Korean War II could be bloodier than the first, a reason why U.S. and North Korea may meet

March 10, 2018
Washington

President Trump shocked the world, accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to discuss a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. Itâ€™s historic and high-stakes.
Just the FAQs

WASHINGTON â€” War on the Korean Peninsula would be catastrophic.Â Â

How much blood would be shed and how nasty the fighting would be are the outstanding questions, according to Defense estimatesÂ and experts.Â

Even a conventional war could kill tens of thousands of civilians in its first days if thousands of North Korean artillery shells fell on the 10 million citizens of Seoul, 35 miles from the demilitarized zone. The number of dead and wounded multiply if war goes nuclear, as North Korea has threatened.

More: Will Trump be ready for North Korea meeting? U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson fears he won’t

More: North Korea-U.S. talks: Why make the offer now, what does North Korea want in return?

More: White House seems to add conditions to summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

In November, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis offered a lethal promise in remarks to reporters, suggesting the toll in North Korea could be higher.

â€œMake no mistake, any attack on the United States or our allies will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is effective and overwhelming,â€ Mattis said.

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Children fly kites during Lunar New Year festivities North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un shakes hands with South The North Korean delegation of athletes, supporters Visitors take smartphone photos at the '8th National A chef prepares a dish during a demonstration at the A foreign visitor stands for a photo with a Korean This photo taken on Feb. 8, 2018 and released on Feb. North Korea's military march in Pyongyang and put its North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, dressed in black, North Korea military stand at attention, Feb. 8, 2018, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Hwasong-15 ballistic missiles are shown during the The military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of People cheer as military vehicles pass by during the North Korea put some of its military hardware and soldiers In this image made from video by North Korea's KRT, The satellite Deimos-2 captured this photo of Pyongyang In this an image made from video by North Korea's A North Korean military guide leads a tour of the USS A 'super blood blue moon' rises above the Ryugyong Schoolchildren shovel snow Jan. 22, 2018, in Pyongyang Women use drums and flags to cheer on commuters during A couple ice skate at the Outdoor Skating Rink in Pyongyang A girl walks past the Taedong Gate in Pyongyang, Jan. A group of officials of ministries and national institutions A mass rally organizes in the Kim Il Sung Square vowing Participants perform mass rhythmic exercise on the Children stand before an ice sculpture at the Pyongyang This is an overview of the second day of the 5th Conference Passengers wait for their flights in the departures Fireworks usher in the New Year in Pyongyang, Jan. Children play as others gather on Kim Il Sung Square People offer flowers to the statues of their late leaders A street in central Pyongyang, Nov. 15, 2017 Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers bow before statues Song Song-Hui (C) sits with relatives gathered at her This Dec. 8, 2017 photo released from North Korea's North Korean soldiers attend a mass rally in Kim Il-Sung This Dec. 12, 2017 photo released from North Korea's In a photo taken on Nov. 19, 2017, a woman and child In a photo taken on Nov. 18, 2017, a woman carrying North Koreans attend a mass rally in Kim Il-Sung Square In a photo taken on Nov. 21, 2017, a man pushes a bicycle This photo taken on Nov. 19, 2017 shows cyclists passing A man waits to cross a street in Rason.at the northeastern This is a photo released by the North Korean Central This photo was released by the North Korean Central A sailor stands on his boat in the port in Rason at This Nov. 29, 2017, image provided by the North Korean Ra In-Hae, 46, in her new home, portraits of late North A woman shields herself from the cold at the port in People cheer as they watch the news broadcast announcing People watch the news broadcast announcing North Korean In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, North Korean soldiers look at the South side near the Vendors prepare flowers for Mother's Day at a flower In this photo taken through the window of a car, students People dance in a park in Pyongyang, Nov.15, 2017. This is a North Korean military guard outpost seen This undated picture released from North Korea's official These two ride a bicycle as they pass along a street Runners compete in the half-marathon in Pyongyang, Amateur horse riders compete during the 'Autumn Race-Goers A salesperson of 'Jilin Provincial Muziwu Daily Necessities' Spectators watch competitors during the 'Autumn Race-Goers Men and women participate in a mass dance event marking Men ride on a make shift raft to transport logs down Participants described as 'working people, youth, and A man shoots an air-powered rifle at a shooting stall A propaganda troupe perform a flag-waving routine outside Pedestrians pass through a square outside the central Visitors try a ride at an amusement fair in