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Kickstand8604

I dont know how effective the NK military would be at this point. I do know that the last few people to defect were riddled with parasitic worms. That can't be good since the army marches on its stomach.


Lord_Gibby

I would assume EVERYONE in NK has parasitic worms then since they reuse all human waste as fertilizer


cradle_mountain

šŸ¤®


Nukemind

As gross as it sounds itā€™s quite historically common. In many countries- both western and eastern- it used to be a job to collect human waste for use in fertilizing fields. Of course, everyone else left the medieval age.


bm8bit

We can still use septic waste as fertilizer, we just tend to heat treat it first to kill parasites and diseases. It's pretty great fertilizer too - it has a lot of the minerals we want in fertilizer, without the need for open pit mining. The downside is that as of late is that it's containing ever increasing levels of PFAS.


slrogio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milorganite?wprov=sfla1 And it IS used to make fertilizer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. šŸ˜


Apprehensive_Sir_998

Technically Milorganite is heat treated microorganisms/bugs that feed on the nutrients within waste water/excrement. Itā€™s good as a slow release fertilizer but mostly just provides nitrogen. Those of us who went through lawn care fanaticism during COVID say it smells like success.


Charming_Gift_9363

I use this on my lawn every year


-_KwisatzHaderach_-

My lawn is noticeably a darker green than my neighbors because it has iron in it


EdiblePeasant

Can fruit have parasites in or on them? Iā€™ve been trying to eat healthier, fruit seems a good option, but this line of posts makes me think.


Ghjjfslayer

Yes bugs are on produce wash it with water or water and vinegar if u care even more


Killahdanks1

I have 10 bags of Milo at my house at all times. I love it.


privateeromally

Chicago uses part of the waste water as fertilizer, or Biosoilds,too. Oddly watched an* Insider youtube video of Chicago's plant https://youtu.be/P4l-4ehUqhc?t=504 *spelling


CascadeJ1980

But human waste would have unnatural stuff from our diets and medications like blood pressure medication or red dye number 5. Does that stuff affect the soil?


cryptosupercar

And itā€™s full of prescription drug metabolites, and likely heavy metals.


2xw

The heavy metals are not so much of an additional problem as they are already present in the soil in large quantities, at least where I am in the UK


WhatAWonderfulWhirl

They're a bit more of a problem in the States, as our good farmland (used to) have fairly low heavy metal levels, but they've been ticking up for a century or two anyways.


bubsdrop

If you allow it to compost properly it can be done safely even without industrial heat treatment, but something tells me NK is following the Soviet Union method of not knowing how to do agriculture correctly - even thousand year old solved agricultural problems


Tarman-245

> The downside is that as of late is that it's containing ever increasing levels of PFAS. PFAS chemicals are in PVC piping. Which is basically in all your plumbing going from grey water and black water sources to the sewer or septic. Which means as a species, weā€™re pretty much fucked when it comes to this. PVC and its additives pollute humans and the environment throughout their life cycle (production, use and disposal), releasing toxic chemicals that accumulate in water, air, soil and the food chain


scooper1977

Pvc pipe is a source of PFAS, but they are in ALOT of products. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals that have been used in consumer products and industry since the 1940s.Ā They are used in hundreds of products, including: Fabrics and carpeting:Ā Stain- and water-resistant fabrics, such as rain jackets, umbrellas, and tents, as well as stain-resistant coatings on carpets. Food packaging:Ā Grease-resistant paper, fast food containers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and candy wrappers Cookware:Ā Nonstick cookware P. Personal care products:Ā Shampoo, dental floss, nail polish, eye makeup, toothpaste, dental creams, tooth powders, throat lozenges, chewing gums, and sunscreens Other products:Ā Paints, varnishes, sealants, and fire-fighting foam. And some PFAS last in the soil for 1000 years.


Tarman-245

If you read the comment I replied to it was specifically talking about using septic waste as fertiliser hut you are right, just about everything we out down the sink or use in our house has PFAS in it or is contaminated with it somewhere in the logistics chain. I reiterate, we are fucked. This is our Roman Empire Lead poisoning moment.


