there s a new moneyed elite. comrade kim is even allowing something that looks suspiciously like capitalism to grow. in a sense, kim jong-un is buying the support of pyongyang. but there is a problem. kim is running out of money. it s one of the reasons why he s reaching out to the world. he has to show the most privileged people in his country that he can lead them to some kind of better life because if he doesn t they ll figure out how to get rid of him. or, they may leave. there are more than 30,000 north koreans defectors now living in south korea and elites are leaving in recent years. most come from outside pyongyang. where poverty and hunger are widespread. north korea in many ways inhabits the 21st century in
markets to grow. south korean intelligence estimates that about 40% of the population is now engaged in part of the market economy. and the regime is profiting. kim jong-un is walking a tightrope. how do you begin to have some of this economic activity without loosening the reins so much it gets away from you and you end up driven from power? that s the dilemma. that s the dictator s dilemma. it stunned the world when kim jong-un invited k-pop singers of south korea to perform in pyongyang. it gets to be the heart and the puzzle of north korea. on the one hand, north korea knows that its people want to taste what the outside world has to offer. but then at the same time the leadership is desperate to
he wants to show the world it s on the move. it s modern and it s upscale. this is a different north korea than you have seen before. it begins in the capital city pyongyang. if you didn t know, you might think it was orlando. this is north korea? new water parks, amusement rides. even unauthorized disney characters? he had to build the support of his people. in a very poor country, kim jong-un has spent billions building new luxury apartments and at astonishing speed. he has transformed the city s skyline. you see it when you go to pyongyang. it is a city that s essentially created like a stage set. in a way, it is. pyongyang is a sort of village built to show that north korea
it is historically only willing to do so in return for the end of the u.s.-south carolina military alliance, formal rec nation by washington and large amounts of aid. the negotiations do contain risks. any deal that leaves north korea with nuclear weapons and aid would leave south korea and japan vulnerable. since pyongyang has cheated often in the past, the treaties and inspections regime would have to be far more intrusive than the iran deal. south korea in doing so, we will realize it is a rationalal regime and in doing so if negotiations fail it can still be detained. north korea can be deterred but also a regime capable of outwitting an american president, especially one too
people would be really, really outraged and imagine there s calls for a kind of punitive strike against north korea. most likely, a limited strike. what s been called not to destroy north korea but to teach kim a lesson. what if kim doesn t understand the lesson? they don t know it s a limited and one time only. pyongyang might see itself as under attack. miscalculate and perceive a larger military action or regime change coming so he acts out first. some say his first response would be to use his conventional weapons. north koreans have tens of thousands of artillery rounds and rockets aimed at seoul. there are 25 million people