RE: Nuclear threat from North Korea
March 7, 2016 at 8:52 pm
(This post was last modified: March 7, 2016 at 8:57 pm by Anomalocaris.)
No, his hole is getting deeper. The depth of his hole is measured by the gap in standard of living between North Korea and both China and South Korea. Ultimately that is the most persistent and insidious source of instability for the regime.
In the early days of North Korea, North Korea actually enjoyed higher standard of living then both China and South Korea. There was actually a grain of truth to regime propaganda that South Korea was a calitalist hell under US imperial domination where the people were worse off than in North Korea, and Kim regime certainly delivered better standard of living to its people than had been managed by Its ideological fellows in China. In late 1960s and early 1970s, South Korea surpassed North Korea and begin to take off. But news of that condition can be camouflaged through the lenses of ongoing hostility on the 38th parallel. In the 1980-1990s, China surpassed North Korea and began to take off. It became harder for the regime to disguise its own inadequacy.
The regime responded by renouncing traditional Marxist communism, and began to emphasize a new ideology based on xenophobic autarchy and worship of the Kim regime, partly to avoid comparison with its northern neighbor.
But North Korea has not been able to close itself off from China completely, especially because the amount of refugee traffic flowing out of North Korea to escape famine and its dependency on trade with China.
Despite efforts of the regime, the awareness of north korea's inadaqucy in providing for its people next to each and everyone of its neighbors is penetrating increasingly deeply through North Korea.
This is the hole that is getting ever deeper.
When Chinese communist regime found itself In the same predictment, it was smart enough to realize what it needed to do to dig out. It didn't dig Itself out by threatening the US with its nuclear weapons. Kim didn't even have to Do anything new to dig out. He only needed to look north. He didn't. He is not a smart player, just a power mad one who isn't really all that clear about how much power he really has in the real grand scheme of things.
In the early days of North Korea, North Korea actually enjoyed higher standard of living then both China and South Korea. There was actually a grain of truth to regime propaganda that South Korea was a calitalist hell under US imperial domination where the people were worse off than in North Korea, and Kim regime certainly delivered better standard of living to its people than had been managed by Its ideological fellows in China. In late 1960s and early 1970s, South Korea surpassed North Korea and begin to take off. But news of that condition can be camouflaged through the lenses of ongoing hostility on the 38th parallel. In the 1980-1990s, China surpassed North Korea and began to take off. It became harder for the regime to disguise its own inadequacy.
The regime responded by renouncing traditional Marxist communism, and began to emphasize a new ideology based on xenophobic autarchy and worship of the Kim regime, partly to avoid comparison with its northern neighbor.
But North Korea has not been able to close itself off from China completely, especially because the amount of refugee traffic flowing out of North Korea to escape famine and its dependency on trade with China.
Despite efforts of the regime, the awareness of north korea's inadaqucy in providing for its people next to each and everyone of its neighbors is penetrating increasingly deeply through North Korea.
This is the hole that is getting ever deeper.
When Chinese communist regime found itself In the same predictment, it was smart enough to realize what it needed to do to dig out. It didn't dig Itself out by threatening the US with its nuclear weapons. Kim didn't even have to Do anything new to dig out. He only needed to look north. He didn't. He is not a smart player, just a power mad one who isn't really all that clear about how much power he really has in the real grand scheme of things.
