Foreign Policy of North Korea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Foreign Policy of North Korea - Essay Example The intention of this paper is North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as a country under the authoritarian rule of the military and the KWP, or the political party of Kim Jong-Il. Since the government and the military regulate every domestic institution in North Korea including the media and the schools, there is no known freedom of speech in the country. Moreover, according to the Amnesty International, North Koreans who are imprisoned or detained usually suffer from torture and other forms of cruelty and degrading treatment without due process of law. The prisoners are either beaten, forced to exercise, made to sit without moving for several hours, and publicly humiliated. Usually, because of these forms of cruelty as well as forced hard labor, lack of hygiene and inadequate food, prisoners usually fall ill and die some time during custody. As a response to the lack of respect for human rights in North Korea, the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, or NKHR, was established on May 4, 1996 in Seoul. The purpose is to defend the human rights and defend the lives of North Koreans. The founder and current chairperson, Reverend Benjamin H. Yoon, emphasizes that the goal of the NKHR is for the creation of a peaceful reunification of the North and the South and the formation of a democratic national community that is expected to result from such reunification. The NKHR also seeks to assist North Koreans who have just settled in South Korea in the education of their youth and the protection of their rights. Moreover, the organization seeks to collect and publicize facts and information regarding the status of human rights in North Korea, especially those in political prison camps (â€Å"Citizens’ Alliance,† 2011). Nevertheless, the NKHR, since it is based in Seoul, cannot do much to help North Koreans in North Korea. Nevertheless, the institution of the NKHR is a crucial step and a beacon of hope for North Koreans whose rights are still being violated in their own country. II. Relations with Asian Countries ` North Korea’s relations with South Korea have been â€Å"difficult and acrimonious† since the Korean War and have been a sort of â€Å"mixed† policy since North Korea seeks to develop strong economic ties with South Korea but the former does not stop denouncing the latter’s relations with the United States (â€Å"Democratic People’s,† U.S. Dept. of State, 2011). After the Korean War, both countries actually affirmed their desires for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula but until 1971, there have been no possible way for the two Korean governments to officially communicate with each other (â€Å"Democratic People’s,† U.S. Dept. of State, 2011). The differing ideologies of the two Koreas, where the north assumes a rather communist and conservative role but the south a rather a democratic one, have been responsible for the delay of goals aimed at reunification. Moreover, the intervention of the United States and other member countries to the Six-Party talks and North Korea’s continual violation of international laws against nuclear missiles have also helped put aside and indefinitely postpone reunification. However, South Korea remains as one of the DPRK’s leading partner in trade (â€Å"Korea, North,† CIA.gov, 2011). Aside from South Korea, among the countries with which North Korea has had firmly established ties with was China. China is North Korea’s largest source of food, fuel and arms, and is its biggest trading partner. As to food, China is the leading producer and importer of 45% of North Korea’s food and 80% of the latter’s consumer goods. When it comes to energy resources, China provides North Korea with around 90% of the latter’s fuel. With North Korea’s current volume of imports from China, the economic dependence of the form er on