What The U.S. News Media Is Not Saying About North Korea

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Commentary

by Daniel Nardini

Whatever is said in the U.S. news media about North Korea, it makes it all sound like the North Korean regime is about to collapse. We hear about military provocations, missile tests, its testy relations with its neighbors, and how its people suffer under the regime. These things no doubt are true. But, there are things which I have been reading in the Russian, Chinese and Japanese press that are giving a rather different picture of what is happening in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, the official name for North Korea). What is scary about the picture they paint is why the DPRK is not going to collapse anytime soon.

China is in fact building another bridge from Manchuria into North Korea. This bridge will carry more badly needed supplies to North Korea like coal, food, Chinese-made consumer goods, and yes tourists. Chinese tourists make up the bulk of tourism into the DPRK, and many of them DO bring in badly needed hard cash. More than that, the Chinese government is also providing the North Korean government with trains and train parts for their depleted fleet of trains. Strangely enough, Russia is planning to build a railway into North Korea both for greater trade and tourism. Since Russia now has no friends in Europe because of the Ukraine situation, it is trying to expand its trade relations in the Far East. Besides doing business in China for China’s mineral resources like iron and coal, Russia is also trying to get at North Korea’s natural resources which include rare earth metals.

The possibility of large numbers of Russian tourists going to North Korea means that North Korea will be receiving even more badly needed hard currency. Both Chinese and Russian business personnel are now heading to North Korea to try and invest in that country. This means that the North Korean government will be able to set up more industrial zones using more modern technology supplied by the Chinese and the Russians. It will also mean more consumer goods being made in North Korea that can be supplied to local markets and department stores in North Korea. Ironically, Japan has gotten into the act by relaxing its sanctions on North Korea. In return for information or the release of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970’s and 1980’s, North Korea’s maritime ship, the Mangyongbong-92, will be able to go from North Korea’s Wonsan port city to Niigata in Japan. This ship will be able to carry pro-North Korea Korean residents living in Japan to North Korea who will be able to bring gifts, Japanese-made goods and hard currency to North Korea. This in turn will be a big boost to the pro-North Korea organization the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan by boosting their influence in Japan and being able to better provide money to the North Korea regime.

The U.S. news media is good at providing negative reports of crimes against humanity and the terrible things the North Korean regime does, but we learn little to nothing why the North Korea regime is able to keep itself alive despite United Nations’ sanctions, despite the U.S. embargo against a number of items North Korea is denied, and despite the U.S.-South Korea military alliance. On top of all this, there is a minority in the U.S. of pro-North Korea Korean immigrants and Americans who also go to North Korea for vacation and provide money and other means of support so that the North Korea regime will stay in power. The picture I am painting is a very grey shade of the things that are occurring and why North Korea will remain with us for that much longer. There are those who have a vested interest in seeing North Korea not collapse.

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