JK: In the entire span of human history, only a handful of regimes have ever descended to the depths of depravity, callousness, and deliberate, consitent infliction of human suffering one sees in North Korea. In this interim briefing by RK of The Marmot's Hole, we focus on the true nature of the evil North Korean regime, and the human consequences of its continued existence. Contemplating this topic may or may not change our policies - we may not have many alternatives. But at least we will then be making our choices consciously, and giving the regime's victims a voice instead of ignoring them as an inconvenience.
Concentration Camps
* I guess we should start off with the infamous Camp 22 report. According to a documentary ran on the BBC, North Korea may be testing chemical weapons on its own political prisoners. Also check out the Guardian account. Just to give you some idea of what we're talking about:
'I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber,' he said. 'The parents, son and and a daughter. The parents were vomiting and dying, but till the very last moment they tried to save kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing.' Hyuk has drawn detailed diagrams of the gas chamber he saw. He said: 'The glass chamber is sealed airtight. It is 3.5 metres wide, 3m long and 2.2m high_ [There] is the injection tube going through the unit. Normally, a family sticks together and individual prisoners stand separately around the corners. Scientists observe the entire process from above, through the glass.'* Barry Briggs discusses the whole gas chamber affair in "Barry Talks: Access to Evil, as does Mike over at Seeing Eye Blog in "Human Hands, Scratching The Window From The Inside." * Be sure to read through Anne Applebaum's Washington Post piece "Auschwitz Under Our Noses." And while you're at it, be sure to read Al Maviva's post on Applebaum's piece over at SashaCastel.com. Nobody cares about the Norks - well, sometimes it sure seems that way. * BTW, I should point out that I'm a little skeptical of the Beeb report * We may, or may not, have gotten hold of some video footage of the North's Yodeok Prison Camp. Also check out the permanent video links over at Free North Korea! Complicity * Despite North Korea's lack of public appeal, not everyone thinks it's such a crappy place. Check out Michael Moynihan's discussion of Bruce Cumings in "Revisionism at The Times" (and don't miss Flying Yangban's take on Cumings while you're at it). * In addition, Jack Pritchard of the Washington Post was apparently quite taken with Kim Jong-il's Potemkin village. Shades of Walter Duranty. * Then, of course, there's fellow-traveler Irwin Oostindie, who seems to be in a class all his own. In this company, that's saying something. Cruelty * There's no shortage of extremely disturbing defector testimony concerning the situation in North Korea, vid. this post over at my blog: Defectors tell of cannibalism, lost families, misused ash trees. * This Washington Post piece covers the life of abuse that awaits female North Korean refugees in China. * The Infidel, however, argues for a "moratorium on all such articles" -- read why. * It goes without saying that those interested in North Korean human rights should be reading Free North Korea! and Nkzone religiously. Consequences * The Infidel reminds us to keep our minds on the big picture.
In the entire span of human history, only a handful of regimes have ever descended to the depths of depravity, callousness, and deliberate, consitent infliction of human suffering one sees in North Korea.
Not true.
***
There was a NYT Magazine article (I believe) interviewing North Korean escapees who had made it to South Korea. Fascinating, lots of human-interest stories and life under the regime.
It's quite possible that the NYT's Nicholas Kristof has written about N. Korea as well.
Dear The Marmot's Hole:
The Infidel's point is well made--what is to be done? There are only so many alternatives:
These alternatives are either reprehensible, ineffective, unlikely, unappealing or all four.
SPF, just what the fuck are you talking about? I would have even thought the DPRK would be a contener for the #1 slot, even about the Nazis.
Dave Schuler,
The reason I am a fan of the six-party formate is that all of those nations have different agendas and ideas on how to deal with the Norks. One nation might try the first idea you listen, another might try the second, and so on.
One important aspect of the six-party format is that it makes it more difficult for the Norks to play the regional actors against each other.
Thanks for the linky-love Mr. Marmot. Much appreciated.
My old man was a Korean War vet. A couple years in the combat zone pretty much broke his health, and he died pretty young, just past 60 years of age. I'd hate to think that the measure of life he poured out - and that other vets poured out on the penninsula - was in vain.
Best thing to do, IMHO, is oppose NK with everything we have at hand, and keep the issue in front of the voters and the press. Kim is nervous because he thinks Bush means business. See, e.g. Ghadaffi. I believe that's why he is cage-rattling right now. As Hamlet pointed out in one of his soliloquies, sometimes we can end troubles merely by standing up firmly and opposing them. Of course Hamlet screwed things up by trying to hatch a plot with a clear exit strategy, when simply confronting the king openly, and making temporary league with his enemy the Pole would have been sufficient. We can do a similar thing with the help of China - though I'm not sure what we can do with the cloying, peacenik leftist South Korean government. How un-Korean they are...
Right, that's what makes me wonder about why the Bush Administration hid the news about the NK nuke program til after the Iraq vote in 2002.
Love to hear about it.
Lyndon, what color is the sky in your world? I've been reading up on the Norks' nuclear weapons program since the early '90s, even before that idiot Carter cut the ill-fated deal in '94. You saying that the mianstream press was shelving the story on NK's nuke program to benefit Bush? Set the crack-pipe down & step away from the keyboard, please.