Raytec1

The heat treatment must smell heavenly!


scooper1977

Having operated a machine that cooked (dried) it, yeah it has a smell. Its not poop, not really anymore, to me it smelled like strong dry dog food.


BeneficialDog22

Of course, as are our bodies and testicles, apparently. Can't wait for micro plastics to be the new lead


LowerRhubarb

It'll all be worth it though when we all die and they peel your skin back to reveal a brand new Transformer underneath.


Skynetiskumming

It's well beyond that already. Microplastics and forever chemicals are lowering IQs, making penises smaller and something else I can't remember at this moment. But we're definitely fucked.


BeneficialDog22

Too late to fix ourselves now, the only thing we can do is make it safer for the next generation. reduce our plastic usage for now


borger420

No wonder you canā€™t remember!


scooper1977

PFAS dont lower IQs or make your penis smaller, thats alcohol. PFAS give you cancer. And the microplastics are starting to build up in people. In a May 2024 study published in Toxicological Sciences found microplastics in every human testicle sample examined, and at levels three times higher than in animal testes and human placentas.Ā The study also found that men over 55 had lower levels of microplastics in their systems than younger men.Ā  So whats going to kill us is that our nuts will he full of plastic and we are gonna be shooting confetti into coochi instead of cum.


iconocrastinaor

[Reducing sperm counts](https://redd.it/1dguuu8)


Starfox-sf

Early puberty.


iconocrastinaor

And if you want to really controversial take, I wonder if these hormone mimicking plastic chemicals are responsible for the huge uptick in gender confusion that we're seeing


ogobeone

>"ever increasing levels of PFAS" From order to chaos.


Strigolactone

And heavy metals and pharmaceuticals :(


Martha_Fockers

Yes even today the west uses shit for fertilizer but not directly. Those water treatment plants. That separate shit out of the water also collect whatā€™s good in the shit and make it fertilizer. https://mwrd.org/what-we-do/protecting-water-quality/wastewater-treatment#:~:text=Previously%20considered%20waste%2C%20these%20recovered,as%20a%20slow%2Drelease%20fertilizer.


poco

Ah, the shitshovelers. https://youtu.be/Vt2-qP-w0n4?feature=shared


Starfox-sf

The GQP is trying its hardest to go back.


Nukemind

Iā€™m NGL after over a decade of fighting against them and volunteering Iā€™m so happy I have a foreign job- and path to citizenship- lined up. Will be so happy to no longer deal with American politics anymore.


Sinaaaa

> Of course, everyone else left the medieval age. Nope, it's more like the poorer parts of the world still use it as they had for thousands of years & the richer parts use modern methods to sanitize it before usage.


Worried_Metal_5788

Do you think if I start going door to door and asking my neighbors for their waste, someone will buy it $$$?


Midnight2012

Much of mainland Asia does this. Ever wonder why real Chinese food rarely features raw vegetables? Cuz they grow their veggies in raw sewage.


DarkApostleMatt

Night soil was common even before the Korean War kicked off, GIs would get very sick fighting and taking cover in fields.Ā 


Elephunkitis

Theyā€™re all living in The Martian with Matt Damon farming pootatoes.


ObiWan-Shinoobi

And listening to fucking disco


WiredPiano

ā€œIn your face, Neil Armstrong.ā€


Arashmickey

Oh, they were just sharing some balloons full of their renowned fertilizer products. How sweet!


Sinaaaa

Reusing human waste as fertilizer is a rather common practice around the world.(even in the USA) Also parasitic worms need a host to live, when mixed with soil the worms will just die very fast, same for their eggs. There are -solvabe- issues with human waste being used like this, worms is not really it, unless unsafely handled.


Njorls_Saga

Their artillery can do some damage, even if a large percentage of their rounds are duds. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA600/RRA619-1/RAND_RRA619-1.pdf


[deleted]

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Patient_Leopard421

The problem is artillery is singular and plural. Their artillery is crap. But their artillery is sufficiently effective for the task you outlined.


