Korean Job Discussion Forums

[seosan08]

The Trouble with North Korea
by James Na
December 9th, 2008

http://www.dprkstudies.org/

The trouble with North Korea is that nobody wants it � except the current ruling elite of North Korea itself.

In a previous post, I rather immodestly predicted that, should the Kim regime collapse in North Korea, a military junta backed by China would emerge, resulting in a Burma-ization of North Korea. I further speculated that in an increasingly Sinicized North Korea, the lot of ordinary North Koreans would be bleak.

I have given some further consideration to this topic and present additional thoughts below for a discussion.

Let�s examine the position and motivation of each external actor involved in �the North Korean problem.� First, the United States. By now, it is clear that neither the outgoing Republican administration nor the incoming Democratic one is serious about North Korea. With Iraq, Afghanistan, other aspects of the War on Terror and the latest economic malaise occupying the attention, North Korea would not even register as a serious policy issue but for its nuclear arsenal. Because of this, I suspect that Washington would not object to Chinese domination of North Korea provided the Chinese disarmed the North Korean nuclear arsenal in return.

It would not be too far-fetched to assume that many in Washington want the North Korean problem to simply go away and will make extraordinary concessions (to principle, mostly) to make this happen.

Ah, but what about the small, but vocal and occasionally effective (but generally ineffectual) human rights lobby in Washington? More on that below.......................

http://www.dprkstudies.org/

[caniff]

Washington won't lift a finger if China steps in and takes over NK. Neither would anyone else, including SK.

It will eventually happen, bank on it.

[Ilsanman]

Sk has botched the NK issue from the beginning. They deserve to lose it. The thing is, China doesn't deserve to gain it.

[caniff]

[Jandar]

I wouldn't mind trading the north and the south for Taiwan and Tibet.

I'd cave on Tibet if they jail the President of Hyundai.

[JMO]

Nobody wants it? What about the homosexual elite that rule the planet?

[Jandar]