It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

VIEWS OF THE NORTH KOREAN "MAN ON THE STREET?" A NYT article claims to offer such. I am rather suspicious; here is the sample set

But random interviews today with 10 North Koreans — a composer, a band director and his assistant, a tourism director, and half a dozen park guides — underlined how pervasive and deeply held anti-Americanism is in "the hermit nation."

Rather than being "random," this is actually a survey of the few people the DPRK regime feels comfortable about letting interact with foreigners at a resort desiged especially for foreigners.

Still, what these folks have to say is interesting if for no other reason than to highlight what the current propaganda line is:

"The Korean War was started by the U.S., and today the U.S. continues to threaten us with the nuclear issue," continued Mr. Chun. "We have a lot of monuments about atrocities committed by the U.S. during the war. We don't have nuclear weapons, but our nuclear weapon is our strong unity among ourselves." . . .

Another popular spot is the Pueblo, a Navy spy ship captured in 1968 by North Korea and never returned. A videocassette describes American negotiations for the return of the 83-member crew, saying the "enemy knelt down before the Korean people, as the myth and might of the United States crumbled before the will of the Korean people."

Films, art work, television documentaries and newspaper articles relentlessly portray Americans as bloodthirsty aggressors. One new poster given wide distribution last month shows a People's Army soldier thrusting missiles toward a shredding American flag and an exploding United States Capitol.

"All servicemen of the Korea People's Army should always be on the alert," the newspaper Rodong Shinmun warned in an editorial today, the birthday of the nation's leader, Kim Jong Il. "All party members and workers must burn with hatred and hostility in their hearts toward U.S. imperialists." . . .

Ri Jo Won, a 23-year-old guide, said: "I don't think the United States is particularly strong. If they are so strong, why haven't they engaged us in war already?"

Ms. Kim, the woman in the black parka, predicted, "The United States will probably attack Iraq, but not North Korea because North Korea maintains a strong military and is much stronger."

Any nuclear bombs that Pyongyang may be producing, several people said, are to protect North Korea.

I've noticed recently that while the handful of statements by President Bush (e.g. "Axis of Evil," "I loathe Kim Jong Il," etc.) usually garner derision and dismissal by many in the U.S. ("so simplistic" counteproductive, knee-jerk reaction, "stupid," "insane" are among what I've heard lately) no one seems concerned about the high degree of incredibly vitriolic anti-American sentiment that comes from P'yongyang on a daily basis. This may be a result of unconscious condescension (e.g. those silly North Koreans can't help themselves; or, shouldn't be expected to help themselves, but we Americans should know and speak better) or a perverted sense of moral equivalence. Whatever the case, it is important to recognize that any calls for dialogue or negotiation means that we need to talk to, understand, and work with people who have grown up on a steady diet of this stuff.