What South Koreans think of North Korea

[Seoul_lasers]

Not so simple then, if so, removing him isn't going to take care of the problem.

Yes, that's a very real concern... I am sure the KCIA is very much aware of this possibility.

There's a lot more to this information.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Just a little bit of news, well quite a bit.....

As you know last week a North Korean defector ( this time a soldier) ran across the DMZ at Panmunjom, a place that I've been to many times( usually peaceful). The scene was a chaotic mess with North Korean soldiers firing across the DMZ into South Korea. The UN called an emergency meeting to inform the DPRK was in violation of the 1953 armistice agreement.
the defector had to be rescued by members of the ROK special forces division.

Video is now available showing the incident at Panmunjom,



Donald Trump has placed the DPRK on a terrorism sponsor list. While this might seem like a good idea on the surface, it effectively puts a stop to all joint industrial operations between DPRK and ROK at Kaesong industrial complex, in DPRK. The Kaesong complex is way for both DPRK and ROK industries to work collaboratively, mostly in the areas textiles, ceramics, car parts, some metal fabrication...etc.
This will put a significant number of workers out of work on both sides of the DMZ. ( Kaesong complex has been going since 2002). The current president hopes to expand the complex.
Recent tensions with the United States has put pressure on the ROK Government to close the facility.

Korea to approve further compensation for Kaesong firms soon

 

[Seoul_lasers]

It'll be a dual state situation. The North keeps their Government, but abandons all their Nuclear programs and opens trade and co-operates with the UN. The South tells the US to leave the peninsula. This idea has been played out as one of a few plausible scenarios.

North Korea has high-speed internet through Russia and China but severely restricts what its citizens can access.... not too unlike South Korea.
yes, you heard right... South Korea censors its internet for any search it deems a threat to either National identity, ***ual content (LGBTQ), communism, socialism, KTU(Korean Teachers' Union), Gambling and "drugs"... also other searches that the Government doesn't like ( or deems "immoral") which vary day by day.... I personally had to phone the office to file a complaint with the KSCC office more than once for blocking searches relating to research for a grade 11/12 project on the rise Mao in China (The peoples' revolution) during the 1950's by my international school I was working at about 5 years ago. Crazy...

At one point the school gave up trying to deal with Korean Internet censors and added a VPN to the school's labs.
However, we were visited by the Korean Police when they learned the school was using the computers to circumvent the censors. Searching communism or DPRK related topics is a violation of the NSA (National Security Act)
that could bring criminal charges or imprisonment without ANY legal representation in S.Korea.

 

[paul1598419]

That's a shame, but not too unbelievable since the war ended in a tense stalemate that continues to this day. I'm certain the south's propaganda is just the same as you might find in any country struggling with a longtime adversary like Pakistan and India. I wouldn't want to live there.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

That's a shame, but not too unbelievable since the war ended in a tense stalemate that continues to this day. I'm certain the south's propaganda is just the same as you might find in any country struggling with a longtime adversary like Pakistan and India. I wouldn't want to live there.

yup... too true. Both are equally as responsible for the conditions they are in now. The South has had the luxury of American support by allowing arms manufacturing and army bases.

The South ~65-70% of the time antagonizes its northerly neighbour, and the Norks react by throwing a nuclear tantrum or launching missiles.
Sad state of affairs... So much for diplomacy. :can:

 

[Seoul_lasers]

A little update, DPRK and ROK tensions are ratched down considerably,
and the DPRK is sending it's top entertainers to the Pyeongchang Olympics another sign that there is a considerable thaw in relations between DPRK and ROK.

however.... nuclear disarmament is off the table when it comes to dealing with the Donald.

Well, the way I look at it small steps are better than no steps...

:beer:
North, South Korea agree to further talks aimed at easing tensions | CBC News

excuse the ????? , this is the yonhap news agency below and the link is in Korean.
The 2 Koreas will join their orchestras together for the games as well as march together during the start and ending of the games.

?? ?? ????? ?????"???? ????"

 

[trencheel303]

The videographer in the first clips has bigger balls than I do, I don’t think you could pay me to visit North Korea. I am surprised though that he was allowed to record as much footage as he did. To be honest I thought no photography was allowed except in very rare circumstances.

 

[Encap]

North Korea needs to get over it's pathetic self and leaders---the GDP of N. Korea is what---about the same or less than most mid-sized Cities anywhere in the world---give me a break.
North Korea does show how mentally ill, gullible, superstitious, and pathetic a population can become living and breathing fairy tales made up by psychosis level outright delusional leaders.
If they had 1/2 the brains they were born with they would have already or would at least be ready and willing to rise up and slay the demented psycho bastard leadership. How is it possible that humans can be that profoundly stupid?? Go figure.

