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Posts Tagged ‘kim jong un’

Korean War’s 63rd Anniversary No Cause To Celebrate

25 Jun

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War.  The war in Korea was an unusual and unique conflict in many regards, not the least of which is the fact that the war technically never ended, but is only on a hiatus with an armistice.  And, unlike many other more “typical” wars, the non-outcome of the Korean War continues to haunt East Asia, the United States, and, in a sense, the whole world.

When North Korea’s Communist dictator, Kim Il-Sung launched his invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, he set in motion a conflict that would engage much of the world.  By the end of 1950, the United States and over a dozen other nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Turkey, and other members of the so-called Free World, were fighting to preserve South Korean independence under the authority of the United Nations.  Also, by the end of 1950, the world’s most populous nation, China, entered the war on the Communist side.  And, as this conflict was a significant component of the new Cold War, the Soviet Union was heavily involved, providing material, moral, and diplomatic support for the Communist war effort.  In a little-known fact, Soviet pilots were aiding the North Koreans by flying North Korean warplanes as they battled the UN air forces.  All this made the Korean War a potential starting point for a new World War, with potentially disastrous consequences as both the U.S. and the Soviets possessed atomic bombs by then.

The Korean War, while very significant historically, is often left out of the popular consciousness in America because it is sandwiched between the Second World War and the Vietnam War.  This is despite the opinion that in many ways, the Korean conflict, and the fact that it never truly ended, has had more far-reaching effects on world history and the current world situation than the Vietnam War or most of the other Cold War conflicts fought by the U.S. and her allies.  For example, the survival of the North Korean regime allowed the Kim family dynasty of dictators to develop nuclear weapons, with which they now threaten and harass not just South Korea, but also Japan and the United States.  In addition, the North Koreans are known proliferators of their nuclear technology, with known links to the nuclear programs of Pakistan, Iran, and Syria.

Every few years, actual combat breaks out between North and South Korean forces, always as a result of a North Korean provocation.  In the 1960s, the U.S. and South Korean troops along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two warring Koreas waged a defensive war against North Korean infiltrators for several years in what is now called “The DMZ War.”  In 1968, North Korean forces seized a U.S. naval ship, the USS Pueblo, and held the crew captive for nearly a year.  In the 1970s, North Korean troops attacked some American soldiers with axes.  In the 1980s, a North Korean submarine landed a large force of commandoes inside South Korea, leading to running gun battles throughout the South Korean countryside.  In the 21st Century, North Korea has sunk a South Korean naval ship, and bombarded a South Korean island with an artillery barrage.  While all this

North Korea is now ruled by a Kim of the third-generation of dictators.  Under the latest Kim, frequent threats of war against the United States, South Korea, and Japan are an almost monthly occurrence.  The Korean War began in the hills and fields of Korea 63 years ago.  It is still being fought in many ways today, June 25, 2013.  Except that while the weapons of 1950 were for the most part leftovers from World War Two, the weapons of today, with which Kim Jong-Un, the latest North Korean tyrant threatens to use on his neighbors and enemies, are the weapons of the long-feared Third World War.

 

Sources on the Korean War’s ongoing issues, from Historyguy.com:

http://www.historyguy.com/korean_border_conflicts.htm

http://www.historyguy.com/korean_nuclear_crisis.htm

http://www.historyguy.com/korean_naval_battle_2009.htm

 
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Posted in Korea, Russian History, Scenarios, Soviet Union, This Day In History, United States History, Vietnam War, War and Conflict, Wars

 

A Modern Game of Thrones in North Korea

05 Aug
North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju

North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju

Among modern tyrannical dictators, there is a strong tendency toward attempting to establish a “Game of Thrones” type of generational legitimacy.  Anyone familiar with the popular fantasy books and HBO TV show knows that the Kings and other Lords in the fictional land of Westeros work and fight very hard to place their children on the thrones of their respective kingdoms and fiefdoms.  Usually this involves much death, intrigue, war, and general misery for the common people, most of whom could care less about the “Game of Thrones” played by their rulers.  In the real world of international politics, one needs only look a bit at history and current events to see interesting patterns developing in the attempts of dictators to pass on their rule to their progeny, especially in North Korea.

