The biggest problem with sanctions against a country like North Korea is that any ruling regime has access to resources that insulate them from the effects of economic pressures. In countries where governments where governments need to create wealth for many in order to hold on to power, it may be difficult to understand the extent to which some corrupt dictatorships are willing to leave their people impoverished and in poverty in order to accumulate resources and funds for themselves and their cronies. Case in point: Saddam Hussein and his sons living in lavish palaces while Iraqi children died from lack of medicine at the height of sanctions against Iraq.
The North Korean regime has absolutely no regard for the masses in their territory. They allow people to starve while spending untold millions on choreographed mass parades. The only thing that kleptocratic dictatorships care about is the survival of their regime and they often repress opposition and dissent with ruthless human rights abuses.
I do not know what the appropriate censure would be for a regime like Kim Jong-Il’s. It’ll probably take someone smarter than me to figure out what is.
1 comment:
They'll probably do what they did with Nigeria in the days of Abacha, and what they're doing to Zimbambwe now. They will come up with sanctions targeting those in power, visa restrictions, freezing of assets, and the like. But as both Nigeria and Zimbabwe can tell you, when you have enough money, you can get around these measures.
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