QuoteA Nation of Racist Dwarfs
Kim Jong-il's regime is even weirder and more despicable than you thought.
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, at 10:01 AM ET
Visiting North Korea some years ago, I was lucky to have a fairly genial "minder" whom I'll call Mr. Chae. He guided me patiently around the ruined and starving country, explaining things away by means of a sort of denial mechanism and never seeming to lose interest in the gargantuan monuments to the world's most hysterical and operatic leader-cult. One evening, as we tried to dine on some gristly bits of duck, he mentioned yet another reason why the day should not long be postponed when the whole peninsula was united under the beaming rule of the Dear Leader. The people of South Korea, he pointed out, were becoming mongrelized. They wedded foreigners—even black American soldiers, or so he'd heard to his evident disgust—and were losing their purity and distinction. Not for Mr. Chae the charm of the ethnic mosaic, but rather a rigid and unpolluted uniformity.
I was struck at the time by how matter-of-factly he said this, as if he took it for granted that I would find it uncontroversial. And I did briefly wonder whether this form of totalitarianism, too (because nothing is more "total" than racist nationalism), was part of the pitch made to its subjects by the North Korean state. But I was preoccupied, as are most of the country's few visitors, by the more imposing and exotic forms of totalitarianism on offer: by the giant mausoleums and parades that seemed to fuse classical Stalinism with a contorted form of the deferential, patriarchal Confucian ethos.
Karl Marx in his Eighteenth Brumaire wrote that those trying to master a new language always begin by translating it back into the tongue they already know. And I was limiting myself (and ill-serving my readers) in using the pre-existing imagery of Stalinism and Eastern deference. I have recently donned the bifocals provided by B.R. Myers in his electrifying new book The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters, and I understand now that I got the picture either upside down or inside out. The whole idea of communism is dead in North Korea, and its most recent "Constitution," "ratified" last April, has dropped all mention of the word. The analogies to Confucianism are glib, and such parallels with it as can be drawn are intended by the regime only for the consumption of outsiders. Myers makes a persuasive case that we should instead regard the Kim Jong-il system as a phenomenon of the very extreme and pathological right. It is based on totalitarian "military first" mobilization, is maintained by slave labor, and instills an ideology of the most unapologetic racism and xenophobia.
These conclusions of his, in a finely argued and brilliantly written book, carry the worrisome implication that the propaganda of the regime may actually mean exactly what it says, which in turn would mean that peace and disarmament negotiations with it are a waste of time—and perhaps a dangerous waste at that.
Consider: Even in the days of communism, there were reports from Eastern Bloc and Cuban diplomats about the paranoid character of the system (which had no concept of deterrence and told its own people that it had signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in bad faith) and also about its intense hatred of foreigners. A black Cuban diplomat was almost lynched when he tried to show his family the sights of Pyongyang. North Korean women who return pregnant from China—the regime's main ally and protector—are forced to submit to abortions. Wall posters and banners depicting all Japanese as barbarians are only equaled by the ways in which Americans are caricatured as hook-nosed monsters. (The illustrations in this book are an education in themselves.) The United States and its partners make up in aid for the huge shortfall in North Korea's food production, but there is not a hint of acknowledgement of this by the authorities, who tell their captive subjects that the bags of grain stenciled with the Stars and Stripes are tribute paid by a frightened America to the Dear Leader.
Myers also points out that many of the slogans employed and displayed by the North Korean state are borrowed directly—this really does count as some kind of irony—from the kamikaze ideology of Japanese imperialism. Every child is told every day of the wonderful possibility of death by immolation in the service of the motherland and taught not to fear the idea of war, not even a nuclear one.
regime cannot rule by terror alone, and now all it has left is its race-based military ideology. Small wonder that each "negotiation" with it is more humiliating than the previous one. As Myers points out, we cannot expect it to bargain away its very raison d'etre.
All of us who scrutinize North Korean affairs are preoccupied with one question. Do these slaves really love their chains? The conundrum has several obscene corollaries. The people of that tiny and nightmarish state are not, of course, allowed to make comparisons with the lives of others, and if they complain or offend, they are shunted off to camps that—to judge by the standard of care and nutrition in the "wider" society—must be a living hell excusable only by the brevity of its duration. But race arrogance and nationalist hysteria are powerful cements for the most odious systems, as Europeans and Americans have good reason to remember. Even in South Korea there are those who feel the Kim Jong-il regime, under which they themselves could not live for a single day, to be somehow more "authentically" Korean.
