Real and Perceived Human Rights Problems in the DPRK

Quote:

The corollary is the resort to vilification, often on an ad hominem basis, of scholars and policy officials who do not toe the official line on supposed “truths” about North Korea.

Quote:

UN humanitarian agencies that have worked in the DPRK since the mid 1990s have not provided evidential support for the government’s use of political classification as the criteria for food allocation. Their research considered that the food rationing system was based on a matrix of occupation, gender, and age, with those in heavy industrial jobs allocated higher grain rations than those in light industrial jobs, young people, and the elderly.46 What is true is that loyalty to the government was found to count more than anything else in determining social status and those with high social status had, almost by definition, better life opportunities. Political loyalty had therefore an indirect but important relationship to standard of living, including income opportunities and food accessibility.

Quote:

India is a nuclear state, and could easily be holding its neighbors hostage to the constant threat of provocation unless it receives monetary and food aid in return for not blowing them up. Even if a regional power such as China were to call its bluff, there'd be hell to pay.