NOKOBLOPO

Japan lost control of Korea after defeat in WWII, leaving Soviet troops in the north end of Korea and United States troops in the Southern end of Korea, the 38th parallel of latitude as the divider. Neither of the two powers could decide on a form of government to carry out, leading to the selection of two different leaders. The Republic of Korea in the South elected Syngman Rhee and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north elected Kim Il Sung.
In 1950, the Korean War began when North Korea attacked South Korea. The United States entered the war defending the South while the Communist Chinese joined forces with North Korea, leading to the armistice in 1953 where the previous boundaries were essentially reinforced between the two sides.

In 1994 Kim II Sung, North Korea's ruler since 1948, died. His son, Kim Jong II, who is was very young, took over and was named “Great Leader,” the same title his father held. North Korea suffered a serious famine in the mid- and late 1990's. In 2000, South Korea's President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong II pledged to work toward the eventual reunification of their countries. 100 people from each country were temporarily reunited with family they hadn't seen since the start of the Korean War.

In 2002 North Korea began to conduct a nuclear weapons program, which violated the 1994 agreement with the United States, South Korea, and Japan not to engage in such a program. Mistrustful of North Korea's intentions, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States began to hold a series of multiparty negotiations with North Korea in an effort to persuade it to discontinue using nuclear technology.

Currently North Korea is headed by Kim Jung Il's successor, Kim Jong-un. North Korea is still under a strict regime and is virtually closed off from the rest of the world. No phone calls can be made out of the country and the leaders are viewed as royalty-- any slightly suspicious remark or act of treason can result in execution. One prison camp in North Korea is three times the size of Washington D.C. They have one of the world's largest standing armies and continue to be an underground nuclear threat, though the situation is less sever for now.

I think the regime will change with time. As the Frontline video showed, defectors are risking their lives to get information of the outside world in, while North Koreans are illegally smuggling information out at the same time. There is a growing awareness that I believe will potentially lead to a revolution of the people, as they realize the conditions of their living compared to the rest of the world.



Works Cited

"History of South Korea." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

"North Korea Profile." BBC News. BBC, 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

"Secret State of North Korea." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.