What that says about the human race in general is another topic I guess.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

North Korea needs to get over it's pathetic self and leaders---the GDP of N. Korea is what---about the same or less than most mid-sized Cities anywhere in the world---give me a break.
North Korea does show how mentally ill, gullible, superstitious, and pathetic a population can become living and breathing fairy tales made up by psychosis level outright delusional leaders.
If they had 1/2 the brains they were born with they would have already or wopld at least be ready and willing to rise up and slay the demented psycho bastard leadership. How is it possible that humans can be that profoundly stupid?? Go figure.

What that say about the human race in general is another topic I guess.

:thinking: It is the sanctions that only further their quest for attention and obtaining a nuclear bargaining chip. Marshall Kim JongEun is no dummy, nor is he "crazy". What the North Koreans are doing is putting pressure on the region to remind the UN that it has nuclear ambitions (measured grandstanding)., So far the tactic has resulted the attention they seek and a rather amusing plethora of name calling and threatening by the US. The now rather infamous Dotard comment was one such result of Donald Trump calling Kim, rocketman. South Korea of course responded in kind by printing
1000's of T-shirts with the now infamous back and forth name calling.

Anyways.

I think the West quite honestly over simplifies just how complex the situation in NK really is. Having lived beside NK for 7 years, one does start to get a much different picture than one gets from watching CNN or Faux news.. I guess you do recall my post in 2010 about the armed conflict that broke out while I was there. 3 hours and it was over. However looking at the Western media you'd have thought that a 2nd Korean War was imminent.



My sincere hope is that ROK and DPRK, through the winter olympics can achieve a peaceful relationship. Got to start somehow.

:can:

 

[Encap]

:thinking:
My sincere hope is that ROK and DPRK, through the winter olympics can achieve a peaceful relationship. Got to start somehow.

:can:

Is a nice thought and I get your point but the Olympics has never resolved anything anywhere between sovereign States nor does it have any meaning in that context.
Unfortunately, the Olympics at the end of the day just an entertainment business, a bit nationalistic as entertainment goes but entertainment it is, worthless and meaningless in any context except the closed system of the business called "The Olympics".
As far a nations go it does not matter what happens in the Olympics or if there is an Olympics.
Social priorities are what they are.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Is a nice thought and I get your point but the Olympics has never resolved anything anywhere between sovereign States nor does it have any meaning in that context.
Unfortunately, the Olympics at the end of the day just an entertainment business, a bit nationalistic as entertainment goes but entertainment it is, worthless and meaningless in any context except the closed system of the business called the Olympics.
As far a nations go it does not matter what happens in the Olympics or if there is an Olympics.
Social priorities are what they are.

Maybe right on that, however with Mun JaeIn at the helm in ROK, he might just be the man to do it. A little note, President Mun JaeIn was literally my next door neighbour in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. He is a well meaning guy. If anyone could thaw the ice with the North, he'd be the one to do it. Very unlike the conservatives before him, Lee(i) MyungBak, Pak GyunHae who made relations FAR worse.

Call me unrealistic, I have high hopes for him. I really do.

 

[Encap]

Maybe right on that, however with Mun JaeIn at the helm in ROK, he might just be the man to do it. A little note, President Mun JaeIn was literally my next door neighbour in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. He is a well meaning guy. If anyone could thaw the ice with the North, he'd be the one to do it. Very unlike the conservatives before him, Lee(i) MyungBak, Pak GyunHae who made relations FAR worse.

Call me unrealistic, I have high hopes for him. I really do.

Sounds good---hope he has what success he can have to the extent any of it is actually up to South Korea.
The the big player/driver of what goes and what doesn't being China who very obviously like having North Korea be what it is and the way it is.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Sounds good---hope he has what success he can have to the extent any of it is actually up to South Korea.
The the big player/driver of what goes and what doesn't being China who very obviously like having North Korea be what it is and the way it is.

Indeed, China likes supplying weapons and fuel to DPRK. Many freighters being caught refuelling offshore to avoid the blockade (sanctions). Well informed sources has it that China also supplies precursors for chemical weapons that make up the DPRK's stockpile.

 

[trencheel303]

North Korea needs to get over it's pathetic self and leaders---the GDP of N. Korea is what---about the same or less than most mid-sized Cities anywhere in the world---give me a break.
North Korea does show how mentally ill, gullible, superstitious, and pathetic a population can become living and breathing fairy tales made up by psychosis level outright delusional leaders.
If they had 1/2 the brains they were born with they would have already or would at least be ready and willing to rise up and slay the demented psycho bastard leadership. How is it possible that humans can be that profoundly stupid?? Go figure.

What that says about the human race in general is another topic I guess.

If you are raised from birth to believe that your leader is the centre of the universe, and that he invented everything from the chair to the computer, you would think that. Any outside influence is extremely controlled to the point that, if they do manage to smuggle in western material, they don't believe any of it is real. Some homes (all?) even have state controlled radios that mustn't be tampered with, and if they are found to be that's you knackered for the whole rest of your life.

