North Korea remains a fascinating, if disturbing, preoccupation in the world like a country that “time forgot” out of a 1950s film. That image was on display this week when Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un visited the pride of his submarine force — a Romeo class submarine that was abandoned over 50 years ago. As someone who like to follow military history and technology, the sight of a leader on a Romeo class sub is like President Obama riding on Civil War spotter balloon as a demonstration of our continued surveillance capabilities. What is also bizarre is that, after last week giving instructions the North Korean meteorologists on how to make more accurate predictions, the Supreme Leader reportedly taught submariners “new tactics.”
Romeo-class submarines were only in service for 48 months after being designed in the 1950s. They are considered laughable boats that are so loud and slow that they seem best designed as targets for exercises. Consider the fact that World War II had just ended when these things were designed. Indeed, in some of the pictures, you can see the rust on the boat. Inside are Yu-4 torpedoes, a Chinese-made weapon dating from the 1960s with a range of four miles.
The usual breathless state-controlled media reported out the Supreme One taught a “good method of navigation” and instructed on combat readiness. As a point of comparison, a Los Angeles Class nuclear-powered attack submarine can sink a ship 150 miles away. What I particularly love are the admirals carrying around the same notebooks shown with the meteorologists to take down the wisdom of the Supreme Leader on submarine technology and tactics. It is something out of a Saturday Night Live skit. (What is disturbing is that this over-stuffed moronic dictator is constantly being told how brilliant he is. At some point, you begin to believe your state-sponsored reviews and, with a large army, egotism and stupidity can be a dangerous mix).
As usual, Kim pounded the war drums and told the fleet to prepare for battle and repeated the official slogan of the “Year of Camouflage”. Romeo subs tend to be fully camouflaged when they rest at the bottom of the ocean as was the case a few years ago when one appeared to spontaneously sink in a military exercise.
Paul C. Schulte wrote “Chinese have a plan in action for the power vacuum .. South Koreans have long realized that it is not in their best interest to re-unite with the North … Chinese keep four provinces as a buffer against N. Korean”
True, depends on how you look at it, and false.
As I wrote in “Could an implosion of North Korea result in WWIII?” and the Rand Corp wrote in “Preparing for the Possibility of a North Korean Collapse,” China does indeed have a plan for the implosion of the DPRK. They could sweep in with armor before ROK or U.S. armor could enter. The situation could easily result in Chinese and U.S. forces fighting again. Russia also has contingency plans, especially for the port of Najin/Rajin (depending on the dialect), which both China and Russia covet because it is the last ice-free port going north. And during the fighting, the poor 200,000 souls in the labor camps would be slaughtered by camp guards to hide their guilt.
As Der Spiegel wrote in “Seoul Searching: Germans Give Pep Talks on Korean Unification,” it is certainly true that the Gangnam crowd would want to close the border to their northern cousins after an implosion, but those leaders might be lynched for their actions by ordinary South Koreans. No ROK leader could stand by and watch North Koreans dying by the shipload. I do not believe Park Geun-hye would stand by and watch. Her predecessor called for a tax to pay for reunification.
As I wrote in “China is murdering North Korean refugees” and “North Korea is China’s useful idiot,” China uses North Korea as a buffer to keep the West away. China is a state party to the U.N. Refugee Convention, but it has prevented the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, from gaining access to North Koreans in China. China always returns North Koreans to the DPRK, even though South Korea always asks for them to be sent to Seoul. And escapees are often executed.
saucy – I really don’t think either the US or S. Korea wants to enter N. Korea in a power vacuum. Who ever takes it over is going to spend a pile of cash. Yes, the Germans have talked to them about it, but estimates are the cost will be 5 times the cost to the Germans and they would have to tax an already strained economy to it. There is nothing in the north to tax. There is no real infrastructure to start with. The mental health problems alone are staggering.
He is a spoiled, overindulged, amoral brat, and as dangerous and vicious as Nero. He has no empathy or responsibility for the people he rules, just a sense of entitlement.
