Since I'm tired of reading questions about the development of
anti-matter-powered Beechcraft ejection seats, I thought I'd toss this
topic onto the newsgroup's platter: North Korea.

In pondering why we (the US -- and the World) haven't responded more
forcefully to the North Korean nuclear tests, which seem to confirm our
greatest fears, I found the following tid-bits of information:

- That tiny country (smaller than the state of Mississippi) has an air
force comprised of 1,620 combat aircraft, and 274 helicopters!
- They've got over 8,800 anti-aircraft guns
- They're fielding a 1,000,000-man military force, with a population of
just 23 million
- They have just 36 paved-runway airports
- Their GDP is just $40 billion per year -- far less than Bill Gates is
worth, personally.
- Some of their planes are stationed just 6 minutes' flight from Seoul

Their pilot training is apparently abyssmal, thanks to fuel and spare
parts shortages. (One estimate shows that their pilots are flying just
7 hours per YEAR.) However, they have fielded an incredible fighting
force, at the expense of virtually all else. They have suffered 11
straight years of food shortages, and are able to feed themselves only
because of outside aid -- yet they persist in developing incredibly
expensive weapons systems, like missiles and atomic bombs.

In short, these folks are truly, really scary. I honestly didn't think
much of them, until recently, but I now fully understand their "axis of
evil" designation -- and why we're hesitating to react.

Here are some decent sources of more information:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...k/airforce.htm
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...k/geos/kn.html

So what should we do? Nothing? That seems to be the United Nation's
current "strategy"...but I don't see much hope in that approach.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"