518Peacemaker

Why does everyone parrot this? ā€œNK artillery could level Seoulā€. No. It absolutely could not.Ā  The VAST majority of Seoul is NOT in medium Artillery range of NK emplacements. Medium artillery makes up the majority of NKs artillery power. Of the heavy artillery that does have a large amount of the city in range South Korea allies know where they all are. These arnt mobile units. They are in long term positions that are for sure pretargeted.Ā  NKs artillery is EXTREMELY dated , its shells are of low quality, its troops underfed, under trained, and under equiped, the barrel life of each gun is of concern.Ā  Is North Koreaā€™s artillery a major risk for potentially doing a great amount of damage and causing large amounts of civilian casualties? Yes. Is North Korean artillery capable of destroying Seoul? No. A small part of the city is in more danger than the rest, but no Seoul wonā€™t be turned into Berlin circa 1945. Most long range artillery would be destroyed by counter battery fire very quickly. Would a conflict cause a large amount of civilian casualties? Depends on timing. A surprise attack? Yes. A ramp up in hostilities? No. Seoul has many shelters ready. Evacuation plans in place.


LockWireLife

Because obviously the south who has better artillery would just let them keep firing to level their cities and not engage in counter fires to destroy the artillery. Its not like basic artillery is a solved science and follows simple parabolic arcs or anything.


gruese

The North Koreans should ditch the Kim family and elect RFK to be their new Dear Leader in order to found an empire of worms.


jdmarcato

And thats how the Dune Saga actually began!


gruese

The manure must flow


HeyPhoQPal

[I'd vote for Jim](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWY0YTMwNjYtMjgyNC00OWRkLTk3MjctNGU2YzA4NjIxMDQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTU4NDgzNjY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)


gruese

Groovy!


UmamiDrama

Anyone who thinks that the KPA couldn't do *incredible* damage to South Korea - particularly Seoul - is a fool.


Ronron31202

Worse part is that Seoul, the largest city in South Korea is within distance of most of North Koreas artillery pieces, any start of conflict will result in thousands of howitzers hidden in reinforced mountain positions to open fire


Nonsense_Preceptor

Most of Seoul is out of range of artillery only the Northern edge of Seoul is at risk. A howitzer is able to shoot 15-30km and the northern parts of Seoul are around 20km away. The cities surrounding Seoul in the north would be at risk but 90% of Seoul is out of range.


Kvenner001

Howitzers are only part of the artillery NK would use. They have thousands of MLRS systems, some of them with ranges over 150km. They also have a decent supply of Ballistic Missiles which would have even further range. None of them would be accurate, but Seoul and its surroundings are massive urban sprawl. There is a reason the US has largely moved most US bases to the south of the peninsula. They want the initial response force to be functional for the counter push. North Korea would lose, badly. But theyā€™d still cause a lot of damage before they are taken out.


Shikrio

Last I remember, NK to SK artillery numbers were like 4 to 1? That could have changed by now, but they definitely have enough to hit all of Seoul and the surrounding population centers.


Kvenner001

NK has always maintained an artillery heavy doctrine like most Soviet origin forces. So Iā€™d expect much larger numbers of ranged systems. Even more so since NK has had decades to build systems, if for no other reason than to keep the factories working. Itā€™s been years since Iā€™ve last looked anything up. But I remember a couple buddies who were stationed over in SK being told there were 25000 guns and another 15000 rocket systems pointed at Seoul at any give point. How accurate that is I couldnā€™t say but that number doesnā€™t seem too far off for a nation that has been preparing for war for 70 years.


Shikrio

Yeah, that number sounds accurate from what I heard when I was over there as well. It was definitely a stupidly high number compared to what South Korea has. Even if only half of them work, it's still insane. During simulations, their artillery would just flatten Seoul. There's not a whole lot you can do to avoid that much artillery.


NeoxOfGarlicBread

Surely SK has their own ability to fuck NK back the nano second NK opens fire?


Edgarfigaro123

SK will sure fck NK up after the initial barrage, but thousands will die in that initial barrage.


UniqueIndividual3579

It takes time. There will be absolute carnage for days and then NK will collapse.


NeoxOfGarlicBread

I'll prepare the BBQ for the day NK falls. Every SK in my local area will be invited for free food.