Pyongyang, Participants of a mass rally shout slogans as they Visitors look at kitchens on display at the 13th International A woman carries a child across a road in Pyongyang, A Chinese vendor hands scarves to North Korean customers A woman pulls a trolley across a street before a taxi Two men play pool at a bowling alley in Pyongyang, Service persons of the Ministry of People's Security Spectators gather to watch a public news brodcast of Dancers perform during the 20th ITF World Taekwondo A woman stands at a street-side flower stall in Pyongyang, Anglers compete during a fishing contest at Pothong A man crosses a street outside the central railway A girl leans on a lamp post outside the central railway Spectators listen to a television news brodcast of The skyline of Pyongyang, Sept. 20, 2017. This undated picture released from North Korea's official A football match is played on a pitch between buildings A group of North Korean tourists stand before the city A North Korean soldier stands on the bank of the Yalu Fireworks go off while Pyongyang residents and military This coastline (top) above the barbed-wire fence is Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers cheer while watching The sun rises over North Korea and the Yalu river which North Koreand rest on a wall on the bank of the Yalu North Korean soldiers stand at a fence on the bank The North Korean coastline can be seen behind the barbed-wire Two North Koreans help each other wash in the Yalu A North Korean man brings his boat up to a Chinese North Korean men unload a trailer on the bank of the A North Korean soldier stands on a loading ramp on Korean People's Army soldiers applaud as they watch People fill the square of the main railway station This picture from North Korea's official Korean Central Cashiers work at the Potonggang department store in Staff at the Potonggang department store stock shelves People wave banners and shout slogans as they attend Pedestrians and vehicles pass before the portraits Awoman stands at the entrance to a supermarket in Pyongyang Steel worker Kang Chol-Su (38) poses for a portrait A hostess cooks clams using gasoline, at the West Sea A photo taken on July 22, 2017 shows beach-goers dancing Swimmers gather in a wave pool at a water park in a A group of men look towards the West Sea Barrage beach Workers repair a section of the 'West Sea Barrage' North Korean women push their cart and bicycles over A group of youths play tennis in a public square in North Korean men work on farm fields along the Pyongyang-Wonsan North Korean women make their way across a road at Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers walk past portraits North Korean school girls stop at a kiosk selling flowers Soldiers gather in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Soldiers watch fireworks in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, The sky is overcast in Pyongyang July 17, 2017. The North Koreans ride in a crowded electric trolley, which Soldiers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) watch a A primary school student An Jae-Gwon (10) poses for A woman stops by a kiosk selling gifts and flowers Pedestrians walk along a residential area at dusk in Two boys row their boat on the Pothong River where People walk cross the Pothong river via a suspended A waitress moves a dining chair at a restaurant terrace People are are silhouette as they start their morning Staff members from a boat restaurant on the Taedong A Korean People's Army (KPA) soldier gestures as he Men push their bicycles past the portraits of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a photo session An elderly woman follows behind children pushing their A farmer transplants rice seedlings in a field in Pyongyang, Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman arrives People watch a screen showing news coverage of the People attend the 20th Pyongyang Spring International This undated picture released from North Korea's official People gather at a street-side newsstand in Pyongyang This is a test launch of the ground-to-ground medium Women soldiers march across Kim Il Sung Square during An elderly man is silhouetted against a model of the Boys play on the sidewalk along Changjon Street lined Men and women walk along a residential area in Pyongyang, A woman is silhouetted against the sky as she exercises North Koreans sit at the back of a truck as it drives A man rides his bicycle along the Taedong River bank A traffic police woman hands over her LED wand used Women shelter from the rain under an umbrella in front A North Korean soldier uses his binoculars on the banks Schoolgirls attend a dance class at the Mangyongdae People walk along the streets of downtown Pyongyang A commuter is seen through a tram window in Pyongyang Commuters walk up the stairs as a train leaves a subway A boy performs the zither at the Mangyondae School Students participate in a mass dance event to mark Competitors run through Kim Il-Sung square during The newly renovated Koryo hotel main lobby in Pyongyang A North Korean traffic police officer is silhouetted A staff member of the newly renovated Koryo hotel walks Boys jog at the end of a work day in Pyongyang on April People on the street in Pyongyang on April 10, 2017. Workers leave an assembly area after rehearsals for A woman walks along the highway from downtown Pyongyang Men walk and some push their bicycles along a highway A North Korean soldier looks at the south side while Kim Jong-Un visits a construction site in Pyongyang, A North Korean soldier takes a photograph while two People ski at the Masik Pass Ski Resort in Wonsan, People watch news footage of a missile launch on a This undated picture released by North Korea's Korean Kim Jong-Un supervives the launching of four ballistic The representatives of diplomatic missions and international A security guard stands in a courtyard of the Kim Jong-Suk Two women walk outside a dormitory of the Kim Jong-Suk A worker pushes a trolley carrying buckets of silk-worm People watch a fireworks display as they visit an ice People look at a noticeboard after a fireworks display
