• Stamets [Mirror]OP
      link
      fedilink
      679 months ago

      Good point. Qatar is beyond wealthy but North Korea repeatedly has to threaten to nuke people in order to get aid packages.

      • @Mercival@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        329 months ago

        They have quite a lot of money, particularly in foreign currency slush funds (see Room 39 for example). However the Kim family has the final say in what is government money and what never makes it onto the books.

        They could probably afford a FIFA championship. It’s admitting they have that kind of money, that would be a huge problem.

        • @jscummy@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          139 months ago

          I think it depends what you mean by “afford”, they might have enough money stashed away to host one time but it’s going to seriously take away from their future

          NK has never chosen their future or basic needs over useless megaprojects though

    • @merc@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      119 months ago

      North Korea’s GDP is on the order of 20 billion per year. Tiny for a country that size, but considering they don’t have to spend any of it on their population, that gives them a lot of bribe money.

  • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    589 months ago

    uncritical support for the DPRK in its heroic struggle to liberate occupied Korea from the genocidal American empire

    kim-salute

    Uncritical support to the ideology of Juche and its implementation

      • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        509 months ago

        Lemme ask you this, does the US doing something bad nullify the wrongdoings of another country/regime?

        When they’re in the process or about to cause a humanitarian disaster in said country, yes.

        Saddam’s regime was terrible, however sanctions, plus destroying vital infrastructure such as water treatment facilities and power plants during war were infinitely worse. The sanctions on the DPRK that have been going on since 1950 compounded the nightmare of destroying all the infrastructure in the country and the killing of 20% of the population and are still ongoing.

        • Doubledee [comrade/them]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          329 months ago

          Yankees really lived through Afghanistan and Iraq and learned about Vietnam and still think they are being given accurate narratives of state enemies now. I had hoped by now we might see even the most rudimentary skepticism of US media but alas.

          • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            299 months ago

            the most rudimentary skepticism of US media

            When I told the guy I knew that the US media has repeatedly lied for decades and offered tons of examples his response was “Maybe they’re telling the truth now”

            • 420blazeit69 [he/him]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              219 months ago

              No one was held accountable and many of the people who lied then are still in power, but I’m sure we’re good this time!

      • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        47
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        Any supposed wrongdoing of the DPRK pales in comparison to what the USA did to the Korean people. Nine million Korean corpses lay at the feet of American imperialism, a number that continues to grow due to continued sanctions, spying, military exercises and aggression. The alleged wrongdoings of the DPRK’s entire history do not even amount to the misery inflected by a single hour of American empire.

        I’m not a coward who feels the need to avoid taking stances. I’m not a coward who finds moral equivalence in imperialism and defense against imperialism. The fact that the DPRK exists at all in such a context of overt hostility should be regarded as a supreme achievement. The DPRK manages to still stand, despite its hardships and this is a testament to the resilience of the Korean people and the power of socialism.

        • autismdragon [he/him, comrade/them]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          409 months ago

          Seriously like. Even the absolute worst dubious, unproven accusations of what the DPRK’s “Crimes” are pale in comparison to what the US and allies did to them. And thats just their crimes against Korea.

      • ElChapoDeChapo [he/him, comrade/them]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        379 months ago

        What wrongdoings? Who has North Korea ever invaded?

        South Korea doesn’t count, you can’t invade yourself

        In the American Civil War the North didn’t invade the South either and in both cases the North was clearly in the right

        • @pingveno@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          -29 months ago

          South Korea doesn’t count, you can’t invade yourself

          North Korea and South Korea were separate entities following the surrender of Imperial Japan, with the North administered by the Soviets and the South administered by the US. North Korea 100% invaded South Korea, both with troops and supporting insurgency groups.

          • Doubledee [comrade/them]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            439 months ago

            They were not though, neither the communists nor the Japanese collaborators believed the line was a legitimate or permanent division of the country. The plan was always reunification and no Korean party accepted the terms you’re talking about.

            Ironically there was an independent government emerging in the wake of the collapse of Japan but the US occupation outlawed it when they came in.

            • Redcuban1959 [any]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              189 months ago

              The People’s Republic of Korea was basically the Korean government in exile during World War II. I think they merged into the DPRK after the US refused to let them take control of South Korea, even though they were the legitimate government of Korea.

              • Doubledee [comrade/them]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                169 months ago

                I think that’s a slight exaggeration, although I get what you’re saying. But I think it’s important to demonstrate to libs that I’m being consistent so I’ll explain what I mean.

                I don’t think the communal decision making bodies that spun up in the wake of the Japanese evacuation were necessarily completely aligned with Kim or the communists in exile, it was virtually impossible to maintain a functioning domestic apparatus and what I’ve read makes it seem like these were mostly improvisational.

                That said, I think in the long run you’re right, I see it as similar to Vietnam later: because US foreign policy was aligned with elements that were naturally unpopular to the population of the country (in Korea’s case, the Japanese and domestic collaborators) a democratic resolution of the question of what sort of government a united Korea would chose for itself was not going to be an acceptable outcome to the US.

                But we don’t know what they would organically choose for themselves because that decision was foreclosed by US occupation. I suspect a popular referendum was the best possible outcome but I think it would probably look very different from the current DPRK, for understandable reasons.

                • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  129 months ago

                  It is true that there are big differences in the ideology of the PRK and the DPRK, but the DPRK still was made as a sort of reconstitution of the PRK government

          • brain_in_a_box [he/him]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            189 months ago

            Foreign powers unilaterally divided the country in half, and the actual country itself just has to accept it?

            • @pingveno@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              English
              09 months ago

              My point was more this. In the American Civil War, the South was a breakaway region. In the Korean War, the North and South were separate countries with separate governments. The government of the North invaded the South. Period.

              Before this gets brought up, the governments of both countries were authoritarian turds.

              • Well you’re a dumbass if you can’t understand this lol. What the fuck does the American Civil War have to do with this? Nobody forced the slavers to make a separate country. Meanwhile the US forced the south of Korea to set up a government and refuse any discussion with the rest of Korea. You can define invasion however you want but it’s nonsense to define how you’re trying other “governments tm” being how you define it

              • alcoholicorn [comrade/them, doe/deer]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                29 months ago

                The US created south korea out of thin air at the end of WWII, literally just drawing a line on a map.

                Then they both held elections. The south’s election was rigged by the US, who used their sway at the UN (the USSR was boycotting at the time and PRC still hadn’t been accepted) to get South Korea’s puppet state recognized as the gov’t of all Korea, including the parts that didn’t even have the US’s sham elections. As preparation to invade the north, the US purged any non-compliant elements from the gov’t (going so far as to put compradors who’d worked for Japan during occupation in high ranking positions) and carried out massacres of elements likely to side with communists (such as rural villages that lead communal lifestyles).

                The north saw America was coming for them and the longer they waited, the worse position they’d be in.

      • 420blazeit69 [he/him]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        299 months ago

        How can you have lived through the War on Terror and trust anything the U.S. says about its designated enemies?

  • SoyViking [he/him]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    529 months ago

    Korea has lots of big stadiums and the people there seems to like football so why couldn’t they host a world cup?

    • reaper_cushions [he/him,comrade/them]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      449 months ago

      I don’t think the DPRK wants to give an opportunity to basically any country in the world to plant spies. Considering the US used visits of the Atomic Energy Commission to infiltrate the DPRK in the 90s, welcoming thousands and thousands of difficult to vet corporate reps sounds like an open invitation for infiltration.

    • autismdragon [he/him, comrade/them]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      339 months ago

      Well according to a .world poster in this thread that you and I can’t see from our instance, the DPRK has slaves. But don’t worry, this won’t happen because a lemmy.ca user thinks that “Letting that many foreigners into North Korea would be a PR disaster for the Country.”

      • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        229 months ago

        I’d love to say it would be a PR disaster for American news, but realistically people have become too invested in the American Cinematic Universe to be swayed by what visitors have to say.

        The lib I work with believes all the nonsense about North Korea and I’ve tried explaining to him that North Korea literally has non-North Korean tour guides who absolutely allow you to go where you want but usually prefer if you don’t because no one would be able to communicate with you if you got lost, and your vacation would be wasted if you had no idea where to go, but he believes that it’s all just a show, as though any country on the planet actually puts in that kind of effort to convince foreigners. Every time I tell him there are literally people who’ve posted positive news in regards to being there, or about a non-North Korean who works there, he still wants to believe what the news says or whatever negative claims are being made about it, and so he challenged me to go to North Korea on vacation and ‘find out the truth for both of us’ (he already believes I’ll come back with horror stories), and so I challenged him and asked “If I go there and find out that it’s all nonsense, that the country is fine and peaceful, would you believe me?”. I personally hate traveling, and going on vacation anywhere is a chore I loathe, and so surely if I go to such effort then he’ll believe me, right? His response was a reluctant “I’ll be more likely to believe it”

        This guy doesn’t want to believe he’s been lied to about North Korea; literally no amount of evidence will sway him; it’s almost like this is some kind of investment for him (I say him, but this applies to libs in general).

  • wombat [none/use name]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    469 months ago

    uncritical support for the DPRK in its heroic struggle to liberate occupied Korea from the genocidal American empire

  • ThereRisesARedStar [she/her, they/them]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    40
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    Are you really suggesting the DPRK is worse than Qatar? Lmao.

    Only the US will kill 20 percent of a population, establish a right wing military dictatorship in the south, and paint the democratic and progressive north as an evil regime worse than an absolute monarchy.

  • @Lexam@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    399 months ago

    Letting that many foreigners into North Korea would be a PR disaster for the Country.

  • @Catsrules@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    339 months ago

    On a side note, what exactly are we censoring on that bottom photos.

    Are we just censoring a bomb detonator box or are we censoring something else…

    • @rgb3x3@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      99 months ago

      It’s not even a detonator box. It’s a bike pump because he’s inflating the massive paint bubble.

      So it’s a pointless black box.

      • @Zoop@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        29 months ago

        Are you kidding me!? It’s a sexy, half-naked, pink (pink is the color of genitalia and is also slang for vagina!!!) starfish (starfish aka the butthole shape!!!) repeatedly slamming his big, thick rod into a tight little hole! That’s basically pornography!

  • TankieTanuki [he/him]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    299 months ago

    Uncritical support for the DPRK in its heroic struggle to liberate occupied Korea from the genocidal American empire.

    • Alisu [they/them]
      link
      fedilink
      49 months ago

      Uncritical support for the DPRK in its heroic struggle to liberate occupied Football from the genocidal FIFA empire.