Here are the two most shattering facts about North Korea. First, when viewed by satellite photography at night, it is an area of unrelieved darkness. Barely a scintilla of light is visible even in the capital city. (See this famous photograph.) Second, a North Korean is on average six inches shorter than a South Korean. You may care to imagine how much surplus value has been wrung out of such a slave, and for how long, in order to feed and sustain the militarized crime family that completely owns both the country and its people.
But this is what proves Myers right. Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.
http://www.slate.com/id/2243112/pagenum/2
The prose is decent but the insights are not terribly profound. What did you think was so awesome about it?
He lost me at the very last paragraph. Why is this horror show our future? Brown or Obama planning to put us all in to camps?
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:33:50 AM
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
I guess you are right, but I suspect that South Korea will be dealing with it most. Just like Germany dealt with it's commie portion after the wall fell.
I remember reading almost this same article twenty-some years ago (maybe not from Hitchens), only it was Albania, and not North Korea, that had produced these nonhuman troglodytes. Turned out to be untrue, and I am pretty sure Hitchens is way over-reacting here as well.
Still, it was an amusing read, and I have long since lost any hope Hitchens would ever again write to inform, so thanks for posting it.
Quote from: Razgovory on February 02, 2010, 11:41:26 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:33:50 AM
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
I guess you are right, but I suspect that South Korea will be dealing with it most. Just like Germany dealt with it's commie portion after the wall fell.
To that extent, I think you are missingthe point of his article, which is that looking at North Korea as a "last gasp holdout" of traditional Communism (like East Germany) is not really understanding the problem.
They are not Communists, really, and probably never really were. And they are not going to fall over like the Communist regimes all fell, eventually.
Since China has less compunctions to resolve issues than we do - we should let them deal with the yellow dwarves.
G.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 02, 2010, 11:30:17 AM
The prose is decent but the insights are not terribly profound. What did you think was so awesome about it?
Maybe I'm not up on contemporary perspectives on NK, but the idea that they are dropping any pretense of communism while focusing on a racial nationalistic identity is new to me.
Quote from: grumbler on February 02, 2010, 11:55:24 AM
I remember reading almost this same article twenty-some years ago (maybe not from Hitchens), only it was Albania, and not North Korea, that had produced these nonhuman troglodytes. Turned out to be untrue, and I am pretty sure Hitchens is way over-reacting here as well.
Still, it was an amusing read, and I have long since lost any hope Hitchens would ever again write to inform, so thanks for posting it.
I think time is the key.
When Albania collapsed there were plenty of people around who fully remembered a pre-evil regime time.
With North Korea these days such folk will be in relatively short supply, give it another decade or two and there'll be none.
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:56:29 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on February 02, 2010, 11:41:26 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:33:50 AM
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
I guess you are right, but I suspect that South Korea will be dealing with it most. Just like Germany dealt with it's commie portion after the wall fell.
To that extent, I think you are missingthe point of his article, which is that looking at North Korea as a "last gasp holdout" of traditional Communism (like East Germany) is not really understanding the problem.
They are not Communists, really, and probably never really were. And they are not going to fall over like the Communist regimes all fell, eventually.
That's begs the question who cares? So long as they stay within their borders they can get even shorter and poorer and and more racist. Till they are 6 inch hobo-Hitlers. I don't see how we have to deal with it anymore then we have to deal with say Zimbabwe.
Quote from: Tyr on February 02, 2010, 12:04:42 PM
When Albania collapsed there were plenty of people around who fully remembered a pre-evil regime time.
With North Korea these days such folk will be in relatively short supply, give it another decade or two and there'll be none.
North Koreans better act fast while there are still a few around who remember how good things were under Japanese occupation.
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on February 02, 2010, 12:17:09 PM
Quote from: Tyr on February 02, 2010, 12:04:42 PM
When Albania collapsed there were plenty of people around who fully remembered a pre-evil regime time.
With North Korea these days such folk will be in relatively short supply, give it another decade or two and there'll be none.
North Koreans better act fast while there are still a few around who remember how good things were under Japanese occupation.
Albania wasn;t exactly the nicest of places pre-communists either.
But the point is they remember that Kimmy didn't create the universe when he farted and all that crap. If the people have known something else no matter how bad then they can disbelieve the lies.
Hell, give it extra time and then people won't remember the Korean War either- then the government can really have fun re-writing history.
