Yes. Only the South Koreans can make that call, as they have the most to lose. If they decided to invade, and asked for US assistance, I for one would support that, to the extent of volunteering to fight.
Alas, from an historical standpoint, North Korea is a relatively small aberration as long as it remains isolated and weak. The thing that I don't understand is how such a repressive regime could possibly have developed nuclear weapons. It seems somehow unfair, not to mention dangerous for the rest of us, that advanced science can be done in such an environment. I've always assumed that anyone smart enough to do such work would be smart enough to refuse to do it. But I guess I am wrong.
Hmm. I hear what you're saying, but I think you may be underestimating the cultural undercurrent present here. Intelligence does not automatically correlate to respecting freedom of thought or other Western ethical ideals.
>>The thing that I don't understand is how such a repressive regime could possibly have developed nuclear weapons.
One Answer: Through Nuclear proliferation. And of course they work hard. You can't build something like without working hard.
>>It seems somehow unfair, not to mention dangerous for the rest of us, that advanced science can be done in such an environment.
Who is 'us'?
Is it unfair to the rest of the world that technology to develop something like a F-16/drones etc lies in the hands of one country which fights/has fought many wars in the past and present, undoubtedly killing several hundreds of thousands innocent people.
>>I've always assumed that anyone smart enough to do such work would be smart enough to refuse to do it. But I guess I am wrong.
Like? What about employees at Lockheed Martin? Or say some other defense company.
> Like? What about employees at Lockheed Martin? Or say some other defense company.
You're drawing parallels between a defense contractor motivated mostly by profits and a nation that very literally holds a gun to the heads of its people in the name of progress. I don't believe that's fair.
The US for all its faults is nothing like North Korea.
I've always assumed that anyone smart enough to do such work would be smart enough to refuse to do it. But I guess I am wrong.
Smart doesn't come into it. These guys - to the extent that they think about it at all, having been raised from birth to think that the Kim dynasty are living gods - are doing it so their families can eat. And so would most of us I'll wager.
I guess the technology was a handout from the Soviet Union. I can't fathom that a country like North Korea would be capable of developing nuclear weapons on their own, when a highly advanced country like Iran can't do it in this day and age.
NK bought their nuclear technology from a Pakistani, who is currently living comfortably in a house in Pakistan, protected by the Pakistani state (because he also gave them nuclear capabilities). He stole a lot of the technology from European companies where he worked. This guy (AQ Khan) provided resources to Iran as well (directly and indirectly via NK).
The science isn't actually that hard (I'd feel comfortable I could design/build a gun-type fission weapon myself, given budget and resources, from open sources, with basic engineering education). The hard part is the smuggling, front companies, etc. to get the equipment and materials.
I'm pretty sure by the time NK was looking at going nuclear, the SU wasn't particularly happy with NK. NK was closer to China, and SU didn't really support Chinese proliferation (there were substantial divisions on the SU-China border, after all...)
China didn't really want NK to go nuclear, either.
Alas, from an historical standpoint, North Korea is a relatively small aberration as long as it remains isolated and weak. The thing that I don't understand is how such a repressive regime could possibly have developed nuclear weapons. It seems somehow unfair, not to mention dangerous for the rest of us, that advanced science can be done in such an environment. I've always assumed that anyone smart enough to do such work would be smart enough to refuse to do it. But I guess I am wrong.