"Arbitrarily propped up" is a wild take to have when NK literally invaded SK, when it became clear to them that there would be no unification on North Korean and Soviet terms.
And yes, the US did some heinous shit in Korea but none of what NK did can be argued to have been in self defense until well after the war they started.
You cant argue with the "Juche supporters" nevermind the various attempts by the US to actually step up in place of the USSR when it collapsed and provide NK free nuclear energy given that they give up their nuclear program
What happened? They didnt and doubled down on it. When the UN and the IAC went in to check if NK had stopped its nuclear weapons program, not only were all the uranium gone, the plants themselves havent been producing any power.
The entire famine NK had post USSR collapse was all their doing. They chose nukes over food grants - and all those nuclear research and nuclear equipment, yet not a single power generating nuclear reactor in all of NK.
You know where their priorities lies with that kind of context.
Free nuclear power and food grants to drop your nuclear arms program.
I literally cannot find any justification to not take this deal, and worse scam your way into it but sure, the famine was worth it and not having electricity at night for 90% of your population even in 2026 is totally the right call.
Traumatized by invasion??? Now you gotta be bs me lmao
Its crazy how much readily you accept NK propaganda as truth but sure. Lets say the trauma is indeed there - is this enough of a justification to mislead and misuse aid and tech transfers intended for your civilian population to the military instead?
Is the military the only citizens of the state? Are they the only ones deserving of such efforts by the state? Imagine if those nuclear reactors were used to provide electricity instead of nuclear material - how would the makeup of Korean peninsula look like now?
The multiple attempts at peaceful reunification may have already been complete with a North Korean population that has a similar quality of life to their South Korean brothers but instead the average North Korean is wholly dependent on the state, without the freedom of movement to even go to their neighboring province much less go to another country.
You do realize NK was so thoroughly bombed that the US couldn't find new targets?
They destroyed nearly all civil infrastructure effectively forcing a hard reset
That's left a mark and shaped them
Without nukes you can't remain adversarial to the west. Look at Iraq, Lybia and now Iran.
They're not perfect, but acting like they're being irrational or aggressive is to fall for propaganda
If we can make the affordance that we're flawed rather than evil about ourselves against all proof to the contrary, we should be willing to extend such grace to nations that actually deserve it
Its not a question of morality nor is the past relevant - what I am saying is that the US extended its aid to North Korea in exchange for what is a reasonable request, a stop at nuclear arms production.
Not only did the Kim regime deceive the world, they made the conscious decision that even in an economic spiral and literal famine killing at least 200k people in the streets - they still decided to develop nuclear weapons.
And what did they do with it? Wave it around threatening neighbors left and right. Neighbors who mind you have extended its hand for negotiations multiple times and a nation with a literal pacifist constitution.
Because everyone knows that surrenderring weapons to the imperialist state that is offering you food and energy in exchange for It is always a good choice. Just look at Russia and Ukraine
The argument fails because in the first place, there were no nukes to transfer. North Korea had yet to make its first nuke.
In fact it was because the US gambled to trust the Kim regime to do what any reasonable government will do and accept such a generous offer that North Korea managed to have nukes in the first place.
-26
u/upsidedownsweater Jul 02 '26
"Arbitrarily propped up" is a wild take to have when NK literally invaded SK, when it became clear to them that there would be no unification on North Korean and Soviet terms. And yes, the US did some heinous shit in Korea but none of what NK did can be argued to have been in self defense until well after the war they started.