Page 1 of 3
1
2
3
LastLast
  1. #1

    If North Korea nukes the US or its allies, what realistically happens?

    A lot of people make the joking conclusion the US would retaliate by removing North Korea from the face of the planet, but in all seriousness, what happens? I hear China would intervene to protect North Korea from consequences and that the US nuking anyone in response would incite WW3 from the civilian crisis

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by YUPPIE View Post
    A lot of people make the joking conclusion the US would retaliate by removing North Korea from the face of the planet, but in all seriousness, what happens? I hear China would intervene to protect North Korea from consequences and that the US nuking anyone in response would incite WW3 from the civilian crisis
    If North Korea was the one that attacked first then they get control alt deleted. I don't think even China would protect them.

  3. #3
    Absolutely no one would protect NK if they nuked anyone or tried.
    Do you hear the voices too?

  4. #4
    Nobody knows since only the US has unleashed a nuclear weapon on another nation.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GreenJesus View Post
    If North Korea was the one that attacked first then they get control alt deleted. I don't think even China would protect them.
    I'm pretty sure that China has said to the effect something like they would protect North Korea if they were attacked, not if North Korea was attacking.

  6. #6
    pfft...China would get pissed...at NK.

  7. #7
    Titan I Push Buttons's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    11,244
    Quote Originally Posted by ParanoiD84 View Post
    Absolutely no one would protect NK if they nuked anyone or tried.
    If anything, China itself would probably intervene and overthrow the North Korean government if they went off the rails and escalated things to that point.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by I Push Buttons View Post
    If anything, China itself would probably intervene and overthrow the North Korean government if they went off the rails and escalated things to that point.
    Probably this - if only to prevent someone else from doing it. China has been very conscious about their buffer zone throughout their history. Just think of the million or so Chinese "volunteers" that showed up to fight in the Korean War when it looked like MacArthur was mopping them up.

    They might not be able to prevent a nuclear counterstrike, but then, the US might not want to actually launch one, depending on the success of the proposed North Korean attack. If it hits an urban centre with lots of casualties, there will be enough jingoistic fervour (there is now after the Iranian attack and there were no casualties), but if it falls into the ocean or the wilderness, cooler heads might be content to let the Chinese barge in and clean out.
    Last edited by Flarelaine; 2020-01-10 at 08:02 AM.

  9. #9
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Bank of the Columbia
    Posts
    20,935
    China will not risk war with the US to protect NK from a retaliatory strike. You can bet the US would respond by hitting an equivalent target with an equivalent warhead, at the very least.

  10. #10
    Legendary! Ihavewaffles's Avatar
    5+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    The spice must flow!
    Posts
    6,034
    Quote Originally Posted by I Push Buttons View Post
    If anything, China itself would probably intervene and overthrow the North Korean government if they went off the rails and escalated things to that point.
    China can't do that, NK would turn their nukes on China.

    And China doesn't have an early warning system like Russia n US do.
    Russia is about to build one for China now, meaning China is a sitting duck atm...

    As for op, NK nukes can't even reach America..China just recently got true icbms n got only a few atm..

  11. #11
    I think you need to have some fanatical end-of-the-world religious beliefs to sacrifice yourself and everyone around you to launch a nuclear attack on a super power. I don't think North Korea are trying to destroy themselves. I think the government want to keep things exactly as they are now, keeping their own people loyal, dedicated, ignorant and grateful, while living like kings themselves.
    Mother pus bucket!

  12. #12
    Then South Korea becomes an island...

  13. #13
    Well, either China themselves would deal with it, or the Korea would finally become united, but Kim would not rule after it.
    In either way, there would be massive retaliation, yet I doubt it would be nuclear. There is more than enough conventional firepower in South Korea alone.

