Fiction REINCARNATION, Vol. 2

Hostility to Capitalism in North Korea

<62> Hostility to Capitalism in North Korea

Employees of U.S. financial companies were arrested in North Korea. Michelle was curious about who they were. South Koreans, Chinese and Americans are often arrested for violating North Korean laws and regulations. Most crimes are related to human trafficking and illegal transactions of drugs, antiques, natural resources and financial assets. Whenever a criminal is arrested, North Korea gets into conflicts with the government of the country concerned. Since South Koreans and Chinese often visit North Korea, there will be many criminals from both countries. But why are Americans often caught? I asked Lim Seung-jae who was caught this time.

"Lim, you arrested the Americans this time, right?"

"It's not once or twice."

"Michelle wonders who they are."

"As reported, we have arrested two employees of the New York-based hedge fund. Why does Michelle wonder?"

"Michelle manages our overseas customers. Such an incident may serve as a reference to her work."

"Those involved are a Hispanic man named Ryan Lopez and a Chinese woman named Madeleine Huang."

"The U.S. government and related agencies wouldn't just sit still, would they?"

"They will again accuse us of not complying with global standards and at the same time call for the release of criminals and the easing of financial regulations. As the distinction between illegal and legal acts is ambiguous in financial transactions, we arrest only certain criminals. Therefore, their criticism will not last long and will not escalate into diplomatic issues."

 "American criminals are being punished generously in South Korea and other countries. But you seem different."

"Our people still regard the U.S. as an empire of evil, and Americans despise other countries' legal systems and law enforcement authorities. If we punish Americans too leniently, people from other countries will also commit crimes without fear. Therefore, we cannot treat American criminals lightly."

North Korea and the U.S. remained hostile for eighty years from the middle of the 20th century until the collapse of the communist regime. If the U.S. military had not participated in the 1950 Korean War, North Korea would have achieved communization of the Korean Peninsula. From then on until the collapse of the authoritarian regime, North Korea continued to develop nuclear weapons and missiles, maintaining hostile relations with the United States and the West.

During the Cold War, North Korea served as a front-line watchman for the socialist bloc. Without the buffer zone of the Korean Peninsula, there could have been a big war between the two giants. South Korea was at the forefront of the democratic bloc, and North Korea was at the forefront of communist bloc, while the truce line was the Berlin Wall of Asia. Because of this, the U.S. supported South Korea's economic development, while China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea's survival.

The end of the Cold War brought about a very unfavorable situation for North Korea. The Soviet Union broke up and China turned to a market economy. Its Eastern European allies gave up socialism and joined NATO. It suffered severe economic hardship and millions of people starved to death after aid from China and the Soviet Union was reduced. The West and China encouraged North Korea to reform and open its doors, but it refused.

North Korea has been isolated and subjected to various sanctions from the international community, but no country could have underestimated its regime that developed nuclear weapons and missiles. By successfully securing the so-called 'Mutual Assured Destruction' capability, it has been able to resolve some of its external threats. If it had not been obsessed with nuclear development, it would have surrendered to outside pressure earlier and the Kim Il-sung hereditary dynasty might have ended with the Kim Jong-Il era.