Why North Korea is Bad

The BBQ Pit
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Hamster problems. Grrr. Here we go again:
It’s a shame that the Korean War has such a negligable effect on the common American psyche. It’s That Other War, the one between the miraculous heroism of storming beaches at Normany and the senseless incompotent tradgedy of Vietnam. A test of the power of some new high-powered diplomat’s club that remains somewhat mysterious and removed from The Simple Days of national sovereignty.

It’s a shame, because that war represents a culmination of shifting priorities for the US and free democracies in general. It was a good thing to keep South Korea free, and it’s a terrible shame that North Korea has not been liberated from the brutal, horrendous regime that infests it to this day.

Yet in the current atmosphere of fighting terrorist cells, intense international pressure on other evil despots in the Middle East, UN finagling over trade restrictions and George and Tony trying to act, I think, in what is probably the best interest of democracy and freedom at large, North Korea continues to slip under the radar, as it has been doing for the past several decades.

She sits there, quietly destroying her own people, and few seem to give a shit.

Perhaps it’s my own warped perception and paying too much attention to American media. Still, “the media” as such are not to blame. Douglas Adams once wrote that the media is in the business of selling audiences to advertisers, and the way you get audiences is by giving them what they want. I don’t think the American public wants to hear about North Korea. I think they want to forget. And I think they’re comfortable with the vague understanding of a none-to-clear long-ago conflict that had something to do with Alan Alda.

So why the sudden melancoly rambling? Because I had forgotten what I had been thinking about North Korea for the past few months until I read this tonight.

I think the article is telling for a number of reasons. First, it shows the despicable lengths to which evil people with power are willing to go to protect their empire. Not only did they rob these people of their homeland, force them to betray their own country and to aid an abed the commission of heinous crimes, they robbed five Japanese families of their sons and daughters. They robbed nieces and nephews of aunts and uncles they would not know until recently.

The second aspect is a demonstration of how far removed the leadership of North Korea is from reality. In disclosing this information, and releasing their hostages, they hoped to better their relationship with Japan. Five families and their communities were raped. And someone in North Korea thought that saying, “yeah, our bad, you can have them back now,” would make it all better.

Perhaps I’m being pessimistic. I believe everyone deserves forgiveness if they are truly sorry. Maybe the North Koreans are looking to reform their ways and receive the forgiveness of the world.

But I doubt it.

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Can’t think of a reason, huh?

How about it’s a totalitarian regime run by a an oligarchy that lives in luxury while their people starve?

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Or how about it’s the regime that sent death squads to Pusan and Seoul?

Or how about it’s the regime that kidnaps people from both South Korea and Japan?

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I’m sure they’re nice people, though… :rolleyes:

What’s interesting is watching the S. Korean perception of the north. They really seem to turn a blind eye to what is happening up there.

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There was a picture I saw once of the world at night from the view of a satellite, with the cities all lit up.

South Korea: Bright as hell
North Korea: No light whatsoever

Found that kind of interesting.

My 0.02.

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Just to be precise, there were 13 abductees. Five were returned recently, the other eight died (of accidents or illness of course) since their abductions.

I really can’t blame the vast majority of the North Korean people, however. By all accounts I’ve heard, they really don’t know that the rest of the world is any different, or even that the sun would still rise without Kim Jong Il bidding it to do so.

I agree that too little attention is payed to this country, and too little done about its evil. Then again, what really can be done? The only options I see are “regime change” (i.e. forcefully deposing the current regime) or a slow diplomatic process, which would give legitimacy to a vicious evil tyrant.

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It gets even better. The Japanese who were abducted have been allowed to return to Japan, but only for a brief visit. Their children are still in North Korea, being used as hostages to ensure the return of the abductees!

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By the way, a cite for my assertion that the abductees aren’t really being allowed to go home:

Check the last paragraph in the “Some Still Missing” section.

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To put a little balance on this: my Japanese boss pointed out that Koizumi didn’t apologize explicitly for the thousands of Korean females forced into service as “comfort women” during WWII. He did express a mild regret.

He seemed embarassed that the Japanese were making such a big deal about it, given the extensive atrocities committed by Japan against the Koreans during their occupation of the Korean peninsula.

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Dude, they were selling Kim Jong Il figurines at Hyundai Department Store in Apkujong–WTF are the South Koreans thinking? Yeah, sure, “we’re all one race, one people” but has the younger generation totally forgotten everything their parents told them about the war? It always floored me when I was teaching in Seoul how the Koreans would piss and moan about Japan but be completely apathetic to North Korean totalitarianism.

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It’s kind of strange, but I almost feel more sorry for them for what will happen in the future to the people of NK than what they are going through now. While there is a possibility that state could transistion slowly into modern society, I think that in the end, it will happen very quickly. The sheer culture shock on that population will be enormous. For years, they’ve been led to believe that they are living well compared to the rest of the world, and that the Chonger is some kind of demigod who can control the weather by his sheer presence.

