linked to so you only look marginally stupid in your answer.

Me, I have no idea what to do.

No one is expecting Trump to be smart enough to have a solution to this, or pretty much any, important problem.
We are just hoping he's sufficiently self-conscious not to start tweeting unenforceable statements so he can grandstand and make himself feel important.
Its a low bar to clear, but apparently even that is too much for him.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

This which is why you need a coup or decapitation strike

I think a decapitation strike would be difficult, their weapon sites are likely pretty fortified and spread out so you would need a lot of strikes. A coup is probably the best bet but difficult when NK has such control over the people.

The best bet is probably with special forces taking Kim and the top brass out. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that some South Korean special forces backed by the U.S are already in place.