You are looking upon this with the perspective of a westerner and forgetting they have never known any different.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

If you are raised from birth to believe that your leader is the centre of the universe, and that he invented everything from the chair to the computer, you would think that. Any outside influence is extremely controlled to the point that, if they do manage to smuggle in western material, they don't believe any of it is real. Some homes (all?) even have state controlled radios that mustn't be tampered with, and if they are found to be that's you knackered for the whole rest of your life.

You are looking upon this with the perspective of a westerner and forgetting they have never known any different.

There is a real dissidence growing in DPRK that survives by selling (covertly) radios that have been altered to pick up ROK / Anti-regime propaganda or even the Christian (alt) right from nearby border AM broadcasts.

There is I believe/ as well as others, there is a major rift inside the country. The older Generals vs the new leadership vs the people on the outside of the regime.
I am pretty sure the average DPRK citizen knows that they are being fed BS but must act accordingly as they know at anytime they could be set to a "re-education camp" in Siberia or in one of the border towns on the Russia/DPRK border namley, Khasan. It is well known that Russia benefits from a slave trade with DPRK. The money made from this trade goes back into the hands of the regime.

In regard to this comment,

You are looking upon this with the perspective of a westerner and forgetting they have never known any different.

Of course, Encap is looking at the situation in terms of his cultural bias. This perfectly normal to do. ( Encap is using his knowledge from what he knows to formulate an answer).
I am looking at the situation from my own cultural bias as well.
****However, I am trying to be as objective as possible, seeing as I have lived right beside the DPRK for ~7 years
and personally know refugees (political dissidents) who lived in a small border town (East Sea border town).

Do I believe everything the western media tells me about the DPRK, no... Do I think the DPRK has some "major" issues, yes.
Do I think that the DPRK started the problems that lead to tensions getting this high, no. Let me be very clear, it was the ROK, and United States that instigated 2 of the most recent military conflicts on the peninsula.
1) the Torpedoing of the Chonan in 2009 2) The attack on Yeogpyeong-do Both events were a result of the ROK and US testing the DPRK defenses by crossing over the maritime boarder with DPRK in the middle of the night. Launching missiles and underground nuclear detonations are a rite of passage for DPRK leaders to show their military mite. I mean, they don't have any other bargaining chips.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Today marks a historic day when Marshall Kim visited South Korea, directly meeting Pres. Mun JaeIn at Panmunjeom. The first time since 1953 a North Korean leader stepped foot on South Korean soil

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] NK leader’s first step on South Korean soil

By Jung Min-kyung
Published : Apr 27, 2018 - 10:54 Updated : Apr 27, 2018 - 11:20
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un crossed the inter-Korean border early Friday, for the first sit-down meeting between the two at the truce village of Panmunjeom early Friday.

With a smile on his face, Kim shook hands with South Korean President Moon after stepping out of Panmungak, a North Korean building that houses its liaison office to arrive in front of the military demarcation line. He crossed the border after shaking hands and exchanging a brief greeting with Moon. But instead of heading straight to their next destination, Kim grabbed Moon’s hand in a friendly manner and gently pulled him to the North Korean side of the border.

A group of South Korean press who were temporarily allowed to enter the North Korean side of the border to cover the historical encounter, took pictures of the two as they turned around towards them.





(Cheong Wa Dae) Press release:



Both leaders then re-entered South Korean soil. Two South Korean children handed a bouquet of flowers to Kim when the two leaders casually strolled out of the strip of land between T2 and T3, blue one-story buildings administered by the UN Command known as conference row, which lies atop the MDL.

The children are students of an elementary school situated in the South’s border town of Daeseong-dong, which is the only South Korean village within the Joint Security Area.

The North Korean leader handed the flowers to his sister Kim Yo-jong, who was tapped to accompany her brother to the South as a member of the summit delegation.



(Cheong Wa Dae)


Moon and Kim then walked on the red carpet with South Korean honor guards, greeting Kim in a traditional manner.

At one point, Kim shook hands with the South Korean summit delegation, which was followed by Moon’s greeting of the North Korean delegation. Both delegations took commemorative pictures with their leaders positioned in the center. The photo session was not mentioned in the itinerary released by the South Korean government.


Both leaders then moved towards the Peace House side by side, but in an unexpected manner, Kim Yo-jong and Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the ruling Workers‘ Party of Korea’s central committee in charge of inter-Korean affairs, followed the two leaders from behind. The two members of the North Korean delegation were quickly pulled to the side by an attendant.

The incident drew a row of laughter from the main press center located at the Korea International Exhibition Center, known as KINTEX, in Ilsan.

The leaders then entered the Peace House to kick-off the third inter-Korean summit.

Official talks between Moon and Kim were set to start at 10:30 a.m.