The Korean War - Part II

No, you didn't miss Part I of this series. I just think the Korean War is about to resume. On July 27, 1953 the warring parties called a timeout. The armistice called for a demilitarized zone at the 38 parallel splitting the country into 2 parts. The Communists would have the north. Democratic South Korea, and their American allies, would be in the south. Nothing was really settled.

Along the Korean DMZ

That's the way it stood for over 60 years. So what has happened since this timeout? Well, I, and most of us were born. Presidents have come and gone. A great TV sitcom, MASH, was made  about the Korean War. South Korea has become a great industrialized nation, making Kias and Hyundais.

North Korea has become an isolationist Communist nation. It's a pretty secret place without much contact with anyone. There have been 60 years of threats from one side or the other. Soldiers from North Korea and American forces have been giving each other the stink eye across the DMZ.

Who needs the Secretary of State when we got Rodman?

North Korea has been led by one militarist after another. The present leader is Kim Jong-un. He is a piece of work. He even said he once had 7 holes in one in 1 round of golf. His best American friend is former NBAer Dennis Rodman, another piece of work.

Kim Jung-un has been obsessed with making North Korea a nuclear power, and seems to have done it. The tough part isn't the bomb. You can probably figure that out from Wikipedia. But to deliver a nuclear weapon across an ocean requires a sophisticated missile program. They seem to now have that too. This worries nearby places like Guam and especially Japan. Japan has been a staunchly pacifist nation ever since they lost the last nuclear war.

Meanwhile, here in America, our Presidents have been relatively normal people, until recently. Our guy has been recently saying things like, "This should have been handled years ago" and "Only one thing will work with North Korea." At a recent photo opportunity with his generals, he called it the "calm before the storm". He asked his generals to provide him with military options. He told the Secretary of State to stop wasting time negotiating with North Korea. Trump says he will destroy North Korea.

Kim Jung-un has called Trump unstable. That's like Bill Clinton calling JFK a womanizer.

Hiroshima after the bomb - not much left.

It may come as a surprise to some people, but a nuclear option has been seriously discussed in Korea before. In November 1950, the U.S. had plans to use nuclear weapons against bases in China if their forces went to North Korea. The President signed the approval, but the orders were never transmitted. President Truman talked openly about using nuclear weapons in the war. European leaders talked him out of it due to the chance of expanding the problems. When Eisenhower became President, he favored a negotiated truce.

But now we seem to have two leaders that almost seem anxious for a confrontation. Someone once said, those that do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.

Years ago I would see signs that said "Pray For Peace". Not a bad idea.