What happens if North Korea declares a US action against them "an act of war?"?

[feldy]

I live in Hawaii. Robert Gates's comment on the situation saying that he is confident makes me scared because I assume that means he is not seeing any possible flaws in the security of the defenses being imposed out here. I wish Obama would make a direct comment like "Hey, stop scaring the SHIT out of our people." They apparently do not have a missile that will fire this far, so what does it mean if they declare war on us? Do they have one that can reach US soil? Or are they trying to begin some type of Chinese/Russian proxy war? Two countries who have apparently been "urging" them to stop yet are more powerful than the US to do so... I'm not going to lie, I really like our president, but something needs to be said directly and sternly to these other countries.. Kim Jung Il is bat shit crazy and needs to chill the FUCK out before innocent people are killed... can some one please explain what a war with north korea looks like?

 

[neann]

If North Korea were to attack us, it would be BAD. Obama and his craptacular secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, have neither the experience nor the wherewithal to deal with such a sensitive situation. North Korea is openly hostile, and they're in league with China. Russia is not fond of us either, but I doubt they're looking for war right now. Many people believe that N. Korea is in league with Iran and Syria, both dangerous countries who are also openly hostile to the US. So if they were to attack us, Iran and Syria probably wouldnt mind joining in. Like I said, it would be a bad thing. Obama does not have the experience necessary to really deal with this, neither does Clinton. Plus, recent political agendas seem to indicate that our national security is not a top priority with them. Makes you feel real good, doesn't it? There's a reason the US Military is on alert right now...

 

[Oliver Clozoff]

A war with North Korea looks like this: Provided that his missile in fact cannot reach us from North Korea, he will likely move them covertly to a location that would at least make the west coast within range. China and Russia would be prime real estate for moving that missile. Since both have done next to nothing and I personally think they could somehow profit from an attack on the U.S., it wouldn't be out of the question to say that they would overlook such a strategy. When that happens, we'll either ante up our coastal defenses, or launch a nuclear strike, depending on whether we shot down their missile or not. I don't think I need to go much further into detail if that were to actually happen.

 

[Michael]

North Korea is just mouthing off. They know we're stretched thin right now with Afghanistan, Iraq, and other overseas commitments. If North Korea launched a nuclear missile strike against the U.S. or South Korea, they know we would decimate their country. If a conventional war occurred, although North Korea has a large army, it's mostly infantry. They don't have the type of technologically advanced weapons necessary to fight a modern war. South Korea does, and it's army isn't exactly tiny. South Korea would also have the American Army contingent supporting it, probably the U.S. Marines, and most definitely the U.S. Navy and Air Force. At best, the North Koreans could only wage a defensive war for a limited period of time, their economy can't support the peace they have now, much less a war.