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A comment on North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS. Parent comment

Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by retrac on Sunday November 27, 2022 @02:02PM (#33765576)
If JP/SK/US did decide on military action against North Korea, I would expect China to stand back, close their border, and do nothing but make loud protest noises. They're not keen on sharing a border with a US client state. They're also not keen on a rogue North Korea with nukes.

The main issue is that, even without nuclear weapons, North Korea has enough conventional arms, including chemical weapons, to cause horrific damage to South Korea. Seoul's entire urban area is within artillery range of the DMZ. I've seen estimates of varying credibility but most experts speak of hundreds of thousands of deaths on the first day of shelling, if a full-scale war broke out on the Korean peninsula.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by FpUser on Sunday November 27, 2022 @03:30PM (#33766584)
>"If JP/SK/US did decide on military action against North Korea"

NK is no longer part of NPT. Would not this war be illegal? How does it correspond with "we are the nation of laws"?

>"I would expect China to stand back"

And what if it does not?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by retrac on Sunday November 27, 2022 @03:43PM (#33766722)
I know quite well, as you probably do, that international law has zero bearing on the military decisions made by the USA in terms of its interests. Yes, it'd be illegal, unless the UN Security Council gave its blessing. Just like the second Gulf War was illegal. That has never stopped the US before.

> How does it correspond with "we are the nation of laws"?

It does not. The United States government rejects the idea it is restricted by international law on these matters.

As for South Korea, it can argue it's an internal domestic matter.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by FpUser on Sunday November 27, 2022 @05:49PM (#33767844)
>"That has never stopped the US before"

I know this much. My question was largely rhetorical.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by colechristensen on Sunday November 27, 2022 @03:52PM (#33766806)
“Illegal war” is just a phrase to make political noise about military action you don’t like.

There are treaties, not laws, and no body to actually enforce laws, it’s just diplomacy. General practices are agreed upon but they’re basically just loose agreements.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:North Korean ICBM launch detected using GPS by lucb1e on Sunday November 27, 2022 @07:30PM (#33768476)
NPT = Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/) --your friendly neighborhood unusual acronym lookup robot
[ Parent | on HN ]