Scanning facebook statuses at 12:35am on a Sunday night/Monday morning I was pretty startled when I started seeing people claiming the world was coming to an end. Sifting through the melodramatic claims I was able to understand that North Korea had apparently just shelled South Korea. Well, crap. This isn't good. After reading more breaking news stories on the situation, I decided to read up on North Korea. After a 45 minute National Geographic documentary on the so-called "Hermit Kingdom" and 30+ of the State Department Human Rights report on North Korea I was pretty taken aback. I would venture to say the North Korea commits some of the most purposefully executed human rights violations of any established state in the world. Political prisoners--and all of their extended family (including children), who also get punished for one family members "crime"--face some of the worst punishments for the rest of their life for something as simple as playing a video game other than tetris (the only legal video game in North Korea). In the camps infantcide and forced abortions, hanging by wrists, compulsory standing and sitting for weeks on end, and confinement in small rooms where one may not sit, lay, or stand are some of the most basic atrocities.
After all this research, I began to think.... Why don't we hear more about the US planning to invade North Korea? Don't get me wrong, I don't think it would be a good idea, but afterall, why did we invade Iraq? Sadda's regime was awful to its citizens and WMD's (that we never found), right? Well North Korea actually DOES have WMDS, a LOT. In fact, North Korea is pouring more money than ever into their Nuclear weapons facilities. Not only that, but North Korea is under a more oppressive and easily more anti-American regime than Iraq was, and arguably much more than Iran. Well, then again, North Korea isn't all that oil-laden, so I guess I can see the disinterest.
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