Very interesting to read that the North Korean regime viewed it’s citizens as opponents. Or maybe it was just the independent thinkers who were trying to survive that were the opponents? Either way, the regime had a way of fixing the opposition.
“Starvation was the way the regime preferred to eliminate it’s opponent’s”
pg. 179
Once Kim Jong-Il could no longer seem to get his “corner” on the underground commerce, he felt opposed. He set out to right the wrongs. He felt that punishments were too slack for offenders and that was going to change. His plan was to strike back against the people who fended for themselves. His motto:
“Everything good in life was to bequeathed by the government”
pg. 180
I find that an odd motto considering his father before him and he himself, failed his people. People weren’t allowed to fend for themselves. As the example set for the rancher who was sentenced to years in prison because he birthed a dead calf and didn’t report it. He chose to feed his family instead. He ended up dying in the prison by starvation. It seems Kim Jong-Il’s opposition plan was doing what he had intended it to do. Eliminate the threat.
