North Korean officials engage in even more bizarre behavior. For example, food and fuel supplies sent to North Korea have been halted, not to force North Korea to stop missile tests or participate in peace talks, but to return the Chinese trains the aid was carried in on. In the last few weeks, the North Koreans have just kept the trains, sending the Chinese crews back across the border. North Korea just ignores Chinese demands that the trains be returned, and insists that the trains are part of the aid program. It's no secret that North Korean railroad stock is falling apart, after decades of poor maintenance and not much new equipment. Stealing Chinese trains is a typical loony-tune North Korean solution to the problem. If the North Koreans appear to make no sense, that's because they don't. Put simply, when their unworkable economic policies don't work, the North Koreans just conjure up new, and equally unworkable, plans. The Chinese have tried to talk the North Koreans out of these pointless fantasies, and for their trouble they have their trains stolen. How do you negotiate under these conditions? No one knows. The South Koreans believe that if they just keep the North Korean leaders from doing anything too destructive (especially to South Korea), eventually the tragicomic house of cards up north will just collapse. Not much of a plan, but so far, no one's come up with anything better.
Go figure.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
2 comments:
Yet China and Russia still refuse to do something as simple as endorse a strongly worded condemnation. The Security Council is toothless, hell the whole damned UN is toothless.
North Korea sure doesn't "make sense" but that guy's a damned madman...certified, card carrying. You almost expect it from him. But what of China? Why the continuation of such a staunch alliance? Does that make anymore sense than the madman himself? US/China relations are stronger than ever. It is in China's best economical interest to side with the United States on an issue as serious as Nuclear Proliferation. Yet with North Korea, as with Iran they remain steadfastly silent.
Why in the hell did we outlaw political assasinations? Clearly, it's in the global interest in this case.
China's position makes geopolitical sense for them. The Norks are not likely to threaten them with the bottle rockets whereas it keeps the U.S. off balance on the pacific rim. This allows China to benefit from trade with the U.S. while increasing their power in east Asia. The same applies to Russia except for the trade issue. Russia will continue to allow any action by rogue powers that occupy the attention and resources of the U.S.
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