An International Failure.

The artillery bombing of South Korea by its belligerent neighbour to the north is just the latest in a long line of North Korea's blatant disregard for international law. It has been referred to as “one of the worst clashes since the Korean War ended”. It appears as though, in any practical sense, the war did not end. North Korea, still under the charge of Chairman Kim Jong-il, has acted like a petulant child in the face of the international community and particularly in the face of South Korea.

One question that needs to be asked by the democracies of the world is this: how long will this be allowed to continue? How many more sanctions will the United States or the United Nations place on North Korea without actually being firm? Are the sanctions working? Clearly not. The North Korean people are still being horribly oppressed on a regular basis and yet the international community does nothing of any substance.

Is the shelling of a constitutional democracy not enough for action to be taken? The White House said that the United States was “firmly committed” to defending South Korea, yet continues to do nothing.

Kim Jong-il cannot be reasoned with, despite how inconvenient that is to policy makers. There is never much elapsed time before his government or military acts in a foolish and dangerous manner. The fact that an absolute dictatorship still stands is a disgrace. The world will not even have the chance to breathe a sigh of relief when Kim Jong-il dies, as his son is poised to take up the mantle of power.

The North Korean people are in a situation in which everything that is not forbidden is compulsory. It may be a cliché to draw a parallel between North Korea in 2010 and Airstrip One of 1984 but it is unavoidable. Orwell's classic novel is referenced so often by people in the West as a shorthand for their perception of government intrusion, which has only served to diminish the impact of its comparison when such a comparison is appropriate. That is exactly the case with North Korea. What we have is as close as it is possible to get to a living, breathing embodiment of what Orwell depicted, yet comparisons are rendered meaningless.

North Korea should not be allowed to remain as it is. People are still lamenting the fact that nothing was done in the cases of Rwanda and Dafur. Will North Korea make it onto the list of examples of when action was only taken when it was too late? From current evidence it appears to be a safe bet.