NORTH KOREA : A SERIOUS DANGER TO THE WORLD.

In the 1930s, there was an attempt to appease Adolf Hitler and his NAZI party. Poor, naïve Neville Chamberlain famously returned from a meeting with 'Herr Hitler' clutching a piece of paper which he believed meant that there would be no war. In pursuit of appeasement, the assorted governments of many countries did nothing as German forces Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Hitler simply kept on pushing the boundaries; the final result was a terrible war.

Today the problem is slightly different but the response of western governments has been the same; appeasement. North Korea is strange place invented after the Second World War when the Korean peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel, the North being occupied by the old Soviet Union and the South by the United States. Negotiations about reuniting the 2 halves failed and, in 1948, 2 independent countries were created, Kim Il-sung becoming Premier of the newly established North Korea. A couple of years later, forces from the North invaded the South, strongly supported by the Soviet Union, and the Korean War began. The conflict lasted for 3 years, drew in the Chinese as well and ended in stalemate, with little change to anything except for the appalling damage done and more than 1 million lives lost.

Ever since, North Korea has made strenuous efforts to emphasise its independence and, for a quarter of a century, rebuilt its economy while also distancing itself from its communist allies, China and the Soviet Union. However, economic decline ensued and, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, China became North Korea's only ally and support. Kim Il-sung died in 1994 to be succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il, who, in due course died and gave way to his son and the present dictator, Kim Jong-un. Throughout, the rest of the world stood back and adopted an effective policy of appeasement, allowing the North Koreans to do whatever they liked.

Occasional border skirmishes, assassination attempts and other assaults upon the South have maintained an atmosphere of extreme hostility between the 2 countries and, more recently, the country has becoming increasingly belligerent while also imposing an ever more tyrannical approach towards its own people. Today, the country is on the point of economic collapse, supported only by China, while also investing in the development of ballistic missiles and even a nuclear capability.

Led by a megalomaniacal and paranoid dictator, North Korea is now becoming a genuine threat to the rest of the world. Its belligerent attitude towards the United States at a time when the US has a President who is more likely than his predecessor to react, and China's increasing frustration with its errant neighbour, is forcing it into a corner. Clearly, any conflict with the United States could only result in defeat for North Korea although it could also lead to the Chinese becoming actively involved, and that could mean a very dangerous escalation.

So much for allowing dictators in tin-pot countries to get away with murder.