With my son being part of the trip wire defense of S. Korea, I try to keep up on what is happening over there. Now, Chris, who is around 100 miles from the DMZ never hears anything about what the North is doing. It seems the only time the camp goes on any type of alert status is when the South Koreans are protesting something (which seems to be a weekly occurrence).
So it piqued my interest when I read this:
N.Korea calls for end to hostile relations with US
SEOUL — North Korea on Friday called for an end to hostile relations with the United States, vowing to work towards a nuclear-free peninsula seven months after its last atomic test angered the world community.
The call was made in a policy-setting New Year joint editorial of the communist country's state newspapers. North Korean people must learn and memorize the editorial, which is seen as ideological guidance for the year ahead.
"The fundamental task for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Asia is to put an end to the hostile relationship between the DPRK (North Korea) and the USA," the editorial said.
"It is the consistent stand of the DPRK to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula and make it nuclear-free through dialogue and negotiations," the editorial said, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
On the surface, this looks promising...BUT...I just don't trust them.
Our enemies know all to well that we have a weak administration that is happy to talk and talk, give unilateral concessions and tell us that "progress" is being made. Iran and North Korea have been yanking our chain for years buying time to continue their programs.
The other thing that worries me about this is whether this is a set-up? Life isn't getting better in the North, so why not talk peace and get the ROK to ease up and let us relax, then hit hard and fast.
I've not seen a scenario where the North could win a war, but it would be a bloody mess while it lasted.
On the flip side, it could be real. I would certainly love a very scary situation to go away and allow the families that have been separated for 56 years (my entire life) to be reunified.
That said, what would that mean to the 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there? Would they be pulled and sent other places? It doesn't make me sleep better having Chris in Korea, though I am proud of him. As a Dad, I'd be happier with him at Ft. Rucker in Alabama. It could turn out to be a frying pan/fire thing if he gets moved to the ME. He says he could use a deployment to a hot spot if he decides to stay with the Army and he is Gov't Issue, so where he ends up isn't up to either of us.
It's a new year, so right now I think I'll be a little optimistic and hope that this decade brings a little peace to part of the world.
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