  14. #14
    Legendary! Collegeguy's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Antarctica
    Posts
    6,955
    Quote Originally Posted by Easo View Post
    Well, either China themselves would deal with it, or the Korea would finally become united, but Kim would not rule after it.
    In either way, there would be massive retaliation, yet I doubt it would be nuclear. There is more than enough conventional firepower in South Korea alone.
    Due to treaties, there would be no choice but to nuke NK. Whomever the administration is would be publicly lynched by house and senate if they didn't nuke them starting a trial no doubt. Allies would quickly leave and seek they own nuclear weapons. Chaos would ensue regardless, but the results would only be worse if the US didn't nuke back.
    Last edited by Collegeguy; 2020-01-10 at 02:14 PM.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by GreenJesus View Post
    If North Korea was the one that attacked first then they get control alt deleted. I don't think even China would protect them.
    We cannot just "nuke" them. We would probably go conventional bombs.

    If things become nuclear and we try to damage them extensively all we're going to do is fuck up the entire world.

  16. #16
    The Undying Breccia's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    NY, USA
    Posts
    39,907
    Quote Originally Posted by ParanoiD84 View Post
    Absolutely no one would protect NK if they nuked anyone or tried.
    There's a scene in Blazing Saddles where the preacher tells the crowd to give the African American sheriff a chance. Someone blows a hole in his upraised Bible. The preacher says "Son, you're on your own."

    That would be China in this hypothetical scenario.

  17. #17
    Titan I Push Buttons's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    11,244
    Quote Originally Posted by Themius View Post
    We cannot just "nuke" them. We would probably go conventional bombs.

    If things become nuclear and we try to damage them extensively all we're going to do is fuck up the entire world.
    If North Korea launched a nuclear first strike at someone else, no one, not even China, would respond/escalate to the US nuking them back. They may do all sorts of shit in response to show how pissed they might be (which itself could have long term implications), but they wouldn't escalate against an entirely justified retaliatory strike and utilize their own nuclear arsenal in defense of North Korea. They would literally be committing suicide for no reason whatsoever if they did that, they would stand to gain absolutely nothing and lose everything, even in the best case scenario.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by I Push Buttons View Post
    If North Korea launched a nuclear first strike at someone else, no one, not even China, would respond/escalate to the US nuking them back. They may do all sorts of shit in response to show how pissed they might be (which itself could have long term implications), but they wouldn't escalate against an entirely justified retaliatory strike and utilize their own nuclear arsenal in defense of North Korea. They would literally be committing suicide for no reason whatsoever if they did that, they would stand to gain absolutely nothing and lose everything, even in the best case scenario.
    A contained nuclear war between India and Pakistan is enough to fuck over the world. The whole world doesn’t need to be drawn into the conflict when debris flows into the atmosphere and causes a nuclear winter.

  19. #19
    Titan I Push Buttons's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    11,244
    Quote Originally Posted by Themius View Post
    A contained nuclear war between India and Pakistan is enough to fuck over the world. The whole world doesn’t need to be drawn into the conflict when debris flows into the atmosphere and causes a nuclear winter.
    Except we are talking about North Korea going crazy and firing at most a few non-MIRVed IRBMs/ICBMs, some of which would probably fail, some of which would probably be shot down... And then the US retaliating proportionally (depending on what is targeted/hit, IE: they hit a city, we probably hit Pyongyang) with a low-yield (hundreds of kilotons) nuke.

    We are talking single digit detonations, presumably on opposite sides of the planet unless North Korea's target is South Korea or Japan.

    That isn't going to cause a nuclear winter.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by I Push Buttons View Post
    Except we are talking about North Korea going crazy and firing at most a few non-MIRVed IRBMs/ICBMs, some of which would probably fail, some of which would probably be shot down... And then the US retaliating proportionally (depending on what is targeted/hit, IE: they hit a city, we probably hit Pyongyang) with a low-yield (hundreds of kilotons) nuke.

    We are talking single digit detonations, presumably on opposite sides of the planet unless North Korea's target is South Korea or Japan.

    That isn't going to cause a nuclear winter.
    It is a poor idea that isn’t what we would do I feel. Conventional bombs, a nuclear attack on a city that close to Seoul is not optimal for our own ally.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •