New at Reason

Julian Sanchez | October 17, 2005

Doug Bandow wonders: Can't the country that invented Tae Kwon Do handle its own self defense?

Comments

|10.17.05 @ 11:59AM|#

Obviously not since they don't know Lightning Ju Jitsu.

|10.17.05 @ 12:04PM|#

From the pictures I've seen, I'd say that Kim Jong Il needs to master his own bodyweight.

Seriously, though, I have also long wondered why the richer, more populous Korea needs help against the much poorer and less populous Korea.

Timothy|10.17.05 @ 12:23PM|#

At this point, I'm guessing simply momentum. Sort of the same reason we have the trade embargo with Castro's Cuba long since it stopped having any effect. Well, any effect other than likely helping Castro say in power.

|10.17.05 @ 12:28PM|#

Bandow hits on it himself - South Korea is closer to China than to the US on nuke talks with the North.

The American presence in South Korea is intended to strengthen our hand in East Asia. It's not about South Korea's defense, it's about projecting our power in the region. That becomes a lot harder without land bases on the mainland - even our allies could tilt away from us.

|10.17.05 @ 12:52PM|#

Hear! Hear!, Timothy. About Castro, that is.

keith|10.17.05 @ 1:22PM|#

Also, without our strong military ties to South Korea, American cartoons would be much costlier to produce.

Semi-related: as a junkie for CD releases from Sublime Frequencies (who are dedicated to releasing recordings of pop and folk music from some of the most remote corners of the world -- Burmese go-go music? Who knew?), I recently picked up their new release of pop music from North Korea. All I can say is, I never dreamed a style of pop music could make Freddie Mercury's Barcelona rock-opera seem tame and un-bombastic.

-Keith

|10.17.05 @ 1:46PM|#

why the richer, more populous Korea needs help against the much poorer and less populous Korea.

In all seriousness, being bigger and stronger won't help you that much if your smaller opponent is also batshit insane.

R C Dean|10.17.05 @ 1:49PM|#

I have also long wondered why the richer, more populous Korea needs help against the much poorer and less populous Korea.

It might have something to do with the thousands of pieces of heavy artillery pointed at Seoul, also. You did know that Seoul was in range of Nork artillery, right?

|10.17.05 @ 1:58PM|#

You did know that Seoul was in range of Nork artillery, right?

Well, it wasn't me, but yes. The South Koreans are also rather aware of it. The notion is that South Korea can afford to build up the firepower to provide sufficient deterrence to keep said NORK artillery from firing.

drf|10.17.05 @ 2:07PM|#

REX KWAN DO!!!!!!

|10.17.05 @ 2:08PM|#

ROK public opinion increasingly views the U.S. as a greater threat than the DPRK

I wonder if the peoples of the world who constantly express this opinion ("the US is a bigger threat than ") actually believe this or are just venting.

The notion is that South Korea can afford to build up the firepower to provide sufficient deterrence to keep said NORK artillery from firing.

Yeah, but guess whose side the 800-pound gorilla next door (whose leaders are also batshit insane) is going to take?

|10.17.05 @ 2:10PM|#

oops that should have read:

"the US is a bigger threat than --insert rogue nation here--"

|10.17.05 @ 2:23PM|#

ROK public opinion increasingly views the U.S. as a greater threat than the DPRK

And they also sometimes say KJI is just an eccentric leader of the nation of their brothers who would never hurt them. But whenever there's any noise about our threatening nation removing its menacing military presence, the ROK falls over itself to remind us how much it values the US presence....

Pull out, let them deal.

|10.17.05 @ 2:34PM|#

Ahh, they just want that country club in central Seoul (Yongsan) shut down. The military can stay, but, you know, in the southern part of the country... and right by the DMZ of course.

|10.17.05 @ 3:34PM|#

A friend of mine used to be stationed in the DMZ. They refer to themselves as The Speedbump. The real deterrents aren't land based and aren't physically in the way. A touring Pacific carrier group would be just as effective, especially if there were also a boomer parked somewhere that we periodically let Kim see.

I thought this administration was going to drastically cut that force as part of modernization. What happened to that?

R C Dean|10.17.05 @ 5:02PM|#

The notion is that South Korea can afford to build up the firepower to provide sufficient deterrence to keep said NORK artillery from firing.

This assumes that there is anything within range of the South Korean military that Kim Jong Il gives a crap about.

North Korea is a Chinese client state, so an invasion/regime change is right out, unless someone is willing to start a war with the ChiComs also.

As I understand it, without using nukes, the South Koreans can't take out the underground artillery parks without actually capturing them, so the Norks keep firing.

|10.17.05 @ 5:40PM|#

As I understand it, without using nukes, the South Koreans can't take out the underground artillery parks without actually capturing them, so the Norks keep firing.
Can the U.S. do it without nukes? Lots of neat mountain breaking stuff was demonstrated on TV in anticipation of the siege on Tora Bora, but I never figured out if any of that stuff was in the field.

If the South Koreans don't or can't buy our bunker killing weapons let them build their own. Nukes even. They're smart folks.

|10.17.05 @ 9:23PM|#

I seriously doubt that the Chinese will allow Kim Jong Il to start a war. Even if the US sat it out and did nothing, and even if Kim Jong Il refrained from using nukes, they have nothing to gain from a war on the Korean peninsula.

Besides, even if you doubt that scenario and believe that we should remain in an alliance with South Korea and see to their defense, why keep 30,000 ground forces in range of Kim's artillery? We have air bases in Japan. Those 30,000 infantry could do us more good in Iraq or Afghanistan.

|10.17.05 @ 11:06PM|#

This assumes that there is anything within range of the South Korean military that Kim Jong Il gives a crap about.

The idea is that they get that sort of stuff. And there are any number of US corporations that would be more than happy to get the contract.