But this is quite a problem I see with N.Korea unlike with the eastern european nations which are being pretty succesful these days. They've never been a free, civilized nation. They went right from backwards medieval state to occupied by a nasty foreign power to under a totalitarian regime.
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on February 02, 2010, 12:17:09 PM
Quote from: Tyr on February 02, 2010, 12:04:42 PM
When Albania collapsed there were plenty of people around who fully remembered a pre-evil regime time.
With North Korea these days such folk will be in relatively short supply, give it another decade or two and there'll be none.
North Koreans better act fast while there are still a few around who remember how good things were under Japanese occupation.
:lol:
I've had several other foreign teachers tell they've been told straight up by Koreans that Koreans shouldn't marry foreigners. However I personally haven't run into that and indeed coworkers have been encouraging me to get a Korean girlfriend. Still, there is a lot of ignorance (not malicious I think, just flat out ignorance) here about other peoples and races.
Tim should get the yellow fever. :)
Looked at the book on Amazon and it seems interesting so I ordered it.
Book's preface was printed by the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/books/excerpt-cleanest-race.html
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 02, 2010, 07:37:05 PM
I've had several other foreign teachers tell they've been told straight up by Koreans that Koreans shouldn't marry foreigners. However I personally haven't run into that and indeed coworkers have been encouraging me to get a Korean girlfriend. Still, there is a lot of ignorance (not malicious I think, just flat out ignorance) here about other peoples and races.
Have you followed their advice?
I'm trying, but none of the guys I know have had success except HMB. :worthy:
EDIT: Just saw this :lol:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/books/27book.html
QuoteIf we have trouble seeing North Koreans plainly, they cannot see us at all. Telephone use is severely restricted. (Even the telephone book is a classified document marked "secret)."
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 02, 2010, 11:30:17 AM
The prose is decent but the insights are not terribly profound. What did you think was so awesome about it?
Well I know very little about North Korea so it was an interesting read for me.
Quote from: Grallon on February 02, 2010, 12:02:00 PM
Since China has less compunctions to resolve issues than we do - we should let them deal with the yellow dwarves.
China won't. They want North Korea to be our problem. Some world power, they are right on China's border.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 02, 2010, 08:37:31 PM
I'm trying, but none of the guys I know have had success except HMB. :worthy:
Mention your amazing skills at StarCraft.
What I find funny is how Westerns often get totally surprised and shocked by the fact that various "communist" totalitarianisms freely employ racism, xenophobia and antisemitism to further their goals. I mean, the same happened in Poland in 1950-1960s.
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:56:29 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on February 02, 2010, 11:41:26 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:33:50 AM
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
I guess you are right, but I suspect that South Korea will be dealing with it most. Just like Germany dealt with it's commie portion after the wall fell.
To that extent, I think you are missingthe point of his article, which is that looking at North Korea as a "last gasp holdout" of traditional Communism (like East Germany) is not really understanding the problem.
They are not Communists, really, and probably never really were. And they are not going to fall over like the Communist regimes all fell, eventually.
By the same token, 1945-1989 Poland wasn't communist either.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 02, 2010, 08:52:37 PM
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
How's that going to help Tim, seeing how he is not white? :huh:
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:57:26 AM
How's that going to help Tim, seeing how he is not white? :huh:
In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:57:26 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 02, 2010, 08:52:37 PM
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
How's that going to help Tim, seeing how he is not white? :huh:
Oh? What am I then? African, Asian, Native American or a Pacific Islander? :rolleyes:
Quote from: Tyr on February 03, 2010, 08:31:17 AM
In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
Asians have slanty eyes but they can still see. Just not at night. :rolleyes:
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:10:44 AM
Oh? What am I then? African, Asian, Native American or a Pacific Islander? :rolleyes:
Btw Tim, are you the timortis on the Dragon Age forums who's soloed the game on nightmare?
G.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:10:44 AM
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:57:26 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 02, 2010, 08:52:37 PM
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
How's that going to help Tim, seeing how he is not white? :huh:
Oh? What am I then? African, Asian, Native American or a Pacific Islander? :rolleyes:
Latino
Nope, sorry G.
Latino/Hispanic is an ethnocultural term not a racial one. There are White Latinos, Black Latinos and Native American Latinos.
Hmm...if a Spanish speaking South American of Japanese descent moved to the US I wonder what they would put down on their census form?
