OpEd:
The Marginalization of North Korea
June 29, 2009 by Kyle BradyTags: America, China, DPRK, Economy, North Korea, Politics, War
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North Korea, Kim Jong-Il specifically, is known for its blustery antics in the world theater, and the past few months have not been unique. The anti-Western rhetoric and threats of war tend to come at times when North Korea needs something it can’t provide for itself: food, money, or other forms of aid. The country itself is very poor, and the people outside of the military have a restricted and stringent existence, even compared to other totalitarian regimes.
Theirs is a culture of extreme disinformation where the United States is an “imperialist regime” interested in adding their country to a roster of conquered peoples, any so-called “journalism” is state sponsored and controlled, and their military might is both considerable and formidable. In reality, Kim Jong-Il has succeeded in only embarrassing himself militarily, proving time and time again anything more than short range missiles are beyond their technological reach, especially after having a satellite launch fail spectacularly in the public eye. Still the tirades against the American way of life continue, most recently celebrating the anniversary of the Korean War while openly threatening to bring war to the Western World – the American military believes a long-range missile may be launched towards Hawaii on July 4th as “test”, and is acting proactively no matter how laughable the threat.
In the past, sanctions have been imposed only half-heartedly, as North Korea toys with the idea of nuclear weaponry and the sale of such munitions to other unfriendly parties, with aid eventually being given in exchange for concessions – likely what they wanted in the first place. This time, however, things may be different: China is actively decrying the actions of their Korean neighbor. China and Russia have long given North Korea the blind eye, with Russia often encouraging their communist brethren – but China is now interacting heavily with this problem country in terms of trade, and perhaps due to extra scrutiny from outside eyes, are interested more in their own red state future than needling bothersome Americans via proxy.
All seemed to be progressing as best as could be expected, considering the circumstances, until last week – the United Nations was once again criticizing North Korea, America and her allies declared embargoes as well as intentions to inspect ships if necessary, and, as previously stated, China publicly sided with the rest of the world. Kim Jong-Il had the attention he wanted, but perhaps not the intended results since no aid was forthcoming. But due to a slew of celebrity deaths in America, Michael Jackson in particular, and the potential revolution in Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea largely faded from the public eye.
This is, as shown by numerous occasions throughout modern history, quite dangerous. All out war is not to be desired with the DPRK: the Western Allies are decidedly superior in military prowess, and could likely end any conflict via air support only, but disaster would undoubtedly ensue as South Korea, Japan, and potentially even China receive military strikes in one form or another, destabilizing the entire region. The DMZ in Korea remains a particularly hostile location, but armed conflict hasn’t been seen in decades despite almost constant threats - the U.N., American Presidents, and other international leaders have all acquiesced to demands of aid for fear of military retaliation over the years, all at times where North Korea had appeared to fade from all modern global relevance.
Once again, the DPRK seems to have faded quietly into the political background, only a few short days after threatening war on one of the most powerful countries in the world. This, perhaps, is not the best place for the global media to be placing such stories, since Kim Jong-Il is nothing if not attention hungry. Less than a week remains until July 4th, where actions will speak louder than words – will North Korea launch a weapon, targeting a region within the borders of the United States? If so, will such a launch even be successful, thanks to their proven three-state rocket booster failures?
Time will tell whether or not the ailing dictator will try to be remembered with a memorable final-days military conflict against his most hated enemy, but America is ready – it’s not as if such an attack would be a surprise, either calendrically or technologically.
Kyle can be found on Twitter and MySpace, or reached via email.
