North Korea....what to do what to do

[portlandatheist]

Is there any internal opposition there? I'm sure there is plenty in the south and in parts of China. But enough to make any sort of dent in the socio-political atmosphere of the north?

There's been a handful of political assassinations:
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=8714
I don't think there's much of any centralized or organized opposition but access to cell phones, radios, and DVDs are increasing and that could change some day.

 

[angrysoba]

Is there any internal opposition there? I'm sure there is plenty in the south and in parts of China. But enough to make any sort of dent in the socio-political atmosphere of the north?

No. I don't think so.

 

[Cleon]

There's been a handful of political assassinations:
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=8714

I don't know if they're really "political" assassinations. The article doesn't speculate about who did it and why, but it also pointed out that there's a lot of territorial squabbles between various arms of the regime. I think it's more likely this was the result of a conflict between corrupt officials rather than acts by some underground group.

AFAIK, and googling doesn't give me any information to the contrary, there's no substantial opposition to the regime.

 

[portlandatheist]

I don't know if they're really "political" assassinations. The article doesn't speculate about who did it and why, but it also pointed out that there's a lot of territorial squabbles between various arms of the regime. I think it's more likely this was the result of a conflict between corrupt officials rather than acts by some underground group.

AFAIK, and googling doesn't give me any information to the contrary, there's no substantial opposition to the regime.

Well, the note attached to the body said "Punished in the name of the People" according to the article. According to another article, thousands of anti regime fliers were spread in Cheongjin (the same place as the murders/assasinations)
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/01/ask-korean-news-thousands-of-anti.html
I agree that opposition is far and few between but it does exist on a limited scale.

 

[IDB87]

Well, the note attached to the body said "Punished in the name of the People" according to the article.

I don't see how this can't be unrelated to governmental squabbling. If government official A thinks government official B is going against the will of the People, why can't they murder that rival in the name of the People?

 

[portlandatheist]

I don't see how this can't be unrelated to governmental squabbling. If government official A thinks government official B is going against the will of the People, why can't they murder that rival in the name of the People?

True enough, this is nothing more than conjecture after all. From the article:

For the time being North Korean authorities are proceeding under the assumption that it was an act of rebellion against the system instigated with outside help, and are concentrating efforts to find the people responsible. Some harbor suspicions that the murders may be related to continuing border controls and mobile phone signal jamming.

 

[Toontown]

A wedge needs to be driven between China and North Korea. Then, the rift needs to be exploited until the two of them actually come to blows.

And that will be the end of North Korea.

Alternatively, we could secretly conspire with China to artificially create a rift between China and North Korea. Then use the contrived rift and associated grave threats of imminent Chinese invasion to frighten the Northies into the arms of South Korea, thereby reuniting the estranged brothers - a happier outcome, but an even less likely one.

A third alternative would be to sacrifice South Korea to North Korea in a cunning Trojan horse operation. This would need to be done bloodlessly, so that the Northies would suddenly find themselves in possession of an intact economic hot rod. Learning how to drive it will keep them busy for a couple of decades. By then, they will have become capitalists, and be infiltrated by democratic ideas. Advantage: decadent Western pseudo-civilization.

 

[portlandatheist]

A wedge needs to be driven between China and North Korea. Then, the rift needs to be exploited until the two of them actually come to blows.

And that will be the end of North Korea.

Alternatively, we could secretly conspire with China to artificially create a rift between China and North Korea. Then use the contrived rift and associated grave threats of imminent Chinese invasion to frighten the Northies into the arms of South Korea, thereby reuniting the estranged brothers - a happier outcome, but an even less likely one.

A third alternative would be to sacrifice South Korea to North Korea in a cunning Trojan horse operation. This would need to be done bloodlessly, so that the Northies would suddenly find themselves in possession of an intact economic hot rod. Learning how to drive it will keep them busy for a couple of decades. By then, they will have become capitalists, and be infiltrated by democratic ideas. Advantage: decadent Western pseudo-civilization.

I think a wedge is already developing although its a small wedge. China openly disapproves of NK's missile launch plan and they recently repatriated some refugees to South Korea which is highly unusual (but they've also just recently repatriated others back to North Korea). China is getting some heat about the refugee situation and that heat needs to intensify drastically. It would make a drastic difference if North Koreans could find escape to China.

