Essay on "North Korea Amid Famine in 2000"

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[EXCERPT] . . . .

North Korea

Amid famine in 2000, North Korean dictator for life Kim Jong-Il bought a brewery in England, had it dismantled it and shipped it to Pyongyang so the North Korean elite could drink better beer. Kim bragged at the time that he was a "better drinker" that South Korean leader Kim Dae-Jung (BBC, 2000). This situation, which occurred in the midst of famine and the complete collapse of North Korea's command economy, exemplifies the disconnect between Kim Jong-Il and the people of his nation.

North Korea, famously branded a member of the "Axis of Evil," is one of the world's most enigmatic states. The nation nominally adheres to Communism, but might be more aptly described as a theocratic dictatorship. Kim Jong-Il is ruler for life, and head of the Juche religion that his father began. The power of Kim is tied to his standing within this religion as a godlike figure. With this power, however, comes paranoia. Kim has built North Korea into one of the world's strongest military powers. North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world at 1.2 million soldiers, and spends nearly a quarter of its GDP on the military (U.S. State Department, 2009). The country is widely believed to be a nuclear power, having declared itself as such in 2005 (Faiola, 2005). Kim's eccentricities make him the butt of jokes around the world, but he is unpredictable, paranoid, and possesses substantial military might. Because of that, North Korea is one of the greatest threats to stability in the world today.

This essay will analyze the North Korean situation, and discern what North Korea means for the United States military today. I will examine the history and capabilitie

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s of the nation. Then, I will analyze the military implications of North Korea for the U.S. Finally, the paper will draw some conclusions about the ways in which the U.S. can react to North Korea to minimize the threat.

Body

Located in northeastern Asia, North Korea occupies the northern half of the Korea peninsula. To the north it is bordered by China and Russia, to the south by South Korea, with whom it is technically still at war. The demilitarized zone - actually the world's most heavily militarized area - sits between the two Koreas. North Korea operates a command economy in which military products are the most significant component of the GDP. North Korea also relies on subsistence farming (though food is allocated primarily through a central agency), electric power and mining for income. International aid is frequently needed to meet the food needs of North Korea's 23 million people.

North Korea's people do not have the freedom to voice their level of content or discontent. They are commanded under strict punishment to follow Juche and swear allegiance to Kim Jong-Il. The nation has largely abandoned its pre-Juche traditions, but has not embraced many elements of modern life as well. The cult of personality that Kim has cultivated is the driving social force in North Korea. Progress is other spheres seldom occurs. The economy saw tiny openings in the past decade, including private farmer's markets, in an attempt to boost food production, but the government still exerts significant control over the economic, social, and technological lives of the people.

Nominally, this makes the form of government Communist, but the model is not based around ownership by the people. Rather, the central government owns everything, and the definition of "central government" is Kim Jong-Il. On paper, the people support this form of government, but dissent and free speech are not allowed, so the true support is unknown. There is also no access to information from the outside world in North Korea, so the populous is essentially brainwashed. The government, sadly, is stable as long as Kim remains in power. This runs against U.S. interest, because North Korea does not support U.S. national strategy. It does not support anybody's national strategy, making it one of the world's most isolated nations.… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "North Korea Amid Famine in 2000" Assignment:

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Prepare a paper that evaluates how the national security affairs of North Korea can influence and/or affect U.S. military involvement.

This assignment MUST address the main points described below:

Introduction:

(1) Attention step. Get and keep the reader attention with an interesting (and little known) fact about North Korea.

(2) Motivation step. Make readers understand why it's important they understand, retain, and be able to communicate to others the country you're writing about.

(3) Overview step. Overview of main points in the order presented in essay.

Body:

Main point (1) Background Information: states the country's background information and answers the following questions as sub-points:

(a) Basic geographical information, products, resources, imports/exports, etc.

(b) Are its people content? How is this disposition evident?

(c) Do its people value tradition, progress, or both? How do they demonstrate this?

(d) Is there technological, economic, political, or cultural progress occurring? In what ways do they show this?

Make sure to transition from one paragraph to the next. Closes out main point (1) and set up main point (2).

Main point (2) Government: states the country's form of government (democracy, capitalism, Marxism, socialism, fascism, monarchy, theocracy, communism, autocracy) and answers the following questions as sub-points:

(a) In what ways does the country's current form of government have support of its people?

(b) How does the current government demonstrate stability or what leads you to believe it's unstable?

(c) In what ways does this country support or oppose our national strategy?

Make sure to transition from one paragraph to the next. Closes out main point (2) and sets up main point (3).

(3) Main point (3) Strategic Importance: states the country's strategic interest to the U.S. in geographic, political, economic, and military terms and answers the following questions as sub-points:

(a) What are the country's strong and weak areas?

(b) Which are its greatest strengths?

(c) Which are its greatest weaknesses?

Make sure to transition from one paragraph to the next. Closes out main point (3) and sets up main point (4).

(4) Main point (4) Future Direction: state opinion on what the future holds for the country and the direction it will take concerning military strategy (revolutionary war, terrorism, cold war, limited war, and/or general war) and answers the following questions as sub-points:

(a) Is the country currently participating in armed conflict or "peace keeping" mission? If so, where?

(b) If the country is participating in an armed conflict, who are the major players?

(c) What (if any) is the U.S. strategy with respect to the conflict?

(d) What (if any) threat does this country represent to the U.S.? What is the nature of this threat and how do you think the U.S. would counter it?

Conclusion:

(1) Summary step. Summarize main points in the order they were presented. Similar to the overview, but not verbatim.

(2) Remotivation step. Reaffirm why it's important understand, retain, and be able to communicate the gist of your presentation to those we lead.

(3) Closing step. End with a thought provoking question, quote, answer the question asked in the introduction, or use some other device to stimulate thought about your topic and intrigue the reader's interest.

Format: One-inch margins, title centered on first page, Courier New, 12 pt font

Six double-spaced pages (max), page numbers on succeeding pages in Courier New, 12 pt font, and avoid passive voice.

These are just a few available sites which provide comprehensive country information:

http://state.gov US Department of State

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook World Factbook

http://executiveplanet.com/ Executive Planet

http://trade.gov/td/tic/ U.S. Department of Commerce

Other resource material may be used as well.

If there are any questions regarding this assignment please contact me immediately.

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