This is the perfect antidote to all that scary news out of North Korea

This is the perfect antidote to all that scary news out of North Korea
(Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Recent news out of North Korea has mostly been of the scary sort: It's threatening to nuke the White House! It's firing missiles into the sea! It's opening up a summer camp!

But here's the thing: The North Korean military is not in great shape. Despite its bluster, it's actually quite decrepit, plagued by "antiquated" and "outdated" equipment, according to a 22-page report released by the Pentagon in March. For the latest illustration, you need look back no further than today.

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And these crashes aren't even unusual:

It is 'far from unusual for North Korea's fighters as well as military choppers to crash,' another source said, noting frequent accidents 'are partly behind its leader Kim Jong-un's inspection tours to the air force units this year.'

'The series of visits to the air force units or events seems to be aimed at not only countering the annual joint Max Thunder air drills between South Korea and the United States in April, but to encourage airmen demoralized by crash accidents,' the source added. [Yonhap]

Oof.

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Nico Lauricella was editor-in-chief at TheWeek.com. He was formerly the site's deputy editor and an editor at The Huffington Post.