Benign Neglect Toward North Korea

B. R. Myers, researcher of North Korean ideology and propaganda at Dongseo University, questions the notion that "North Korea watchers who speak no Korean can confidently tell the rest of us what motivates Kim Jong-il," explains that "we assume the perspective expressed in the North Koreans’ own official writings, things look very different," and suggests the course we should take — To Beat a Dictator, Ignore Him.

To those who suggest "so he’s afraid of us," he reminds that "North Korea’s string of nuclear provocations has reinforced the public conviction that Washington’s bark is worse than its bite." To those who suggest "he wants aid," he reminds that "Kim Il-sung, once told the East German dictator Erich Honecker that [the masses] behaved better when they didn’t [live well]" and that "the Kim Jong-il regime openly, even proudly, admits the gross economic disparity" with the South as doing so "assures the masses that their heroic sacrifices are helping to nuclearize the North and keep America down."

Prof. Myers underscores the paradigm shift from the past decade time when "left-wing South Korean administrations were paying tributary visits to Pyongyang" and "last year, [when] the conservative Lee Myung-bak... attached conditions to aid for the North and sharply criticized its nuclear program." Prof. Myers' analysis: "The message to the North Korean people is clear: their Dear Leader is not as feared and respected as they have been led to believe."

As I've said before, benign neglect should be our true policy toward North Korea.

[link via The Marmot's Hole]