“Of the list of limited options on the table, relying on and utilizing an oppressed people to support their dictator’s removal is not one of them.”
As tensions have heightened with one of the original members of the world’s Axis of Evil, fears of what North Korea is capable of are rising and justified. Though we have been here before, this time in many senses feels different. Perhaps it’s the direct targeting of United States’ territories like Guam, or the priority with which the administration appears to put on eliminating the threat. Or maybe it’s the reality that came to fruition after watching one of our own succumb to the brutality suffered at the hands of the Kim Jong Un reign of torture.
But whereas in just about any other part of the world, America would have a vast amount of resources to look to as a counter measure, North Korea’s isolation from anything beyond its borders presents obstacles that weakens our ability to thwart them completely.
In many events where a dictator wields control over his populace and promulgates evil intentions against the rest of the world, western intelligence services might often look to blaze a path forward. We have seen this most recently to another prong in the axis of evil emanating from the Middle East. Nearly seven years ago the Arab Spring gave rise to oppressed people throughout the region and into parts of Africa.
With social media an unrealized and unkown entity and the fact that no diplomatic presence – the kind that paves the way for clandestine activity – is feasible, what is the west to do?
People whose lives were controlled and threatened by dictatorships in places like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. In each case dictatorships had long ruled the populace. As a result, the spoils of the work done by the masses were enjoyed by a select few in the leadership hierarchy, a defining characteristic of this way of ruling and one that also reflects the way of life in North Korea.
The uprising over time was a combination of violence and diplomatic efforts to topple dictators such as Muammar Gaddafi, Bashar al-Asad, and Hosni Mubarak. In most instances, the movement was successful in influencing change. In some of those cases, it led to the exile or death of those abusing their power. But regardless of the ultimate outcome, in each country the march toward reform and toppling of an existing government was fueled by the general population, those victimized at the hands of leadership.
America is the great evil of the world, and Kim Jong Un’s heroic status that has been brainwashed into the populace means that an assassination would further underscore this belief.
They were able to do so as, despite the best efforts of their rulers, they had means to access and exchange information, much of which was aided through social media campaigns that originated from intelligence services of nations who viewed the leaders in question as hostile. But despite the fact these same nations, most notably America, view Kim Jong Un in kind, when it comes to conflict with North Korea options are limited and relying on the people to spark an uprising is not possible.
While the state of play on the ground in the Middle East and North Africa at the time of the Arab Spring echoes the circumstances facing the people of North Korea, there is one omission from the list of commonalities – the access to any information not tightly controlled by the regime. There is a reason North Korea is considered the world’s most isolated country.
As we know from what limited insight we have seen from the rare documentary that manages to get access to the nation, real news and the internet is not available. As such, the narrative has long been that what little sustenance the people have is a blessing from their dear leaders – with Kim Jong Un reflecting the third-generation dictator to rule. There is little distrust of their leadership and those who do are often isolated even further from others. America is the great evil of the world, and Kim Jong Un’s heroic status that has been brainwashed into the populace means that an assassination would further underscore this belief.
With social media an unrealized and unkown entity and the fact that no diplomatic presence – the kind that paves the way for clandestine activity – is feasible, what is the west to do? As Kim Jong Un’s desire and perhaps ability to reap havoc on his greatest adversary intensifies, one thing is certain. Of the list of limited options on the table, relying on and utilizing an oppressed people to support their dictator’s removal is not one of them. Especially when they themselves don’t know they’re oppressed.
