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Originally Posted by Raellus
Thanks for the intel, dragoon500ly.
Might the Soviets collude with North Korea, so that they could use the Hermit Kingdom's ports for repairs and replenishment for vessels operating against Chinese targets on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea Coasts?
Perhaps that's why the DPRK sided with the USSR instead of China? Perhaps the Soviets offered the DPRK advanced aircraft or armor in exchange for the use of its ports?
This would suggest cooperation between the two. Perhaps the Soviets convinced the DPRK to attack the ROK, in order to tie down American units on the peninsula- this would prevent them from being sent to Europe or Alaska...
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Primary problem with North Korea is that their brand of communism is very different from China/Soviets version. The DPRK stress the Kim family as the benevolent dictators protecting the "pure" DPRK from the evil intentions of Russia, China, Japan and the United States. Over the years, they have become very adapt at playing off one against the other, pulling food and basic goods from China, advanced military aid from Russia and fast talking Japan and South Korea into investing into DPRK industry, then chasing out the investors once the factories are up and running.
So the brief answer is yes the Soviets might get access to NK ports, at the expense of providing military aid, would the DPRK allow the Soviets large scale access? Unlikely.
Could the Soviets convince NK to launch its "Final Liberation of the South"? If the DPRK was convinced that they had a good chance of defeating the ROK, in a heartbeat! But could the Soviets convince them to conduct operations in conjunction with the Soviet military? My own thoughts are that the DPRK would promise, plan, take as much military aid as they could get their hands on...and then find a reason(s) to delay the operation, be it the need to better train their troops on the new equipment, weather conditions, the need to improve rail and road conditions, etc, etc, etc.
While I was a Pentagon Commando, I never had the access or clearance to read the intelligence reports, but "talking shop" with co-workers, the opinion they shared was that the DPRK would look out for number one first! They might provide intelligence, allow overnights, even allow the temporary basin of reconnaissance aircraft, submarines and even surface ships, but would they jump in and invade ROK?