Reality will be a rather bitter pill to swallow, and I expect some will refuse to accept it. Not that I can really blame them… especially the older generations who have lived their whole lives in a hermit state.

Still, things are looking up for the North Koreans to some extent. Their government is “opening up,” in it’s own slow and peculiar way. Reunification is not out of the question within 10 years, assuming South Korea can handle the burden of pulling their brethen into the 20th century, much less the 21st. I don’t think the current US stance is helping matters much, but progress is never the less happening at a greater pace than ever before.

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airdisc: Had that picture been taken when I lived in Seoul, there wouldn’t have been all that much light for South Korea either, provided the picture was taken during curfew (midnight to four in the morning).

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One position held by some Japanese comentators is that on the opposite, it’s quite necessary. It’s a carrot and stick thing. On one side, countries like SK, Japan and Russia are pledging to help out NK if it wises up, but this strategy is only effective if there is a threat of negative consequences if it doesn’t.

These are Japan’s apologies, as written in the Pyonyang Declaration signed by Koizumi and Kim Jong-Il:

“Tremendous damage and suffering,” “deep remorse,” for a Japanese leader that’s a little bit more than ‘mild regret.’

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I think what was perhaps more embarrassing to Koizumi were the members of his party calling for him to demand compensation payments from North Korea over the abductions, while at the same time Japanese courts have repeatedly rejected compensation claims by Koreans, Taiwanese, Chinese, and others over Japan’s WWII actions.

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Here’s the picture airdisc mentioned.

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I always found this kind of reasoning somewhat specious. Governments aren’t really like people that live forever. The Japanese government that exists today is not the same government that raped Nanking, that performed brutal experiments on human slaves, and so forth. That Japan is gone. The people responsible for it are mostly dead, and the imperialists who wish its return represent a fringe minority somewhat like the rabid fundies in America. But the same North Korean oligarchy that fought the Korean war and kidnapped these people is still in power. Their idealogy and values allowed – or rather – demanded, that they commit this crime. And for that they should be punished.

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I don’t give a fuck if Kim Jong-Il and his goons get what they deserve. I am no historian or political scientist, but IMO this quest for “justice”, this idea that evil leaders should be punished has caused a lot more harm than good. In this case, what is more important than anything else is the peace and stability of the Northern Pacific area. I have no problem with buying Kim out of power if that means that North Korea is no longer a threat to its neighbors and to its own people.

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Actually, I don’t think it’s that specious an argument. The German government, IMO, changed far more substantially in its structure and its membership from wartime to postwar than the Japanese government, yet it still hears compensation claims and has given out significant reimbursements.

One potential thorn for Japan with regard to this is that past claims from residents of other countries have been rejected on the grounds that all wartime compensation issues were settled through the treaties signed between Japan and other nations (South Korea, China, Taiwan and others) during the 1960’s, and that no further compensation need be given. No treaty was ever signed, however, between Japan and North Korea, meaning that by the Japanese government’s past arguments, N. Korean claims would still be valid. It’s possible that Kim may use this as a bargaining chip in future negotiations.

Personally, though, I don’t think Kim is going to open up North Korea any more than the bare minimum to get enough relief aid to keep his regime going.

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It’s a fair viewpoint, and one I don’t fully discount. It’s hard to say whether their recent openess is due to desperation over economy/famine or fear of being the next target on the “Get the Axis of Evil” list, or maybe both. The Bush administration policies just after he took office did put about a year’s halt to diplomatic progress, but you could say it’s just now bearing fruit.

My only problem with the “stick” method is that you aren’t dealing with your average everyday mindset here. You’ve got a small group of leaders who are holding power through a great big lie. They know their country has got major problems, and they are prone to paranoia and overestimating threats. They think, or least claim, that 37,000 American troops is an imminent threat to their security, despite the hundreds of thousands they have just across the way. So playing tough does have the slim possibility of backfiring. Which would be a bad thing, since the North Koreans would probably have no qualms using any WMD they have.

I lean towards pandering to the regime’s insecurity so that we can get them to open up some. Then we hit them full force with our most potent weapons, money and the opportunity to think for yourself. The Chonger wants us to deal with him like we are equals? Whatever… once his country opens up past the point of no return, his biggest problem will be avoiding a lynch mob. I say, play his games and then try and accelerate the process out of his control.

As of today though, there is some evidence Bush’s way made a breakthrough. NK has confirmed their nuclear weapon’s program has been ongoing in a meeting with the US envoy. Publically, the NK’s have slammed the meeting and the US, but it looks like something came out of it nonetheless. Should be interesting to see how this is dealt with.

This really isn’t a great BBQ Pit post.

Fuck.

Better. :smiley:

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One more reason why North Korea is bad - North Korea has a nuclear weapons program.