Clinton launches strikes on North Korea in the '90s over its nuclear program?

It's not too well remembered today, but a similar situation to the current crisis occured in the 1990s regarding North Korea, in the last years of Kim il-Sung's reign. NK hadn't tested a nuke yet but the US was getting seriously alarmed at its plans and for a time things look like they might go to war - defector reports I've read say that the North was seriously preparing for all-out war at that time. What if Clinton had authorized military action to remove NK's nuclear capabilities?

At this time in NK food shortages were starting but the all-out famine hadn't begun yet.
 
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International condemnation and proof to certain segments of South Korea that America is to blame for the animosity between North and South. Not pleasant at all, especially if war follows.
 
Conventional strikes may or may not (more likely) do more than set things back a few years. The NKs will undoubtedly unleash a lot of shit on Seoul. At the end of the day unless the NK government is replaced and/or the country reunified the program restarts.
 

Jack Brisco

Banned
I was stationed at a certain agency at Fort Meade, Maryland when this stuff came up in 1994. At that time I was doing my regular job and helping out in another shop since I had been a Korean linguist in the past. We were looking for Big Bill to open up a can of whoop-ass on North Korea. Things wouldn't have been pretty, but we would have won. We all had colleagues and buddies in South Korea and trusted they'd stay safe.

Instead, Jimmy Carter went to P'yongyang, where Kim Il Song rolled him and Big Bill like two drunks with the "agreed framework". This put off a US attack, but ever since every American President has just kicked this can down the road. Now the can can't be kicked much further at all, and President Trump has to deal with the problem.
 

Archibald

Banned
They wanted F-117 strikes to destroy the reactor. Of course the risk was a major war. What is interesting is that Grandfather Kim died of heart attack one month after the crisis. The major stress of a war might kill him earlier. what happens next is anyone guess. Could the regime collapse ?
 
IMHO the regime won't collapse unless you see US & ROK troops north of the DMZ and moving north. The regime survived a famine where people ate bark off the trees and grandparents let themselves starve to death to provide rations for their grandchildren not long after this time. There was (and is) no question that the USA and the ROK would be unable to eliminate the DPRK and reunite the peninsula. The questions would be the cost, both to the US and ROK military but also the civilian population in the ROK (particularly the Seoul metro area) and the damage to South Korea industry and infrastructure (50% roughly of ROK industry is in the Seoul metro area). Internationally the response of China was an issue. More "occupying for humanitarian reasons, temporarily" a chunk of the DPRK to prevent US and ROK troops along the border rather than a repeat of the Korean War with Chinese intervention, but still a possibility of inadvertent clashes. DPRK use of chem or bio agents is certainly possible with all sorts of consequences.

While the US and ROK are allies, it is always worth asking if the ROK would go for this sort of preemptive strike and potential major conflict where, to be honest their troops, their civilians, and their industry/infrastructure would take the overwhelming bulk of the hit. The ROK will be asking oif the USA is going to pony up cash to rebuild ROK damage and/or money to cover the costs of reunifying (which would be much more than the absorption of the DDR into the FRG).
 
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