North Korea is a reminder of what much of the world was once
like. Extensive information about conditions there is hard to
come by, but it manages to feed itself only because of the
charity of the rest of the world. It is a hungry nation of
about 23 million people. Millions are thought to have died in
the 1990s from starvation after its farming system collapsed
when the Soviet Union stopped sending aid. Some say one
million; some say as many as three million. About 40 percent
of the population today suffers from malnutrition. More than
$2 billion in food aid has been sent to North Korea in the
past ten years with the United States providing almost a
third of that total.
Politically, it is a one-man-rule country completely under
the control of Kim Jong Il, son of the country's founder who
died in 1994. All public discussion is strictly controlled by
the central government according to policies set by the
ruler. North Korea traces the origins of its people back
thousands of years to a single ancestor, and argues that this
makes them special and superior to others including South
Korea. "No masses in the world are purer and more upright
than our masses," a state magazine wrote last year.
Nonetheless, or perhaps because of its perceived uniqueness,
North Korea engages in various crimes, including
counterfeiting currency and industrial goods.
With all this, North Korea maintains an army of more than 1
million active personnel, and spends close to a third of its
entire national production on its army and weapons
development.
This is the country that gave the world the Scud missile, and
that last week unleashed a nuclear explosion even as it faces
a disastrous harvest that was ravaged by floods, and needs
food from the rest of the world in order for its people to
survive. In July this year, North Korea also test-launched
seven missiles, including one with a range of 4,000
kilometers.
North Korea and its leaders do not follow a rational path in
Western terms.
All this adds up to a serious threat to world peace, and
there was condemnation of North Korea's feat from all sides.
Although North Korea has no territorial ambitions, it has
proven willing to sell its technology to anyone willing to
pay the price. In today's wealthy world, there are too many
with such means.
Nonetheless, no one took any strong action. America is bogged
down in a long and costly war in Iraq that is becoming
increasingly controversial in the United States. US President
George Bush speaks strongly and clearly, but his weak
political position and the existing strain on his military
forces indicate that he may not do much that will force North
Korea to capitulate.
Within a few days of North Korea's atomic bomb test, the UN
Security Council passed a resolution imposing sanctions as
long as North Korea does not give up its development of
nuclear weapons. These include a weapons embargo, and a
"call" for inspections of shipments to and from North Korea
to ensure that they do not export their technology. However
China and Russia insisted that the resolution, "underlines
that further decisions will be required, should additional
measures be necessary." Translation: The resolution does not
authorize the use of military force.
Even so, the key question that remains is how the steps
called for in the resolution will actually be carried out.
China in particular is a major supplier and trade partner of
North Korea. If it decides to press its neighbor, North Korea
will really feel the weight. However so far it has not given
any indication. In diplomatic language, when US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice says, "I'm quite certain that China is
going to live up to its responsibilities," it means quite the
opposite: there is as yet no indication that China will do
anything beyond its UN vote.
Iran is certainly following the events in Asia very
carefully. It is widely believed to be developing nuclear
weapons, and if it sees that North Korea gets away with doing
so, Iran may become more open about its plans. In its
thinking and diplomatic behavior, Iran is also a colleague of
North Korea.
If the US cannot prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to a
rogue state like North Korea, it will be a significant
diplomacy failure for the Bush administration, which has had
little success to offset it.
