War on the Korean Peninsula: Present-day

[Chogy]

The tirades given in those videos by officers and men... robotic is an understatement. Painfully scripted.

I honestly thought even NK didn't still use "Com-Speak" anymore - "Traitorous dogs will die in a sea of righteous flame, ignited by our dignified supreme leadership." That sort of thing.

I'm a bit stunned, to be honest.

I am hoping when the next "incident" occurs, such as an island being shelled, that the response to it is overwhelming. This whole thing is a war of propaganda as much as it is one of arms. And speaking of propaganda, I am hopeful that powerful television signals are being beamed into NK by SK, showing what life there is like. Unfortunately, that assumes that there are a decent percentages of standard broadcast-capable TV's in NK. Radio is easier, but is dismissed as lies, whereas hours and hours of Western TV is much harder to dismiss.

[Maeda Toshiie]

That's if they have the television sets to watch with, or that they can adjust the frequency/ channels that they can receive (I believe the latter is not possible). On the other hand, those near the border with China would have access to televisions off the black market (along with vcds/dvds of SK soaps). These people, via illegal contact with China, know the disparity in practically everything. Unfortunately, the people at the top are very keen (and very good at) not letting the rest of the country know what the rest of the world knows.

Well, 10 years ago I still recall us keeping some "showpiece" M16S1/A1s for - show. Perhaps they thought it would make a good show for their propaganda. Who knows, how removed from reality they actually are. If they can start showing pictures of the Capitol in crosshairs, the skyline of Seoul, you really question their sanity,

Bullpups are not very suited for arms drills, so it makes sense to keep a bunch of full length rifles around. I believe the US Army still uses the M14 for the same purposes. On the other hand, chrome plated barrels and bayonet? Did the Soviets keep such stuff around for parade or honour guard?

[Officer of Engineers]

There's something to be said that they're demonstrating their kung fu skills instead of their CBQ skills.

[Maeda Toshiie]

There's something to be said that they're demonstrating their kung fu skills instead of their CBQ skills.

Lack of ammunition (even blanks) for training? Or that they think that kung fu makes better propaganda?

In all honesty, I don't think a civilian population appreciate a realistic military training exercise. Flashiness is what civvies like; seen it at those military parades meant for civilian consumption.

[Officer of Engineers]

I was going to say that ammo is not that expensive but outside of dog and pony shows, the NORKs really do not have any exercises.

The thing is that Kim the Fat is trying to impress us with his threats but all he is done is make his country look like a laughing stock. His bluff has been called 4 times already. Even Seoul said enough is enough, you want a fight, you will get one.

[Albany Rifles]

"Traitorous dogs will die in a sea of righteous flame, ignited by our dignified supreme leadership."

Why do I hear my ex-wife's voice when I read that?

[Mihais]

"Traitorous dogs will die in a sea of righteous flame, ignited by our dignified supreme leadership."

Why do I hear my ex-wife's voice when I read that?

Sir,your security service is lacking.They didn't checked her before you married her.You spent years with a NORK agent.

[citanon]

The tirades given in those videos by officers and men... robotic is an understatement. Painfully scripted.

I honestly thought even NK didn't still use "Com-Speak" anymore - "Traitorous dogs will die in a sea of righteous flame, ignited by our dignified supreme leadership." That sort of thing.

I'm a bit stunned, to be honest.

I'm not sure it's scripted Chogy. It's just that everyone has attended so many political indoctrination meetings where people said shit like this over and over again that by now they all know it by heart. I bet you if you go around Pyongyang and grab an average guy who is fairly intelligent off the street he will ad lib very similar lines for you.

Same thing happened in China during the Cultural Revolution. Everyone knew those lines and recited them like grand sutras of protection (which they were) at every public meeting. Those guys probably spend 5 hours a day in "political meetings". In China even into the 1980s people in every state institution (not even the army) would waste hours and hours of their work day on political meetings. It was like being in an overzealous evangelical Christian church, but with the Bible replaced by communism.

I bet you anything that once the Norks fall the evangelicals from SK will have a field day.

[Doktor]

Up to the 1980's in the former Yugoslavia all the correspondence ended with "SFSN" which is abbrev for Death to the fascism, freedom for the people.

Then they decided not to use it and the country dissolved :)

[Mihais]

Up to the 1980's in the former Yugoslavia all the correspondence ended with "SFSN" which is abbrev for Death to the fascism, freedom for the people.

Then they decided not to use it and the country dissolved :)

Smert Fascistam Svobodu Naroda
Yep,I've started learning Russian

WRT what Citanon said,in theory our guys were the same.In practice they were not.So I have doubts about how serious belivers these people are.But they also come from a very different cultural background.

[citanon]

Up to the 1980's in the former Yugoslavia all the correspondence ended with "SFSN" which is abbrev for Death to the fascism, freedom for the people.

Then they decided not to use it and the country dissolved :)

Exactly. In China, almost everyone said it, most people only believed a small portion of what they were saying, and most of that portion relates to the abstract and the historical rather than the concrete and present. Once ¥ ¥ ¥ showed up, people found their true religion, and became born again.

[chanjyj]

Bullpups are not very suited for arms drills, so it makes sense to keep a bunch of full length rifles around. I believe the US Army still uses the M14 for the same purposes. On the other hand, chrome plated barrels and bayonet? Did the Soviets keep such stuff around for parade or honour guard?

I am not sure. If they have I've not consciously noticed it.

[Officer of Engineers]

"Traitorous dogs will die in a sea of righteous flame, ignited by our dignified supreme leadership."

Why do I hear my ex-wife's voice when I read that?

There's more than one of them?

[Chogy]

So I have doubts about how serious belivers these people are.But they also come from a very different cultural background.

I think their sincerity is genuine. Two reasons... they do not have the data to know differently; no real media. Secondly, the propaganda has been drilled into their brains from the moment they started forming language synapses as babies.

The Supreme Leader loves us and cares for us, he defeated the Yankees in their war of aggression in the 1950's, and the Southern puppets deep in their hearts want his radiance and love to shine upon them as well.

Any deficits in their lives are the fault of the USA, SK, Japan, and other like nations.

I believe that their group-think is very different from the USSR and her proxies during the cold war.

[TopHatter]

I believe that their group-think is very different from the USSR and her proxies during the cold war.

Agreed. The North Koreans took the Stalinist cult of personality and cranked up beyond anything imaginable.
Being nearly as isolated geographically as an island certainly didn't hurt one iota either.