Ask me about North Korea

[HappyGuy]

Jan 20, 2020 Australian report on North Korea

[Mercury]

Visiting North Korea is like being in a prison. And in North Korea, they treat you exactly like you're in a prison.

[Yohan]

Visiting North Korea is like being in a prison. And in North Korea, they treat you exactly like you're in a prison.

The situation in FE Asia is getting worse politically. Especially for ordinary US-citizens I can only advice them to stay away from North Korea.

It was looking not that bad about 10 years ago, and there was some hope again in 2018 that something will start to move to the better - but sadly to say, nothing changed.

Japan is not under such political pressure compared to South Korea, the Japanese government is just waiting and watching.
What else can be done?

As far as I know North Korea is now the only country in the world without any diplomatic relation to Japan.

If North Korea would be open I am sure many people in Japan would go and visit it, and there is also a fairly large Korean community in Japan.

I don't really not understand what this North Korean government is thinking, because with a more open North Korean government - anyway protected by China - and free of any trade sanctions the living standard in that country would improve considerably for all citizens - about 26 million people.

[Tsar]

Visiting North Korea is like being in a prison. And in North Korea, they treat you exactly like you're in a prison.

The situation in FE Asia is getting worse politically. Especially for ordinary US-citizens I can only advice them to stay away from North Korea.

It was looking not that bad about 10 years ago, and there was some hope again in 2018 that something will start to move to the better - but sadly to say, nothing changed.

Japan is not under such political pressure compared to South Korea, the Japanese government is just waiting and watching.
What else can be done?

As far as I know North Korea is now the only country in the world without any diplomatic relation to Japan.

If North Korea would be open I am sure many people in Japan would go and visit it, and there is also a fairly large Korean community in Japan.

I don't really not understand what this North Korean government is thinking, because with a more open North Korean government - anyway protected by China - and free of any trade sanctions the living standard in that country would improve considerably for all citizens - about 26 million people.

What about dual citizens of the EU and US? It is actually illegal for Americans to use their US Passport to travel to North Korea since Trump. Obviously it is not good for Americans to travel places where the governments really really hate the US Government but sometimes a person needs to wonder how much of the spy allegations are true when it comes to North Korea and Iran arresting Americans.

Not sure what you mean by South Korea is under political pressure.

The West is a dying and failed system of corporatism, immorality, and mass degenerates. No same nation wants that...plus, for someone with absolute power like the Kim Dynasty, opening up means sacrificing their power.

It really helps to always have an enemy (even if fake). The US really began to collapse when China became a Frenemy Rival and the Soviet Union collapsed because the world became more open.

Spheres of influence or a closed nation preserve a certain amount of power and prosperity that globalization, openness, and freedom do not allow.

Sanctions on Russia backfired on the West because Russia is more self-reliant and developing its own industries. It might take time to actually show for their overall population but isolationism can help a nation more than opening up.

[Yohan]

Not sure what you mean by South Korea is under political pressure.

South Korea has to pay for UN/US protection for the border line - the most dangerous border in this world - between North and South Korea, more than 40 percent of its total costs. Additional it needs a lot of money for its own military forces - South Korea is a small country and you never know what is coming in from North Korea.

This uncertainty about their future makes South Korean people rather aggressive - South Korea has a longer weekly working time than Japan, also a higher suicide rate than Japan and still people get less pay compared to Japanese for the same work. Due to dense population - 52 million people - real estate prices are very high, too many people everywhere with no option to move out as this little country does not have any cheap rural remote area unlike Japan.

South Korea is politically seen no good friend of China and Russia because of their support to North Korea, it is not a good friend of Japan because of WWII past, and not really a good friend of USA either... not easy to be an ordinary South Korean citizen if you ask me...not easy to be a South Korean politician either, or even a Korean celebrity - not so few of them were ending up in jail or commit suicide...

The West is a dying and failed system of corporatism, immorality, and mass degenerates.

Compared to ordinary people living in various Asian nations (and not to talk about African and Latin American countries) Western countries are still fairly good off, including USA.

Check out some FE and SE Asian countries like Bangladesh or Philippines, and North Korea...or countries like Pakistan or Irak or Syria etc...