Saturday, September 18, 2004

Behind the Iron Curtain

A rare look into North Korean life was recently revealed by a BBC correspondent during British Foreign Minister's historic visit behind the DMZ. He describes a nation under communist rule, with a lifestyle so foreign and so forgotten by the rest of the world it probably belongs in a museum. People there are clearly suffering; with all the strides the government made to put up a facade of prosperity it was all to evident that there has been little change in the standard of living since the fall of the Soviet Union. The ease with which North Korea's leaders chuckle at reports of human labour camps is perhaps what is most disheartening.
When Britain's minister challenged his North Korean counterparts, they laughed off terrible torture allegations, but they did concede that forced labour is an integral part of what they call "rehabilitation".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Do the Nth Koreans auction off their 'forced labour' to the highest bidder? Are the chain gangs that still exist in parts of the US not 'forced labour'? Does the US gaol non-violent offenders for so called drug crimes? Did these so called 'crimes' exist before the laws were lobbied for by the paper, cotton, and oil industries?

Maybe the US should try removing the log from its eye before worrying about the splinter in North Koreas.