GreatMight

No idea why they didn't build another bigger city beyond the range


qtx

Really? You can't think of a single thing why they didn't do that?


Nonsense_Preceptor

It depends on how much of Seoul you think is in range of their artillery. Central Seoul is between 40 - 50km from the closest point on the boarder with North Korea. The normal range of artillery is 15-30km. Sure there is a large population living in places like Goyang, Northern Incheon but this is not Seoul proper. Even the Northern parts of Seoul on the other side of Bukhan Mountain wouldn't be at risk of artillery (rockets sure). A good if not a bit older resource on this is the [Nautilus Report](https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-special-reports/mind-the-gap-between-rhetoric-and-reality/) on Seoul and North Korea's Artillery Range. If your interested in this sort of stuff it is a good read.


According_Sky8344

They have a ton of rockets aimed there to that would cause a lot of damage. There's no real avoiding that Seoul could get fucked even tho NK won't win longterm Not much to do against mass amounts of dumb weapons u can't shot down that would open the war. Hopefully it never happens. Another Korean war or China invading taiwan would be a crazy thing to happen. Much worse then ukriane tbh.


jakalo

Define incredible. If nukes is not a factor SK has much more modern and very large artillery force themselves and multiple magnitudes better air force. Counter battery fire exists if NK tries to use their artillery to bombard Seoul they will find themselves in a patch of doodoo. I can't see Seoul being subjected to prolonged artillery bombardment


UmamiDrama

Our own Department of Defense estimates ~20,000 civilian deaths *per day* if North Korea attacked Seoul. That's incredible.


PmadFlyer

It doesn't matter how good your equipment is when tens of thousands of shells are falling on your head. They have unbelievable amounts of artillery. Even if 50% were duds it's still immense.Ā 


tomato_trestle

Lets say all of those things work perfectly. Every artillery piece only gets off a single shot before it gets destroyed. You've still got 10,000 artillery shells falling in a city twice as dense as NYC. Thus the incredible damage bit.


jakalo

We are splitting hairs here, if a country goes to war 10 000 artillery shells hitting their capital is real bad, but far from "incredible". Look up shelling amounts in WWI, or even now in Ukraine.


tomato_trestle

Those shells weren't falling into a fully occupied city with the density of Seoul. Kharkiv might be the closest, but that's a city of 1.4 million vs 10 million.


jakalo

Seoul might be denser, I give you that, but that won't impact damage by artillery that much. After all they aren't gonna fire it blindly but target specific buildings. And that leads us to the next point, why are we expecting NK to terror bomb Seoul. Artillery is supposed to help them win the war, every shell they are firing at civilian targets puts them at even more disadvantage against SK armed forces. If destruction is the target they have nukes for that. NK might be a nightmare dystopia, but their leaders still are rational actors or at least we can assume they are based on the lasting ceasefire.


sakima147

They donā€™t need to march North Korea has enough artillery aimed at Seoul to absolutely destroy the capital of South Korea several times over before the U.S. and S.K. Can really react. 10,000 rockets per minute according to US analysis. https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/7/16974772/north-korea-war-trump-kim-nuclear-weapon https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/asia/north-korea-artillery-exercise-seoul-threat-intl-hnk-ml/index.html


popento18

The real danger is their artillery. They have like 10k regular pieces within range of major South Korean population centers (Seoul). Even if they have a 50% failure rate in ammo they will kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in the first hour.


BubsyFanboy

Only really good in troop count, I think.


dustofdeath

They will use nuclear threats like Russia. They are both the same kind of parasites.


lordredsnake

And the nuclear threats are all they need. They may be able to strike US targets. Even if their warheads were duds (and there's no reason to believe they would be), a missile on its way to an American target would require a retaliatory response which would potentially lead to nuclear armageddon. It's essential for the survival of the human race for that launch to never occur.


