Non-zero, but low. War serves no one in this case - not America and not North Korea. It almost assuredly won't happen.
Super_Thug44 posted...
if NK decides to do anything we'll just counter by invading and taking over in less than 24 hrs. It won't get to the point of calling it a "war".
Just like Iraq, right?
It saddens me when people display this much ignorance of what a war against North Korea would look like.
For one, there's not enough troops mobilized to "invade" North Korea, especially not within 24 hours. For two, China is right next door, with a huge build-up of troops on the border - if anyone is invading, it would be them. For three, Seoul - and its 25 million people in and around the city - are well within conventional artillery range of the North, meaning that horrific casualties would be occurring long before we had the resources in place to do much about it. For four, for those particularly ignorant people who are bringing up the idea of nuclear war, Seoul is ALSO in range of any radioactive fallout that would come with such a strike, as is China, and neither would be particularly happy about getting large amounts of radioactive material blowing into their territory.
A war against North Korea would be one that the West would likely win (the wildcard being the extent and nature of China's involvement), but to suggest it would be a simple matter is simply wrong. The casualties would be catastrophic and the humanitarian crisis would be an order of magnitude greater than that unleashed by the Syrian conflict (which, itself, is already considered the worst humanitarian crisis since WW2).
I saw the same rhetoric leading up to the Iraq invasion - that it would be as simple as marching in, dropping a couple of bombs, sweeping aside Saddam's pathetic excuse for an army, and declaring victory. We all know how that turned out and North Korea has a far stronger military and a much more staunch ally in China. It would be anything but an easy war.
Kill 1 man: You are a murderer. Kill 10 men: You are a monster.
Kill 100 men: You are a hero. Kill 10,000 men, you are a conqueror!
