The country of North Korea is commonly seen and is a hot topic throughout the United States of America’s media.  The media coverage is almost always not positive whether talking about North Korea testing nuclear weapons or widespread starvation throughout the country.  A large part of why North Korea receives such negative press is due to the fact that the United States has never and continues to not hold diplomatic relations with the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).  An understanding of why the United States and North Korea continue to struggle to ease tensions and build relations stems from an analysis of the relatively short but complex history of North Korea.

The DPRK was formally founded in 1948 at the onset of the two military superpowers, the United States and Soviet Union divided the once united Korean peninsula after WWII.  Prior to this period the Korean Peninsula was considered a united territory.  Though the peninsula was united, the citizens of the country were not always granted the ability to rule themselves.  In 1910, the growing and ambitious superpower Japan decided to recognize it colonial ambitions by annexing the Korean Peninsula.  For the next 35 years, Japan ruled Korea with an iron fist often committing atrocities against the Korean people.  For example, during World War II while the Korean men were forced to fight at the front, at times against their will, the Korean women were raped and forced into prostitution.  In 1945, as the United States defeated Japan at the conclusion of WWII, the United States and Soviet Union took control of the Korean Peninsula and subsequently divided the territory along the infamous 38^th parallel.  South Korea instituted a pro-U.S. government while North Korea instituted a pro-Soviet government.  Syngman Rhee led the anti-Communist regime in China while Kim II Sung led the pro-communist DPRK.  Neither leader wanted to admit that they did not rule the entire Peninsula therefore leading to a territorial dispute.

In 1950, with pro-communist support, North Korea invaded South Korea beginning what would become known as the Korean War.  The United States swiftly backed South Korea, sending a massive amount of U.N. troops to aid the South Korean army.  After 3 years and 2.5 million casualties (including both military and civilian), an armistice was signed.  The war resulted in little changes with the borders remaining the same for the most part and increasing the military presence along the 38^th parallel on both sides.  A peace treaty was never formally signed which actually means that formally a war is continuing to occur (it isn’t) though no formal fighting is taking place.

Kim II Sung began to work to shape the country into the modern (as modern as North Korea gets) country that still stands and operates today (Ma).  Like the Soviet Union, North Korea had heavily controlled State media, control over the economy, collectivized agriculture, and control over private property.  Furthermore, travel was heavily restricted in and out of the state.  All of these efforts were attempts to create a self-reliant country that was fully independent of using its neighboring countries and pronounced “enemies” resources.  To do this, the new nation also heavily invested in mining and steel production to build its economy and bolster and support the growth of it’s military.  The Soviet’s also assisted the North Korean’s during this period by providing military supplies and the means to build nuclear weapons.  The Soviet’s did this by training North Korean scientists.  North Korea’s economy rapidly expanded, quickly surpassing the South Korean economy.  As mining became less important and other countries became less reliant on North Korean raw materials, economy sharply declined.  It was not long before the South Korean economy surpassed the North Korean economy.

In 1994, Kim Jon IL rose to the leadership role after his father died.  The new leader instituted new policies that bolstered the North Korean military.  During the 1990s the North Korean state was forced to allow some market-economy policies to come into play as a huge black market emerged to meet government shortages.  Flooding and poor agricultural and economic management led to hundreds of thousands of people dying from starvation and malnutrition.  Many people referred to this as the “Great Famine.”  Yet, citizens still revered their leader and the government (“North Korea Profile Timeline”).

During the early 2000s, North Korea began to open its doors slightly to foreign assistance and aid.  It allowed aid to flow specifically from South Korea.  In addition, the country began to ease hostiles with the United States.  The country went as far as to host Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State in 2000.  These attempts at seeking peace and a movement towards greater openness quickly vanished as North Kore continued to and ramped up its nuclear programs in violation of the NPT or Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Underground research into nuclear weapons were reported in North Korea and flurried throughout U.S. news further heightening tensions.  Tensions came to front when North Korea withdrew from the NPT and pushed weapons inspectors out of the country in 2003.

In 2011, Kim Jong Il died and Kim Jong Un succeeded him.  The young leader worked to consolidate power and continue the countries race to expand its nuclear weapon capacity.  North Korea in 2017 went as far to launch its first intercontinental ballistic missile.  Such actions prompted harsh repercussions from the international community.  Kim Jong Un continues to rule the country today and tensions continue to run high (History.com Editors).

The North Korean’s hatred of the United States is made clear throughout its history.  The United States repeated interventions in the country along with the assisted killing of the North Korean citizens during the Korean War reveal why North Koreans have such malice towards the U.S.  It will be interesting in the coming years to see the attempts on an international level that countries make to repair these relations or if any attempts are made at all.  As North Korea Builds its nuclear arsenal, how will other Nations respond?

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “North Korea.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/korea/north-korea-history.

Ma, Alexandra. “Photos over 70 Years Show How North Korea’s Kim Family Went from Starving Guerilla Fighters to Going Toe-to-Toe with Trump.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Sept. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-history-in-photos-2018-8.

“North Korea Profile – Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 26 Apr. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612.

