The Trump-Kim summit was, in few words, quite a show. It was a historic moment no matter how you look at, no sitting President had ever met with the leader of that isolated, oppressive regime. Nothing really got done and details of what the two leaders actually agreed upon are scarce. It was essentially a very expensive and very public version of two children agreeing to be friends again. Except, in the real world, it was two unstable leaders smiling and nodding for a full day about nuclear weapons. 2018 has been quite a ride and we still have half the year left.
As expected, no mention of human rights violations were made by our President. The fact that it was not even mentioned during the summit is appalling, but sadly, not the least bit surprising.
I do not want to analyze the summit, there is not much to analyze. It was similar to my high school prom dances. The nuclear weapons aspect of this is vitally important. However, North Korea will not attack us. Despite our trade war from Trump (elected to do the opposite) China has previously stated they would back us in the event North Korea were to strike first. North Korea starting a war with us, or their neighbors to the south, would almost all but ensure the end of the Kim regime. The amount of power the Kim family has amassed does not come easily and risking that is not in the interest of anyone, especially Kim Jong-Un.
What needs to be talked about is how the Kims have amassed the political power they hold on the Korean peninsula. North Korea rivals Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia, and Fascist Italy. It is, without a shred of doubt, the most oppressive country in the world currently.
To instill unrivaled power, North Korea silences political dissidents in a way that is unheard of in today's world. While plenty of countries with dictators eliminate political opponents, none of them do it quite like North Korea. The Kim regime institutes a rule known as "Three Generations of Punishment." Essentially, any opponent is put into a concentration camp and their kids and grandchildren also must grow up and live in camps. In the camps, North Korean citizens are tortured, starved, raped, beaten, and slaughtered like animals. The regime itself has officially denied the existence of the camps. Satellite imagery and survivor testimony dispute that claim pretty heavily.
The Yodok Concentration Camp in North Korea, one of several camps that houses political prisoners. Google Earth
They exist only in the mountains of the country, far away from civilization. The details are horrific. North Korea is stifling any sort of descent by eliminating generations of people to ensure that nobody can have a differing opinion threatening the regime. The acts that happen here are atrocities to the human race. Women are raped and, if impregnated, forced to kill the child. People are beaten for trying to eat and survive. People eat rats for nutrition and public executions are a regular occurrence. The Korean government has built a massive, organized system to torture and eliminate anyone they deem an "enemy of the state."
So how can the president of a country that has intervened in so many countries in the name of human rights just refuse to acknowledge what is going on? Trump either does not know what's happening in North Korea or he does not think it's a problem. Both are horribly misguided and disturbing.
I'm not here to suggest a solution on this whole North Korean peace thing, because it will not happen. It cannot happen, dictatorships are not built that way. They are built on fear, oppression, and hatred. There is no negotiating to be done. Just as with Cuba, no meeting from our President will change how they operate. The human rights abuses will only end if the entire operation of the country is upended. The Kim regime would have to fall and a new system would have to be set up. This almost ensures intervention from a country like the United States. Submission has been ingrained into the culture in a way unseen in the world. Photos of the Kim family hang on the walls of people's homes and he is worshipped as a deity. There is no freedom, of thought or of will.
The nuclear weapons aspect of our strained relationship with North Korea is very important, but the human rights abuses should not be ignored and are falling into the shadow of the media. Trump is a coward for not even mentioning these problems at his summit.
Most of the details I recalled from memory based off reading and other research I did in high school. To read more about the human rights atrocities occurring in North Korea, here are a few links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/inmates-in-north-ko...
http://www.businessinsider.com/un-north-korea-pris...
