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Every 10 years or so North Korea starts to run out of money from the last deal (1994, 2003). A big money maker has been concessions for not pursuing nukes [1].

Every 10 years or so North Korea starts to run out of money from the last deal (1994, 2003). A big money maker has been concessions for not pursuing nukes [1]. The money must almost be dried up from the last one, thus the posturing. In the end this stems from a lack of coherent plans after invading Korea back in the day. We are lucky Vietnam didn't end up the way Korea did or we'd have the same situation still today. The middle east may also turn into something like this. The US has to learn to win wars by economically winning over people and giving them more opportunity and freedoms, like Marshall plans back after WWII, ones in which we were also paid for but benefitted all. We are greatly failing at rebuilding after invasions and this is another example of how that has blowback. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework

adsthrowaway12 9y ago
The ME won't turn into something like this. The US heavily influences, finances and arms the ME, so there aren't any leaders who need to pursue this type of tactic. Additionally, Marshall plans won't help the ME at all. I'm going to leave it there. You can look up the reasons why it won't work.
- yeukhon 9y ago
  My chime on why MP doesn't work in ME is simply because no one really asked US to come. The never-ending ethnic conflicts cannot be resolved by Marshall Plan. MP worked in WW2 because the entire Europe was buried in ashes, everyone hated the Nazi, everyone was in the same boat, everyone's life was at stake, so the only thing people wanted right post-war was to rebuild life, and nothing more (but of course soon countries split part...) ME today? Unless, for example, you can tell Sunni and Shi to STFU and just love each other as Islam teaches them (sorry for the Shi and Sunni folks here), then expect no change. The same goes to Israel and Palestine, China and Tibet, China and Japanese over some stupid islands (for controlling the sea and oil). Stop this BS, and move on...
  - adsthrowaway12 9y ago
    I'm sorry, but I find your viewpoint laughable. Telling them to STFU, when in the ME they have been fighting for longer than 2000 years. 2000 years! Think about that for a second. This video succinctly tells the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evIyrrjTTY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evIyrrjTTY
    - yeukhon 9y ago
      Laughable? What is laughable about stopping the BS and just get along with one another? These conflicts are so meaningless right now. Japanese killed millions during WW2, and as a Chinese descendant I condemn Japanese government for not acknowledging their war crimes. But I won't start a war with Japan over that. Time to put the past aside, and fix the problems that really do matter. Move on.
xiaoma 9y ago
The US did invest heavily in rebuilding Korea after the war and in "economically winning over people and giving them more opportunity and freedoms". The portion of Korea that was and still is occupied by UN (primarily US) armed forces is now a healthy, well-educated, free and prosperous country—South Korea. North Korea, on the other hand, is an impoverished totalitarian state that has been using the threats to demand aid for decades. It wouldn't even exist if China hadn't decided to intervene against the UN command in Korea and flood troops into the peninsula, and to this day it is the one and only country in the world China has formed an alliance with. And your assessment is that the problem wasn't that the PRK chose communism, but instead it was the US not offering enough freedom or economic opportunity!? What about its communist allies? I'm not a fan of all of some the US's military actions in recent decades, but if ever there was a war worth fighting since WWII, then surely the Korean War was it. You'd have a hard time finding anyone in the south wishing the communists had won the entire peninsula and that they'd become part of the PRK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War#China_intervenes_.28October_.E2.80.93_December_1950.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War#China_intervenes_.2...
- guildwriter 9y ago
  It's worth mentioning that Korean democracy is a relatively new phenomenon. For a period of time, South Korea was effectively a military dictatorship. It was only until 1988 that SKorea actually elected a president for the first time. Before that it was just one military coup after another. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee Park Chung-hee is largely credited for creating the "Miracle on the Han River" which led to the current prosperous SKorea we know today. He was also a brutally repressive leader who tortured and killed many of his opponents.
  - xiaoma 9y ago
    The other three Asian tigers weren't democracies then, either. But along with Korea they were free market economies. While political freedoms were limited, it was a far, far cry from the situation in any of the communist countries in Asia. The choice between living in South Korea vs North Korea was clear even in the mid 1980s.
guildwriter 9y ago
This is not just about self protection or about blackmailing to keep the regime going. The end game for North Korea has been and always will be the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/02/what_does_north_korea_want_analyst_b_r_myers_on_what_s_behind_the_regime.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogatio... This has been North Korea's policy since going back to 1960 under Kim Il Sung. No discussion of what is going on right now as far as NKorea's motivations is complete without mentioning this. Everyone knows what happens to SKorea when the US pulls the trigger on NKorea. People need to start thinking of the ramifications of the US signing a peace treaty and exiting the Korean Peninsula. The status quo of us kicking the can down the line is coming to an end. It's time for people to stop thinking NKorea doesn't have an endgame.
- drawkbox 9y ago
  I think most of the world wants Korean unification. The only big country against that really is China [1]. The US only wants it if South Korea is the model for the North, not China modeling the South after what the North is, their buffer. [1] https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/04/economist-explains-2 https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/04/e...
  - iwintermute 9y ago
    Interestingly, I don't think South Korea would be very happy to unite.
    - guildwriter 9y ago
      You don't know South Korea very well then: > "Having lived in South Korea for the past 15 years, I don’t share most Americans’ confidence that it will always choose America over a North-supporting China. My own impression—bolstered by the ongoing controversy surrounding the stationing of the THAAD missile defense system—is that a growing number of South Koreans would rather see their state’s security compromised than risk their own prosperity. Let’s not overestimate South Koreans’ attachment to their own state, which a sizable but influential minority still considers illegitimate. The most popular movie in Seoul at the moment is a thriller about a joint North–South effort to catch a criminal ring of North Korean defectors. That plot tells you something right there. The main North Korean character is played for cool by a handsome Tom Cruise type, while his South Korean counterpart is a homely, tired-looking figure of fun. There is a tradition of this sort of casting. The subtext: Serving the North is glamorous; serving the South, not so much. Let’s keep in mind that Kim Jong-un is watching these movies too." Reunification of the Korean Peninsula is something that has been on the mind of both North and South ever since larger powers made them.
jgalt212 9y ago
so, trade the jobs and economic well being of mid westerners for some global peace and quiet.

