2008 Woodie Awards
Povolny Lecture Series concludes
Security an issue in North Korea, says State Dept. analyst
April West
Issue date: 4/7/06 Section: Features
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The Povolny Lecture series concluded Tuesday with "Reading North Korea" by John Merrill, chief of the U.S. State Department's Northeast Asia Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
The lecture was a response to rising tensions between the United States and North Korea over the Korean's nuclear weapons program.
Merrill believes that the United States knows much about North Korea and its political system, though some believe otherwise. This is not to say that there aren't gaps in the information the U.S. has about the country.
For one, the U.S. has the capability to monitor North Korean media. North Korea uses the media to track diplomatic changes, and all the messages released into the media are carefully crafted.
Within the totalitarian system, the media is a way for the North Korean people to find out how they are supposed to be acting, giving us insight into their lives.
According to Merrill, we also understand North Korea's leadership. North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il has been analyzed by a number of agencies, including a detailed unclassified profile declaring him to be self-absorbed, artistic, and manipulative. There are at least a dozen academic works stating that he is in fact not crazy, but a rational thinker.
According to Merrill, "[Kim] sees politics as a political drama. When he is at government meetings it is obvious that he is bored out of his mind, but he is much more engaged in the likes of an artistic cinematic event."
The United States has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since the early 1990s. These include conferences, such as the six-party talks between Russia, the U.S., North Korea, South Korea, China and Japan.
"Bureaucratic politics are alive and well in North Korea today," said Merrill. There is relatively open talk about divisions of opinion. The situation is "nowhere near as simple as Hawks and Doves," he stated.
Politically, North Korea is witnessing the erosion of totalitarianism. It is still totalitarian, Merrill asserted, but things are loosening up.
The lecture was a response to rising tensions between the United States and North Korea over the Korean's nuclear weapons program.
Merrill believes that the United States knows much about North Korea and its political system, though some believe otherwise. This is not to say that there aren't gaps in the information the U.S. has about the country.
For one, the U.S. has the capability to monitor North Korean media. North Korea uses the media to track diplomatic changes, and all the messages released into the media are carefully crafted.
Within the totalitarian system, the media is a way for the North Korean people to find out how they are supposed to be acting, giving us insight into their lives.
According to Merrill, we also understand North Korea's leadership. North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il has been analyzed by a number of agencies, including a detailed unclassified profile declaring him to be self-absorbed, artistic, and manipulative. There are at least a dozen academic works stating that he is in fact not crazy, but a rational thinker.
According to Merrill, "[Kim] sees politics as a political drama. When he is at government meetings it is obvious that he is bored out of his mind, but he is much more engaged in the likes of an artistic cinematic event."
The United States has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since the early 1990s. These include conferences, such as the six-party talks between Russia, the U.S., North Korea, South Korea, China and Japan.
"Bureaucratic politics are alive and well in North Korea today," said Merrill. There is relatively open talk about divisions of opinion. The situation is "nowhere near as simple as Hawks and Doves," he stated.
Politically, North Korea is witnessing the erosion of totalitarianism. It is still totalitarian, Merrill asserted, but things are loosening up.