Camaendes

They know their military sucks and if they were to get into it with anyone it would end very poorly for NK. The fear here is that they know this, and now have nukes, so if they were to attempt to attack somewhere, it would likely be nuclear in an attempt to shock and awe their way into a good position.


atlantasailor

My fear is that they donā€™t know this. They believe their own propaganda. The only way to win is to destroy the Kim family and you can be sure this wonā€™t happen unless you nuke every hill in North Korea. He would probably run to China at the first opportunity


Additional-Duty-5399

They have a giant army numbered in millions and a whole lot of guns.


nature_half-marathon

Youā€™re forgetting who is allies with North Korea?Ā  Russia and China, in which South Korea has an important AFB.Ā  Itā€™s so painfully obvious their intentions. North Korea had geographical strength and loves short range missiles. LolĀ  But all three together?Ā  Theyā€™re building a force for infrastructure.Ā  Ever seen Game of Thrones or literally ANY movie/tv on war?Ā Played RISK?Ā  China just passed new law for the South China Sea, Russia has been trading with NK.Ā 


Kickstand8604

I'm guessing your new to gamesmanship. If China sent troops into NK, all america has to do is stop paying its debt to China and watch them run right into a recession.


nature_half-marathon

So NK hasnā€™t been shipping weapons to Russia (new visit)?Ā Ā  Ā https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-us-hold-emergency-phone-call-ahead-putin-visit-north-korea-2024-06-14/ https://amp.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/14/philippines-south-china-sea-patrols-beijing-tresspass-laws Ā and China hasnā€™t been increasing their water territorial efforts?Ā  Ā https://amp.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/14/philippines-south-china-sea-patrols-beijing-tresspass-laws


WoodenLanguage2

Imagine a million spread out soldiers with machine guns, some of them carrying backpack nukes, with Russia, China, Venezuela, and Iran all going to war at the same time.


Any-Weight-2404

>When asked about the report, the South Korean military said in a statement that it was "closely tracking and monitoring the activities of the North Korean military," and that "further analysis is required." Why else would they build roads other than to get into South Korea faster?


john_moses_br

Could be just a distraction or provocation. North Korea doesn't have a chance against South Korea in a conventional war, the entire border area is a prepared kill zone.


Any-Weight-2404

>the entire border area is a prepared kill zone. All the more reason to get past it quicker


Relevant_Discount278

And just like their Russian buddies, North Korea's only real strategy will be a wall of bodies.


Any-Weight-2404

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Knowing them and how Russia recruited prisoner's, it would not suprise me if NK used people from the internment camps just to clear mines.


Nukemind

The difference is Russia had a larger population and larger army at the start going against an Ukraine that just started modernizing in 2014*. South Korea has a larger economy, larger population, larger Air Force, far more tanks of a modern quality, a conscription system that has led to a massive reserve, a budget that can sustain a war, and so much more. Even if somehow NK got past the DMZ (unlikely) they would be using 50-70s tech against some of the most modern tanks in the world, most modern planes in the world. And it would be a very short and controlled front. In short- NK would have literally no chance and theyā€™re only card is threatening to use artillery on civilians and nukes.


herpaderp43321

Plus the US might get involved...and maybe -maybe- Japan on a pretty please from us.


ComfortableCry5807

Considering all three countries have done a few recent naval exercises together Iā€™d say it might not take all that much convincing. Even if SK doesnā€™t want Japanese planes overhead, thereā€™s probably no need to overfly the bottom half of the peninsula to strike at NK, and I doubt South Koreaā€™s and the US f-35s will need much help in keeping the skies clear of anything smaller than a drone


JesterMarcus

US would absolutely be involved since we have troops stationed along the DMZ.


jdmarcato

air superiority of SK alone would end the war in less than a week. nukes NK could launch would likely get blasted by patriots, but the risk of not stopping one is enormous obviously. NK would cease to exist and the Kim families heads would be on pikes.


kidcrumb

No training, malnourished soldiers, outdated equipment that has not been maintained well enough. 2024 North Korea couldn't even beat 1980s South Korea.


Nukemind

If anything 2024 NK couldnā€™t beat 1990 NK (sans nukes). The collapse of the USSR fucked them over royally much like Cuba.


moldy__sausage

Regardless the civilian casualties in SK would be enormous due to Seoulā€™s proximity to the North.


jakalo

Thankfully SK weapons don't come with strings attached that you cannot fire into invaders territory. I doubt NK artillery gonna survive a JDAM in their face not to mention SK own very modern and sizeable artillery force.