A woman dressed in a traditional gown pays her respects at statues of late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Unaware of reports his eldest son – and current leader Kim Jong UnÂ’s half-brother – was killed just days ago in what appears to have been a carefully planned assassination, North Koreans marked the birthday of late leader Kim Jong Il on Thursday as they do every year.Â
Eric Talmadge, AP Children with offerings walk toward statues of late Residents sip hot tea at stalls set up as part of celebrations Performers take part in a mass dance event on the occasion Men transport gas cylinders in Pyongyang, Feb. 13, Two elderly men crouch on a smoke break in Pyongyang, People walk down the street in Pyongyang, Feb. 12, A boy runs with the national flag along the Pyongyang-Wonsan North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visits the newly built Children of the workers at the Suk Silk Mill sing This woman sorts silkworm cocoons to be boiled as part Women sort out silkworm cocoons to be boiled at the Kim Jong-Un posing with the school students while A man rides his electric bicycle along the Taedong This is a mass rally taking place at Kim Il Sung Square A traffic police officer directs traffic on a road Pedestrians and cyclists are reflected in the Pothong North Korean honor guards watch as Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Jong-Un at Fishery Station No. 15 of the Korean Baek Hyun-kyung is a tour guide at the Three Charters A member of North Korea's under-20 women's football Kim Jong-Un at the Wonsan Shoes Factory in Kangwon Korean People's Army (KPA) lieutenant and tour guide Sailor Kim Il-Soo poses for a photo on a boat used North Korean traffic police women chat next to a residential Kim Jong-Un interacting with people while inspecting North Koreans walk past a residential building as they North Koreans are seen in silhouette as they make their Azalea, whose Korean name is Dalle, a 19-year-old
Azalea, whose Korean name is “Dalle”, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, smokes a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea Oct. 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she does not inhale.Â
Wong Maye-E, AP Students stretch following an under-14 training session A North Korean boy in his school uniform walks past Spectators cheer as parachutists perform an aerial North Korean female MiG-21 fighter pilots Rim Sol, North Korean boys play in a fountain feature during Residents look up at a big screen TV in front of Pyongyang This is a national meeting to celebrate the 68th founding North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un while inspecting the A North Korean man gulps down a glass of draft beer A surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic North Korean soldiers peep into a conference room in Military personnel stand during a rally at Kim Il Sung A missile is fired during a drill by Hwasong artillery Fairground participants ride a big swing in Pyongyang Performers meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at A traffic police woman directs vehicles at a street North Koreans push their bicycles in the rain on a Taxis wait for passengers at the Pyongyang train station People walk on a rail tracks in Pyongyang, April 18, People ride the escalators at the Puhung metro station A woman carries a bag next to a board in Pyongyang City view of Pyongyang, April 17, 2016. A metro employee on board the newest cars at the Puhung A live-shell firing drill by artillery sub-units under Kim Jong Un, left, Supreme Commander of the Korean A rocket is displayed during the Immortal Flower Festival Young women participate in a rehearsal ahead of the This is a view of the Pyongyang, North Korea skyline Pyongyang Station is shown in late evening April 12th An image of the operation of a new type large-caliber A man cycles past the Kim Il Sung square on Wednesday, Young boys get the view of Pyongyang, North Korea from Waitresses work on April 12, in a restaurant of the A tramway rides past the Pyongyang Station in Pyongyang, Pedestrians walk along a street in Pyongyang, North A large mosaic representing Kim Il-Sung, left, and A worker unloads a bag of fertilizer from a conveyer A shipbuilder works at the Hongwon Shipyard in Hongwon Newly manufactured shoes are seen at Wonsan Shoes Factory A North Korean soldier walks past a truck near goods North Koreans load goods on a dockyard with a Chinese This undated photo released by North Korea's official Kim Jong-Un inspecting the test of a new-type anti-air North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the Plant A woman cycles with her child riding in a basket in Bicycle riders in Kaesong, Feb. 22, 2016. Korean People's Army Lt. Col. Nam Dong Ho is silhouetted The North Korea's women soccer team fills up custom Two people cycle past a planetarium at the Three Revolutions A cashier prepares a receipt for