A day after the isolated regime in Pyongyang had threatened a possible "preemptive nuclear attack" -- something analysts say they think it is unlikely and currently unable to do -- its official news agency reeled off a number of agreements with South Korea that it said would no longer apply.
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| Comedienne Margaret Cho plays Kim Jong Il on NBC's 30 Rock |
Clearly, Kim Jong Un is writing checks he can't cash--North Korea is far weaker than South Korea, not to mention China and the United States--but that doesn't mean he can't do a whole lot of damage.
Does that mean that Kim is being irrational? What cognitive shortcuts and psychological crutches might be leading Kim to make these threats? Might there be a benefit to such irrationality? Read the article and comment for participation points.
I think there exists a purpose to Kim Jong Un's perceived irrationality. By making these threats to end the nonaggression pact he is exercising his power as a leader and empowering him and his country. The media and other foreign powers obviously feel his threats carry weight otherwise we would not be reading about him today. Also by doing so he is limiting his options to what he can do as a leader and by how he can interact in the International arena. If he his ruling out any negotiations than he his moving towards a physical conflict.
ReplyDelete-Jordan Holt
Good points, Jordan.
ReplyDeleteI would say that Kim Jong is the epitome of an irrational actor. His Father Kim Jong Il is arguably one of the craziest heads of state in history, and that is saying a lot. Being the offspring of a man who accomplished such feats as playing a single round of golf in his life and claiming to shoot 38 under, it was a long shot to assume that Un would be any better. I like what Professor Mathewson said when he stated that Kim Jong Un is writing checks he can't cash. From my perspective, he is fishing for power. Probably the single most volatile topic that will have everyone up in arms with its mention is the use of Nuclear weapons. I seriously doubt that North Korea's Nuclear program is as advanced as Un is leading on, so I believe it is safe to say that he is looking for national recognition as a super power. As was mentioned earlier, South Korea is much more advanced socially and economically than North Korea. Un is not acting rationally, because in order to do so you have to have the best interests of your state in mind. Obviously, because Un is spending what is more than likely billions of dollars on the embryonic stages of a nuclear program, he is more than likely not taking care of some of the more important stuff, such as lighting streets, or feeding is people. More importantly, there is no visible benefits to such irrationality. China has had enough of North Korea's non-sense, and I don't believe it will be too long before they burn that bridge, and if they did however somehow manage to launch a nuclear weapon into South Korea, North Korea would be decimated within a matter of minutes, so any nuclear threat is virtually a death wish for Kim Jon Un. In conclusion, I believe that this is just a poor attempt to get the United States States to recognize North Korea as a national threat, which would in turn give them the power they have been seeking. With that being said, I definitely understand the need for their to be some level of concern, because Chuck Hagel summed it up perfectly when he sated, "you only need to be wrong once."
ReplyDeleteKim Jong Un is acting in a very rational manner. He realizes that if he seems unstable and unpredictable, countries in the international system will try to accommodate and appease his actions, in hopes that the threats, even though empty, are not carried out. The sanctions placed on North Korea are not affecting their behavior, since they allow their people to live improvised, so who knows what it will take deter North Korea.
ReplyDelete-Gizman Abdijabar
Kim Jong Un is acting in an irrational manner by threating to use nuclear attacks and by threating to to revoke agreements of nonagression with South Korea because the UN made stricter sanctions in regard to North Korea. As a portrayal to the rest of the world; however, this type of "scare" tactic by Kim Jong Un would work if he was able to articulate his frustrations well in a more feasible threat instead of becoming angry and vowing to cause the most trouble and destruction possible. However, to his people he maybe portrayed as a fearless and dominant ruler and to sustain that image and that intangible source of power, he must seemingly portray this type of attitude to the rest of the world even for the smallest inclination of disturbance.
ReplyDelete