It was recently reported that Kim Jong-Un, North Korea’s third leader of the Kim Dynasty, has taken a wife.  This actually should be considered good news for those worried about renewed war on the Korean Peninsula.  Kim Jong-Un’s new wife, named Ri Sol-Ju, is reported to be ‘pretty and charming’ by an insider with knowledge of the Kim family.  Most likely, within the next year or two, word will come out of North Korea that Ri Sol-Ju is expecting a child with her husband, the Supreme Leader.  Such a pregnancy and, presumably a live birth of a son, will continue the Kim Dynasty for another generation.  Assuming North Korea as a nation survives.  One thing about North Korea and the politics of the Stalinist hermit kingdom, is that no one on outside of North Korea really knows if there will be another Korean War.  Every time a leadership change occurs in the North, or in the time leading up to such a change, tensions mount as the North makes militaristic and belligerent noises and actions.  In 2010, as Kim Jong-Un’s father weakened, the North attacked a South Korean island.  It is now known that Kim Jong-Un was on the island with his father just prior to that attack, and that this may have been a demonstration of his ability to command.

While few outside of North Korea would see the continuation of this dynasty of dictators as a positive, all would likely agree that a new Korean War would be in no one’s best interests.  The marriage of Kim Jong-Un assures that he will attempt to pass on his power and rule to his future children.  This means that he will (hopefully), not engage in any reckless actions that may spark a war that any reasonable person with knowledge of military affairs could surmise would end with North Korea’s end.  Of course, no one outside of North Korea really knows if Kim Jong-Un himself is really aware that North Korea’s conventional military forces cannot truly compete with the South Korean and American military might that any North Korean attack would face.  Any reasonable observer would have guessed that Saddam Hussein, who also groomed his sons to succeed him, would have avoided any reckless military adventures that could undo his family’s rule of Iraq.  As we all know, Saddam and all of his sons are now dead, and his county is now ruled by people that Saddam would have loved to kill.

Other modern dictators attempted to pass on their rule to a second generation.  Libya’s late and largely unlamented tyrant, Muammar Gaddafi, intended to pass on power to his sons.  A bloody civil war later, and we see that they are all now dead or imprisoned.  Egypt’s strongman Hosni Mubarak, while not as dictatorial as the Kims or Gadaffis, nonetheless intended to pass on power to his eldest son.  The Egyptian Revolution changed that, and Egypt is now holding democratic elections. And in Syria, where the Assad Dynasty is currently in its second generation, a bloody civil war has Bashar Assad on the edge of following the footsteps of Saddam, Gaddafi, and Mubarak.  No one expects North Korea’s people to suddenly rise up and kick out the Kims.  The dynamic is much different and the grip the North Korean communists have on their rule is much too tight.  But in this modern Game of Thrones, some kings live, and some kings die.  But one thing remains steady:  If there is a man on the figurative throne of a dictatorship, if  that ruler can pass on his power to his sons, he will do so.

Prince Joffrey on his Throne in Game of Thrones: Would he fit in as a modern dictator?

Prince Joffrey on his Throne in Game of Thrones: Would he fit in as a modern dictator?

 
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Posted in Current Affairs, Egypt, History, Korea, Libyan Wars, Opinion

 

Profiles of North Korea’s Ruling Kim Dynasty

19 Dec

With the sudden death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il and the apparent succession of his son, Kim Jong-Un, tension in East Asia is on the rise.  Traditionally, when North Korea undergoes a transfer of power, or some other significant change takes place in the leadership, relations between North Korea and her neighbors, especially with South Korea, become more tense and dangerous.  Below are Profiles of the Kim Family of North Korean Dictators.

 

Kim Il-SungKim Il-Sung–Founder of Communist North Korea. Ruled (1948-1994) on the Stalinist model and set up a cult of personality. Passed power on to his son in the first hereditary transfer of power in a Communist system. Started the bloody Korean War in 1950.

Kim Jong-IlKim Jong-Il–Communist dictator of North Korea (1994-2011) Inherited power from his father. Attempted to set up one of his sons to inherit the country upon his passing. Under the Kim Jong-Il, North Korea developed nuclear weapons and engaged in dangerous nuclear diplomacy with the U.S. and neighboring nations, and has engaged in occassional military skirmishes with South Korea, including the bloody attack on Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. Kim Jong-Il died on December 17, 2011

Kim Jong-UnKim Jong-Un–New Communist dictator of North Korea (2011) Inherited power from his father, who died in December, 2011. Upon his introduction as “The Great Successor,” Kim Jong-Un was in his 20s, is known to have been educated in a German boarding school, and is a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers National Basketball Association (NBA) team. It is unknown what the North Korean military thinks of their young, new leader.

 
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Posted in Current Affairs, History, Korea