North Korea

[chibi_chibi_tsukino]

The North Korea government lets the people starve, has 200,000 prisoners in concentration camps and access to nuclear weapons. It's just disgraceful. Theoretically I would support a war against North Korea, because - unlike Iraq - things really can't get much worse to begin with. But in this day and age nobody has the money to do it, the US is nearly bankrupt and so is Europe. Maybe the food deal between NK and the US is going to do some good? What do you think could/should be done?

[hrtbrk]

One of our clients went traveling to North Korea a few years ago and they had an awesome time. There are so many misconceptions, due to the unknown, and it would be upsetting to just go in and bomb/kill these people for no reason other than 'it couldn't get much worse.'

 

They still go to work, have families, and live a similar life to you and myself. Sure, they have to live under different rules and customs but every country has their own ideals (admittedly, some more than others).

 

I think it's sad that they have to trade food for nuclear weapons, but if they truthfully are going to use the food to feed the people of DPRK, than hopefully it works out. Change will come for those people, for the better.

[Emily]

Let me say firstly that you have taken much of this "information" out of context, and secondly, it's slightly ignorant to state that you would support a war in which a) you have no stake and b ) you don't know all the facts and circumstances.

 

The "letting people starve" that you suggest the government is impartial about is actually the result of economic decline that began in the years following WWII. The country was reaching the end of it's economic and industrial expansion and, coupled with the radical shift in oil prices beginning in the early 1970's, North Korea could no longer rely on it's steel production and minining industries to stabilize the economy. Attempts were made to conduct market-economy reforms, but by the early 1980s, the country was forced to choose between maintaining the welfare of it's people or repaying international loans. Based on the ideology that the Korean people are the masters of the country's development, the government decided to repay international loans to relieve unwanted tension between North Korea and international lenders.

 

After the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991, North Korea was left with only China as an economic ally. Without the financial aid of the Soviet empire, the economy fell into even more rapid deterioration, leading to more widespread famine.

 

Reports of "concentration camps" are "unconfirmed reports of repression involving people in public and private religious activities." May I remind you that this occurs in nearly every nation in the world? The Republican party in the U.S has a platform based in Catholic religious traditions that, effectively, marginalizes many minority religions and culture (same sex marriage, abortion, contraception laws, just to name a few). Might I also remind you that many nations in the world, including the United States, are in posession of nuclear weapons? The decision by North Korea to announce their arms is a tactical maneouver, a scare tactic to (hopefully) deter attack on the country (as you are proposing).

 

Yes, things can get worse. With allys as strong as China, a war with North Korea could very much be the beginning of a third World War, and, with the advanced technologies we have (including those nuclear weapons), it is likely we would see catastophes that would render every other war in history minimal in comparison.

 

U.S aid is a start, but it was severely reduced under the Bush administration between 2001 and 2004. Since then, agricultural production within North Korea has increased, so there is hope for internal solutions as well.

 

For some reason, the Western notion seems to be that other countries we deem "less developed" than us require and want out interference. This is not only extremely arrogant, but also untrue, as evidenced recently with Egypt's response to the proposal of American intervention during their "revolution" of the last few years. I will never understand why Westerners think it's acceptable to go into countries whose cultre and ways of life we don't understand and tell them how to live.

 

War is never good. It caters to rich, abandons the poor, causes enourmous casualties and solves very little. Next time, please do your research before spouting sensationalist claims.

[Kaana]

I'm just gonna say thank you to Emily and hrtbrk. While I never thought things were as bad in Korea as the OP, I also never knew all of the history and reasons behind Korea's downfall. Thank you for removing a bit of ignorance.

 

(So, basically the "like"s I can't give right now)