Post World War II, the peninsula of Korea was divided into two areas of control, the North and the South. The Soviet Union had troops in the former, and United States stationed forces in the latter. Since then, North Korea has become a state that is the subject of much criticism from the United States. The communist Korean Worker's party was formed in 1946 and came to power with the support of the Soviet Union. Kim Il-sung became the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and ruled the nation until 1980. During the course of his control, the South Korea declared independence and the Korean War ensued. The war, between the years on 1950 and 1953, officially divided the peninsula into two nations. The goal of the "eternal president" and his successor, his son Kim Jong Il, was to reunite north and south.
After the Korean War, the area remained two separate nations, despite Kim Il-sung's attempts. North Korea enjoyed a period of economic prosperity and made moves to become more industrialized and modern. Part of their technological progress was the development of a nuclear program, although the nation agreed to halt the program when Kim Jong-il became leader. Kim Jong-il first emerged as a political figure in the 80's and assumed the position following his father's passing in 1994. Under his administration, North Korea suffered the effects of floods and the resulting famine. North Korea also began to move into demilitarized zones (set up post Korean War). Tensions were high between the north and south but were relieved a little during the summit at Pyongyang in 2000 between the two state's leaders and communication was opened up. Within a few years, however, conflict between the pair had erupted again.
Currently Kim Jong-un controls North Korea. Under his guidance, the north has become more isolated and closed to the outside world. The brief period of openness at the turn of the century has given way to propaganda and conditioning. While some of the elite enjoy a pleasant lifestyle, most of the populace is malnourished. Orphans little more than toddlers wander the streets because they left their homes, lost their parents, or were forced out of their families. Resources are thin and media is tightly regulated. No information comes in or goes out. People who try to leave are severely punished. Any suspicion of disloyalty and the whole family, even distant cousins thrice removed, are thrown into prison camps, tortured, and questioned. Some of the lucky expatriates who managed to get out have set up shop in South Korea. They smuggle foreign movies, flash drives, and other media into the country as well as set up secret radio stations.
The feelings of fear and hoplessnes permeates through the North. This will come to an end eventually and the carefully constructed tower of power is beginning to collapse already. As seen in the Frontline, people are unhappy with the constant regulations. Even the well living elite are expressing dissent in private conversations. The black market foreign media helps a great deal because it allows the people to see the outside world without the filter that their government has put on the information they receive. As more pressure comes from all directions, internally and externally, the North Korean government falters and will certainly crumble.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.2.html
http://www.history.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-north-korea
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_Korea
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