customers at a local Solar panels hang from windows of an apartment building Soldiers guard the truce village of Panmunjom at the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attends a concert marking A boy pushes a cart of cabbage along a main road in South Korean army soldiers close a gate in Paju, near A North Korean woman walks down the streets of Pyongyang, The 105-story pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel towers People ride in a boat in the Yalu River near Dandong, North Korean soldiers patrol next to the border fence A man works on a boat on the banks of the Yalu River The sun rises over the bridge on the banks of the Yalu A man rides his bicycle in front of a portion of the A man and his son on a boat on of the Yalu River at People and a truck embark a boat on the Yalu River North Korean soldiers on the banks of the Yalu River North Korean soldiers stand at their watchtower as A North Korean soldier smokes a cigarette on the banks North Korean military personnel celebrate after North A pair of North Korean soldiers walk through a field North Koreans clap in a rally, after North Korea said A North Korean soldier looks across the border with North Korean veterans gather before the start of a A barbed wire fence at a military check point near North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un watches a military North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen Hyeon Soo Lim who pastors the Light Korean Presbyterian Members of North Korea's Moranbong Band perform with A North Korean soldier gathers straw in a field in North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un accompanied by commanding A picture made available on October 25, 2015 shows This picture released from North Korea's official Korean A North Korean traffic police woman directs vehicles This undated picture released from North Korea's official
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. Â
Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency This undated photo released by North Korea's official In this Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015 photo, North Koreans A station officer waist for trains to arrive on the Portaits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, This undated picture released from North Korea's official In this Aug. 16, 2015 photo, people queue up at kiosk A newlywed couple pose, during a photo shoot on Sijung People dance during the celebration of the Liberation North Korean soldiers watch as fireworks explode, Monday, North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of the Staff wait at the check-in counters of the new international In this Saturday, June 27, 2015, photo, an Air Koryo
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant “defend!” as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the “Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.,” attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the “Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month” and it’s a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.Â
Wong Maye-E, AP In this June 24, 2015, photo, a farmer stands in front North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, visits the A national meeting is held on April 14 at the Pyongyang North Korean workers plant seedlings in a field on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un enjoys his Dec. 1 visit A state photo from December 5 shows North Korean leader Soldiers and citizens rally at Kim Il Sung Square in
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. Â
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean A December 13, handout photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un applauds the participants in the second This handout picture released from North Korea's official An undated picture from North Korea's official Korean People enjoy a ride at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park on Sept. 3 in Pyongyang. People shoot targets at an arcade at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park. North Koreans enjoy an amusement park ride. Women wait for customers at a makeshift photo service stand. North Koreans scream on the free-fall ride. A portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jung Un posing with judo gold medalist An Kum Ae decorates the wall at a local gymnasium on Sept. 2 in Pyongyang. North Korean athletes practice on a trampoline. A North Korean subway station staff member waits for the arrival of a train on Sept. 1 in Pyongyang. A boy arm wrestles with former NFL player Bob The Beast Sapp during a wrestling goodwill tour on Aug. 29 in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-Un attends the test firing of a new high-performance tactical rocket on Aug. 15. People bow to portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung on Dec. 17 in Pyongyang. It is the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. North Koreans visit Mansu Hill to pay their respects to former leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang. Soldiers prepare to place flowers at the statues of North Korean leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, presides over an event to marking the second anniversary of the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang. Military officials applaud during an event marking the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. People bow at the statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. People place flower bouquets before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. Women sweep around the statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sun, left, and Jong Il on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec. 16 in Pyongyang. North Koreans lay flowers at the base of statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang. North Korean soldiers gather at Kumsusan memorial palace as they stage a rally supporting their leader, Kim Jong Un, in Pyongyang. Soldiers march during a rally at the Kumsusan memorial palace. Jang Song-thaek is escorted in court on Dec. 12. The uncle of leader Kim Jong Un was executed after a shocking purge, with the state branding the once-powerful man a traitor. A man watches a television news program showing the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Jang Son Thaek, at his trial at a railway station in Seoul. Military vehicles parade during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 27 in Pyongyang, North Korea. A North Korean soldier salutes from a tank during a military parade at Kim Il-Sung Square. Veterans of the Korean War wave to their leader, Kim Jong Un, during a military parade. People wave flags as walk with statues of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. People carry the North Korean national flags. North Korean tanks parade through Kim Il-Sung Square. Ugandan Vice-President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekand, left, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greet spectators. North Korean air force troops march in the parade. A North Korean soldier salutes from his tank. Soldiers march through Kim Il Sung Square. A unit of women soldiers march in formation. People wave flowers during the parade. People carry a portrait of former leader Kim Jong-Il. Dancers parade through Kim Il Sung Sqaure. Thousands of people hold up colored squares as they create a giant North Korean flag as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice during a performance at the Rungnado May Day Stadium on July 26 in Pyongyang. People hold colored material as they watch for their cue during a performance. One hundred thousand people created a synchronized socialist-realist performance in a 90 minute display of gymnastics, dance and acrobatics. Dancers perform in Pyongyang. Performers present a program on the field of the Rungnado May Day Stadium. Noth Korean army veterans watch the program. Fireworks explode above the Pyongyaang skyline. North Korean soldiers walk along a road in front of the truce village of Panmunjom at the Demilitarized Zone on July 22. North Korean pedestrians and bicyclists pass by a billboard for Pyeonghwa Motors, North Korea's car manufacturer, on a highway on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Koreans stand to applaud during the opening night of the Arirang mass games performance at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium on July 22. This year's performance was timed to debut for the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. At dusk, the setting sunlight is reflected on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 21. North Koreans clean a street after a heavy rainfall in Kaesong, North Korea. Thousands of North Koreans turn colored cards to create an image of the Unha-3 rocket that North Korea successfully launched in December 2012 during the Arirang mass games. A North Korean soldier sits inside a room in Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Koreans ride bicycles in the rain along the Taedong River bank in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean soldiers walk on a highway near the North Korean city of Kaesong. North Korean nurses sing and play the accordion while children dance during an event to start a campaign to give vitamin A supplements and deworming pills to children at a nursery school in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Child Health Day, May 20. UNICEF and North Korean government agencies are collaborating in the campaign to assist 1.7 million children across the country under age 5. North Korean nurses give vitamin A supplements and deworming pills to children dressed in their best outfits at an elite nursery school in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans pass by the outer wall of a construction site where a propaganda billboard depicts the launch of North Korean rockets in Pyongyang, North Korea. The billboard reads: Let's open up an era to a strong economic country. North Koreans play a board game inside a sauna at the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 19. The newly opened complex houses a cooking school, multiple banquet rooms, swimming and wading pools, a billiards room and other spa and recreational facilities. North Korean swimmers enter a waterfall wading pool inside the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wearing gym-provided workout clothing, North Koreans rest near the gym at the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. Portraits of former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il hang on the outside of a building in central Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 18. North Korean soldiers and civilians pose for photos April 25 as they tour the grounds of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum in Pyongyang where the bodies of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed. Last month, North Korea marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2 million troops. North Korean soldiers tour the park surrounding Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. North Korean army Col. Kim Chang Jun stands behind field binoculars on a hilltop overlooking the Demilitarized Zone, south of Kaesong, North Korea, on April 24. A boy walks along a path in front of a village south of Kaesong, North Korea. A North Korean boy rides in a bicycle basket on a road north of Kaesong, North Korea. A North Korean boy on rollerblades is pulled by a woman on a bicycle on a road south of Kaesong, North Korea and north of the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas. A North Korean man checks his bicycle next to a propaganda billboard in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean farmers work in a field inside the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, North Korea. A North Korean traffic policeman stands at an intersection in Kaesong, North Korea on April 23. North Koreans walk bicycles along a street in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean children walk in front of an apartment block in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean soldiers stand on steps overlooking the border village of Panmunjom, North Korea. A painting, depicting North Korean soldiers ambushing and killing U.S. troops hangs on a gallery wall at an art exhibition Friday in Pyongyang. A North Korean boy practices his lines -- Our country is the greatest in the world -- as he is filmed by a local television crew at an exhibition of traditional calligraphy in Pyongyang. North Korean children perform in front of an image of weapons and bayonetsat Mangyongdae Children's Palace in Pyongyang. Children practice a musical performance at Mangyongdae Children's Palace. A guide stands in a waiting room at Mangyongdae Children's Palace in Pyongyang. Portraits in the background show North Korea's late leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il. Children work at easels during a drawing class at Mangyongdae Children's Palace. A North Korean soldier plows a field on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Koreans walk along a sidewalk in Pyongyang. A North Korean soldier walks through a parking lot as workers paint a building block across the street in Pyongyang. A North Korean soldier guarding the entrance to Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum, where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, looks back through the doors of the main gate Monday, April 15, 2013. North Koreans turned out on Monday to mark the 101st birthday of Kim Il Sung. A North Korean man misses the turn and loses control of his go cart on a track at the Fun Fair in Pyongyang on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. A North Korean child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Oblivious to international tensions over a possible North Korean missile launch, Pyongyang residents spilled into the streets Monday to celebrate a major national holiday, the birthday of their first leader, Kim Il Sung. North Korean commuters ride on a city trolley bus in Pyongyang. Marathon runners pass by a long row of North Korean soldiers as they cross a bridge in Pyongyang on Sunday, April 14, 2013. North Korea hosted the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon to mark the April 15, 2013 birthday of the late leader Kim Il Sung. A North Korean woman walks past the outer wall of a construction site where a propaganda billboard depicting the launch of North Korean rockets in Pyongyang, North Korea. The billboard reads: Lets open up an era to a strong economic country. North Korean children hold up red scarves to be tied around their necks during an induction ceremony into the Korean Children's Union, the first political organization for North Koreans, held at a stadium in Pyongyang on Friday, April 12, 2013. North Koreans dance together beneath a mosaic painting of the late leader Kim Il Sung during a mass folk dancing gathering in Pyongyang Thursday, April 11, 2013, to mark the anniversary of the first of many titles of power given to leader Kim Jong Un after the death of his father Kim Jong Il. A North Korean man pushes a bicycle up a hill on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Korean man drives a small tractor in central Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean pedestrians walk on a sidewalk past a large nationalist painting in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean children carrying brooms walk on a sidewalk in Pyongyang on their way to help tidy up the area around bronze statues of the late leaders as the capital city prepares to mark the April 15 birthday of its founder Kim Il Sung. A North Korean soldier passes by roadside propaganda depicting a North Korean soldier killing a U.S. soldier in Pyongyang. The poster reads in Korean Life or Death Battle. Merciless Punishment to U.S. Imperialists and Puppet Traitors. An apartment block stands among the buildings at dawn in central Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Reflected in the airport building glass, passengers disembark from North Korea's Air Koryo flight as they arrive at the Pyongyang International airport on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. North Korean soldiers march through Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on March 16. Two North Korean boys hop a ride on the back of a city tram March 14 to cross a bridge in Pyongyang. North Koreans select apples and oranges, imported from China, at a supermarket in Pyongyang on March 13. A North Korean soldier works at a computer terminal under portraits of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il inside the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang on March 12. A bus is covered in camouflage netting in a parking lot of a building in Pyongyang on March 9. A children's pop-up book, displayed by a teacher March 9 at at Kaeson Kindergarten in Pyongyang, depicts a U.S. soldier killing a Korean woman with a hatchet. For North Koreans, the systematic indoctrination of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten. A North Korean girl readies a toy gun that fires rubber corks as she and others play a shooting game at a carnival March 8 at a park in Pyongyang. A Mercedes rides along a street in central Pyongyang. The U.N. Security Council responded swiftly to North Korea's Feb. 12 nuclear test by punishing the reclusive regime Thursday with new sanctions that target the communist nation's economy and leadership. Pyongyang responded with the threat of a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States. An image depicting a female North Korean soldier leading an attack is projected on a screen behind performers during a concert in Pyongyang marking International Women's Day. The text at the top of the screen reads, We are the General's female coastal artillery troops. North Koreans rally March 7 at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang in support of a government statement Tuesday that vowed to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War. The statement also boasted of North Korea's ownership of lighter and smaller nukes and its ability to execute surgical strikes meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula. North Koreans carry bundles on their backs as they cross a frozen lake north of the capital city of Pyongyang on Feb. 24. A North Korean woman sings karaoke at the Hyangsan Hotel at the foot of Mount Myohyang on Feb. 23. North Koreans cross a railroad bridge over a riverbed south of Mount Myohyang, and north of the capital city of Pyongyang. A North Korean traffic officer patrols a street Feb. 22 in central Pyongyang. A nurse looks out of a window at a neighborhood health clinic in Pyongyang. A North Korean man stands next to a tractor and wagon on the edge of a snow-covered field near the village of Ryongsan-ri, south of Pyongyang. Pedestrians walk along a street Feb. 21 in central Pyongyang. A nurse comforts a baby at a nursery inside Pyongyang Maternity Hospital on Feb. 20. Well-wishers wave flower bouquets as buses carrying North Korean nuclear scientists and other officials pass by in Pyongyang. Scientists and other officials involved in the North's underground nuclear test on Feb. 12 arrived in the capital city Feb. 20 to a celebration. Photos showing different hairstyles hang inside a barber shop in Pyongyang. A 2013 calendar, showing a picture of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, hangs inside a hair salon in Pyongyang. A North Korean portrait photographer instructs soldiers to pose for a picture under a mosaic of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at an exhibition in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, where Kimjongilia flowers, named after Kim Jong Il, were on display. A North Korean woman, with a fake Kalashnikov rifle used in a theatrical performance, stands in front of the Pyongyang Grand Theatre waiting for a ride. Soldiers ride an escalator past a model of their country's Unha Rocket as they enter an exhibition in Pyongyang. A musical performance is held in Pyongyang with the words Let's strike the imperialists mercilessly with the same success we had carrying out the 3rd nuclear test projected on a screen. Soldiers gather along a Pyongyang street during heavy snowfall. Female North Korean traffic officers gather in Pyongyang near bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to commemorate what would have been the 71st birthday of Kim Jong Il, who died Dec. 17, 2011. Children play with the camera of an Associated Press photographer as people gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Feb. 16. Soldiers lay flowers at the base of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Offerings of flowers are lined up as North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of their late leaders. Pedestrians pass under a bridge in Pyongyang on Feb. 15. Cameramen use an elevated boom camera, left, and a older film camera to cover the opening ceremony of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang. North Koreans watch the opening ceremonies of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang. Hanging in the arena is a banner with the word Peace in English and Korean. Synchronized swimmers perform at an exhibition in Pyongyang. The exhibition was one of the events commemorating what would have been Kim Jong Il's 71st birthday. North Koreans leave an ice skating rink after a figure skating exhibition. A poster showing a model of North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket hangs in the lobby of a hotel in Pyongyang in Feb. North Korea is upgrading one of its two major missile launch sites, apparently to handle much larger rockets. North Koreans stand before a roadside mosaic of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to pay their respects to the dead leaders. Kim Jong Il died in 2011, Kim Il Sung in 1994.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over its nuclear weapons program. For the moment, talking makes that war seem less likely.Â

