New Korean (Nuclear?) War about to start?

[sasguru]

Obama tells military: prepare for North Korea aggression | Reuters

Tough talk. The South can't really let the North get away with torpedoing their warship. And the North seems completely irrational/unpredictable.
Large wars often start from small causes.
is this the Archduke Ferdinand moment of the 21st Century?

[AtW]

The South can't really let the North get away with torpedoing their warship.

Yes it can and it will.

[Moscow Mule]

It was probably a stolen North Korean torpedo fired from a stealth ship owned by Murdoch.

[Clippy]

Problem is, there really isn't much that South Korea or the international community can do to North Korea due to its nuclear capability and un-predictable nature - it was summarised quite well in a recent BBC report.

If a (conventional) was was to break out between North & South Korea it would be interesting to see what part the US would actually play.

I'm not convinced they would wade in to assist South Korea as they claim they would.

[AtW]

Problem is, there really isn't much that South Korea or the international community can do to North Korea due to its nuclear capability and un-predictable nature

Arresting foreign bank accounts used to buy luxuries for the "dear leader" worked pretty well few years ago.

[wingnut]

N Korea 'severs all ties' with Seoul

North Korea is to cut all relations with South Korea, Pyongyang's official news agency reports.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Washington and Beijing must work together to "fashion an effective response" to the sinking of the Cheonan.

Speaking in Beijing, Mrs Clinton said maintaining peace on the Korean peninsula was "a shared responsibility" between the countries.

China has called for all sides to show restraint.

Looking like a foregone conclusion?

[DimPrawn]

What effect will an all out nuclear war with USA, North Korea, Russia, China, all wading in, have on UK house prices?

[AtW]

What effect will an all out nuclear war with USA, North Korea, Russia, China, all wading in, have on UK house prices?

Not much so long as they don't miss their targets

[TimberWolf]

Recent empirical evidence suggests that going to war and destroying the economy all serve to boost house prices.

[SizeZero]

It will be interesting to see what China does. For the sake of world peace, they should march in and annex North Korea - even they can see it's being run by a geriatric loony. 1 million troops mobilised on its doorstep would be enough to change the regime, and NK wouldn't dare fire a shot over its western border, never mind a nuke.