There are a lot of news about North Korea recently that suggest the country is rotting to its core. Consider:
- There are reports that in order to allay the hunger from not receiving enough food, North Korean soldiers are eating salt as a snack. (Yes, salt. You read that correctly.) North Korea is collecting food for the military directly from civilian, which has happened only twice in the last 20 years.
- There is a massive crackdown on the widespread use of hallucinogenic drugs, led by none other than the heir apparent Kim Jong-Un. There have been crackdowns on drugs in the past, but this time involves the Security Bureau and the military -- which suggests that North Korean regime considers the drug problem to be a regime-stability issue.
Is North Korea coming to the brink? The Korean actually is not sure. His guess is that North Korea probably was in an equally bad shape during the massive famine in the 1990s, except there is more information available this time thanks to a large number of defectors, the Internet and cell phones. But of course, more information in itself could lead to regime destabilization. No matter how it turns out, we sure are living in interesting times.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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