Should talks fail, war gets sparked, and North Korea launches a conventional or nuclear strike on the United States or its allies, massive casualties are assured.

The U.S. military and South Korean allies haveÂ more sophisticated weaponry, including stealthy warplanes,Â than North Korea and would be expected to destroy Kim’s forces in time. But the toll on civilians, including the 200,000 U.S. citizens in South Korea, would be shocking, according to Pentagon estimates. The loss of life for U.S. troops would likely be worse than 33,000 who perished in the Korean War.

There are about 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, and more wouldÂ be deployed to the peninsula in the event of war.

Advances in medical treatment, including stoppingÂ blood loss and swift evacuation to sophisticated care, have meant American troops are much more likely to survive wounds than their predecessors, Tanisha Fazal, an associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, said in an email.

Helicopters with trained medical crews have swooped in over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and generally ferried the wounded to hospitals within the â€œgolden hour,â€ the Pentagonâ€™s goal for swift care.

â€œBut U.S. air superiority has not been challenged in these theaters, thus enabling air evacuation, Fazal said. â€œThis would likely not be the case in a new Korean War. In particular, North Korean artillery could pose a significant challenge to U.S. air evacuation.â€

The willingness of North Korea to use chemical and biological weapons, requiring U.S. troops to use cumbersome protective gear, raises the risks, Fazal said.

â€œAnother major concern were a new conflict to break out on the Korean Peninsula would be how to deal with possible chemical or nuclear weapon attacks on U.S. military personnel,â€ Fazal said.

In 2003, U.S. troops prepared for the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein before the invasion of Iraq. Ultimately, an unexpected hazard, homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices, became the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops, showing that predicting how war will unfold is difficult if not impossible.

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/531618046/0/usatodaycomwashington-topstories~Korean-War-II-could-be-bloodier-than-the-first-a-reason-why-US-and-North-Korea-may-meet/

Brady Campaign offers schools a gun violence guide. NRA says it won't keep students safe

Lewandowski, Rashford, Ronaldo, SuÃ¡rez star on Saturday

Korean War II could be bloodier than the first, a reason why U.S. and North Korea may meet

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