As far as I have read, North Korea has millions of people who live with the side effects of starving most of their lives.
Kim spends a lot of money on weaponry, but very little on agriculture for his own people. I have heard about the soils being ‘fertilized’ wit human waste. This results in perpetual contamination, breeding grounds for worms that finish their growth inside of human stomachs.
I have heard about people so hungry that they ate tree bark and grass, just like the livestock does. People stunted in both physical and mental growth. We haven’t even discussed the Post Traumatic Stress that is also a way of life in North Korea. If North K. does open up to more capitalism and development of cities, they will need to import most of those workers, probably from either China or South Korea.
I’ve often wondered about these ‘ghost cities” that China has built and the use of them.
“I have heard about people so hungry that they ate tree bark and grass, just like the livestock does. People stunted in both physical and mental growth.”
They suffered a lot from famine under this guy’s father (Kim Jong Il). When this guy (Kim Jong Un) took over four years ago, he made very successful agricultural reforms (basically allowed farm families to sharecrop). There is a lot more food for most everyone now. He has been expanding more profit-sharing incentives to other industries, especially in the last year. He views himself as a reformer, focused on raising the standard of living.
The first two Kims were educated by communists (Kim Il Sung in the Soviet Union, Kim Jong Il in China) but this Kim went to school in Switzerland, speaks English, and played in his High School theater’s production of Grease. He loves American music and basketball, and considers Dennis Rodman a close friend.
North Koreans have been allowed to work for some South Korean companies in some special industrial parks near the DMZ. They have earned a reputation as the hardest working employees you could hope for. North Korea also has a load of undeveloped mineral wealth, a lot of coastline and a border directly with Russia, as well as China.
Not only could South Korea move in rapidly with some world class investment, technology and expertise; but President Trump is bringing the world’s biggest and most advanced economy (the USA) and the most advanced economy in Asia (Japan) along; as well as American-dominated International resources like the IMF, as potential sweeteners. It is the absolute best dream team that a North Korea wanting development could hope for.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe has been in constant contact with President Trump and the South Korean President about this deal. He was in the White House today, before the President and he went to the G-7 meeting. He made a public commitment that Japan was ready to support North Korean development (in exchange for the return of abductees, and dismantling of the ballistic missile threat). That lays a big bargaining chip on the table.
There are some huge incentives on the table for the North Koreans. They have never before been offered such a good deal, and might not ever again, if Trump and Moon (in S. Korea) are no longer in office.