The Scariest North Korea Conspiracies
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not known for its democratic ideals. It describes itself as a socialist state but most would contend that it is little more than a totalitarian dictatorship. This view is reinforced by the fact that censorship of all kinds is quite strong in Korea. The means of production are controlled by state bodies, which is evidence of socialistic tendencies. However here the evidence drops and in many other ways it is strongly totalitarian. DPRK is one of the biggest human rights violators on the planet. It abides by a military first policy known as Songun. It has the highest number of military personnel than any other country in the world, totaling nearly 10 million active and paramilitary personnel. It has nuclear weapons and is an atheist state where public religion is discouraged. After the invasion of South Korea in 1950, a demilitarized military zone lies between South and North Korea. The war is largely regarded as a proxy war between two superpowers, China and the USA. The USA fought on behalf of North Korea while China intervened on behalf of North Korea. The end result was a desolated North and South Korea, with North Korea taking the brunt of the damage. Some contend that this war sowed the seeds for the totalitarian regime that currently exists in North Korea. The current North Korean leader is Kim Jong Un, and affairs between the rest of the world in general and the US in particular are on edge due to the presence of nuclear weapons, past history and an unwillingness on the behalf of North Korea to negotiate or release its hold on censorship. There are a number of conspiracy theories which emerged from the secretive political affairs of North Korea, and no end in sight to the number of North Korea conspiracies.
#1 Chinese Kim Jong Nam Assassination Conspiracy
Kim Jong Nam was murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, by two women who sprayed a deadly chemical weapon in his face. As the half-brother of Kim Jong Un the murder stirred up a host of conspiracy theories. Kim Jong Nam had spoken out publicly against the foreign policy of North Korea and its insistence on nuclear arms as well as his families tyrannical control over the country. He was also a potential rival to the power of Kim Jong Un. North Korea is widely regarded as being responsible for the assassination. However, one piece of the puzzle which does not fit is that North Korea made a political blunder. Kim Jong Nam was seen to be under the protection of China, the only real ally of North Korea. Killing him would weaken their position politically. China has stopped all North Korean coal imports since the assassination.
An interesting conspiracy theory circulating is that China let the assassination occur. Apparently, the Chinese allowed the killing as a signal from Beijing to Pyongyang. According to Brad Glosserman, the executive director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the US:
“Because in theory he was under their protection, the Chinese may have let the assassination occur, as a way of signaling to Pyongyang that even if (they) are moving forward with the sanctions on the coal exports and tightening the screws, this is proof that they not really out there to overthrow the regime”
There is little evidence that the coal import ban is actually hurting North Korea in any way. China may have already purchased its yearly quota of coal imports and may not have purchased more anyway. Donald Trump has tweeted about the lack of effort on China’s part to prevent their North Korean allies from running amok.
#2 Malaysian Kim Jong Nam Assassination Conspiracy
This is a more intricate and convoluted conspiracy theory. Murder suspect Ri Jong Chol is claiming that there is a conspiracy against him with regard to the murder of the half-brother of the North Korean leader. The North Korean has accused Malaysian authorities of staging a conspiracy against him, believing himself to be a victim of a conspiracy instigated by Malaysia to damage the honor of North Korea by murdering the half-brother and setting Ri Jong Chol up to take the fall. He further states that Malaysian authorities tried to coerce a confession out of him by threatening his family. The murder of Kim Jong Nam soured relations between Malaysia and North Korea. The two countries had been on good terms for decades. Ri Jong Chol further states that he was not at the airport at the time of the killing. Ri told reporters that he had been presented with false evidence at Malaysia. US and South Korean intelligence indicate that the murder was done at the hands of North Korean agencies and that there is nothing to suggest interference from other countries. This holds up and is the most likely scenario. Like 95% of conspiracy theories the official and most obvious story more often than not the truth.
#3 MH370 in North Korea
One of the more outlandish conspiracy theories in relation to North Korea is that the missing Malaysian flight MH 370 is actually hidden in the country. The flight disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014. There have been many conspiracy theories in relation to what happened to the missing airplane. One conspiracy is that dictator Kim Jong-un ordered the hijacking of the flight for the purposes of experimentation. An aviation worker explained to eTurboNews that the dictator mentioned he needed the place for experimentation and in 1969 North Korea was held responsible for hijacking a South Korea plane. This is a very wild and unsubstantiated theory without much credible evidence.
#4 US Encouragement of Nuclear Weapons
While this might seem outlandish at first, it is actually more plausible than you may imagine. US presidents from Clinton to Bush to Obama have spent decades trying to get North Korea to decommission their nuclear weapons. But in East, in China in particular, there is a belief that the USA have no intention of persuading North Korea to give up their weapons of mass destruction. While this is not a mainstream view, the idea that US involvement in North Korea is primarily to control and monitor its main superpower, China, is widespread. It has also been touted that many in China do hold the view that the US are encouraging the nuclear stance of North Korea, but cannot write about it as it is considered taboo in China. They may write about it in a different way given how strictly the thoughts and actions of the Chinese people is investigated and monitored.
While many in the West believe that China controls North Korea and could collapse the corrupt regime easily, most scholars and journalists in China think that this view is ridiculous, and that China does not dominate this country with all its military weapons. All in all, it does seem as if North Korea is just a ground where America and China can fight it out, much like the initial war in the 1950’s, where the two superpowers used North Korea as a proxy, none of them suffering any damage on their home soil. While plausible, the idea that the US is actively encouraging the nuclear program of North Korea does not hold up. There have been many hard sanctions introduced by the UN, including US banking sanctions which crippled large North Korean FX banks as well as the coal import sanction. And the flip side is that China does not control North Korea to the extent believed by the US. But their goals are aligned in many ways.
It is good to remember that Kim Jong Un is a dictator with access to nuclear weapons. The country is censored, with a large standing army. Nobody has control over the situation and both China and America want to see the dictator overthrown with democratic ideals installed. Unfortunately, these two superpowers distrust each other so much that they are unable to work together to bring North Korea to peace, and will instead use it as a proxy battleground so the two differing ideologies can wage war against one another.
#5 More control for the USA
Many contend that US involvement is just another excuse for more power and control by the Elites. North Korea does not currently have a Rothschild controlled central bank, along with countries such as Syria and Russia. The US wants to control the middle East, with Syria, Lebanon and Iran on the Western hit list. The ultimate goal is to install Western puppets in these countries after regime changes take place. North Korea is in alliance with Iran and its nuclear weapons are seen as an extension of the Iranian nuclear weapons program. The US/elites desperately do not want the countries around Iran gaining access to nuclear weapons, as it would be a serious deterrent to these regime changes. If North Korea is allowed to gain access to these weapons, then Syria and Lebanon will want them too. It is also worth mentioning that after general Gadaffi agreed to give up Libya’s nuclear weapons program he was murdered with a new regime installed. Taking this point other dictators and countries may not be eager to give up control of nuclear weapons and the leverage they can bring. Kim Jong Un is actually in position of considerable strength in many ways, and it would be foolish from a political standpoint to give up the only point of power. Some contend that if North Korea had no relationship with Iran, then the US would not be particularly concerned.
Conclusion
There is no real need for a conspiracy theory in relation to North Korea. It is a warlike country with a huge army and access to nuclear weapons. It is censored with an unpredictable dictator. In other words, the ultimate conspiracy has been revealed, and nothing could be scarier than an unpredictable dictator with access to nuclear weapons. It is in the globes best interests that these weapons are decommissioned and that peace reigns between China, America and North and South Korea. But there are no signs of this happening any time soon and it seems far more likely that a war will ensue before peace reigns.