North Korea.  Land of political repression.  Land of despotism.  Land of starvation.  Good old North Korea, virtually everyone’s top nominee for the worst nation on earth.

Heading this armpit of a country is Kim Jong Il, son of his despot father, Kim Il Sung.  At 5 foot two inches, Kim Jong Il wears platform shoes and “styles” his hear sticking straight up to appear taller.  He is such a punk.  In North Korea it’s all about KJI.  He runs the place at the point of a gun, protected by the military.  Always wary of assassination KJI leads a reclusive life, a necessary condition for sadistic dictators.  If you’ve got the stomach for it, you can click here to see a photo of KJI.

On the wall outside my university office I’ve got a satellite map that shows the world at night.  You see the bright lights in large cities, whereas farming areas in the western states are black.   Looking at the Korean peninsula you can literally see the demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the 38th parallel between North and South Korea.  The entire country of South Korea is brightly lit but north of the line there is total blackness.  The contrast is so great that you can actually see the shape of the DMZ.  The darkness north of the DMZ is undeniable proof of KJI’s legacy of misery and coercion of his 21 million subjects.  Little of this concerns KJI.  His estimated net worth is over $4 billion.  He loves fast cars, and is a connoisseur of fine liquor and gourmet food.  He also keeps a harem of European and Asian sex slaves around his P’yongyang palace.

The only thing worse that a nutcase like KJI is a KJI with nukes.  The North Koreans indeed have a nuclear weapon and have successfully deployed a two-stage missile over the Pacific Ocean.  Some experts maintain that his two-stage missile has the capability of hitting San Francisco and other California cities.  A three-stage missile would be capable of a nuclear strike anywhere within the continental United States.  Equally threatened are Russia, Japan, South Korea, and all east Asian countries.  Without nukes, KJI is just some tin-horned dictator that the world can easily ignore.  With them he is exactly where he wants to be; front and center on the world stage.

For years South Korea, China, and the United States have bribed KJI with billions of whenever he threatens to use his nukes.  Much of the money has been earmarked to feed ordinary North Korean people, but no one is allowed in the country to monitor the distribution of the aid.  The food ultimately feeds KJI’s army and solidifies his power.  Recently international negotiations aimed at convincing KJI to do away with his nuclear capability have broken down.  The talks include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.  Kim wants to deal with the US directly.  We refuse to give him that status.

It is time for all nations to refuse giving even humanitarian aid to North Korea.  Let KJI feel the pressure from his starving masses.  It is also time to consider some kind of a pre-emptive strike on his military facilities while he is still weak.  The world cannot delay its responsibility to put KJI out of the nuke business.  Failure to do so might make 911 look like a fireworks display in comparison.