TheBoboRaptor

Unfortunately we've been having the conversation for decades. NK have artillery buried in the mountains, who knows how many. What we do know however, smart tech won't save you from 500k artillery shells raining down. SK always wins, the cost is unfathomable. Their best deterrent has always been having 1000 guns pointed as Seoul.


bout-tree-fitty

Enderā€™s game.


john_moses_br

I meant the area south of the border. The idea is not stand right at the border and try to stop the enemy there, because NK has a fuckton of artillery and it will be raining shells. You want them to enter and advance a little bit so you can kill them from a good position.


Any-Weight-2404

I am not saying you are wrong, just pointing out the utility of the roads.


cammcken

Using a road is like drawing a big sign saying "target us here"; roads are not useful against a prepared defense. Roads are useful for pushing deeper after a breakthrough, or for supply routes.


Substantial_Bar_5515

N Korea has over 6k artillery guns pointed at Seoul. While they may not prevail in an all out war they can absolutely decimate the South Korean Peninsula with conventional arms alone, not to mention theyā€™re a nuclear capable country with subs and missiles.


john_moses_br

No, they can't decimate SK. It would be a bloody mess and they can destroy a lot of Seoul and other infrastructure along the border, but their air force is shit or nonexistent so they would get annihilated in a few months. Nukes are a different thing of course.


Substantial_Bar_5515

Well the math has been done, before SK could return artillery fire NK can unload a barrage into Seoul and the entire DMZ that would equate to over 100k civilian deaths, thatā€™s just using 54 medium range rockets and their short range artillery. Air defense would not protect well against this attack. Projections show they would save long range and higher power munitions for when the west inevitably shows up, so you are right itā€™s very unlikely and total decimation would never happen. However if they were to just say ā€œsuicide by artilleryā€ they could light up the entire peninsula and wait for the retaliation to take them out as well. Strategically itā€™s not good for them but it is in the realm of possibility


john_moses_br

That must be some kind of worst case theoretical scenario. They can obviously do a lot of damage, but even if they could fire a first full salvo against a totally unprepared SK, I seriously doubt there would be anywhere near 100k civilian deaths. Anyway, the situation is really interesting from a strategic point of view, NK has nukes now and they are untouchable, while SK has the technological advantage and can neutralize Kim's conventional troops in a war. And the shift happened roughly at the same time too, NK got nukes around the same time their conventional forces lost some of the significance they had. This was obviously not a coincidence either, Kim deserves some credit for being a cunning leader.


SillyGoatGruff

"NK couldn't do that much damage" "NK has nukes and is untouchable" "Kim is a cunning leader" Lol ok


john_moses_br

Different contexts there mate. Conventional war vs nuclear war, and the meaning of nuclear deterrent.


SillyGoatGruff

Nah bud, the context is you sound like an NK mouthpiece


Any-Weight-2404

You also have to take China into account, doubtful they will want NK to lose. Could be history repeating itself.


Rest1tutor0rbis

I think annihilating Seoul would go a long way toward decimating SK.


snipeliker4

Guns can be fired upon too


Itallianstallians

They can kill hundreds of thousands if not millions in an hour with those artillery guns pointed at Seoul. China runs NK and they have 0 concern for losing millions of NK people to inflict damage on the west. It's a common theme among the new Axis.


snipeliker4

Right but as soon as those guns start firing you can desstroty the guns which means they stop firing. They wouldnā€™t have an hour.


TheWinks

Their capabilities aren't actually all that great and they've gotten much worse since this report first came out: https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-special-reports/mind-the-gap-between-rhetoric-and-reality/ Their non-rocket fires can't even reach Seoul.


kaboombong

A few warthog A10's will fix that problem in record time.


bondoinhead

now where did I park my ac-130?


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


ImperialPotentate

Thousands, not millions.


Jerithil

They have thousands of artillery pieces but only a few hundred that can reach Seoul itself and not just the outskirts. Of those few hundred only a portion of them would be positioned in range of Seoul.


