Can the spirit of Christmas defeat Kim Jong Il?

Posted By Joshua Keating Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - 3:44 PM Share

A South Korean church has erected a giant Christmas tree near the North Korean border. As gestures go, it's better than missiles I guess:

 The method of delivery was a giant, brightly lit Christmas tree, reportedly visible from Kaesong, the border city on the northern side of the demilitarized zone dividing North and South. The tree serves a propaganda role, reminding of repression and the lack of religious freedom in the North. Yet even in the tumult of plummeting North-South relations, it may also serve as a beacon of continuing Korean brotherhood.

In previous year's South Korean officials have prevented the Yoido Full Gospel Church, one of the world's largest Christian congregations, from setting up the tree out of free of provoking North Korea. This year, local officials have expressed concern over possible North Korean retaliation: 

 Concerns have been raised that North Korea might attempt to attack the tower on the hill, particularly given that it faces an area of the North which houses a large number of Chosun People’s Army personnel.

However, pointing out that yesterday’s artillery exercise on Yeonpyeong Island would be no justification for any attack on the lights, [Gyeonggi governor] Kim [Moon Soo] said, “It preserved very well the sanctity of our national sovereignty,” before emphasizing, “There should be no further splits in public opinion.”

Nevertheless, North Korea regards the Christmas lights as one element of psychological warfare, and as such may feel that they are a suitable target, particularly following yesterday’s exercise, which Pyongyang publicly vowed to respond to but has not, as yet, done so.

If any place on earth needs a little peace and goodwill this holiday season it's the Korean Peninsula. Here's hoping Kim Jong Il isn't feeling grinchy. 

 

MARTY MARTEL

8:57 PM ET

December 21, 2010

HOPE can NOT defeat REALITY

Hope is just that, it can NEVER defeat reality.

Reality is US fathoms that China is its partner in reining in on North Korea when nothing can be further from the truth. One can only HOPE that US discards such hallucination.

Reality is US buys Chinese baloney that disintegrating North Korea will send thousands of North Koreans fleeing to China even though US knows that Chinese army is capable to prevent such border chaos. US also knows that thousands of North Koreans are even now fleeing their homeland due to dire conditions prevailing there. It does not matter to HOPE that US discards such misconceptions about fleeing North Koreans.

Reality is US ignores that China is responsible for North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile program to begin with. US knows that North Koreans are NOT geniuses who can invent nuclear triggers or plutonium reprocessing or ballistic missile technology. US also knows that Pakistan would not have dared to supply uranium enrichment technology to North Korea in return for Chinese ballistic missile technology if Pakistan’s all-weather friend China would have strongly objected. HOPE can NOT erase such US blind-sidedness about China-North Korea-Pakistan nuclear axis.

Only reality remains that having ignored existence of such nuclear axis, US still HOPES or rather hallucinates that China will work with US to rein in North Korea and so wants to continue the façade of six party talks!

 

SAM FROM CALIFORNIA

3:25 AM ET

December 22, 2010

Of course not

On one hand, kim won't be overthrown by a christmas tree. On the other, he probably shouldn't attack it, because the South could easily blow up any of North Korea's numerous propaganda platforms on the border.

It's sad that NK doesn't see the wisdom of its east asian Stalinist allies in China, Vietnam and Laos in terms of giving its people at least minimal freedoms and rights, while minimizing the role of the military in their society (for the time being at least). None of the leaders in these nations are the slight bit threatened by their people in any serious way (at least not moreso than the NK dictators), and on average both the citizens and the politicians are better off. Instead of relying on dated Cold War rhetoric, they are managing to create stable market socialisms to trade with everyone in the world without, in their view, "succumbing to American domination". Yet the little troll running North Korea seems to think his pseudo-monarchy is sustainable without any reforms or openness to the rest of the world.

 

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