How long until North Korea blows the world up?
North Korea fired several short-range missiles yesterday. It’s not the first time, and it’s probably not the last time either.
I’m intrigued by North Korea. It’s the place I would most like to visit, but to do so would require a lot of luck and a not unsubstantial amount of money. Foreign visits to North Korea are rare, but possible. Those who do manage to gain permission to visit the country are treated to a (permanently) guided tour with strict rules and regulations. You can’t go anywhere on your own and your movements are strictly monitored. There are no lights at night and people have no curtains in their houses.
North Korea has the third or fourth (depending on what you read) largest standing army in the world. It is a country completely isolated from everybody else, seemingly built on a desire to remain that way. North Korea is dangerous, and yet it is one of the most interesting countries on earth. I hope to go there some day, and I looked into it once, but I don’t think I would be accepted for the tourist programme given my (loose) connections with the media.
After the Second World War, Korea was divided in two, with the Soviet Union controlling the northern part and America controlling the southern. You can see where the problems began Kim Il-sung led North Korea from 1948 until 1994, at which point power passed onto his son, Kim Jong-il, who remains in control until this day.
There is only one political party in North Korea (the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland) and the country spends $5 billion on its military every year (20% of its GDP!). You get the impression that one day North Korea will blow the world up. It is capable of producing nuclear weapons, although as of yet it is unable to attach them to missiles.
Yesterday’s missile launch was typically offbeat for North Korea given the current six-party talks. It is a country that seems to crave the world’s attention. Last year’s launch of both short- and long-range missiles had the world transfixed with the peculiar nation for a short time. The testing of a nuclear device was another surprise that came out of the blue.
It’s interesting to see that Japan has reacted calmly to North Korea’s actions. Perhaps the firing of missiles into the Sea of Japan was designed to provoke, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quick to downplay the event. Similarly, South Korea said the missiles were nothing more than a part of a military drill; and this is what the world’s media is reporting. The USA also refused to place any significance on the missiles.
North Korea is supposed to be giving up its nuclear weapons programme, but a dispute with a bank in Macau has stalled the process. One hopes that when this dispute is resolve the North Koreans will comply with international demands. If not, and if these surprise tests continue, it’s anybody’s guess what will happen next.
Perhaps North Korea just wanted to say “Hi” on the same day that South Korea launched its first navy destroyer. “We cannot preserve peace unless we have the ability to do so,” said Roh Moo-hyun, the South Korean president. (Al Jazeera) I guess that’s the ironic world we live in: you can’t preserve peace unless you have the ability to destroy mankind.
The six-party talks continue and at the moment there is nothing to worry about, but there is always that unpredictable edge with North Korea. We will have to wait see.
Techno’ tags: North Korea
May 25th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
It is not too difficult to think what might happen in the East Asia region. It could start with a conflict between North and South Korea.
The reaction of the Japanese Prime Minister was sensible; to deal with an aggressive country, he needs to be more methodical and logical.
According to Monocle Magazine issue 1, Japan, at the same time, has one of the best-equipped military forces in the world. Last year, the country spent many trillions on soldiers, sailors and airmen, an annual budget exceedeed only by the States and China.
North Korea’s neigbouring countries, in my view, want to sort out the issue of the unknown country in a peacful way. It is just a good thing to be nice to each other. Don’t you agree?
May 26th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
No lights at night and no curtains on windows! Is that really true?
May 26th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Nuke ‘em! Nuke ‘em! Nuke ‘em first! Before they nuke us!!! LOL
May 27th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I have visited North Korea twice. On my second trip, I noticed that quite a few of the houses that I saw in the capital DID have curtains. I’m not sure where you got the impression that they don’t. In fact, on the outskirts of Pyongyang, there is the Suk-koo Curtain Factory. It employs more than 13,000 workers, according to the statistics offered by our guide. But you are right: Korea was divided in two at the end of the Second World War. But you forgot to add: by the United States.
May 27th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
AH OK, I stand corrected. I had read a report written by someone who visited NK in which he said that none of the houses had curtains.