by: Deji Yesufu
North Korea came into my political consciousness in December 2013 when its maximum ruler, the 31 year old Kim Jung-un ordered the execution of his own uncle, Jang Song-thack.
As widely reported in the media then, Mr. Jang, was allegedly fed to hungry dogs by his own nephew on allegation of his involvement in a coup to topple the government.
The allegation was that Jang had used his close ties with Beijing, China, to suggest a coup in North Korea that will see to the overthrow of Kim Jung-un’s government; which will see Kim replaced with his half brother – Kim Jong-nam.
Despite the execution of his uncle, Kim Jong-un kept tab on his half brother, who had fled into the Diaspora. In February 2017, two ladies attacked Kim Jong-nam at the Kuala Lumpar airport, in Malaysia, with VX gas. He was killed in minutes.
When his suit was searched, the anti-dote to that gas was found in his jacket pocket. Jong-nam knew his attackers were around the corner; he was just not fast enough to evade death. Many have blamed his death on his half brother, the maximum ruler of North Korea – Kim Jong-un.
What is North Korea and why does it function under such a repressive government? The answer to this question is the whole thrust of this essay.
By the turn of the 20th century, Japan was the super power in much of Asia. It colonized a couple of its neighbours, including China. In 1910, Japan had brought the nation of Korea under its colonial rule. Korea was still under colonial rule by the time the second world war broke out in Europe. After the defeat of Germany, Japan, which was supporting Hitler, also suffered great loss and in the process lost many of its colonial territory.
After the second world war, The United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), two countries who had fought on the same side to defeat Germany, were pitched against each other over political ideologies.
The USA supported a capitalist tilt to governance, while the USSR believed in a communist/socialist government. This led these two great super powers to divide practically all the political territories hitherto held by Germany and Japan. The USA took control of West Germany, while the Soviets took over East Germany. The USA held unto South Korea, while the Soviets held control over North Korea. This is how the Korea was split into north and south.
The full name of North Korea is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Its capital city is Pyongyang. It is also its largest city. In 1948, following the second world war, Kim II-sung became the maximum ruler of North Korea. He is today regarded as the founder and father of the nation of North Korea.
He created the nation’s repressive political ideology. He spent all of his life, seeking to build such a military might that will conquer his sister nation, South Korea, and bring her into his political domination.
Up till today, North Korea still regards South Korea as a part of its own country.
In 1950, North Korea launched a military attack on its southern counterpart and quickly overran most of the country – precipitating the Korean War. The United States of America, backed by other military forces from the United Nations, moved into South Korea and pushing the military forces of Kim II-sung back into North Korea.
The American did not leave it at that, they overran the whole of North Korea, reducing every major building to rubbles. When the US forces pushed too close to the Chinese border, China was forced to enter into the Korean War.
Following this the American moved back into South Korea. The USA still maintain a large military contingency in South Korea till today.
North Korea has a population of 25 million people. It operates the fourth largest military outfit in the world, after China, USA and India. It has 1.2 million people in active military formation. However, North Korea has the largest military contingency in the world with 9 million people in both its military and paramilitary outfits. At this rate, every adult male in North Korea will be in the military.
North Korea’s founder and maximum ruler Kim II-sung died in 1994. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il, who called for a national mourning of three years for his father. Kim Jong-il himself died suddenly of a heart attack in 2011 and was succeeded by his youngest son, the Western trained Kim Jong-un.
North Korea invests heavily in its military because this is the only way it sees itself gaining political relevance in the future. North Korea resumed its development of Nuclear weapons in the regime of Kim Jong-un, after Kim Jong-il, his father, had been prevailed upon by the Americans to stop developing nuclear weapons.
Kim Jong-un has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Following the murder of his uncle, Kim has been ruling North Korea with a tight fist.
The George W. Bush administration called North Korea under the administration of Kim’s father “a rogue nation”.
Barack Obama administration took a rather lackadaisical attitude to Kim’s regime and under Obama, Kim Jong-un has developed some really world threatening nuclear weapons. In fact, he had developed the attitude of boastfully testing these weapons openly and telling the world of his growing nuclear prowess.
Therefore when Donald Trump came to power, his first concern, among many other things, was North Korea. Trump has called Kim Jong-un “the little rocket man”, an obvious reference to the latter’s penchant for testing nuclear weapons and threatening his neighbours with it.
What then is the relevance of all these to the normal Nigerian?
It is this: if North Korea succeeds with its nuclear arsenals and its threat of developing weapons that can reach the United States of America; if this rogue state wakes up one morning and overruns South Korea, while its shoots weapons of mass destruction into the west, we shall have the beginning of a Third World War.
Many have asked why America cannot just mind its business and leave other countries alone. Why does America have to play the big brother on every nation? It is not just for political relevance alone; America does this because of the ruining powers of a rogue nation.
Modern political ideologies do not accept a situation where one man rules over many others. Most nations have adopted democracy as their political stance. Democracy allows for the rule of the people through their democratically elected personnel. The beauty of democracy is that if an elected person fails, he can be replaced.
Rogue nations, on the other hand, operate under all kinds of oppressive rules. One of it is the feudalistic rule. This is a government of a few people over others. It is usually a government that is built around a family and the dictates of this government will not rise from the wishes of people but from the wishes of one man and his children.
When Nigeria gained independence, we fell into the feudalist rule of one man called Sarduana of Sokoto – Ahmadu Bello. He used his influence to coerce the opposition into submission. The country was degenerating into chaos when the military struck in 1966 and brought an end to his very powerful influence. It can be argued that if Ahmadu Bello had lived beyond 1966, we would still be under his feudalist rule today.
While many can blame America for its own oppressive rule in countries around the world, you cannot blame the USA for feudalism. The democratic culture in that country allows for freedom of expression that usually leads to the best minds and the greatest wisdom to prevail in the public space. In a feudalist system, the greatest wisdom does not prevail; it is the wisdom of one man that prevail.
Therefore, if North Korea is given the opportunity to develop its nuclear weapons, coupled with its large military contingency, that country has the potential to someday over run the major world powers today – including China, Russia and the USA. If it succeeds in this, it will simply send out its personals into every country in the world and bring the whole world under the rule of one man.
Note also that since North Korea is a atheist country, it will be preaching atheism around the world; while at the same time transporting its repressive government all around the nations. It will clamp down on democratic rules and bring every nation under its influence through a puppet ruler.
If anyone has ever been concerned about the rule of an Antichrist, look no further beyond Kim Jong-un.
Regardless of what anyone might think of the USA, we must all agree that North Korea is a rogue nation. Its nuclear development must be curtailed and its growing influence in East Asia diminished.
If this is not done, we shall wake up one day to find one man ruling the whole world. His name – Kim Jong-un.
The Antichrist?
[…] nations and the installing of sane governments in countries (like the just need of removing the rogue government in North Korea – I digress). For this end, the military of a country are entrusted with weapons to do their job. […]