Comments by "Peter deWolf" (@StoneShards) on "The Korean War May Officially End Soon" video.

  1. I've had a very unusual, for me, reaction to Trump's efforts with Korea: a teary upwelling of happiness for the Korean people, and the world. The north Koreans, especially, have suffered from these decades of isolation from their brethren, and the world. I sympathize with Kim's dilemma: the cult of personality can't work so well, anymore, but how to back out of a backward-looking worldview that stifles his people. He has to do it to join the world productively; but, the resultant upheaval of society (like plopping someone from the middle ages into modern-day NY city) threatens to be ruinous. Yeah, between a rock and a hard place...
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  2.  @TheSpartan3669  <--The "cult" is a control mechanism that can't work in today's world, in the same way that it worked in the past, and he knows it. My gut tells me he cares greatly for his people, but doesn't know how to "back-track" the severe distortions of fact that underpin the "cult" mindset. Joining the world means opening up the society to "unmoderated" information sources, which means the cult will die, and the people will feel betrayed, when the isolation was meant to protect them. Like I said, between a rock and hard place...
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  3.  @TheSpartan3669  <--Evidence? Not a SHRED! But, think about it: Kim is not his father. His experience has been wholly different than his father's. He's been educated abroad and has perhaps the broadest perspective on his country's plight than anyone else in his country. Essentially, he's in the position of having to destroy his country in order to save it! "Mass genocide" is a bit hyperbolic (what race is he trying to eliminate?), but the traditional use of imprisonment and intimidation to control people has proven it's effectiveness. Making the whole family pay for the transgressions of one member has a strong deterrent effect, and is a practice steeped in history and tradition, to say nothing of common sense. When I look into his eyes, my gut tells me Kim is highly conflicted.
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