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 02, 2010, 08:52:37 PM
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
Tim is Mexican, not white. There are no girls who like Mexican boys.
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:48:56 AM
What I find funny is how Westerns often get totally surprised and shocked by the fact that various "communist" totalitarianisms freely employ racism, xenophobia and antisemitism to further their goals. I mean, the same happened in Poland in 1950-1960s.
Leftist Westerners or Westerners in general?
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on February 03, 2010, 09:14:00 AM
Quote from: Tyr on February 03, 2010, 08:31:17 AM
In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
Asians have slanty eyes but they can still see. Just not at night. :rolleyes:
Then Tim should strike at night!
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 02, 2010, 08:52:37 PM
There's got to be thousands of Korean girls with a white boy fetish. Try harder. :lol:
He ain't exactly white, you know
North Korea terrifies me. I am primarily worried on Japan's behalf- but the conscription and economic collapse that might entail Japan being nuked doesn't reassure me either.
I do not take it for granted North Korea's government will act rationally, nor do I take it for granted America could win that war as it stands right now.
I wish North Korea was our #1 foreign policy ussue.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 02, 2010, 07:37:05 PMStill, there is a lot of ignorance (not malicious I think, just flat out ignorance) here about other peoples and races.
Then the flat ignorance is on you, Round Eye. Asians are the most racist peoples out there, from China to Japan to South Korea. They put European ant-semitism and anti-brown-pipplesism to shame.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on February 04, 2010, 05:45:13 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 02, 2010, 07:37:05 PMStill, there is a lot of ignorance (not malicious I think, just flat out ignorance) here about other peoples and races.
Then the flat ignorance is on you, Round Eye. Asians are the most racist peoples out there, from China to Japan to South Korea. They put European ant-semitism and anti-brown-pipplesism to shame.
Yeah, but Asian racism is alright, because it's done in the right way. Many of them acknowledge the superiority of the white man (although inevitably they consider their own group to be equal to the whites), and they virulently hate all other types of Asian, as well as everybody else. Unfortunately for Tim, he's part of 'everybody else'.
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:53:51 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:56:29 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on February 02, 2010, 11:41:26 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 02, 2010, 11:33:50 AM
I think he means that having to deal with this horror show is in our future.
I guess you are right, but I suspect that South Korea will be dealing with it most. Just like Germany dealt with it's commie portion after the wall fell.
To that extent, I think you are missingthe point of his article, which is that looking at North Korea as a "last gasp holdout" of traditional Communism (like East Germany) is not really understanding the problem.
They are not Communists, really, and probably never really were. And they are not going to fall over like the Communist regimes all fell, eventually.
By the same token, 1945-1989 Poland wasn't communist either.
I am not making his argument, just repeating it. you will have to take it up with him.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:57:58 PM
Nope, sorry G.
Latino/Hispanic is an ethnocultural term not a racial one. There are White Latinos, Black Latinos and Native American Latinos.
Hmm...if a Spanish speaking South American of Japanese descent moved to the US I wonder what they would put down on their census form?
Latino is a race. Or rather a sub-race. 'Caucasian' is the broad race. Whites are....white. Very pale northern originated folk.
The lines of course are not exact and many Spaniards, Italians, etc... are white these days but meh, the stereotype is they're all swarthy.
This has been covered in court cases before, Indians are unquestionably caucasian but according to US vs. Bhagat Singh Thind not white.
But I was just joking on, I don't give a crap.
I'd imagine your said oriental hispanic would put down Japanese though, then he wouldn't be counted amongst the hispanic menace.
QuoteAsians have slanty eyes but they can still see. Just not at night. :rolleyes:
I was referring to- over in the west latinos are usually not the whitest of folks. But in a country full of Koreans they're pretty darn white as far as they're concerned.
Quote from: Tyr on February 04, 2010, 10:12:08 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:57:58 PM
Nope, sorry G.
Latino/Hispanic is an ethnocultural term not a racial one. There are White Latinos, Black Latinos and Native American Latinos.
Hmm...if a Spanish speaking South American of Japanese descent moved to the US I wonder what they would put down on their census form?
Latino is a race. Or rather a sub-race. 'Caucasian' is the broad race. Whites are....white. Very pale northern originated folk.
The lines of course are not exact and many Spaniards, Italians, etc... are white these days but meh, the stereotype is they're all swarthy.
