Kim Jong-un’s North Korea is starving. His father’s North Korea was starving. And his grandfather’s North Korea was starving too. The United States has provided humanitarian aid to North Korea for decades. According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. gave $1.3 billion in direct aid to North Korea between 1995 and 2008. At varying intervals, based on the Kim Dynasty’s behavior, North Korea has received billions more in international assistance. Despite all of the humanitarian aid, nothing remarkable has changed in North Korea.
In February 2014, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations concluded what has widely been known around the world for decades; that North Korea is committing crimes against humanity on a daily basis. The Council highlights the violations as follows:
Report title: Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
A. Violations of the freedoms of thought, expression and religion
B. Discrimination
C. Violations of the freedom of movement and residence
D. Violations of the right to food and related aspects of the right to life
E. Arbitrary detention, torture, executions and prison camps
F. Abductions and enforced disappearances from other countries
The report summarized the daily atrocities in North Korea as follows:
These crimes against humanity entail extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation. The commission further finds that crimes against humanity are ongoing in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea because the policies, institutions and patterns of impunity that lie at their heart remain in place.
Given this laundry list of crimes against humanity, why would any country want to offer aid to North Korea? Paradoxically, it is the brutality and suffering of the North Korea people that compels the civilized world to provide humanitarian and financial assistance. There is always hope that such charity and compassion be received and appreciated enough to curtail the daily atrocities. Sadly, brutal dictators have proven to be brutal dictators over and over again. Three generations of Kim’s rule over North Korea make this point abundantly clear.
Since North Korea acceded to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on December 12, 1985, over the next three and half decades this hermit kingdom has failed to comply with every agreement related to nuclear proliferation. On October 9, 2006, North Korea successfully conducted an underground nuclear test near the village of P’unggye.
North Korea has broken nuclear proliferation agreements with five U.S. Presidents. (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama). President Trump is on a fool’s errand if he thinks he will not be number six. North Korea will never give up ALL of its nuclear weapons or its nuclear capacity. They will continue to make half-promises and take half-measures to gain access to humanitarian aid the United States dangles in the foolish hope that this time it will be different.
Military action will be required to eliminate nuclear weapons and capacity in North Korea. Regime change will be required. Millions of civilians and military personnel will most likely die in the effort. President Trump would be wise to recognize the historical evidence that clearly shows that North Korea is not an honest broker. If the United States refuses to ease sanctions and holds back on aid, Kim Jung-un will increase his missile and nuclear weapon testing – with the expectation that this will bring the United States back to another summit. Trump should ignore these overtures and make it clear that one rouge missile will end the July 27, 1953 armistice, and result in renewed military action against North Korea by the United States of America.
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