Ađź”»atar of đź”»engeanceNorth Korea Just Overtook the U.S. in Destroyer Construction Rates as Plans For Far Seas Navy Begin to Materialise
NiberiusSay what you will about the NK government, but it’s genuinely impressive how - despite pretty much all the odds being against them - they managed to develop nukes and ICBMs, effectively safeguarding them against all foreign military intervention, and are now able to reorganize production into, yes, other military spending, but also seemingly finally increasing the quality of life for their citizens.
Like, sure, MAYBE all those new housing units in Pyongyang are empty shells to make the city look better to foreign eyes. But even if that were true, that’s still a foundation to build upon, and thanks to them having nukes and delivery systems, no one will risk nuclear war to fuck with them.
setsubyouYes and no… you’re basically saying that with support from China and Russia, they got to a point where they can build WW2 tech invented more than 80 years ago using pen and paper. There’s definitely newer tech that they can’t build (e.g. computers are imported).
Higher semiconductor industry is the most preciously guarded monopoly of the west. It involves the most precise motors, nuclear industry-grade X-ray mirrors, perfect optics, impeccable hygiene with expensive materials to create a cutting chamber flooded by hydrogen gas, and a great deal of expertise that requires a strong education system + industrial controls and cannot by any means be boiled down to blueprints, making it vulnerable to any financial faltering that sheds the labor force with the knowledge it retains. DPRK will be more prepared to get into semiconductors than Ohio or Arizona in a historically short time. The fact that even Vietnam is getting into it now shows the fundamentals are slipping away from them. Your message will be yet another time capsule of western Asia-watching. In other words “added to my cringe compilation”.