North Korea Assails World Opinion
Belligerent, Combative Behavior Symptomatic of Inner Turmoil
May 26, 2009
As an anxious world looks on, North Korea continues to exhibit childish outbursts of rage and anger. The country's latest underground detonation of a powerful nuclear device this past Memorial Day is just one in a series of such provocations.
Understandably, nervous neighbors like South Korea and Japan watch these latest events with a wary eye. And while the potential for a North Korean nuclear missle launch capable of reaching U.S. soil appears slight at this time, President Obama has quickly condemned these latest acts as wholly unacceptable.
To the world at large, such turmoil and unrest raises perplexing questions of exactly why this nation of an estimated 25 million people chooses to stubbornly pursue its highly suspect nuclear ambitions.
North Korean Saber-Rattling Symptomatic of Internal Political Strife
According to Bill Clinton in "Bill Clinton: Internal Politics Drive North Korea", an article appearing in The America's Intelligence Wire on May 18, 2009, whenever individuals "who have power in a closed society have any concerns about losing it" internal politics will generally tend to deteriorate.
Kim Jon Il, North Korea's diminutive playboy leader, was groomed for leadership more than fourteen years prior to his father's death in 1994. Kim is credited with the development of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, according to a profile appearing in a June 9, 2000 BBC News account.
Kim adheres to the philosophy of Juche, meaning self-reliance. His birth was reportedly marked by the appearance of twin rainbows and a bright star. Although he is said to have written several operas, and is hailed by the North Korean media as a great leader, there are persistent rumors that Kim also engineered two deadly terrorist attacks against South Korea in the 1980's.
Poverty Said to be Number One Reason for North Korean Defections
"Poverty is the main reason for North Koreans to escape their communist Homeland," is the assertion made in an article entitled "Poverty Cited as No. 1 Reason for North Korean Defections", which appeared in Asia-Pulse News on December 6, 2004.
As one might expect from such an impoverished, unstable country like North Korea, an estimated 55% of those who have defected to South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953 have done so as a means of escaping the debilitating effects of abject poverty, according to Asia-Pulse News accounts.
Surprisingly, though, less than 10% of defecting North Koreans attribute their decision to risk everything to the fear of government persecution. The desire to simply escape a hopeless life of poverty in a country whose leader extols the virtues of self-reliance, while at the same time exhibiting total unconcern for its citizens, seems to outweigh even the very real prospects of death at the hands of a repressive government.
Cautious, Measured Response Considered as Response to Disruptive Conduct
Efforts on the part of both the United States and the United Nations have so far failed to deter a determined and out-of-control regime. Because of the undeniable dangers posed by Kim Il acting in his own self-interest rather than on behalf of a consensual governing body, the natural human tendency is to sound the alarm at the rogue nation's every move.
While the world's democratic nations must undoubtedly remain vigilant and mindful of the actions of such an unpredictable leader, those same countries would do well to also guard against such over-reaction. The problem for countries seeking to avoid a possible escalation of tensions may thus be found in their efforts to strike a delicate and precarious balance between restraint and censure.
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