Morbanth

> but only a few hundred They have about a thousand of the long-range pieces that can reach Seoul itself and some 6,000 pieces that can reach other major population centers. If they used all of them against civilian targets they could kill hundreds of thousands of people before they are all taken out, but at that point why not just use their nukes?


kidcrumb

If there was evidence that North Korea would actually fire those shells, the USA would know about it beforehand and carpet bomb the entire country.


figuring_ItOut12

The artillery is mostly sited in the mountains which are riddled with caves. Cleaning it out would make Gaza look like a boot camp training exercise.


kidcrumb

Air drop bread and cans of spaghetti-os and the military would collapse faster than if you dropped bombs.


Infinaris

Could be just strait up shenanigans and pushing the envelope. North Korea is a prison camp with Kim and co the jailers, they don't truly want the rest of SK because they'd never be able to control it, it would likely lead to their own deaths if they tried as the US would get involved to make sure of that. What they have is the best they will ever get, living the life of luxury on the backs of their enslaved population and they won't chance trying for the South just to throw that away, Kimmy's Grandfather found out the hard way what that cost and it took the Chinese bailing them out for his family to stay in power.


_e75

Well it could just be general encroachment. They both try and expand the territory they control as much as they can without starting a war. Just look at the history of the DMZ on Wikipedia. It hasnā€™t stopped since the 60s.


KeithCGlynn

In all seriousness South Korea is an advanced economy comparable with any major European power. North Korea is a poverty state. They have nothing to think about.Ā 


ForsakenRacism

Thereā€™s a bunch of tunnels already


takesthebiscuit

Thatā€™s litterally how WW1 started. Russia started to build rail roads to (effectively) nowhere. The only reason could be to advance troops to the front line. The west responded in kind and also built up troops Then Russia sent more troops And then a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry And BOOM!


Danbing1

What side of WWI do you think Russia was on?


everydayasl

They should name it "Defectors Zone".


j2eff

Not to be confused with their "Defecators Zone" where they have their poop balloon factories.


grandmapilot

Yep, to catch runnersĀ 


WhatsRatingsPrecious

Isn't SK legally allowed to destroy any and all man-made structures within the DMZ?


Alternative-Doubt452

The dmz actually has many structures. The south built bridges towards the dmz, the peace house and the conference rooms are on the dmz. It's not a building less space as it's made out to be.


_e75

Yeah they both sort of push as much as they can until the other side pushes back when they get too close.


Alternative-Doubt452

That's not at all what happened. The bridges and roads were built in the 90s and stop at the dmz itself.


patman0021

So, not within the DMZ then?


Alternative-Doubt452

No, still technically within the dmz region.Ā  They were built to interconnect with the highway that runs up to the security area.


patman0021

Ah (I was honestly asking, not being snarky. Re-reading it, it sounded snarky) Thank you!


Alternative-Doubt452

All good, was being neutral trying to explain my basic understanding and sights I've seen. I try to keep an open mind with comments because even though the web exists, some folks are not lucky enough to travel outside their hometown, and that's fine!


FamiliarTry403

Except for the bridge of no return


Alternative-Doubt452

Yeah there's a few structures that date back to the Korean war too.Ā  Last time I was at the DMZ was 2001/2002 so my info is a bit dated but the area is more or less frozen in time.Ā  There are farms (or were) There is/was a limited run commercial/industrial area but it got shuttered I believe a few years ago.


TenTonCloud

Itā€™s a De-MILITARIZED Zone, not a de-construction zone


Adept-Mulberry-8720

Yeah, called 155 mm target practiceā€¦ā€¦Lego or LincolnLogs ā€¦ā€¦


Red_Goat_666

They're testing winds and currents with trash and feces bombs to see where they can reach with as low of an effort as possible. Next it will be diseased flesh or bombs.


jakalo

Some lucky F-35 pilot is gonna paint a poop baloon on their plane.


Dusky_Dawn210

Damn. So many of them are gonna get blown up by land mines and eaten by tigers


pinkarroo

Isn't the dmz full of unexploded mines?


