BigWill,

As much as I disagree with you on some of your other points (so, you're saying you DON'T like John Kerry, right?), I think you're right on in your assessment of N. Korea and Kim Jong-il. Not to sound all pretentious, but I grew up in Korea and I believe I have an intimate understanding of the Korean culture and their way of thinking. Will, you're right--a lot of what the North Koreans are doing is posturing and bluffing. In a way, you have to respect the political savvy of both South and North Korean leadership. In all fairness, the Korean peninsula should be a colony of either China, Russia, Japan, or the U.S. at this point, but the fact that such a small country has been able to survive through so much war and takeover with a very distinct culture still intact is a reflection of the political prowess of leaders like Park Chung-hee and his successors in the South and Kim Il-sung and his son, Kim Jong-il in the North. What they've lacked in military might (relative to the surrounding world powers), they've made up in political savvy.

North Korea is motivated by one thing only--survival--in particular the surivival of the regime of Kim Jong-il. Unlike Islamic fanatics, they have no goal to take over the rest of the world, and they are not self-destructive. In fact, the country's national "religion" is called "Juche," which translates as "self-reliance."

My personal belief is that you have to treat North Korea much like we treated the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Continue to help protect South Korea, and pressure other countries, especially China, through economic and trade policies to continue to pressure North Korea to change its ways. Like the U.S.S.R., as North Korea's economy continues to detiorate, the government will naturally collapse as a result--maybe not until Kim Jong-il dies, but it is just a matter of time. However, and this is very important in Korean culture, we have to continue to let North Korea know that we're still the toughest, baddest S.O.B. on the block, and that they don't have a shot against us. At the same time, we also have to still be willing to aid the North Korean people through food and medical relief if they're willing to disarm. Perhaps tell them they have to let inspectors in if they want relief, not because we believe they'll actually honor the agreement, but because it allows more Western influence to infiltrate their culture. You see, the North Koreans are totally in the dark as far as the rest of the world is concerned. The more aware they are of their own backwardness and the great success of democracy and capitalism in South Korea, the more unwilling they're going to be to keep putting up with the current state of affairs. I know several Americans who are now living in North Korea (which would've been unthinkable ten years ago), and they can attest to this. Already, North Korea is opening up more than we could ever imagine.

I'm not at all worried about North Korea actually using nukes. They will NEVER use them, because they know that would be suicide. I am a lot more worried about North Korea selling them in secret to some nutty Islamic terrorist group. That's the real issue that has to be tackled.


Fight on 'SC! Three-Pete Baby!