Another Good Documentary

Frontline has another good documentary on North Korea, a subject that I think is better left to the Cyberpanopticon's thorough forum. I will, however, say that after watching this 2005 documentary it appears to me that the current American Presidential administration has very little solid idea on how to address the North Korean nuclear problem. The administration has decided that the North Korean regime is evil, and that therefore they cannot deal with it on essentially any level. However, on the other hand they claim that the North Korean situation is not a "crisis", and that military force is not a real option. I guess this means that the President ultimately does not really care, even with the nuclear tests and that North Korea has conducted and the resultant UN sanctions since this documentary was filmed.

We will see how that policy plays out, especially considering that nuclear weapons and a possibility of regime change are only a few possible headaches on the Korean peninsula, besides conventional war, social collapse in North Korea, and the evitable concerns of a Chinese rising power.

The North Korean footage reminded me a lot of life in Central Asia. There are definite Soviet traditions shared, but at least (somewhat) greater political freedom and greater economic freedom have positively impacted Central Asia. Still, that peaceful change was fifteen years ago, and it still far from complete, nor has it brought stability to the region. American policy-makers should not expect any better, but should fear much worse, from North Korea's future.