North Korea: Discussion Post and Responses

Discussion Post

Unfortunately, there is very little hope for the improved treatment of North Korean political prisoners in the near future. Due to the strength of the dictatorship in control of the country and their staunch support from the Chinese government, who have also proven themselves to be severe violators of human rights, it seems there is little momentum toward the necessary domestic and international pressure required to halt such abuses. On a domestic level, there are a number of reasons why significant pressure against the current regime is unlikely to materialize. As Andrei Lankov states, the North Korean government “has survived all challenges thus far. Like it or not, it will probably survive many more challenges to come...Contrary to common assumptions, revolutions do not happen when people are really desperate...Most revolutions have occurred at a time of steady improvement in political freedoms and living standards…” The incredibly suppressive nature of the North Korean dictatorship means that the citizens of the country struggle so greatly for their basic human needs and are so focused on survival that the successful organization of a revolutionary regime is extremely difficult, if not impossible. When any perceived dissent is immediately and violently quashed it makes the formation of a reliable resistance movement practically impossible. As we can see, the North Korean leadership of Kim Jong II has gone to great lengths to ensure the extreme poverty and fear of their citizens, conditions which make serious revolution and political pressure an extremely unlikely development.

Response to Discussion Post 1

The answers to this writer’s questions regarding the reasons why China supports North Korea are complex and numerous. As Max Fisher states, “why does China bother to prop up North Korea, anyway?... There a number of reasons, some of them rational and some not, but China's strategy boils down to these oft-repeated, six little words: No war, no instability, no nukes.” This means that they do not want a war directly on their border, which would lead to instability and refugees and unknown disruptions to the balance of power in the region, but that they also do not want a nuclear North Korea provoking trouble and intervention in the area. Most importantly, it seems that the Chinese government wants to avoid a repeat of the Korean War, where many Chinese lives were lost and western democratic powers almost gained influence over the entire Korean peninsula. This means that they have decided to support the North Korean regime to the fullest extent possible as a means to ensure that their political dominance of the area remains unchallenged. As long as this policy continues, change in North Korea will be extremely unlikely, due to the shelter from international relations provided to the North Korean government by Chinese support.

Response to Discussion Post 2

This writer is quite correct that the current Chinese government is not likely to impose any sort of progressive changes in North Korea. As Jane Perlez states, even recent nuclear testing by the North Korean government only resulted in sanctions from Beijing that the Chinese hoped would be “sufficient to encourage North Korea to return to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearization, but not so harsh that they would cause the North’s collapse.” The fact that North Korean nuclear testing, possibly the most egregious provocation of the Chinese that the North Korean government would consider, was not enough to force any sort of meaningful policy change on the part of China proves that there is unlikely to be a withdrawal of Chinese support in the near future. As long as the Chinese government fears American and particularly western influence over the entirety of the Korean peninsula, they will continue to fully support the North Korean government despite their human rights atrocities.

Works Cited

Fisher, Max. “Why China Still Supports North Korea in Six Little Words.”Washington Post. Web. 21 Feb 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/02/12/why-china-still-supports-north-korea-in-six-little-words/

Lankov, Andrei. "Conditions unripe for North Korea revolt." Asia Times Online. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MK17Dg01.html

Perlez, Jane. "China Says It Won’t Forsake North Korea, Despite Support for U.N. Sanctions." The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/world/asia/china-says-it-will-not-abandon-north-korea.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.