Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

It is not unusual for North Korea to be in the news. This highly-armed Stalinist state rattles the sabres from time to time. There are warnings, sanctions, negotiations, and then things go quiet. Yet the current crisis is different - and more dangerous - than anything we have seen before. It has been said, with reason, that the stand-off with North Korea is the biggest confrontation since US President John F. Kennedy faced off Nikita Krushchev of the Soviet Union in the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis. This was probably the largest and most dangerous incident in the entire Cold War. As a refresher, the Soviet Union placed nuclear-tipped missiles in Cuba, which is only 140 kilometres off the US coast. This was simply too close for comfort. President Kennedy solemnly warned that if the missiles were not removed, America would invade Cuba. For 13 days the world held its breath. It was the closest thing we have seen of Armageddon in living memory. Being a rational player, t...

It’s that time again and the sabres are rattling out of the Hermit Kingdom. We have heard these noises before. North Korea wants to test nuclear weapons, America and the international community confront, there are threats, then deals, things go quiet … until the next provocation. Is this time any different from before? Yes, it is - as if the Cold War never ended. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea, is a communist nation, a Stalinist state of 25 million people. It browbeats it subjects, has drastic food shortages, periodically threatens the South, and has the notorious distinction of being the Number One nation in the world for the persecution of Christians. Despite its official name, North Korea doesn't have democracy as we know it, does not observe human rights, and is ruled by an erratic, mercurial god-king. The Hermit Kingdom has had only 3 leaders since 1948: Father, son and grandson. The grandson, Kim Jong UN, though educated ...