North Korean minister of defense executed

[Napoléon]

Honestly, at this point, it seems like the only reason the West doesn't destroy this guy (besides the fear of reprisal from China) is because, quite frankly, it's only a matter of time before the whole nation self-destructs.

There's a bunch of reasons for this:
* As seen in the OP, Kim Jong-Un is hell-bent on destroying any possible rivals, almost certainly leading to one hell of a succession crisis when he died.
* The nation has hardly any natural resources and the vast majority of the people in the nation are starving, thanks to Kim dynasty's policies.
* For all the sabre-rattling they engage in, North Korea's not likely to be able to actually do much power; if so much as one shell hits Seoul (and I'd be very surprised if their nukes can get much farther than South Korea), the armistice that put the Korean War on perpetual hold is over, and, given that nothing short of a Zerg Rush could lead to a North Korean victory in the face of the opposition of, well, most of the world, North Korea's existence would also be over.

I don't think it's because the west thinks it's a matter of time before the nation self-destructs. Not in the slightest.

I think it's more because nobody actually cares about North Korea enough, or are concerned by them enough, to 1: consider them a threat, and 2: consider them worth 'sorting out'. 

The fact they have hardly any resources is the main reason the west isn't bothered about getting involved IMO. It's not viable for anyone at this point to waste their own money, resources and men on a country like NK. There's plenty of other countries around the world, namely in Africa, where human rights travesties happen all the time, but you don't hear as much about them because those countries aren't as brazen and wacky as what NK is. Only reason there's even remote interest from the west is because it sells newspapers and creates funny headlines. 

Add to that, like you say, they don't actually have much power. Their threats are consistently considered a joke by the west. I don't think any major western nation is really concerned about North Korea. There's more important things on the agenda than a relatively small crackpot nation spouting threats constantly.

I also really don't think the nation is in trouble of self destructing. Comparing it to other nations, or empires, in this day and age, doesn't seem too relevant. The Kim family has had a pretty firm grasp on NK, no doubt even if this current nutjob gets ousted someone else will take his place. The whole crazy persona that NK has won't change because of that and the top tier of people with power don't look like crumbling any time soon without outside input. 

Quite simply I think the reason the west doesn't get involved with NK is because it's just plain more trouble than it's worth, not because the nation itself is in danger of crumbling any time soon.

[AFTT47]

I guess I misspoke. Please show me where the oil companies (oil companies that matter to TBTB in the the USA) are benefiting.

You're kidding, right?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/ir...il-juhasz/

Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil.

It has been 10 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom's bombs first landed in Baghdad. And while most of the U.S.-led coalition forces have long since gone, Western oil companies are only getting started.
Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq's domestic oil industry was fully nationalized and closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms.
From ExxonMobil and Chevron to BP and Shell, the West's largest oil companies have set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texas-based firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000.

Looks like I may have been wrong.

Oh, well. Not the first time.

[Minimalist]

We in the US are as heavily propagandized as any nation in history.  Everything is star-spangled bullshit when the powers-that-be want something done.  I wonder what it will take for people to come to their senses and I sure as hell don't see it happening any time soon.

[Pyrrho]

We in the US are as heavily propagandized as any nation in history.  Everything is star-spangled bullshit when the powers-that-be want something done.  I wonder what it will take for people to come to their senses and I sure as hell don't see it happening any time soon.

You are betraying your inner naiveté with that.  People will NEVER come to their senses.  You may as well be tilting at windmills.

[Minimalist]

When people had an interest in war..like Vietnam when they could be drafted and sent there they actually did get off their asses and do something.  But now, the burden falls on such a small burden of the population that all people think they have to do is put a "Support Our Troops" magnet on their car and their duty is done.

Like I said.  Star-spangled bullshit.

[AFTT47]

When people had an interest in war..like Vietnam when they could be drafted and sent there they actually did get off their asses and do something.  But now, the burden falls on such a small burden of the population that all people think they have to do is put a "Support Our Troops" magnet on their car and their duty is done.

I don't know if it's that simple.

I did ten years in the US Air Force. I participated in the first gulf war in the 1990-1992 time frame. I'm maybe a little to the right regarding national defense although far-left socially. I'm definitely not one of those gung-ho guys who feels the need to broadcast his/her military service with bumper stickers or T-shirts. I can tell you though that everyone of us I've known or met are proud of our service. I've never known a single one of us who was resentful of what we were asked to do. Not to say that they're aren't any but I've never known one.

[Pyrrho]

When people had an interest in war..like Vietnam when they could be drafted and sent there they actually did get off their asses and do something.  But now, the burden falls on such a small burden of the population that all people think they have to do is put a "Support Our Troops" magnet on their car and their duty is done.

I don't know if it's that simple.

I did ten years in the US Air Force. I participated in the first gulf war in the 1990-1992 time frame. I'm maybe a little to the right regarding national defense although far-left socially. I'm definitely not one of those gung-ho guys who feels the need to broadcast his/her military service with bumper stickers or T-shirts. I can tell you though that everyone of us I've known or met are proud of our service. I've never known a single one of us who was resentful of what we were asked to do. Not to say that they're aren't any but I've never known one.

You mean people in the military are not resentful when they are sent into harm's way frivolously, or under false pretenses?  You do know, I presume, that Saddam Hussein did not have "weapons of mass destruction," nor was there any good reason to believe he did?  Do you think it was okay to send people into harm's way based upon falsehood and lies?

Maybe I am a strange fellow, but I don't like sending other people to their deaths based on bullshit.  And I would be incredibly resentful if some asshole sent me on a dangerous mission based on such nonsense.  However, I am not in the military, and have not been treated thusly.  But are you saying that people in the military feel differently, and do not mind if our leaders send them to their deaths based on total bullshit lies?

[Minimalist]

I've never known a single one of us who was resentful of what we were asked to do.

Of course not.  You were all volunteers.  No one held a gun to your head.  As Py says, soldiers do have a right to feel cheated and abused when their commanders invent phony reasons for them to get killed or maimed.  And the treatment of many of the vets upon return has been nothing short of a national disgrace.

But, hey,why worry about that when you can just hang one of these on your SUV.

[Napoléon]

Doesn't look like the guy in the OP was actually killed after all:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2...431522581/

[Minimalist]

But the A/A gun was such a nice touch!