I think in this context we forget the Cuban missile crisis and his various experiments (ie agricultural ones).

Just because he wasnt as demonised as Stalin was doesnt make him a nice person (within the "western" liberal moral system ofc).

With that I agree, I believe that the best leaders come through gradual change in the system.

I think it is worth mentioning not only the obvious example in case of the OIF - Saddam US did not prosecute him for gasing Kurds by the way), but also the old Baathist generals, who then formed ISIS core.

Too bad that gradual change in systems can take centuries in certain countries, and the lifespan of people (as well as their possibility to remember certain things) is so short. Propaganda also helps to prolong an existing system and justify murderous ones, of course.

The US has sided with some pretty bad governments in the past, to reach certain political and trade goals, Realpolitik if you so want. Not nice, but which country would you prefer to live in.

Realpolitik is fine, the problem (in my view) is when it tries to coexist with ideologically driven stuff, as it creates double standards.

I had to look that one up:

re·al·po·li·tik
rāˈälpōliˌtēk/Submit
noun
Sometimes it takes years to find out that they lied, but lie they do do :yep:

News article for today
 

F-35A scheduled for first operational deployment to Indo-Asia-Pacific

Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs / Published October 24, 2017

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) -- Approximately 300 Airmen and 12 F-35A Lightning IIs from Hill Air Force Base, Utah's 34th Fighter Squadron are set to deploy to Kadena Air Base, Japan for a six month rotation. The aircraft and supporting personnel are scheduled to arrive at Kadena AB in early November 2017.

This marks U.S. Pacific Command's first operational tasking for the F-35A and builds upon the U.S. Air Force fifth-generation stealth fighter's successful debut in the Indo-Asia-Pacific at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition earlier this month.

"The F-35A gives the joint warfighter unprecedented global precision attack capability against current and emerging threats while complementing our air superiority fleet," said Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander. "The airframe is ideally suited to meet our command's obligations, and we look forward to integrating it into our training and operations."

The F-35A is being deployed under USPACOM's theater security package program, which has been in operation since 2004. This long-planned deployment is designed to demonstrate the continuing U.S. commitment to stability and security in the region.

While a first in-theater for the F-35A, the Marine Corps F-35B variant has been stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan since January 2017.

News article for today
 

North Korean ballistic missile scientists carried out a static test of a new type of solid-fuel engine early last week, a U.S. government source with knowledge of North Korea’s ballistic missile programs told The Diplomat.

To date, large solid-fuel engines have been associated with North Korea’s Pukguksong (Polaris) family of ballistic missiles. The March 2016 engine was first seen on the KN11/Pukguksong-1 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which had started out as a liquid-fueled system and eventually shifted to a solid-fuel design.

In February 2017, North Korea flight-tested another solid-fuel missile: the medium-range KN15/Pukguksong-2, which was effectively a canisterized, ground-launched version of the Pukguksong-1 operating out of an integrated transporter-erector-launcher.

Kim Jong-un declared the Pukguksong-2 operational earlier this year after a second flight test and called for its mass production. U.S. military intelligence has detected signs that the Pukguksong-2 has entered serial production in North Korea, The Diplomat has learned.

It’s unclear what missile the engine tested in October 2017 may be associated with. The Diplomat was unable to ascertain if the engine tested was similar in size to the March 2016 test or if it may have been larger. However, U.S. military intelligence has assessed the engine to be different from what was tested in March 2016.

However, that Kim Jong-un presumably did not observe last week’s solid-fuel engine test may suggest that it involved an iterative design on the existing Pukguksong-1/2 engines. Had Kim observed the test, North Korean state media would likely have announced his visit to the site and even released images.

Solid propellants will likely play an important role in the future development of North Korea’s ballistic missile program. At an April parade this year, North Korea demonstrated two large intercontinental-range ballistic missile-sized canisters that may suggest a longer-term aspiration for large road-mobile solid-fuel missiles like China’s DF-41 or Russia’s Topol-M.

Outside of the two flight-tested Pukguksong missiles, North Korea is known to only use solid propellants for its rocket artillery or the KN02/Toksa, a close-range ballistic missile.

Can you research to see if this was planned all along or is it a recent transfer?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41787235

A small gesture of goodwill perhaps? :hmmm:

"A small gesture of goodwill"? While it continues research and development?

Takes the problem to a whole new level: http://www.ibtimes.com/north-korea-p...t-says-2609524

Not surprising. Fail Deadly.

You sort of have to make your system fail deadly if you cannot afford complex survivable/reliable/secure C3 systems.

Yes, it says circumstantial. All those people at the testing site could just be diggers to clean out and rebuild.

The fuel rod refinement is a concern, though.

Yonhap has some good stuff, but I have not seen U.S. news picking up the story.

I hope for corroberative reporting.

Lil' Kim's Messiah complex
 

Well he may have released the crew but he kept the boat for practice in walking on water....a trick which he has not yet quite mastered.:timeout: http://thefederalist.com/wp-content/...-On-A-Boat.jpg:()1:I imagine when he finally does, The Donald will B .... all a'twitter!:yep:

An SK fishing boat is like a Mercedes compared to an NK fishing boat.

Last Spring, I read that SK used a tug to return a disabled NK fishing boat back to NK waters. It had no worth to keep.

It was a good act in front of the media.