Horse 995 - Empty Village, Empty Threats

Kijong-dong, North Korea. One of the most luxurious and best kept villages in the world. There is no hint of rubbish in the streets... or people... even on Google Maps with their satellite view, you soon see that the streets themselves don't actually exist. The whole town is simply a collection of uninhabited buildings within eye-shot of South Korea and placed within the DMZ that separates the two Koreas.

That's the point and essence of Kijong-dong, it exists merely for show. Nothing more; nothing less. This is all an elaborate production, put on for the entertainment of the West.

Whilst the world may yell condemnation at Kim Jong Il and North Korea's launch and testing of missiles and nuclear weapons, we should remember that this is probably a case like so much else of the DPRK, an elaborate show and should be treated as such.

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union actually had the power to destroy an annihilate the world. The whole point of the Cold War and to an extent the Space Race, was that both sides knew that the best way to avoid total nuclear annihilation, was to threaten the enemy in order to prevent the use of the very same weapons. This was otherwise called: Mutual Assured Destruction or M.A.D. (which in case you weren't wondering, was not the same M.A.D. in Inspector Gadget, that was Mean And Dirty).

The main problem with Kim Jong Il and North Korea, is that Mr Jong Il is a certifiable nutcase. The "Dear Leader" is the centre of something like a personality cult, and it's likely that his power is maintained via that personality cult and de facto the military.

The best response that the West has to North Korea is to let them keep on rattling their nuclear sabres. If the South, Russia or the US actually invaded North Korea, then there'd be a 98% chance that they'd win... but what exactly would you win? A country in a mess? Thousands upon thousands of refugees? They'd spill across the borders into South Korea, China and Russia, and you can guarantee that not an option which Seoul, Beijing or Moscow want at the moment.