adsthrowaway12 9y ago

The ME won't turn into something like this. The US heavily influences, finances and arms the ME, so there aren't any leaders who need to pursue this type of tactic. Additionally, Marshall plans won't help the ME at all. I'm going to leave it there. You can look up the reasons why it won't work.

yeukhon 9y ago
My chime on why MP doesn't work in ME is simply because no one really asked US to come. The never-ending ethnic conflicts cannot be resolved by Marshall Plan. MP worked in WW2 because the entire Europe was buried in ashes, everyone hated the Nazi, everyone was in the same boat, everyone's life was at stake, so the only thing people wanted right post-war was to rebuild life, and nothing more (but of course soon countries split part...) ME today? Unless, for example, you can tell Sunni and Shi to STFU and just love each other as Islam teaches them (sorry for the Shi and Sunni folks here), then expect no change. The same goes to Israel and Palestine, China and Tibet, China and Japanese over some stupid islands (for controlling the sea and oil). Stop this BS, and move on...
- adsthrowaway12 9y ago
  I'm sorry, but I find your viewpoint laughable. Telling them to STFU, when in the ME they have been fighting for longer than 2000 years. 2000 years! Think about that for a second. This video succinctly tells the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evIyrrjTTY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-evIyrrjTTY
  - yeukhon 9y ago
    Laughable? What is laughable about stopping the BS and just get along with one another? These conflicts are so meaningless right now. Japanese killed millions during WW2, and as a Chinese descendant I condemn Japanese government for not acknowledging their war crimes. But I won't start a war with Japan over that. Time to put the past aside, and fix the problems that really do matter. Move on.

