{"id":10403,"date":"2023-10-23T15:50:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T14:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/?p=10403"},"modified":"2023-10-23T15:50:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T14:50:13","slug":"whats-really-going-on-in-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/whats-really-going-on-in-north-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Really Going On In North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What’s really happening in North Korea? A question that has remained largely unanswered for a long time, however, with media and human rights activists actively playing an important role in unravelling the inner state of affairs, it no longer remains a mystery. To begin with, North Korea is an isolated, autocratic state with a leader that relies on his citizens to remain and support him in order to preserve his totalitarian rule. With its closed borders, citizens of the country have very limited access to the outside world. Nevertheless, considerable insights into the reality of the country have been gleaned by organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Freedom House.<\/p>\n

Famine is one of the major challenges faced by North Koreans. A United Nations report has concluded that more than 10.2 million people, approximately 40 percent of the population, require immediate aid and assistance. One of the greatest catalysts of the crisis is the government’s excessive military spending, which has weakened the national economy and has thus, in turn, significantly affected the nation’s food supply. Moreover, the North Korean government has been alleged to be involved in extrajudicial killings, detention centre punishment, labour camps and torture, in order to coerce dissent.<\/p>\n

These harrowing revelations have spurred a plethora of international responses. Launched in August 2017, the “Luxembourg Initiative” was driven to provide emergency humanitarian aid to North Korea. The EU has actively taken part in this mission in its bid for reunification and denuclearization of the country. The US State Department has also fought for human rights through economic sanctions, though experts indicate that these have not been very effective. Kim Jong Un has still retained power in the country despite these various attempts.<\/p>\n

Increasing aid is a risky venture, however, due to the international community’s inability to guarantee the effective and legitimate distribution of the supplies. Consequently, potential providers of aid worry that money or goods may end up benefiting the privileged elite of the nation or funding the military activities of the government. As such, the government has countered criticism by accusing the international community of interference.<\/p>\n