Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Well that's a really tough question. The North Korea question has been a potential flashpoint in the East Asian region for years. I hardly think that by leaving them alone (which the USA seems to be increasingly seeming to do, except on the nuclear issue), they will collapse just like the Soviet Union. North Korea hasn't collapsed on its own after so many years, what makes you think they will now?
Sanctions obviously do not work, if anything, they only give fuel to the propaganda machine for the state to claim that the 'evil' outsiders are oppressing them or something like that. But giving aid isn't really working either, since very little of the aid actually trickles down to the population at all.
Diplomacy as a tool to try and force reform isn't really working, largely because of the division between the negotiating party on the other side. Besides, there is the nuclear issue, which grants North Korea a considerable leveraging tool in any negotiation. Talks to try and disarm them, I believe, will not be of much use, since Kim Jong Il knows that the only thing that he can leverage on is the nuclear arms that he probably has, and he will milk it for all its worth to gain advantage for his position.
After all that doom and gloom of methods that would not work, I tentatively propose something that might, at the very least, inspire some possibility for change in the country.
South Korea, as reported in the news, has been trying to reconcile with its northern neighbour of late. Granted, all the whitewashing of North Korea's human rights abuses and other misdeeds isn't exactly to my taste, but it does offer an avenue for possible change. With the hope that the building of closer ties between North and South Korea, it is entirely possible that democratic influences might find its way into the communist state as a result.
I grant that a close relationship between North and South Korea may be a double-edged sword, since it is entirely possible that subversives from the North may try to undermine the South. It is fragile ground to tread upon, this trying to bridge the gap in North-South relations. But one can hope that if carefully managed, the South can influence the people of the North to agitate for reform and maybe create real possibility for change instead of the stagnant state of affairs that has lasted since the 1950s.
Note that China, itself a communist state, had opened itself, if only marginally and at a gradual pace, to the outside world for economic purposes. Inevitably that has led to some political reform, not much per se, but enough to be slightly encouraging.
North Korea has survived so long as a communist state due to its complete closure to outside influences. If South Korea manages to breach the Hermit Kingdom and show the people in there real hope beyond their circumstances, perhaps there may be cause for change. This is especially true if South Korea supports any possible uprising for change and reform within North Korea itself, should the opportunity arise.
I realise that the whole concept is a little idealistic, but it is a plausible solution, as far as I can tell from my limited point of view. If North Korea is to experience real change, it has to begin with the people themselves. No outside power can just rush in and force change, especially not when the hostile state in question has nuclear arms at its command. I personally don't believe talks will create real improvement in the lives of the ordinary people in North Korea. It might help a little, but not enough to cause real change.
Change has to start from the bottom when the top is unwilling. That's what I think, and that's the best hope for North Koreans too. We from the outside can aid them as much as we can, but real change will have to start from the people themselves. Just my two cents on the topic.
A little thesis on North Korea. Damn I love talking about politics. I just adore regional and international issues. Diplomacy is a fun game. Even if its crazy. Heh. Now, if only I could analyse History topics as well as this....
But the good thing about taking History is that I learnt a lot about what happened before and why. It helps me understand current affairs. Heh. Who says History isn't relevant to the present and the future?
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Sanctions obviously do not work, if anything, they only give fuel to the propaganda machine for the state to claim that the 'evil' outsiders are oppressing them or something like that. But giving aid isn't really working either, since very little of the aid actually trickles down to the population at all.
Diplomacy as a tool to try and force reform isn't really working, largely because of the division between the negotiating party on the other side. Besides, there is the nuclear issue, which grants North Korea a considerable leveraging tool in any negotiation. Talks to try and disarm them, I believe, will not be of much use, since Kim Jong Il knows that the only thing that he can leverage on is the nuclear arms that he probably has, and he will milk it for all its worth to gain advantage for his position.
After all that doom and gloom of methods that would not work, I tentatively propose something that might, at the very least, inspire some possibility for change in the country.
South Korea, as reported in the news, has been trying to reconcile with its northern neighbour of late. Granted, all the whitewashing of North Korea's human rights abuses and other misdeeds isn't exactly to my taste, but it does offer an avenue for possible change. With the hope that the building of closer ties between North and South Korea, it is entirely possible that democratic influences might find its way into the communist state as a result.
I grant that a close relationship between North and South Korea may be a double-edged sword, since it is entirely possible that subversives from the North may try to undermine the South. It is fragile ground to tread upon, this trying to bridge the gap in North-South relations. But one can hope that if carefully managed, the South can influence the people of the North to agitate for reform and maybe create real possibility for change instead of the stagnant state of affairs that has lasted since the 1950s.
Note that China, itself a communist state, had opened itself, if only marginally and at a gradual pace, to the outside world for economic purposes. Inevitably that has led to some political reform, not much per se, but enough to be slightly encouraging.
North Korea has survived so long as a communist state due to its complete closure to outside influences. If South Korea manages to breach the Hermit Kingdom and show the people in there real hope beyond their circumstances, perhaps there may be cause for change. This is especially true if South Korea supports any possible uprising for change and reform within North Korea itself, should the opportunity arise.
I realise that the whole concept is a little idealistic, but it is a plausible solution, as far as I can tell from my limited point of view. If North Korea is to experience real change, it has to begin with the people themselves. No outside power can just rush in and force change, especially not when the hostile state in question has nuclear arms at its command. I personally don't believe talks will create real improvement in the lives of the ordinary people in North Korea. It might help a little, but not enough to cause real change.
Change has to start from the bottom when the top is unwilling. That's what I think, and that's the best hope for North Koreans too. We from the outside can aid them as much as we can, but real change will have to start from the people themselves. Just my two cents on the topic.
A little thesis on North Korea. Damn I love talking about politics. I just adore regional and international issues. Diplomacy is a fun game. Even if its crazy. Heh. Now, if only I could analyse History topics as well as this....
But the good thing about taking History is that I learnt a lot about what happened before and why. It helps me understand current affairs. Heh. Who says History isn't relevant to the present and the future?
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