North Korea - The Unknowns

Can I think of anything even edging on intelligent to say about current news on the North Korean situation? I doubt it. During the week I've brushed up on Korean history, reminded myself just how situations such as the present one have been spawned, but that still doesn't give much insight into the way the mind of North Korea's new young ruler Kim Jong-un works. Or, in fact, whether the way his mind works has much bearing on the situation. Would it be more useful to understand how his military leaders' minds work, to know how the new leader ranks in their estimation, and how much he allows their views to influence him? (Photo credit: Telegraph, UK.)

Even writers and commenters who have access to far more information than the average concerned reader don't seem overly confident about which way to slant their opinions, often aiming to cover all possible eventualities.

Backing up the weary "just another threat " point of view there's a slideshow of old headlines tracing North Korea's habit of issuing threats over the years:
The Complete History Of False Threats From North Korea.

Simon Jenkins in yesterday's Guardian wrote Where's the real threat here – Kim Jong-un or Trident?....."What we should be scared of is not the North Korean's bellicosity but how it's being used to subvert domestic politics in the west".

Hmmm.

To my mind independent blog Cannonfire's 4 April post looks at the situation with as clear an eye as anyone: Could North Korea's madness lead to a U.S.-China nuclear war?

Coming at it from another angle - would astrology, or psychic insight have anything helpful to offer to those who believe that "there are more things in heaven and earth (Horatio) than are dreamt of in your philosophy" ?

Let's see.

There's a good interpretation of Kim Jon-un's natal chart at Solaris Astrology. And more - on his Saturn Return and the situation in general at Neptune Cafe HERE. Psychic insights on the issue at Astrochicks HERE....

Me? I lean towards the "just another threat" view, but this time it comes with a definite extra edge, due to an unknown quantity: North Korea's new young leader, so far untested.

I wish someone else had said this, as I don't relish quoting former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld's words at the time of the WMD (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq debacle, but we're there again, Dude - sort of:
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."