xiaoma 9y ago

The US did invest heavily in rebuilding Korea after the war and in "economically winning over people and giving them more opportunity and freedoms". The portion of Korea that was and still is occupied by UN (primarily US) armed forces is now a healthy, well-educated, free and prosperous country—South Korea. North Korea, on the other hand, is an impoverished totalitarian state that has been using the threats to demand aid for decades. It wouldn't even exist if China hadn't decided to intervene against the UN command in Korea and flood troops into the peninsula, and to this day it is the one and only country in the world China has formed an alliance with. And your assessment is that the problem wasn't that the PRK chose communism, but instead it was the US not offering enough freedom or economic opportunity!? What about its communist allies? I'm not a fan of all of some the US's military actions in recent decades, but if ever there was a war worth fighting since WWII, then surely the Korean War was it. You'd have a hard time finding anyone in the south wishing the communists had won the entire peninsula and that they'd become part of the PRK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War#China_intervenes_.28October_.E2.80.93_December_1950.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War#China_intervenes_.2...

guildwriter 9y ago
It's worth mentioning that Korean democracy is a relatively new phenomenon. For a period of time, South Korea was effectively a military dictatorship. It was only until 1988 that SKorea actually elected a president for the first time. Before that it was just one military coup after another. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee Park Chung-hee is largely credited for creating the "Miracle on the Han River" which led to the current prosperous SKorea we know today. He was also a brutally repressive leader who tortured and killed many of his opponents.
- xiaoma 9y ago
  The other three Asian tigers weren't democracies then, either. But along with Korea they were free market economies. While political freedoms were limited, it was a far, far cry from the situation in any of the communist countries in Asia. The choice between living in South Korea vs North Korea was clear even in the mid 1980s.

guildwriter 9y ago

This is not just about self protection or about blackmailing to keep the regime going. The end game for North Korea has been and always will be the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/02/what_does_north_korea_want_analyst_b_r_myers_on_what_s_behind_the_regime.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogatio... This has been North Korea's policy since going back to 1960 under Kim Il Sung. No discussion of what is going on right now as far as NKorea's motivations is complete without mentioning this. Everyone knows what happens to SKorea when the US pulls the trigger on NKorea. People need to start thinking of the ramifications of the US signing a peace treaty and exiting the Korean Peninsula. The status quo of us kicking the can down the line is coming to an end. It's time for people to stop thinking NKorea doesn't have an endgame.

drawkbox 9y ago
I think most of the world wants Korean unification. The only big country against that really is China [1]. The US only wants it if South Korea is the model for the North, not China modeling the South after what the North is, their buffer. [1] https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/04/economist-explains-2 https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/04/e...
- iwintermute 9y ago
  Interestingly, I don't think South Korea would be very happy to unite.
  - guildwriter 9y ago
    You don't know South Korea very well then: > "Having lived in South Korea for the past 15 years, I don’t share most Americans’ confidence that it will always choose America over a North-supporting China. My own impression—bolstered by the ongoing controversy surrounding the stationing of the THAAD missile defense system—is that a growing number of South Koreans would rather see their state’s security compromised than risk their own prosperity. Let’s not overestimate South Koreans’ attachment to their own state, which a sizable but influential minority still considers illegitimate. The most popular movie in Seoul at the moment is a thriller about a joint North–South effort to catch a criminal ring of North Korean defectors. That plot tells you something right there. The main North Korean character is played for cool by a handsome Tom Cruise type, while his South Korean counterpart is a homely, tired-looking figure of fun. There is a tradition of this sort of casting. The subtext: Serving the North is glamorous; serving the South, not so much. Let’s keep in mind that Kim Jong-un is watching these movies too." Reunification of the Korean Peninsula is something that has been on the mind of both North and South ever since larger powers made them.

jgalt212 9y ago

so, trade the jobs and economic well being of mid westerners for some global peace and quiet.