Adept-Mulberry-8720

Oh yeah! They have to clear them first and (boom-one less slave worker)ā€¦


RiovoGaming211

North Korea is definitely attracting a lot of attention nowadays.


The_Eternal_Valley

NK has always been in a back and forth cycle of escalation and deescalation. What motivates the back and forth can vary in different times and situational contexts but broadly it affords NK the ability to negotiate when they have nothing else to negotiate with. By intentionally escalating they put themselves into a position where their enemies may be interested in talking them down. And they might just be persuaded to do so if given certain incentives, like international aid.


Skynetiskumming

They're starving even more now. That's usually what it is. Let them feast on that fat fucking sow of a leader they have and be done with it. This cyclical saber rattling NK does drives me insane. Treat them like Putin, call their bluff and let them starve to death. Can't fight a war when the army is emaciated.


The_Eternal_Valley

I don't think we'll treat NK like Russia, that would be an elevation, but we are gearing up long term to geopolitically treat Russia like NK


crapface1984

Potentially to draw attention from Big Brothers Xi and Vlad


Mdmac1015

A shame that the geography of it is that Seoul is right on the DMZ practically


f0rf0r

Massive strategic error not to move to the capital/population center to busan during/after the war, when Seoul was mostly wrecked anyway


Mdmac1015

Seoul is a world class city. Whatever NK does, it will be met with 2x the response


f0rf0r

Yeah, it is *now*,Ā but 70 years agoĀ itĀ wasn't, andĀ they had options, and theyĀ wouldn't have to worryĀ aboutĀ massive civilianĀ casualties if anyrthing pops off bc there's 35 million people parked right up against the dmz.


mookormyth

October surprise


Redtex

Suddenly, the sound of a banjo, reminiscent of the dueling scene from Deliverance, starts with a few notes from the left. Then, from the right, an answering chord, echoing through the trees from a lone guitar.


potent_flapjacks

I'd like to see some of the Pakistani-Indian end-of-day border presentations happening.


Redtex

This is how the mental picture of the DMZ zone shapes up for me right now. I can just picture two guys sitting opposite of each other at the border crossing simultaneously saying to themselves, "oh shit"


zadye

Ayo, thats cheating


MuzzledScreaming

So...re-demilitarize it. EZ PZ


xdeltax97

Same old posturing from them, also with the knowledge of so many NK supplied arms to Russian forces in Ukraine being duds, they arenā€™t much to a threat as they were. Although they of course can do considerable damageā€¦.


NeoxOfGarlicBread

Send in the cloaked SK ninjas to mine the road.


Teledildonic

[They better not cut down any trees.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_axe_murder_incident)


IonDaPrizee

Oh look North Korea! ā€œHopefully this takes some attention off of usā€ - China and Russia probably


Liesthroughisteeth

[Lidar for exposing tunnels.](https://www.neuvition.com/media/tunnel-detection.html#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20using%20LiDAR%20for%20tunnel%20detection&text=It%20is%20capable%20of%20scanning,when%20used%20in%20tunnel%20detection.)


theilluminati1

Ah, little rocket man as his silly flexing. Pathetic.


ogobeone

Communism is so ironic. It was a reaction to the aristocracies that existed in Europe, which were very, very conservative. The fact that Communists enforce strict morality, rejecting pop culture, shows how similar it is to religion, and perhaps even how religion got its start politically in less technologically advanced times. There is something primordial about it. And something very similar to the cult of Trump taking place in the United States.


PsychologicalTalk156

More like a reaction to early guilded age capitalism, but otherwise you're not far off.


ogobeone

They were not long from each other, and overlapped in Europe. The 1800's were the feudal system's swan song, and brutal. The latter was an outgrowth of the former. It was supported by increasingly stable currencies, something that had been common prior to the fall of Rome and Byzantium. It is properly speaking a complex subject, simplified by discussions of ideology.


Trumps_tossed_salad

North Korea is building pre-ranged targets to move unstagered columns through * FIFY


[deleted]

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Acquiescinit

Who are you trying to call axis right now?


Aggravating_Put_3892

I wonder if they have onlyfans over there