 

[portlandatheist]

More murders in North Korea:
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/04/ask-korean-news-serial-murders-of-north.html
Lots of speculation, but I find it pretty interesting.

 

[trustbutverify]

That is an amazing story, all things considered.

 

[portlandatheist]

That is an amazing story, all things considered.

It truly is. The nature of the attacks is also interesting: being murdered via stones and axes. This suggests that the murders were carried out by commoners as opposed to political infighting by the more connected who have access to better methods of murder.

 

[trustbutverify]

Good point. Also, the piece claims that the murder of lower level officials is much more common. Combined with past reports describing problems the regime had in making the state funeral "mourners" tow the line. Something strange is happening in NK.

 

[Darth Rotor]

I don't know if this belongs in the USA Politics thread or here (it concerns the US to an extent, but in relation to N.Korea, so Mods move if you wish)

I am kinda at my wits end about North Korea. The people are starving to death, their leadership is nuts, and China isn't doing much but holding the leash.

Here's one way to stop losing sleep.

1. How many people are on planet Earth? ______________ (Fill in number)
2. How many live in North Korea? ______________ (Fill in number)
3. If everyone in North Korea starves to death, (no, I don't want that to happen ... ) what percentage of humans will be dead?
4. Is that a significant loss?

To check the validity of your conclusion in step 4, compare it to the population of Earth in year 1960.

To check the applicability of this method, substitute India, United States of America, Indonesia, and France for North Korea. Then do the sums.

You'll be snoring in no time.

 

[McHrozni]

More murders in North Korea:
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/04/ask-korean-news-serial-murders-of-north.html
Lots of speculation, but I find it pretty interesting.

These could also be political assasinations directly related to the recent transfer of power. I hope they are geniune acts of resistence though.

McHrozni

 

[Toontown]

Here's one way to stop losing sleep.

1. How many people are on planet Earth? ______________ (Fill in number)
2. How many live in North Korea? ______________ (Fill in number)
3. If everyone in North Korea starves to death, (no, I don't want that to happen ... ) what percentage of humans will be dead?
4. Is that a significant loss?

To check the validity of your conclusion in step 4, compare it to the population of Earth in year 1960.

To check the applicability of this method, substitute India, United States of America, Indonesia, and France for North Korea. Then do the sums.

You'll be snoring in no time.

I was already snoring...

 

[Nosi]

Nope, just a rascal.

And Anti-Idiocy. That, of course, includes North Korea, Israel, Iran, the US, etc.
But that does not mean that I would prefer to bomb anyone, as a Dictatorship would like to do to their declared enemies, no matter if there's a real threat or not.

USA has more rascals, wise arses, and smack talkers than the rest of the planet. People make a good living cracking wise at their leaders. Celebrity roasts targeting our leaders while the leader is right there listening would be so far beyond unheard of to North Koreans as to be Martian drinking rituals.

No, there's very little in common between N Korea and the USA.

 

[Nosi]

What to do? How about ignore it? The North Korean situation has absolutely nothing to do with my country or myself.

If there was actual genocide I could be inclined to call for intervention...but my country routinely doesn't strongly intervene in genocidal situations. Ignore Burma...ignore The Congo...ignore Rwanda...and suddenly intervene in North Korea? For internal abuses and strife that are nowhere near leading to the death toll in the priors? Where's the logic of reason for intervention?

South Korean students are doing something I highly recomend. They are sending air baloons to N Korea with loads of notes telling their Northern Kin that life isn't as they are being told in the outside world. The notes in winter are joined by warm socks. They help the common man while frying the Kim's rice.

 

[portlandatheist]

South Korean students are doing something I highly recomend. They are sending air baloons to N Korea with loads of notes telling their Northern Kin that life isn't as they are being told in the outside world. The notes in winter are joined by warm socks. They help the common man while frying the Kim's rice.

I wholeheartedly agree. The crack in the iron curtain is becoming much wider with North Koreans gaining increasing access to illegal cell phones that can hit Chinese towers, illegal DVDs, foreign currencies etc. With these cracks in place, it makes the propaganda machine much more difficult to function.