Curiosity #6 How dangerous is North Korea?steemCreated with Sketch.

in #science7 years ago

Hey There Steemit friends, Welcome again to our curious article series.

If you were asked to make a list of most unpredictable, secretive and dangerous country in the world today, its a safe bet that North Korea would be on the top. as one of the last remaining totalitarian regimes. They have a long history of  human rights violation and human manipulation. In recent months we have seen tension rising between North Korea and many member states of the united nations. As kim jong un has aggressively perused his goal of making North Korea a Nuclear Power. With So many nations in the military stand off , now seems like a good time to look at North Korea.

So, How Dangerous Is North Korea?

To being to understand the North Korea's current position in global affairs, we need to look back to 2003. kim jong un's father Kim Jong Il was supreme leader in 2003 and made the decision to withdraw North Korea from treaty of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons after US allegations that North Korea has started Uranium Program. This made North Korea to be first nation to withdraw from the treaty and raised concerns among the other nations at that time.

In 2006, The US geological survey detected a 4.3 magnitude seismic event which clearly indicated a nuclear test.The suspicions were confirmed shortly after when the announcement was made in North Korea that stated "North Korea has successfully completes a underground nuclear test". The consequences of this test were severe. The United Nations, European Union and other individual Countries like Japan China South Korea enacted sanctions against North Korea, that targeted the countries systemic vulnerabilities by blocking their offshore hard currency reserve and reducing potential income with trade and financial sanctions. The goal was to diminish Kim's ability to pay for the North Korea's large military. Unfortunately for everybody it does very little to stop Kim.

Since their first nuclear test they have conducted five more with increasing power. The most recent detonated in September of 2016 is considered to have been the largest yield with estimations ranging from 9-12 kilotons. By comparison the bomb that detonated in Hiroshima was between 13-18 kilotons whereas the modern B83 bomb has the range of 1.2 megatons  which is the most powerful nuclear device in US active service.

In mid April of 2017 North Korea announced that they would be conducting other nuclear test very soon. They claim to improve their arsenal in both quality and quantity and stated that their swords are drawn and US would be wise not to provoke them further.

What would be the out come of open hostility between these two nations?

The United states and its allies in the region are certainly prepared for the possibility and there are defenses in place in the case of a nuclear attack. The US and South Korea engage in regular training to prepare for such events and practice as what they refer to "4D operational strategy". Which stands for Detect Disrupt Destroy and Defend. The goal of this plan is to eliminate the North Korea Nuclear launch capability. Even if North Korean launches nuclear weapons the most likely target would be Japan and South Korea. All of these countries have nuclear missile defense system in place and could eliminate the missiles long before they reach their target.

But there is always a possibility that one or another nuclear missile could skip the defense system and cause unimaginable damage.

Conclusion

If it come to the war , most experts believe that North Korea would be overwhelmed by  US south Korea and other allies but the death toll would likely be horrendous. In the event of all-out war South Korea will execute what they call "Korea massive punishment and retaliation plan". The objectives would be to use special forces to cripple North Korean assets and eliminate their leadership and completely demolish Pyongyang using missiles and artillery.

North Korea has repeatedly threatened US for nuclear attacks  but its suspected it will take at least a few years before they have the capability.


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Curiosity #5 Do Black Holes ever die?

 

Curiosity #4 Have you ever experienced Sleep Paralysis? How to stop it?

 

Curiosity #3 How does the Sun look from other planets?

 

Curiosity #2 What if there was a black hole in your pocket?

 

Curiosity #1 What Happens if you fall into a black hole?




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After living in South Korea, I can say that Americans are far more fearful of North Korea than the South Koreans are. I think that comes from our sensationalist media in America.

And you are correct that NK would most likely target SK or Japan. Seoul is only a short drive from NK so they are definitely in range. But considering that residents of Seoul don't fear a NK attack, Americans definitely have nothing to worry about.

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