While stories about the Middle East have dominated international headlines the past year, the Korean Peninsula is not to be overlooked. The region is another political hot spot which has concerned not only the U.S. government, but also students on campus.
An unofficial delegation of U.S. experts visiting North Korea in January examined what the Pyongyang government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed was a nuclear deterrent.
The U.S. group provided the first confirmation that North Korea was producing material for use in nuclear weapons. The potential for a nuclear arsenal has been a cause of anxiety for other East Asian nations, the U.S. and its allies.
"Obviously, everyone's concerned about what's going on [in North Korea]," said Jiyoung Ahn, a graduate student in the politics department who was born in and whose parents still live in South Korea.
The six-party talks involving China, Russia, both Koreas, Japan and the United States ended Saturday without any major breakthroughs concerning nuclear armament.
Yet, Ahn said, the situation in North Korea is "a big event that should be getting more attention." Communist North Korea is currently led by the dictator Kim Jong-il.
He was reelected chairman of the DPRK's National Defense Commission, the government's top post, which oversees the 1.1-million member military, in September 2003.
Christina Shim '04 — a Korean- American in the Wilson School who wrote her junior paper on the North Korean nuclear armament and is currently working on a thesis dealing with North Korean refugees — said she believes Kim Jong-il to be a "brilliant" negotiator able to achieve the goal he cares about most — keeping his regime alive.
Ahn said he does not see problems in North Korea subsiding unless there is a "significant regime change."
However, Ahn said such a change is not likely in North Korea, where residents hold Kim Jong-il in high esteem.
One problem standing in the way of change in North Korea is the "indoctrination of these citizens," Shim said.
In a nation as small as North Korea, it is easy for Kim Jong-il to keep citizens ignorant of the country's comparatively poor standard of living, Shim said.
Ahn, who went to elementary school in South Korea, said that the education stressed "everyone being hungry" in North Korea.
Talks
Ahn said the government in Seoul "is doing the right thing in prodding the North to talk."
However, Ahn does not believe the South can achieve much unilaterally.
Ahn said those who are pro-unification of the two Koreas are mostly those of an older generation who may still have relatives they are close to in the North. A regime change and a North Korea with "permeable borders" is another possible solution, Ahn added.
One benefit of nuclear disarmament talks in North Korea is "that a lot of eyes are being focused on this problem that has existed for years and years," Ahn said.
Awareness
Despite the South's awareness of the situation in the North, Ahn added that many South Koreans believe that the current nuclear crisis will blow over just as events in that part of the Peninsula have in the past.
Inhwa Song '05, who was born in South Korea, said she "definitely feels inclined" to keep up with the news concerning the North, but said that with so many controversial issues, much of the story is "distorted."
John Lee '05, a Korean-American, agreed that while he does have an "inclination" to keep up with the news of the North, it does not "get put into practice" as often as he feels it should.
However, Lee did say that just from a standpoint of how many people are and can be affected by problems arising from the North, the situation in the DPRK is "comparable" to the one in Iraq.
Disarmament's chances
Despite the U.S.'s pressure, Song said the North is not likely to give up its nuclear armament plans just because the Bush administration says it should.
North Korea's nuclear arms are the regime's "threshold for power," more specifically "political power in the world," Song said.
Even since her mother's generation, there has been talk of the North invading the South, Song said, describing how South Korea has perhaps been jaded by the prospect of such dangers.
"I want things to settle down," Song said, yet she added such hopes seem futile.
Read More
GSG approves audit, delays budget approval after ‘insufferable’ meeting
Nikki HanThe final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
The final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
Effort to restore chapel’s pews slowly progresses
Ben GoldstonHead carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Head carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Metals, molecules, and medicine: chemical biology’s influence on health and sustainability
Aanya KaseraChemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.
Chemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.