North Korean Injustice

Fear toys with all of our lives. Its inescapable power restricts us from the things we want to do and the moral things to do. Countries around the world, past and present, have feared the unwavering power of dictators; however, their fear is often unnecessary and does not justify the fact that they are avoiding the genocide of innocent people. Calculations confirm that as many as four hundred thousand people have died from either torture, starvation, disease, or execution in North Korean prison camps. North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, punishes his subjects using cruel forms of torture simply for knowing an alleged political prisoner. The world had avoided standing up for the rights of those in the Nazi Holocaust and is now avoiding the problem of North Korean prison camps. Nations are once

again turning a blind eye to a human rights issue, but because war with North Korea is unlikely, the international community needs to take charge and stand up for the rights of North Korean prisoners.

Considering that there is sufficient evidence of the cruelty in the prison camps, it is time for the international community to address a plan of action for the North Korean victims instead of avoiding the problem in fear of the wrath of Kim Jong Un. North Korea has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the United Nations and remains preposterously stubborn concerning any communication with outside countries besides their ally, China. Because the North Korean

government is so reserved, it was previously very difficult to access any information regarding the affairs of its people, especially when it comes to the unacceptable treatment of their prisoners. Since many escaped prisoners have come forward to share their experiences of the camps, it is now certain that the camps violate human rights. Escaped prisoner, Shin Dong-Hyuk, has shared countless stories about his experience and things he has witnessed in camps through his biography. Author Blaine Harden shares Shin Dong-Hyuk’s witnesses about many of his fellow prisoners being sent to work themselves to death in coal mines, “About sixty percent of Shin’s class was assigned to the coal mines, where accidental death from cave-ins, explosions, and gas poisonings was common. Many miners developed black lung disease after ten to fifteen years of working underground. Most miners died in their forties, if not before. As Shin understood it, an assignment in the mines was a death sentence.” (Harden). Shin Dong-Hyuk’s experience shows that these prisoner’s live their lives as slaves. Another example of the cruelty in the prison camps come from Kim Hye-Sook, another escapee who was able to speak out at the UN’s Victim’s Voices event. Kim Hye-Sook shared a graphic story about the treatment of women at the camps, “A fellow inmate who had two miscarriages and was predicted, by a fortune teller, to lose her third child, was hanged. Using a large tree as a pillar, one end of a rope was tied around an iron ball. The other end passed through a hole and was tied around her neck. Shortly after, her neck was slit. A metal bar was used to tighten the rope so that the body would be decapitated” Kim Hye-Sook’s story give a clear image of the torture that prison guards inflict onto their inmates. Since the stories of escaped prisoners have confirmed the atrocities occurring in the camps, North Korean officials can now be held accountable for their actions. The proof that Shin Dong-Hyuk, Kim Hye-Sook, and many other escaped prisoners have contributed, provide sufficient evidence that the camps are indeed real and violating human rights. The new evidence from escaped prisoners calls nations around the world to step up and involve themselves in a joint effort, to solve the problem. The more information leaked from North Korea the more we can do. “It is time for the US and South Korea to begin to end the exceptionalism accorded North Korea in the human rights area, and to develop a strategy with other countries and international institutions for bringing onto the diplomatic agenda international access to North Korea’s political prisoners” (Cohen). Since there is now evidence of North Korea’s crimes change is possible.
Most countries fear the idea of war especially with North Korea but, intervening to protect the rights of North Korea’s prisoners would most likely not result in war. It is understandable that countries would fear North Korea, taking into account how savage North Korea is portrayed in the media. Although lacking compassion, North Korean leaders are not deranged enough to begin a war they have no chance of winning. In the spring of 2012 North Korea began making threats pertaining nuclear warfare against South Korea, Japan, and the United States. North Korea’s threats in 2012 were to be taken very seriously but we now see that they were empty. North Korea does not have the military power to follow through on its threats without severe consequences. It would be vacuous of them to attack."Its military is armed with antiquated weapons, and it is poorly trained and badly run. Even the five or ten low-yield nuclear devices the North Korean army possesses will not make much difference to the final outcome.”(Lankov). North Korea’s army is clearly too outdated and inadequate. China is also decreasing their support for North Korea.Because North Korea’s ally China has not been full on board with Pyongyang’s decisions it would not be wise to start a war without the full aid of their only ally (Wagstaff). Considering that China is North Korea’s only ally and China is not even fully supporting them it would be too risky for North Korea to engage in war. The combination of outdated war tactics and waning support of China ensures us that North Korea would not dare to go to war with such high risks of loss; therefore, making it safe to intervene to protect the rights of their prisoners.
Nations fear the outcome of war but not the guilt of being a witness to a mass genocide similar to the Holocaust. The prison camps of North Korea are comparable to Nazi Germany’s concentration camps because they consist of similar cruel fundamentals that the world ignores or ignored in order to keep themselves safe. Now that there is information nation’s have the right to take action against North Korea. It would be irresponsible of nations to allow another holocaust like enormity to occur just for the sake of their own safety. People often assume that in this day and age it would be impossible for another holocaust to occur, "People think the Holocaust is in the past, but it is still very much a reality. It is still going on in North Korea." (Dong-hyuk). The prison camps in North Korea have been around five times as long as the Nazi concentration camps but hardly any steps have been taken the stop the camps. Countries must stop being bystanders and take charge.
Since North Korea does not truly pose a threat it doesn’t make sense to avoid the human rights situation occurring in North Korea. Instead the world must join forces against North Korea in order to protect these prisoner’s rights. Nations must step up rather than turn a blind eye to the issues occurring. The first step to helping them is raising awareness: “If people from all sorts of communities and backgrounds can come alongside the North Korean people and help empower them in their struggle for a better future, then we can play a role in helping to bring about the change in North Korea that we all want to see.”(“Liberty in North Korea”). If people can join together under the cause of justice we will be able to give North Koreans the amount of international support that they deserve. Currently the best way to help is to raise awareness and speak out to North Korean citizens to give them our support: “The best approach to helping the North Korean people is raising awareness among cities in other countries.”(“Liberty in North Korea”). Speaking out to the North Korean government would allow them to know that we are aware of what is going on and we will not stand for it.
The world has avoided the problem of North Korea’s prison camps for quite some time now but without good reason. As hundreds of thousands of people suffer, nations step aside in fear of their own safety, but what the world needs to come to terms with is that war with North Korea is highly unlikely; nations would not be putting themselves in danger if they were to stand together for the rights of those enduring torture in prison camps. It is unjust for nations to carry on and remain in denial about the severity of this problem. If the denial and avoidance of this situation continues the world will once again find itself facing the guilt of another holocaust like abomination. The world must unite in order to stop the torture of North Korean prisoners. It is important that countries no longer stand as witnesses to this event they should instead stand as crusaders for the natural rights of all humans.