... we don't see this, everyday ~

Neh.

"Rocket Boy" is pretty tight with P45/47.
When the Rooskies stop buying their surplus males for cannon fodder after January the Norks will be a little cash short - but that's ops normal for them.

The only problem with South Korea is that they might have to start paying their security det a little more cash and easing up on their tariffs.

 

You need to stop single-sourcing your news and consider cancelling your subscription to ZH.
The ChiComms are the ones KEEPING the Norks from going south!!!
They always have been.

The DPRK can line up their artillery pieces hub-to-hub from the Yellow sea to the Sea of Japan and rain 152-mm shells on Korea for a little while - but even before they sold the Roooskies 8 million rounds and sent 12,000 'advisors' to the wah in Ukraine - it was always going to be 6-5 and pickem' with them fighting the ROKs - even under our current administration and with the SecDef missing in action after a mysterious surgical procedure.
The ChiComms are like Star Trek's Ferengi - only without the latter's respect for women and the rule of law.
A full out, regional conflict could not help but seriously disrupt trade - and the ChiComms are already cash short THEMSELVES after the world's second largest Ponzi scheme blew up in their face.

 

I agree with you that it's very unlikely that a shooting war will emerge there.

China does soft-diplomacy. They've made major inroads in Africa, South America and Latin America. Where the USA has stepped back, they've stepped in to fill the void. US aid requires promises of democratic reforms to their counties systems of government. China aid doesn't have that requirement. They're like credit card companies. They extend more credit than a country can pay, then step in and repossess the property or use that influence in UN voting. I see them taking over the airport and harbor they built for Sri Lanka within the next decade. There's already a good size Chinese community left there after the construction of those infrastructures. That's the first step in projecting China's naval power beyond it's own shores.
The Philippine gambit under Durante didn't pay off,, but that forced USA to come back with a much better offer to the Philippine government. That was kinda like a draw, because China forced the US into spending a lot more money over there, so their flank wouldn't be exposed.

 

Don't forget the Veetnamese.
I think you're right about the 'soft(er)' dimplmacy, and I KNOW you're right about the ChiComms using the "What's in YOUR pocket?" method for gaining new frie - er I mean, clients.

Right now their navy is regional, because that's sufficient to the moment but they have biiiiig plans.
Taiwan is a ways off (MHO) and about the only two missteps that they've made is with their population management.
They stopped having more than one kid for a while and they're a deeply patriarchal culture.

That's a baaaaaaad combination for a 'newly rich' nation!

They obviously read and misunderstood the same books from the same experts that WE did, only their one-child policy (now rescinded) and their 1930's appreciation for women's rights have left them with BOTH an insufficient replacement birth rate AND a dearth of ethnic female Chinese to bear their next generations....AND very few surplus males to use for cannon fodder.
Add a healthy dose of racism and you now have the second most populous nation on the planet........and falling.

They still bear watching, but the free market vaccine is working on them.
We just have to hope that it works fast enough.

 

Their young people over there are disillusioned and can't find jobs.

The unintended side effect of the one child policy was a well educated population. Families had a lot of disposable income, which was mostly plowed into educating their only child. What money was left over, went into their fragile stock market or invested into real estate. Those real estate investments blew up and many bailed out during their stock market volatility moments. Very hard lessons for their population, in a very short time period - a single generation. I was telling them that the US has also gone through those same growing pains, but ours was over several generations and to watch their real estate investment portfolio - it's not a guarantee. This was just before their real estate bubble burst.
I used to do volunteer work there on an annual basis, until Covid. I was there on and off, for almost two decades and the changes going on there would make your head spin. The few Trump years and take over of Hong Kong was interesting. In-country colleagues were very stand-offish during those periods.

 

The next four years ought to be.....'interesting.....'
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-bans-exports-gallium-germanium-antimony-us-2024-12-03/

 

It has not been mentioned here that martial law is 'off' in S Korea. It was 'on' for about 6 hours.

 

Yep, The people there are calling for Yoon's resignation or they want to impeach him. It's going to be interesting to watch what happens under their democratic rules........

 

WHA???
You mean democracies actually WORK sometimes?!?!

THIS is why I will politely listen to some of the J6 alarmists here in 'merica.....for a little bit.
After all...
We still have 'flat earthers' too.

 

"Yoon's resignation or they want to impeach him" Apparently that bifurcation is coming in a few hours

"We still have 'flat earthers' too." My guess is that don't really believe it, and are just trolling to the best of their abilities.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/pentagon-halts-planning-defense-secretarys-south-korea-visit-officials-say-2024-12-05/

...Tis an ill wind....

 

Call me optimistic, but I'm more interested in what our new Admin has in store as it relates.

 

Our defense spending is about 3.6% of GDP.
The ROKs spend about 2.5%.

I suspect that might be an issue.......

 

survives impeachment vote, party leader says president will resign

 

Did election deniers in Congress saying elect won 2020 learn it is martial, not Marshall law yet?

 

Dun no, but 'Marshall' was a Plan, and martial basically means 'we'll make it up as we go along'. So they interesting as homophones.

 

Actually?
In the US, there's a fairly well written script for declaring martial law - and we do not very often 'do the thing.'
There's a little too much squish between title 32 and title 10 for fans of the 'I have a phone and a pen' approach - but others feel that this is a feature and not a bug...

 

They were writing it marshall. Specifically MTG wrote it:

“In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law. I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!”