North Korea - a very naughty boy

If you haven't watched Monty Pythons The life of Brian, you must. Beg, borrow, steal, do almost anything to get your hands on a copy, it's worth it.

If you've seen the movie, you will most likely remember this memorable quote "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy." This very same quote can be easily applied to the actions of North Korea.

Kim Jong-il (and the eternal deceased leader, Kim Il-sung) have managed to convince enough (if not most) of the population of North Korea that they are doing a good job. While the whole culture of North Korea evolves around the notion that they are a) the centre of the universe b) have more power than the west and c) are on the 'right' side of the war, the rest of the world looks on and sees the truth. So apart from broadcasting The life of Brain onto every TV set in North Korea, the west is unable to show the people of North Korea what their leader really is.

One of the reasons Kim Jong-il remains in power, is by displaying to the people of North Korea the power of the government and their country. So by firing off missiles and making the earth tremor because of a nuclear bomb test, it is quite effective at demonstrating the power of the government and socialism. This demonstration of power also attracts the worlds attention. While the North may be perceived as acting like a little child throwing a tantrum to get the worlds attention, this demonstration of power may have different meanings.

Who are they demonstrating their power to, and how are they demonstrating it? They have shown to the world they have nuclear material and are technologically capable of turning it into a rudimentary bomb - so their actions could be an advertisement.

By demonstrating that they are a powerful nation, are they requesting more respect from the world? They may want special bilateral sit down talks with the US (as they have wanted in the past), so they can put their demands past the UN and straight to arguably the most powerful state?

Or alternatively, is Kim Jon-Il just a crackpot leader with death wish for his country?

While we can sit and hypothesize and analyse the actions of North Korea, what we can't do, and haven't been able to do, is control those actions. We may not know exactly why they are doing what they are doing, but we can predict that the North is greatly unpredictable and uncontrollable. The key to fixing this rogue state may not be what the rest of the world can do, but what the people of North Korea can do!