North Korea: Military expenses

North Korea needs to stop military activity because it can’t afford infrastructure or to feed its own population. Because of its hermit- like qualities, news from North Korea is notoriously difficult to receive. It doesn’t allow reporters to enter and foreigners who do visit have been known to have their electronics and identification confiscated at the border. As it stands, the country is under intense military control and will stay that way with propaganda and force.
Last week, an anonymous source leaked to the Chosun Ilbo, that the administration led by North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, executed 11- high ranking officials. One of them was executed by flame thrower.
Jang Song-taek, the head of the Workers Party department was executed. Jang’s elder sister and her husband, the ambassador to Cuba, were killed along with their son-in- law, who managed a trading company. Jang’s nephew, the ambassador to Malaysia escaped alive. With military action being the only answer to political opposition, the country is dangerously close to committing genocide for its goals.
North Korea’s revenue largely came from exports suchasminerals,metals,fish and agriculture. With massive underinvestment in capital stock and military funds draining from citizens and infrastructure, the country is deficient in food and spare parts.
Even though the country is in ruins, it isn’t stopping Kim Jong-un from building the extravagant Ryugyong hotel that stand 105 stories tall after 22 years of development with no clear completion deadline in sight. With plans for over 3,000 rooms, a casino and more, it seems like a wasted status symbol since tourists don’t plan on visiting.
North Korea seems to be decades behind the rest of the world not only in food, infrastructure and technology, but also in economic revenue. North Korea stands as a colossal exporter of methamphetamines in the form of “crystal” meth.
In North Korea, many factories are shut down with inactive or broken machinery and to cope with the economic deficiency, citizens have turned to drug use. The use of methamphetamines is approached casually in North Korea. People use it to quell appetites, treat minor illnesses and students use it to cram for finals. Because of the medicinal and nutrition shortage in the country, the citizens started using it as a crutch and as a source of export revenue in the black market.
Methamphetamines aren’t the only drugs used though. Drugs like methadone, originally produced in Germany after the second World War, are derived from opium and sold in North Korea for their pain relieving and highly addictive properties.
In a news conference aimed at Asian Pacific nations, American Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel claims the US will send two ballistic missile defense destroyers to Japan in an effort to deal with North Korean Missiles and Chinese territorial aggression. North Korea’s arms race will not stop though. “Kim Jong-un was taught that if he did not possess nuclear weapons, America and other strong countries with military force would steal his power. As long as the power does not change, North Korea will not give up nuclear weapons,” says North Koreandefectorandeditorof Free NK, Kim Joo-Il.
In February, Hagel also announced the addition of a new radar in Japan that could track any missile launched from North Korea but I don’t think it will stop North Korea. Recently, the United States’ presence of foreign negotiation has dropped significantly because of action in Crimea but if North Korea doesn’t stop wasting resources on military power before somebody stops them, then the country will probably starve.