We've had several friends express concern to us over news coming out of the Korean peninsula about North Korea's threats of a nuclear strike directed at South Korea and the United States. Although the news is, on the surface, alarming, it is not really news here in South Korea. North Korea has a long history of threatening war when it wanted money and goods from its neighbors and the US. Unfortunately, they pour most of their resources into the military where the soldiers enjoy a nicer standard of living than the general population, much of which is near starvation. This time the threats have, thus far, not resulted in the usual aid. All this is however exacerbated by a young and inexperienced new dictator in the north and a new president in the south who does not want to appear weak in the face of the threats.
The current threats are receiving much more news coverage in the states than in Korea. This has happened so many times in the past that Koreans have largely become immune to the threats. The US, on the other hand, is not used to being threatened with imminent destruction by another nation that either has, or is the process of developing, nuclear weapons. Understandably, this all appears rather alarming in the states.
I must admit, I did feel a bit of anxiety when one of the other professors during my Hong Kong trip asked if Robert had taken any of his stash of fireworks with him to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tour. You might recall in our last post my mentioning that Susan was heading up to the DMZ with the kids and the McCormick family while I was heading to Hong Kong for a conference. This was at a particularly tense moment in the threats coming from the North. They had just effectively shut down the Joint Enterprise Zone in Kaesong, just north of the border. There were scores of cameras at the DMZ to film the South Koreans returning from Kaesong. I had this image in my mind of Robert setting off fireworks at the border and igniting another Korean war. I could picture him on television saying he was sorry and promising to never do it again (we've had similar conversations many times in the past.) Instead, Daniel prompted the wrath of one of the camera men at border by smiling into the camera and waiving. Here the camera men were filming this solemn occasion and a tourist pops into the camera's view with a big smile and waiving. No doubt Daniel was edited out of the filmed report.
For those who might be worried, we live near the port city of Pohang, about 4 hours south of the North Korean border. In the extremely unlikely event that a battle should break out, we are a logical site for evacuation of US citizens by the US Marines. As for us, we're not worried a bit, and are hopeful the politicians don't bend to blackmail and extortion techniques from the north. Mark and Elysabeth live near Seoul and are much closer to the border. They would have reason for greater concerns, though they could come down and stay with us should things heat up.
All this does serve as a reminder to pray for the people of North Korea. There starvation is always on the doorstep of the poor farmers and villagers in rural communities. Christian pastors and believers are regularly locked away in prison camps where the conditions are deplorable. All this is well documented by refugees who manage to escape through China and work their way to South Korea.
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