Saucy – although S. Korea has been willing to take then North Koreans, they don’t always do well in South Korea.
So when will we advance new hardware?
That was NK. Now this is the Virginia class. Deadly, cool technology.
FYI, UK David Cameron is sounding off about Iraq ISIS. Sounds like he wants to duke it out at US expense.
BTW, the Chinese keep four provinces as a buffer against N. Korean and they do not want N. Korea either.
doglover – I would agree that we are all ignorant in different ways. I do not agree we are all smart in different ways. You are either smart or not.
And I want to comment on Kim and his rise to more power. He is just insane enough to start a war. We need to keep an eye on him. The Chinese have a plan in action for the power vacuum that will occur if he dies with a young heir. The South Koreans have long realized that it is not in their best interest to re-unite with the North, it would cost them too much of their GNP to bring it up to speed (estimates are 50 years).
Well, that’s a good point, Doglover. Easy to take shots at Kim Jong-un as we blanket the planet with tools of death, while sending us all except for a privileged few to the poorhouse. Good call on Amin Darren! I was thinking how Saddam always kind of wanted to be in that club, but just couldn’t pull off the look.
We’re all smart and ignorant in different ways. I don’t believe that the leader of N. Korea is any sillier than many others in positions of power. Let’s clean up our own country before demonizing others.
Nick wrote “All 4 Presidents you mention were 2 termers”
I did not even realize that when I wrote it. I was merely commenting on their “Jim Jones” appeal.
My favorite president, by far, is Teddy Roosevelt, yet people rarely quote him. His cousin, FDR, is often included in the adulation group, yet his foreign policy was questionable. Eisenhower is another rarely-quoted president, yet, except for his ill-advised adventure in Iran in 1953, his record surpasses most. As my sister often says, JFK mostly just chased his d1ck (like Clinton), not to mention starting that Vietnam thing (Eisenhower never had more than 900 military personnel there). LBJ was a disaster.
P.S. Did you know that the last Republican president to have a budget surplus was Eisenhower?
Saucy, Amen brother. The duopoly has devolved where cult worship is required to sustain it. All 4 Presidents you mention were 2 termers. The one termers were Carter and old man Bush, they couldn’t quite get that cult worship down.
99guspuppet wrote “I find it disturbing that there is a cult of worship for the POTUS”
Oh, I agree! It’s really revolting the way Republicans invoke the name of Reagan whenever they want to justify their policies, especially given that the Tea Party’s philosophies lie to the right of him.
P.S. What you noted has been true of Obama, Bush the Younger, Clinton, and Reagan, at a minimum.
JT wrote “the Supreme Leader reportedly taught submariners ‘new tactics’.”
It’s called “on the spot guidance.” It has been a feature of the DPRK since Kim Il-sung. It reflects the reality that anyone can be imprisoned, tortured, and/or executed for minor offenses, so everyone pretends that the fearless leader actually has something to say.
“What I particularly love are the admirals carrying around the same notebooks”
As I said above, people who live in fear will portray themselves as utterly obedient. North Korea is truly hell on Earth.
And why do you continue to use a photo of Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il?
Good. Be glad NK hasn’t replaced the old tub with anything better.
Slohrss29:
I agree. Khadafi was probably the most interesting from a fashion perspective with honorable mention going to Amin.
Woody Allen should do a remake of Banana’s w/ a Korean theme.
Operation Petticoat comes to mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Petticoat
Hmmmm. Dunno. He dresses pretty bland for a museum curator. I long for the days when the abhorrent totalitarian leaders of the world dressed more flamboyantly. At least sunglasses or something.
It may be quite fun to mock Kim Jong-un…I find it disturbing that there is a cult of worship for the POTUS… worshiping where he walks ( waving… waving waving ) , how he is going to fix the economy ( a notion as bizarre as predicting the weather perfectly ) , how he will bring rich people to their knees ( while living in a palace ), how he will use war to makes us all richer …….
Submariner or Museum Curator? A difficult choice for any young dictator.
Maybe he watched “Assault on a Queen” when he was a kid. Look out cruise shipping!