Two major players at the center of both politics and economics, both of which are strongly intertwined, is the United States and China.  The United States for approximately the last decade has been at the forefront of economic, political and social policy.  This has allowed the United States to become the most prosperous and wealthiest nation in the world.  Increasingly in recent years, the United States global dominance has come into question and is even being challenged as another world player, China, has rapidly increased its own economic and political power.  Understanding the similarities and differences between the United States and Chinese government and economic systems, allows one to better understand why each country makes its respective decisions and why the U.S. and China are at odds.

China has a distinctly different form of government than the United States.  China refers to itself as a republic, often denoted as the Republic of China, although the majority of the rest of the world recognizes that China operates under a one-party communist system (“China: Government”).  Such a system of government stands in stark contrast to the United States which operates under a federal republic (“U.S. Government”).  The U.S. system of government allows the people to hold power whereas in the Chinese government, large government figures such as the current leader, Xi Jingping hold the majority of power.  As a result of this system of government, the Chinese government has much greater power and a greater ability to exert this power over its citizens.  The Chinese government, for example, is notorious for its censorship laws which limit free speech and the freedom of expression.  The United States denounces these policies and establishes the contrary inherently promotes its free speech policies.  These policies are also, protected by law and formally written in the Constitution.  In the First Amendment, it is written that congress cannot make a law limiting the freedom whether it be in regard to speech, organization, press, petition, etc., of the people (“The 1^st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution).  In addition to free speech laws, and lack thereof in China, the country also has different judicial laws/policies.  In China, the judicial system is a pseudo judicial system in that the reigning parties political and Legal Affairs Commission has direct control over the court system.  This allows the government to unjustly punish political prisoners, political opposition, and citizens who speak out against the government (“China Justice Observer”).  The so called, “false promise of fair trials,” has become a focal point in modern day news as ethnic minorities such as the Uighur Muslims are presently being persecuted and forced into labor camps (“What Is Happening With…”).  The lack of a central justice system within the country is a primary reason that such injustices against these ethnic minority groups are allowed to continue.  In the United States on the other hand, a centralized justice system is in place and the United States appears at least in writing to pride itself upon using the justice system to uphold the law and maintain order within the U.S.  While the United States itself is not free from its own crimes against humanity, take for example for the forced concentration of Japanese citizens after the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, the country has continuingly worked to improve, rectify, and uphold law.  The same cannot be said for China.

While the previous paragraph has focused primarily on the shortcomings of the Chinese system of government, there are numerous benefits as well.  Take for example, the current COVID-19 crisis.  The Chinese government, although at first having reported the first outbreak of the novel virus, was able to quickly eradicate the virus.  This was due to widespread lockdowns and laws against leaving one’s residence.  In the United States however, the lack of a such power allowed for states to make their own decisions, with some remaining open while others shutting down completely to contain the spread of the virus.  Such inability has allowed the virus to continue to spread throughout the United States whereas in China, the virus has been largely contained.  Another benefit to this system of government is the rate at which infrastructure is built and implemented.  The Chinese government is the largest investor in the entire world in infrastructure, spending more than 8% of its annual GDP on these projects (“How China Uses Infrastructure…”).  Such state-controlled projects and finance allows these projects to happen at a rapid rate and has allowed the country to construct an interconnected country in only a matter of years.  This is a large part of why China has so rapidly economically grown and caught up with the rest of the Western world.

The United States and Chinese government also operate on different economic systems.  The United States operates on a mixed economy, incorporating elements of both capitalism and socialism to efficiently run while the Chinese government runs on a socialist market economy.  While the United States does have socialist elements to its economy, such as Medicare and Medicaid, the extent to which the economy is socialist is miniscule in comparison to how much state control there is in the Chinese economic system.   The major reason China’s economic system is referred to as a socialist economy is due to the governments control over the countries industrial development (Seth).

There are innumerable reasons why the United States and China are at such odds.  Both countries are trying to assert their dominance in the economic and political sphere.  This scares the United States who has become accustomed to being the “top-dog” politically and economically.  In addition, economic growth and superiority also helps to power the militaries of each countries.  As China grows economically, so does its military.  This puts the traditional balance of political power in question where the United States may no longer hold militaristic superiority.  Understanding how each government’s political and economic system work is becoming increasingly important as both of these countries respectively vie for global dominance.  Whichever country becomes the dominant one in the years to come could have an unimaginable impact on the world as a whole.

Works Cited:

“The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” National Constitution Center – The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-i.

“China Justice Observer.” What Is the Court System Like in China – China Legal Research Guide – China Justice Observer, www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/what-is%20the-court-system-like-in-china.

“China: Government.” >> GlobalEDGE: Your Source for Global Business Knowledge, globaledge.msu.edu/countries/china/government.

“How China Uses Infrastructure as a Means of Control.” World Finance, www.worldfinance.com/featured/how-china-uses-infrastructure-as-a-means-of-control#:~:text=China%20is%20the%20world’s%20largest,according%20to%20data%20from%20McKinsey.

Seth, Shobhit. “Socialist Economies: How China, Cuba, and North Korea Work.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 22 Jan. 2021, www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/081514/socialist-economies-how-china-cuba-and-north-korea-work.asp.

“U.S. Government.” U.S. Embassy in Argentina, 10 Nov. 2016, ar.usembassy.gov/education-culture/irc/u-s-government/.

“What Is Happening with the Uighurs in China?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/features/uighurs/.