[imText1]There is a story told of a pathetic man who lived in a village.
He had lots of children, and his wife worked day and night as a washer, a janitor, and a seamstress. Yet the man wasted his time away gambling and drinking everyday and night.
Neighbors despised him for combing his hair backward and greasing it with oil, and wearing a white suit with white shiny shoes. Yet he was too self-absorbed to care.
Seeing his children who cry out for food, the man’s neighbors gave them some rice, kimchi and anything they could spare. They gave condensed milk to the babies, drawing paper and bicycles to the small children, and even sanitary napkins to the wife. Nothing was given to the man, only his wife and children.
Somewhat later it was heard that the greedy man was planning on buying electronic equipment in order to develop a water-powered car. He told everyone that it was for the development of humankind and the preservation of energy resources. He told everyone in the village that he would test his new creation in a few days. His neighbors were suspicious of where the man got the money to fund his new creation and chided him at his frivolity.
No one in the village applauded the man for his humanitarian spirit. In fact, all the neighbors despised him for failing to provide for his family with the money he had used to make the car.
Kim Jong Il’s ‘Toy’
Kim Jong Il acts just like that greedy man from the village.
His people are dying of starvation, yet he is focused on the creation of a satellite. One day he tells people is it a missile, the next day he refutes that. One day he says it is fueled and ready to be launched, the next he says it is empty. The debate over whether or not it is a missile or a satellite is as useless as a debate over whether it is a sushi knife or a fruit knife.
Whether its a fruit knife, a sushi knife, a missile or a satellite, it is still a project that has claimed resources and funding that would have been better spent feeding his people. However, when he sent his representatives to Gwangju for the 6.15 event, Kim Jong-Il borrowed 60 million dollars from South Korea to put towards air fuel. Why would he need so much fuel just to launch a satellite?
Kim Jong Il is an exhibitionist who begins to get uncomfortable when he is not getting sufficient attention from the press. For Kim Jong-Il, right now the timing is perfect. As the world is enraptured in the World Cup, he wants to gain everyone’s attention by shooting a ‘salute’ to the sky.
His intention is to test a home-made weapon in front of the world’s terrorists, dictators and comrades as a show of strength.
He has gained the world’s attention. Everyone has begun speculation as to when and where the launch will take place, and yet, Kim Jong-Il sits comfortably in his villa, sipping a cocktail, with the world focused on his every move.
He’s got us right where he wants us.
Do Not Focus on the Missile, but on North Korea
Therefore, letting Kim Jong-Il do what he wants would be a good way to deflate the situation. If the world were to show less concern over his every move, particularly in regard to the missile launch, the conflict would likely come to an end sooner rather than later, with Kim Jong-Il himself losing interest as well.
During the gleeful and uproarious period of the World Cup, do not be concerned with the missile in particular, but rather with North Korea as a whole.
Consider the plight of the 23 million people who suffer from starvation, genocide, and serious human rights abuses. Do not forget that while thousands of people enjoy the freedom of cheering for their national team in front of the City Hall in South Korea, 23 million people still suffer under such strict dictatorship that they are barely allowed to enjoy a 30 minute film, let alone cheer in support in North Korea.
Taking the current situation into account and resisting Kim Jong Il’s threats is the right way to respond, according to the recently passed North Korean Human Right Bill of the European Parliament.
