North Korea Another Country

The three ideological pillars on which the North Korean (DPRK) state rests are the following: (i) self-reliance, (ii) national independence, and (iii) independent economy. Any nation doing its utmost to stand on its own feet commands our admiration, but as even a cursory reading of our newspapers reveals to us: the DPRK is almost always reviled rather than extolled. The author endeavours to unravel the mechanisms behind America's irrational hatred of this great nation, and succeeds in his task quite well. The anti-DPRK hysteria in America is rooted in the following two factors: ignorance and indoctrination. The author's second aim is to explain the rationale behind DPRK's Realpolitik. As a post-colonial nation with deep-seated memories of the horrendous crimes against humanity committed by the American terrorists and marauders during the Korean war, the DPRK feels compelled to adopt a stalwart posture vis-à-vis the Americans. The Koreans have taken the following law of the jungle to heart: the strong devours the weak. Therefore, if and when the Yanks come knocking, the DPRK will have one nasty surprise after another in store for the unwanted visitor. An American general estimated that in the case of a new Korean war, "he would need as many as 80,000 to 100,000 body bags for American soldiers who would die" (p. 72). The Americans are not willing to pay such a high price, and this the Koreans know.