Nuclear Blackmail, North Korean Style

Looks like the only thing a poor country, or a country in deep economical problems, has to do to turn things around and get all major powers striving to come up with a solution —which in the case I am talking about is recognition, non-aggression treaty and, most important of all, economical aid— is to publicly say it is going to build a nuclear bomb or that is in the process to do it. That is the case of North Korea, of course.

All major countries are working to find a solution to the actual situation. A Russian envoy to North Korea, sent to try to persuade (diffuse) the North Koreans from their endeavors, has catalogued it’s mission as ‘successful’. Their three part plan consists on:

…nuclear-free status for the Korean peninsula, and written security guarantees and a humanitarian and economic aid package for the impoverished North…

— MSNBC

Well, nuclear-free Korean peninsula is fine. You do not want such powerful weapons on the hands of a madman, even though madman definition is pretty relative. Security guarantees, sure, why not? But they will have to behave: with their southern neighbors and their own people. After all, they would not need guarantees if they were not a problem to start with. Economic package? Hmm, with that I have some problems. I do not mind helping someone in need, at any time. Now, if that someone just so happens not to be your friend or, worse yet, your enemy, then things change. It is like feeding a wild wolf: he will go away to eat his share, but he will come back for more (he will even expect more!) and if there is no more, he will turn on you.

No, North Korea needs to change the way their economy runs, by shacking the pillars of their political system. It is communism — or their approach to it — the one that is keeping them from reaching a higher level. They need a Glasnost, Soviet style. Now, whether or not something like that could happen in North Korea is another matter. You see, I knew a few young people from North Korea and they had a photo of their supreme leader in their bedroom, surrounded by candles and incense. The guy is not dead, he is a God for them! That is not communism, it is an extreme.

Years ago, the possession of “the bomb” guaranteed that there will be no nuclear war, since the parties involved knew there will be no winners, they knew the damage would be massive and general. Today, looks like, the new trend is to use it as a form of blackmail. And it seems to be working well.