Desperate North Korea

By Douglas V. Gibbs

North Korea tested a nuclear device in 2006. In 2010 the communist nation invited a U.S. scientist to view Pyongyang's nuclear complex. The invite was not for chit-chat, but to show the world that North Korea has a new uranium enrichment plant with at least 1,000 centrifuges.

During a time that the President of the United States is crying out for a world free of nuclear weapons, it seems North Korea has decided to pass on the idea.

But why now? Why is Kim Jong Il suddenly threatening to release the nuclear dragon, and doing so with such malevolence?

The worldwide financial crisis, combined with an aging dictator, has convinced Kim Jong Il that his time may be short, and the collapse of North Korea may be on the horizon. With this reality looming, North Korea's leader may have determined he has nothing to lose.

The meltdown of the North Korean regime is imminent. Kim Jong Il is reaching midnight in age. He has appointed his inexperienced and naive son, Kim Jong Eun, as heir. Instability is in the air, and a demand for the reunification of Korea is rising up through the populace in both North and South Korea. North Korea's economy is near collapse, food is scarce, and episodes like the sinking of the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, last March, has made the political climate for the dictator shaky.

North Koreans, thanks to technology, are also coming to the realization that their vastly expanded governmental system is light years behind the progress of their capitalistic neighbors to the south. South Korea is prosperous, and free - news that is making those in the north feeling more discontent with each passing moment. North Koreans want what their southern counterparts have: jobs, financial prosperity, opportunity and freedom.

Revolution is about to ignite in North Korea, and Kim Jong Il knows it. . . which makes him even more dangerous than the U.S. Government seems to realize.

A revolution, and a collapse of the North Korean system, would be devastating for the region because of the power struggle that would emerge, and the willingness for those clamoring for power to use those horrible weapons in an effort to gain control.

North Korea's nuclear capabilities are a concern, but more so is the concern over what happens if North Korea collapses.

One may consider China into the equation. Crisis provides tyrannies with opportunities, and a collapsing North Korea may be the excuse China desires to move into the peninsula, and continue with a move on Taiwan as well.

It's not like China would be worried about a response from the United States. Obama is still too busy trying to figure out who the TSA should molest next.

Kim Jong Il knows that his regime is collapsing, and China is chomping at the bit for a reason to invade, which may be making the North Korean dictator consider taking as many down with him as he goes.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary