Good for the Seoul?

As the dust and the dollars settle from the purported North Korean hack of Sony Pictures by reason of the insulting depiction their Dear Leader, Kim Jong-Un, the international sore spot continues to embarrass and fester. The only reason North Korea (formally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – the D.P.R.K.) is able to exist is because the last thing the People’s Republic of China wants is a reunited Korea under Southern control, placing a staunch U.S./Western ally directly on their border. Indeed, even as international sanctions press the North, it still has a fairly open trading border with China.

But it’s hard to treat Mr. Kim as the leader of a sovereign nation with respect given his cruelty, his antics, his hedonism and his erratic behavior. As much as he is a joke in The Interview, he is a bigger, but potentially lethal, joke to the rest of the world. Even as China openly decried America’s disrespectful treatment of a chief of state – China clings to the notion that all content and speech from any nation is completely within the control of the state – they were increasingly open about their frustration with the North Korean leader.

This past December, Lt. Gen. Wang Hongguang, a former deputy commander of an important military region, wrote these scathing words  in a state-run newspaper this month and then posted on an official People’s Liberation Army website: “‘China has cleaned up the D.P.R.K.'s mess too many times,’ General Wang wrote in The Global Times… But it doesn’t have to do that in the future.’

“Of the government in North Korea, he said: ‘If an administration isn’t supported by the people, ‘collapse’ is just a matter of time.’ Moreover, North Korea had violated the spirit of the mutual defense treaty with China, he said, by failing to consult China on its nuclear weapons program, which has created instability in Northeast Asia.’…

“How widespread his views have become within the military establishment is difficult to gauge, but a Chinese official who is closely involved in China’s diplomacy with North Korea said that General Wang’s disparaging attitude was more prevalent in the Chinese military today than in any previous period.

“‘General Wang’s views really reflect the views of many Chinese — and within the military views are varied,’ said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Relations between the North Korean and Chinese militaries have never been close even though they fought together during the Korean War, the official said. The two militaries do not conduct joint exercises and remain wary of each other, experts say.” New York Times, December 20^th. A former general does not write openly against a nominal ally… unless Beijing has sanctioned that article.

Just looking at Kim, sporting his family’s notorious corpulence at a fairly young age, you might guess that he, like his forebears, is a heavy smoker, drinker and indulger in lots of vice-driven excess. There are even rumors of drug abuse. Gallons of the most expensive whiskies and champagnes are purported to be consumed by Kim and his bevy of hard-partying cronies and invited beauties at a single event (and apparently there are lots of “events”). He obsesses with Western films and appears to be the most self-indulgent leader in the world.

As Kim-buddy, Dennis Rodman, was interviewed in connection with an upcoming documentary about his visit (with some Harlem Globetrotters) to the North, he broke down in sobs. “‘Really what am I doing?,’ he says through tears. ‘And it's like, 'Don't you know that that he just killed his uncle and chopped off his head?' And I said 'No I didn't know that, what?!' 'Don't you know he killed people a lot?' 'No I don't know that. Do we in America? Yeah! What?!' Why am I doing it?’ he said… ‘I'm not Martin Luther King ... if someone wanted to shoot me, please, do it today,’ he begs.” AOL.com, January 22^nd. Perhaps the death threats he has received are real.

This country of about 24 million sports the largest army on earth (with 9 million regulars and irregulars), is a nuclear power with missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload, has some of the worst ground and water pollution anywhere, and boasts one of the most horrific accumulations of prison and political internment camps on earth. Because of the State’s complete control of all media and communications, Kim’s people really believe he is the most powerful man in the world, a savior for all that is good and able to defeat any nation that challenges him. Unaware of the outside world, the vast majority of North Koreans still worship him.

To understand the depths of Kim Jon-Un’s cruelty, let me leave you with this little snippet from Wikipedia: “The internment camps for people accused of political offences or denounced as politically unreliable are run by the State Security Department. Political prisoners are subject to guilt by association punishment. They are deported with parents, children and siblings, and sometimes even grandparents or grandchildren, without any lawsuit or conviction, and are detained for the rest of their lives.

“The internment camps are located in central and northeastern North Korea. They comprise many prison labour colonies in secluded mountain valleys, completely isolated from the outside world. The total number of prisoners is estimated to be 150,000 to 200,000.Yodok camp and Bukchang camp are separated into two sections: One section for political prisoners in lifelong detention, another part similar to re-education camps with prisoners sentenced to long-term imprisonment with the vague hope of eventual release.

“The prisoners are forced to perform hard and dangerous slave work with primitive means in mining and agriculture. The food rations are very small, so that the prisoners are constantly on the brink of starvation. In combination with the hard work this leads to huge numbers of prisoners dying. An estimated 40% of prisoners die from malnutrition.

“Moreover many prisoners are crippled from work accidents, frostbite or torture. There is a rigid punishment in the camp. Prisoners that work too slowly or do not obey an order are beaten or tortured. In case of stealing food or attempting to escape, the prisoners are publicly executed.

“Initially there were around twelve political prison camps, but some were merged or closed (e. g. Onsong prison camp, Kwan-li-so No. 12, following a suppressed riot with around 5000 dead people in 1987). Today there are six political prison camps in North Korea, with the size determined from satellite images and the number of prisoners estimated by former prisoners. Most of the camps are documented in testimonies of former prisoners and, for all of them, coordinates and satellite images are available.” This rogue nation is a blot on all humanity, but will it collapse of its own vileness or drag its cruelty for many years to come?

I’m Peter Dekom, and in the mire of humor and the big joke lies one of the worst examples of political vileness on earth.