Current N. Korea situation vs. Cuban missile crisis

I asked this in the N. Korea Watch thread but to reach a wider audience per se I felt compelled to go with a standalone thread.

I am curious of what the general consensus is of those following the situation in N. Korea versus the Cuban missile crisis from the potential of a volatile situation occurring standpoint?

Are we (US) still quite a distance away from reaching the level of volatility that almost ensued all those years ago, are we on the brink or have we surpassed it?

Please share your opinion regarding any similarities with the level of potential for a volatile situation to come to fruition. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

I think we would only find out the answer to that question decades after the fact... just like the Cuban missile crisis.

Let's hope we don't find out the answer any time soon.

reply to post by CranialSponge


Understood...and with having an understanding (baseline at least) of the history...would you consider the way things are currently unfolding sharing any similarities?

reply to post by UberL33t


Similarities ?

Yes, I believe we are not being told the entire story and why the sabre rattling has escalated so fast... And why China and Russia were so quick to jump on this last sanction implementation.

Someone is purposefully antagonizing the DPRK and Un... also just like the Cuban missile crisis.

One main difference with Cuba VS NK situation is, we cannot really tell what is going on in NK, a report I read earlier today said no troop Movements have been seen in NK.

Yet NK has had 50 some years to dig tunnels, and we know that has been done, so could troops and equipment be moving that we cannot see??


This is something that is a BIG question in my mind...

We know China HAS moved troops and equipment, to what end we don't know, are they to back up NK forces, or prevent the influx of NK refugees??


we don't have as much Intell as we did during the Cuban missile crisis........


Best case scenario, China invades NK and puts a stop to the madness without SK or the US being involved, WIN/WIN for everyone.. and it makes China look like the Hero....


or worst case, China backs NK, and the USA gets out of debt, and pays in Blood

reply to post by thedigirati


That would indeed be an interesting outcome. It would be like N. Korea's Dad coming home and taking a belt to the misbehaving child.

...or the US will swoop in like Child Services and remove the child from the home. Which would probably piss the Dad off a scoatch.

reply to post by UberL33t


One difference I do see between this and the Cuban crisis is that our rivals (China/Russia) are not aiding NK (at least not outwardly) as Russia did way back when.

I'm curious OP...

What similarities are you seeing that compelled you to start this thread ?

reply to post by CranialSponge


Well it's more what I am not seeing. There is obviously a viable threat as there was with Cuba. The difference is there is not the same level of outward concern as what I feel there was with Cuba.

I think there are a number of reasons for this. However the main similarity I am seeing is the potential for nuclear weapons being used that is close to reaching the redline as it did with the cold war threat all those years ago. The concern, is will the same resolve prevail. As I am sure was a concern of the masses back then.

reply to post by UberL33t


Yes, the real threat of nuclear usage in this particular situation sticks out like a sore thumb in comparison to say Iran, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, etc.

Too damn real, if you ask me.

By no means should this be considered as making excuses for the little emperor, but I see a HUGE difference in maturity and experience on the "opposite" side of the fence this time. Over the last few days, I have further become more and more curious as to what Kim actually knows and what he THINKS he knows. In other words, has he ever been anywhere near the US in person? Did his father's non-stop rhetoric sink in and brain wash him beyond repair? Are his generals also perpetrating the charade by filling his head with what they want instead of reality?

Back to my first statement and your actual question, I would lay the vast majority of the entire situation on Kim's undeniable lack of maturity. Perhaps there is some sense behind the requisite 35 years of age before a person can serve as president of the US. Of course, an immature tantrum rarely turns out well for those involved and at the very least someone often comes away with a badly bruised ego. Finally, in comparison with the Cuban issue, I personally worry about mistakes. Technology is wonderful, but with so many nuclear powers, players, and pretenders and so many buttons to choose from how hard would it be to accidentally start WWIII? If not for Stanislav Petrov Wikipedia we may not be here to discuss this in the first place.

I say take it all very, very seriously and someone needs to figuratively take him over their knee and spank him (as long as we can be sure he won't enjoy it first). Do not reward this behavior, help him grow up, and see if it is possible to learn from his mistakes. Otherwise, if we wait just a bit longer the large hole in the ground immediately north of South Korea will be the result of someone besides the US for once because Kim is making very powerful enemies very fast.

A good offense is a great defense. So, ask yourselves this question: is America being properly defended? If they keep spreading out the troops, all over the world, from the U.S.; who is going to protect the U.S., from an invasion? Keep this in mind: they allowed Americans to be armed, for a reason. Instead of thinking back 40 or so years, perhaps we should think back hundreds, maybe thousands, of years.

What if eeeeeeeeeverything we (every country and culture) know, is just 1 big fat lie, that's been acted out, since....well, who knows since when.; but, what IF it's ALL just 1 gigantic conspiracy, against the population? The masters must have known the population would be this size, at some point, so, what if they had a plan on keeping the people in check, way back then; and we're just living out their script, accordingly?

I hate you, you hate me, but why do we hate each other, REALLY? Is it because of our religious beliefs? Well, what if there was NO RELIGION? Would we still hate each other? What if there was no poverty? Would we hate each other then? What if we've ALL just been conditioned to hate each other, for absolutely no reason?

We all have the same wishes, dreams and desires. We all want to be "happy" in this life. We all laugh! We all cry! We all feel pain!!! Deep down inside, aren't we all THE SAME?

I go to the playground with my kids, and all i see, is children of every race, playing. Why can't WE be like that???

The Russians were placing nukes on Cuba...90 Miles from Florida. Thats the difference.