This has been covered in court cases before, Indians are unquestionably caucasian but according to US vs. Bhagat Singh Thind not white.
But I was just joking on, I don't give a crap.
I'd imagine your said oriental hispanic would put down Japanese though, then he wouldn't be counted amongst the hispanic menace.
Don't be so fucking ignorant. :bleeding: The term Latino does not in any way refer to race. It's an ethnocultural term.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-1.pdf
As to the Japanese South American, if a native Spanish speaker he should check off both Asian and Hispanic.
QuoteCensus 2000 adheres to the federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
in October 1997.
The OMB defines Hispanic or Latino as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."
Number of Hispanic Asians in the US in 2000 was Asian 119,829. (page 10)
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:48:56 AM
What I find funny is how Westerns often get totally surprised and shocked by the fact that various "communist" totalitarianisms freely employ racism, xenophobia and antisemitism to further their goals. I mean, the same happened in Poland in 1950-1960s.
First, North Korea has changed the ideology to suit its needs - their juche doctrine is totally alien to Communism, which is about the workers of the world sharing the fruits of their labour and their wealth. The Koreans just wanted to shut everybody out.
Second, they starting handing power down from father to son - that is pretty much a Monarchy, and anathema to true Communism.
As for Poland, you know, there WAS a reason why the USSR always kept watching Warsaw from real close.
Bottom line, as long as there are people who were born in or close to an age of nationalism, nations tend to veer to their more "historical" lines, no matter the ideology. Which is why they need a big brother to watch over and see if they don't veer too much from the path. Poland had this in the form of the USSR, North Korea unfortunately did not (and Cambodia had Vietnam, who put order in the Neolithic idiocy which was Kampuchea).
Quote from: Martim Silva on February 04, 2010, 07:56:47 PM
Quote from: Martinus on February 03, 2010, 02:48:56 AM
What I find funny is how Westerns often get totally surprised and shocked by the fact that various "communist" totalitarianisms freely employ racism, xenophobia and antisemitism to further their goals. I mean, the same happened in Poland in 1950-1960s.
Bottom line, as long as there are people who were born in or close to an age of nationalism, nations tend to veer to their more "historical" lines, no matter the ideology. Which is why they need a big brother to watch over and see if they don't veer too much from the path. Poland had this in the form of the USSR, North Korea unfortunately did not (and Cambodia had Vietnam, who put order in the Neolithic idiocy which was Kampuchea).
:yeahright: What?
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:57:58 PM
Number of Hispanic Asians in the US in 2000 was Asian 119,829. (page 10)
Probably just confused Filipinos.
Quote from: Grinning_Colossus on February 04, 2010, 08:16:40 PM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:57:58 PM
Number of Hispanic Asians in the US in 2000 was Asian 119,829. (page 10)
Probably just confused Filipinos.
Nope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines#Major_foreign_languages
QuoteThe use of Spanish began to decline after Spain ceded the islands to the United States in 1898. Under U.S. rule, the English language began to be promoted instead of Spanish. After the country's independence in 1946 and during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, many of the old Spanish-speaking families in Philippines migrated to Spain and Latin America. In 1940, there were six million of people with Spanish speaking skills in the Philippines. The 1950 Census stated that hispanophone Filipinos made up 6% of the population. In 1990, the census reported that the number had dwindled to just 2,500 but last census in XXI century has shown a increase up to 3500 aprox.
Still lots of them with spanish names though. But yeah, they don't speak spanish, except the spanish incorporated into the local vernacular (the numbers are in spanish, for example).
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 04, 2010, 07:45:09 PM
Quote from: Tyr on February 04, 2010, 10:12:08 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 03, 2010, 09:57:58 PM
Nope, sorry G.
Latino/Hispanic is an ethnocultural term not a racial one. There are White Latinos, Black Latinos and Native American Latinos.
Hmm...if a Spanish speaking South American of Japanese descent moved to the US I wonder what they would put down on their census form?
Latino is a race. Or rather a sub-race. 'Caucasian' is the broad race. Whites are....white. Very pale northern originated folk.
The lines of course are not exact and many Spaniards, Italians, etc... are white these days but meh, the stereotype is they're all swarthy.
This has been covered in court cases before, Indians are unquestionably caucasian but according to US vs. Bhagat Singh Thind not white.
But I was just joking on, I don't give a crap.
I'd imagine your said oriental hispanic would put down Japanese though, then he wouldn't be counted amongst the hispanic menace.
