Fake  news, North Korea best Korea

I heard they were planning to exchange presidents between the US and North Korea. Allegedly Trump will be their Golden Child. As foreseen in many local folklore legends. And Kim sitting on the US throne is part of their ambition to take over the world. Supposedly, this will be their golden age.

He could be in a vegetative state

This may have been mentioned in this thread before, but the Frontline doc is eye-opening: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/secret-state-of-north-korea/

  On 4/26/2020 at 4:21 AM, chenGOD said:

All rumour and conjecture with no certainty in either direction.

But it's the watmm way

  On 4/26/2020 at 8:35 PM, Braintree said:

This may have been mentioned in this thread before, but the Frontline doc is eye-opening: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/secret-state-of-north-korea/

But it's the watmm way

A good piece on how rumours around DPRK start. 
http://blog.keia.org/2020/04/rumors-north-korea-develop/

  On 4/26/2020 at 9:32 PM, Zeffolia said:

left perspective on DPRK media coverage

 

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There's nothing "left" about that. They simply go over the usual revisionist history that was made famous by Bruce Cumings (great historian, excellent speaker), and don't talk about anything remotely economic/political. They also reveal nothing new under the sun.

And while they take a great deal of pleasure in poling fun at the rhetoric of the US media (which is mostly painful, on that I'll agree), they offer no real counterpoints to the absolute fact that the vast majority of North Koreans are malnourished, have very limited freedom to travel (internally, never mind abroad), and are completely unable to criticize their government's policies. I say this as someone who thinks the majority of sanctions against North Korea should be lifted immediately (we'll leave off sending them nuclear centrifuges for example), but trade and dialogue are the only way to begin. But to gloss over the problems that exist in North Korea, and to treat them as something solely made by the US/west is completely asinine.

  On 4/26/2020 at 7:38 AM, hijexx said:

Just remember kids: The Korean War never actually ended. Sleep tight!

True. The region has been under armistice since 1953.

Yeah and South Korea didn't sign it either.

  On 4/27/2020 at 6:40 AM, hijexx said:

Yeah and South Korea didn't sign it either.

Cause the president at the time (Syngman Rhee) was a raving nutjob who had no issues sacrificing more Korean lives to fulfill his power trip.

I've never seen this picture before and it's beautiful

If it had a pony in it as well, it would be perfect.

S. Korea saying their intel shows Kim is "alive and well".

Maybe for the better. Disruptions are unpredictable and can lead to even worse situations. Hardly imaginable in case if NK but I think possible.

I hope Korean unification will happen in my life time. I wish the West would do more against the NK regime, but there is so little that can be done without harming the population. Not sure if Trumps visits helped anything or if it even helped legitimize the regime.

  On 4/27/2020 at 6:58 PM, dingformung said:

Maybe for the better. Disruptions are unpredictable and can lead to even worse situations. Hardly imaginable in case if NK but I think possible.

I hope Korean unification will happen in my life time. I wish the West would do more against the NK regime, but there is so little that can be done without harming the population. Not sure if Trumps visits helped anything or if it even helped legitimize the regime.

The US military could do a series of drone/missile strikes to eliminate the heads of state without greatly harming the main population. The main problem is our diplomatic ties to South Korea and China.

Sounds familiar

  On 4/27/2020 at 7:58 PM, Braintree said:

The US military could do a series of drone/missile strikes to eliminate the heads of state without greatly harming the main population. The main problem is our diplomatic ties to South Korea and China.

In case of Iran, who is an ally of China, it was possible to assassinate a political leader. China didn't mind that much. China sort of protects North Korea but is annoyed by them, too, they wouldn't mind too much if this regime got taken down I think, although they would mind to have US military bases as a direct neighbour. And South Korea officially wants to unify with the north, even though large parts of the population are against it because they worry about economical issues (fucking cunts).

  On 4/27/2020 at 9:14 PM, dingformung said:

In case of Iran, who is an ally of China, it was possible to assassinate a political leader. China didn't mind that much. China sort of protects North Korea but is annoyed by them, too, they wouldn't mind too much if this regime got taken down I think, although they would mind to have US military bases as a direct neighbour. And South Korea officially wants to unify with the north, even though large parts of the population are against it because they worry about economical issues (fucking cunts).

You solved the puzzle buddy.

And also direct influence over their politics/culture afterward, a la Japan.

  On 4/27/2020 at 9:14 PM, dingformung said:

And South Korea officially wants to unify with the north, even though large parts of the population are against it because they worry about economical issues (fucking cunts).

Given that North Korea is a sub third world hell hole where people are indoctrinated to hate the South I’m not sure I would call them “cunts” for this.

”Re” uniting the two will be an insanely difficult and long lasting procedure, not to mention extremely costly. Looking at the resounding success that was the reunification of East and West Germany, I’d say an alternative solution for dealing with two much more divergent Koreas would at the very least be worth exploring.

Fair point. The German unification isn't that comparable as the duration didn't last as long and there was still exchange between the two sides. West Germans could visit their East German families etc. And even though the GDR regime wasn't nice it wasn't as terrible as the NK regime in that in NK there are public executions that people are forced to see and so on. Unimaginable terror is put upon the people living there. The division in Korea seems insurmountable. But what could be the alternative? A reformed NK? I doubt that this is possible. I don't view NK as a sovereign country, it's more a piece of land colonised by a group of criminals that exploit the population ruthlessly. How to put an end to this?

  On 4/27/2020 at 9:14 PM, dingformung said:

In case of Iran, who is an ally of China, it was possible to assassinate a political leader. China didn't mind that much. China sort of protects North Korea but is annoyed by them, too, they wouldn't mind too much if this regime got taken down I think, although they would mind to have US military bases as a direct neighbour. And South Korea officially wants to unify with the north, even though large parts of the population are against it because they worry about economical issues (fucking cunts).

The Iranian was a general, not the leader of the country, apples and oranges.  The international laws on assassinations of Heads of State are a little murky, they are allowed during wartime, but then again the US tried to kill Fidel Castro with poisoned cigars in the 60s.

https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bciclr/26_1/01_FMS.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_attempts_on_Fidel_Castro

Kim Jong-un Resurfaces, State Media Says, Ending Weeks of Health Rumors

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/world/asia/kim-jong-un-resurfaces.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage