[Corporal White]

Actually a Chinese controlled puppet regime might be the best thing possible in NK. One of the necessities of life in NK (necessity as in, you don't want to starve to death) is black market trade with smugglers who deal in goods/food smuggled in from China. NK's know people on the Chinese side are comparatively wealthy. In fact, it's relatively easy for people to cross the border into China depending on your profile (People who are obviously fleeing, like families, would not fit this profile). Most non-officers in the NK army are paid like 12th century serfs and they make a side business with the smugglers for access. However, if you cross and recross without making a deal, you're going to NK prison camp, along with your grandparents, parents, children, cousins, nieces, and nephews and the border guards will take all your stuff anyway. Furthermore, if you get nabbed by the Chinese authorities, with no bribe money, you're going to be forcibly repatriated and sent to prison camp, which is usually a slow-death sentence.

I was watching a documentary on Netflix were they showed a former North Koren soldier tell his story about how he got to the south. It was agonizing to learn that his family would have to pay for his escape.

[Narus63]

Yeah, the cruelty is unbelievable. You can be in some distant village and an uncle you haven't seen in 20 years can piss off a local party apparatchik and the next thing you know you and your whole family are chopping and hauling logs in 10 degree weather for 12 hours a day and living off tree bark and toads. And that's considered a "good" camp.

Another measure of just how weird and bizarre the Kim regime is...say...someone hears you make an utterance in English for whatever reason, and reports you to the party. Usually this could land you in a prison camp. But, at some point, you or a relative had the foresight and connections to send the Kim family some money, liquor, or ginseng that you harvested and, as luck would have it, the Kim's sent you an official letter of praise in return. Well, that letter can be entered in as official evidence which, as long as your "crime" isn't too serious (disparaging the Kim's) you might just be reassigned for 6 months of re-education at a local camp rather than have your whole family hauled away to one of the more terminal ones.

[Corporal White]

Yeah, the cruelty is unbelievable. You can be in some distant village and an uncle you haven't seen in 20 years can piss off a local party apparatchik and the next thing you know you and your whole family are chopping and hauling logs in 10 degree weather for 12 hours a day and living off tree bark and toads. And that's considered a "good" camp.

Another measure of just how weird and bizarre the Kim regime is...say...someone hears you make an utterance in English for whatever reason, and reports you to the party. Usually this could land you in a prison camp. But, at some point, you or a relative had the foresight and connections to send the Kim family some money, liquor, or ginseng that you harvested and, as luck would have it, the Kim's sent you an official letter of praise in return. Well, that letter can be entered in as official evidence which, as long as your "crime" isn't too serious (disparaging the Kim's) you might just be reassigned for 6 months of re-education at a local camp rather than have your whole family hauled away to one of the more terminal ones.

That crazy and I thought that in America you can sometimes suffer because of the actions of your family. I was watching another documentary with that asian reporter, who's sister was taken prisoner a couple years ago, and they almost expelled the camera guy for not recording a picture of "Dear Leader" in the right light. Some doctor was traveling to N. Korea to help people with eye problems and when they were able to see clearly, they bowed down and thanked the picture of their leader and the doctor got nearly a word! Then again, they also had N. Korean officers everywhere and most of them just seemed like they were "going thru the motions". They seem to treat their leaders like gods.

[Narus63]

I saw the same doc about the eye doctor, it's a good one. In NK you can be publicly executed or sent to a camp for drawing the Great Leader. Only select artists, licensed by the NK state, are allowed to depict the Great Leader and his family.

[Corporal White]

I saw the same doc about the eye doctor, it's a good one. In NK you can be publicly executed or sent to a camp for drawing the Great Leader. Only select artists, licensed by the NK state, are allowed to depict the Great Leader and his family.

Do you know if it's true that the reporters sister was the one who was abducted with another reporter, a couple years ago?

[Narus63]

I'm not sure...was it Lisa Ling's sister, Laura?
Lisa Ling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[PriernPayorse]

I saw the same doc about the eye doctor, it's a good one. In NK you can be publicly executed or sent to a camp for drawing the Great Leader. Only select artists, licensed by the NK state, are allowed to depict the Great Leader and his family.

Yes drawing Kimmie is a no-no, but hook rugs are OK:

[ELURNSERB]

It looks like this is going to be link to the future of North Korea leadership


(LEAD) Defense chief links N. Korea's artillery attack to its power succession


North Korea's bombardment on a populated South Korean island was probably a politically calculated provocation in part to help secure the ongoing succession of the North's leader-in-waiting, the youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il, South Korea's defense chief said Wednesday.

"Our judgment is that North Korea carried out the attack to consolidate the succession process in the country by showing off the leadership of Kim Jong-un," Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers, referring to the communist state's heir apparent.

[Narus63]

Yes drawing Kimmie is a no-no, but hook rugs are OK:

Don't post pictures of these things without a link to buy them

[Corporal White]

I'm not sure...was it Lisa Ling's sister, Laura?
Lisa Ling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sorry for the delay. I believe your right. I knew that the initials were L.L. but the only thing that popped in my head was Lucy Lui! lol

[gechaheritt]

At the risk of getting side tracked-I would say Kim Jong Il, his successor and North Korea are a bigger threat to world peace than Al Qaeda.

[Narus63]

Sorry for the delay. I believe your right. I knew that the initials were L.L. but the only thing that popped in my head was Lucy Lui! lol

Lucy Liu would have kick all their a$ses and then we wouldn't have this problem!

[PriernPayorse]

Fear not, the cavalry is soon to arrive on station via the USS G Washington carrier task force. When it is in place, it will do
absolutely nothing.
S Korea just had a warship sunk by N Korea with a loss of 46 hands, and they ate it.

This recent thing is just posturing for the new 26 yr old newly promoted 4 star general from seaman recruit. And N Korea
needs more face time with us as well. Gotta hand it to the north, they do have a pair.

[botagozzz]

I doubt we would "eat" a USN vessel being attacked. It's gunboat diplomacy and the perfect situation for it.

This recent thing is just posturing for the new 26 yr old newly promoted 4 star general from seaman recruit. Are you that guy who claimed he was once a sergeant in the Navy to me while I was in uniform? Cuz that's the same sort of mistake.

[fissasste]

Some stars are aligning...China has now officially denounced NK and with the US navy in the area there's a real show of force.

If China decides NK's too much of a threat to keep propping them up, pretty much everybody else in the region would go at them with unrepentant glee. And who would stand to gain? SK and Japan would lose a constant threat hanging over their heads, SK would get a highly-skilled low-cost workforce, and SK and Japan would get a common ground to help talk their differences out...heck, even China would gain from having NK's markets being forcibly opened. Japan's military force, remember, is kept in check by the 1945 agreements (and amendments thereto) which spell out exactly how much military power Japan can accrete and what they can use it for.

North Korea, right now, is one dumb move from being wiped off the map. Literally.

[botagozzz]

Some stars are aligning...China has now officially denounced NK Can you give me a link to that please?

[PriernPayorse]

I doubt we would "eat" a USN vessel being attacked. It's gunboat diplomacy and the perfect situation for it.

Are you that guy who claimed he was once a sergeant in the Navy to me while I was in uniform? Cuz that's the same sort of mistake.

S Korea ate one of their ships being sunk, not the USN. Pay attention squid.

[PriernPayorse]

Glad to hear China is putting the brakes on, though not unexpected. No one over there needs new grief to include Russia.

It would be a help however if S Korea could grow a pair. Even China and Russia would second that emotion.

As US protectorates S Korea and Israel are quite the same, except that Israel would have hit back pronto. As much as Israel pisses me off
I'll give them that.

[botagozzz]

S Korea ate one of their ships being sunk, not the USN. Pay attention squid.

No sh!t, I'm saying the U.S. wouldn't if such a thing happened. And I'm not a squid.

[PriernPayorse]

Please accept my apology Dayman. ---- Great cartoon !!!