Don't be so fucking ignorant. :bleeding:
For once, I agree wholeheartedly with my hermano Timoteo Ortiz. :P
Quote from: Pat on February 05, 2010, 07:26:16 AM
Still lots of them with spanish names though.
That always struck me as odd. Everyone has a Spanish name (first name & surname) but few speak the language.
China offers $10 billion in foreign aid to North Korea. :hmm:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gIOQlm5GJnyxIY5nMCY2w-WtAJTA
QuoteChina arranging foreign investment deal for N.Korea
(AFP) – 4 hours ago
SEOUL — China is arranging a huge foreign investment deal to revive North Korea's faltering economy amid an international drive to coax Pyongyang back to nuclear disarmament talks, a report said Monday.
Beijing is helping the communist state obtain more than 10 billion dollars in investment from Chinese banks and multinational firms, the South's Yonhap news agency said.
The deal was discussed a week ago when North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il met China's senior communist party official Wang Jiarui, it said.
A North Korean body known as the Korea Taepung International Investment Group plans to conclude the deal in March, Yonhap said, adding that Chinese capital would account for 60 percent of total investments.
Yonhap did not give any further details on what the investment plan would involve.
It said China was brokering the deal because North Korea is demanding economic aid from Beijing along with other incentives before returning to the six-party nuclear forum which the North quit last April.
South Korean officials were not available for comment.
"China could provide humanitarian aid to help North Korea revive its economy before six-party talks resume," Dongguk University professor Kim Yong-Hyun told AFP.
"However, any massive economic assistance or investments from China may come only after it gets strong commitment from Pyongyang about denuclarisation."
Chinese and North Korean nuclear negotiators held several days of talks in Beijing last week aimed at restarting the forum chaired by China since 2003.
Media reports said Pyongyang was sticking to its two conditions for coming back: a lifting of sanctions and a US commitment to discuss a formal peace treaty.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo say the North must return unconditionally and show commitment to scrapping its nuclear programme before other issues are dealt with.
Tough United Nations sanctions brought by the North's pursuit of ballistic missiles and atomic weapons have hurt its economy, restricting the communist state's access to international credit.
The nation has relied on foreign aid to feed its people since it suffered a devastating famine in the 1990s.
In recent years the regime has tried to reassert state control over the economy by restricting private markets, which sprang up after the state food distribution system collapsed in the famine years.
Last November it decreed a currency revaluation to flush out private wealth but analysts said the move backfired disastrously, intensifying food shortages and fuelling inflation.
The North is relaxing some curbs on the markets because of mounting public anger, South Korea's spy agency has said.
I just got this book yesterday, and I've read the first part and North Korean ideology is even more batshit insane than I'd previously thought.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 18, 2010, 08:37:16 PM
I just got this book yesterday, and I've read the first part and North Korean ideology is even more batshit insane than I'd previously thought.
Some examples perhaps?
Quote from: Monoriu on February 18, 2010, 08:51:55 PM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 18, 2010, 08:37:16 PM
I just got this book yesterday, and I've read the first part and North Korean ideology is even more batshit insane than I'd previously thought.
Some examples perhaps?
Basically, ethnic Koreans are so morally pure that they are like children and thus have constantly been taken advantage of throughout history by foreigners, who are all intrinsically evil. Koreans being children, need a strong mother figure to take care of them and that's were Kim Sung Il and Kim Jong Il come in. They're consistently described in maternal terms in internal propaganda. That's of course in strict contrast to the paternal underpinnings of Confucianism.
This all goes back to the fact that Kim Sung Il was an uneducated hick who knew nothing about Marxism. Myres puts forth that the educated classes (a small minority of the country), had by the mid '30s been co-opted by the Japanese authorities and bought into a lot of their racial and nationalist theories. That though the average peasants suffered immensely under Japanese rule, the support for the government and the war was genuine among the elite. Unlike the government of Syngman Rhee which prosecuted many of these collaborators, the government of Kim Sung Il employed them wholesale, including those who had worked in the propaganda apparatus.
It is thus unsurprising that the propaganda of the DPRK and fascist Japan is so similar. They simply removed the references to the Japanese and Korea being part of one pure race and put Korea on a pedestal all on it's own, while putting to the forefront the invented national myths of the 1920s that the first generation of Korean nationalists had come up with in an attempt to undermine Japanese rule. Most of these myths however were merely stolen from Japan and put into a Korean context.