History has been shifting the last few weeks with the news that North Korea has finally agreed to offer peace to South Korea and the United States.
In general, western news outlets have praised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for this action, and many comments on articles are in support of the historic decision.
A Hutchinson Community College student with strong interest in international affairs has been approached by peers for comment on the peace offering and, although he said he is required to remain anonymous, has agreed to an interview with The Hutchinson Collegian.
The Western Media
Perhaps his biggest concern is the glorification of the deal by Western media.
“What I’m seeing right now is a gross manifestation of the South Korean liberal government apologetic movement that embraces North Korea very blindly,” he said. “When I see news comments that people leave on Facebook, they’re all for it and they don’t seem to cast a shadow of doubt in this current state of affairs where (the South Korean and American) government seems to make a peace accord with North Korea without any predisposition whatsoever against North Korea.
“American news outlets are handling the situation absolutely horribly. The thing about the U.S and South Korean media is that they beautify and they benevolize the North Korean authorities in the grossest manner. For example, in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, the North Korean invoice visited South Korea, and I came across a few CNN articles, and I was absolutely aghast because the headlines were ‘Look at how Kim Jong-un’s sister handles herself in such a graceful manner.’ ‘Look at her fashion.’ ‘Look at how she gracefully does whatever.’ Do they have any idea what is going on in North Korea?”
The largest player in creating a false narrative of true peace, according to the student, is the news that is wrapped up in embracing, without doubt, the peace deal.
“The thing about the media today is they’re incredibly selective, and you should be equally selective to counter that effect,” he said. “You should be very critical to begin with, and especially if they start reporting their own opinions mixed in with the agendas that they are trying to push. People have been flooded with the one-sided information of North Korea, and you should start being skeptical and looking at the facts.”
The Hidden Horrors
The peace agreement, though not malicious on the surface, has been a cause of concern for many who know what happens behind North Korea’s borders.
“Everyone thinks of North Korea as some sort of joke but it is a very, very dangerous atmosphere there,” he said.
Although the historic event is newsworthy, there is yet to be proof that North Korea is willing to change.
“As far as I’m concerned, they have not displayed a single shred of evidence of commitment towards peace or the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “North Korea is the most violent, most radical state actor that practices Marxist-Leninism in the most pathological fashion.”
After recent events, the source had been approached by several curious peers seeking insight from their politically-inclined friend.
“When people ask me how I would describe North Korea in a very simple fashion, I tell them that North Korea is like a pressure cooker ready to blow,” he said. “The level of deceit among the commoners in North Korea is beyond your imagination. People are dying of starvation every day and people try to defect from North Korea, even though it means certain death for them and their family, if they get caught. They’re defecting at a rate that has been unprecedented before, so that should speak some volumes about what the state of of North Korea is like.”
The student doubts North Korea’s willingness to denuclearize due to their dependence on the alternative weapons.
“What North Korea has done is a very dangerous move,” he said. “Both nations supposedly agreed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, which made me giggle quite hard because North Korea has not shown a shred of evidence towards denuclearization. They changed their entire rhetoric three months ago when before that they had constantly said, consistently, that they were going to pursue the nuclear weapons program.”
Without their nuclear weapons, he said he believes North Korea would fall to South Korea.
“North Korea’s entire regime hinges upon the asymmetrical and unconventional warfare capabilities that are in the form of nuclear weapons,” he said. “It transcends any other countries dependence on such program because North Korea has the largest military, in terms of sheer number. Every citizen is mandated to serve for at least a decade. But without nuclear weapons or CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense) capabilities, South Korea alone, without even U.S support, could crush North Korea.”
Assuming that South Korea, the United States and North Korea can come to a mutual agreement, the student believes there should be strict stipulations.
America’s Involvement
“The U.S will undoubtedly play a major role in this situation, because the U.S is South Korea’s closest ally,” He said. “I have no doubt that President Trump will pursue a goal that will be in America’s best interests, but a real danger that I see is a parallel to Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal. The false narrative Obama propagated throughout the media was that it was a win, when it was clearly not. It’s still being bashed from the whole political spectrum, because it granted Iran the right to pursue their own nuclear interest. The false narrative in which leaders create to show themselves as a winner is the same risk that I see Trump repeating for himself.”
Perhaps more worrying for the student is the number of American protesters supporting the same ideology that dictates North Korea.
“The fundamental tenets of the political left and communism are very similar in nature,” He said. “They call out for equality of outcome and they importance of group identity trumping individual characteristics and violence if they don’t agree with you. The reason I say communism is a murderous ideology, and I say that for a very good reason, is that just take a look at history. People have forgotten the simple truth of life that grass is green, the sky is blue, and communists cannot be trusted.”
The student said that he believes that many people waving the communist flag, whether they do so ironically or not, are oblivious to the horrors that exist within communist North Korea.
“Imagine someone doing that with a Nazi flag – you have an immediate response to that because Nazis have committed horrible atrocities in the 20th century,” he said. “The communist flag represents the same. They are completely oblivious to the havoc that these communist and Marxist ideologies have wrought upon the world.”
