could someone give me a simple overview of the WMD problem in North Korea?

Question

I know that isn't an easy thing to ask because the problem is so complex. I've been doing research on it, and so for I have just found a lot of rambling and not a lot of straight facts. I'm only 14, so it's kind of hard to dig through all these news stories to find out what is really going on.

First of all, why does the average N. Korean hate the US? Also, what has the US done in the past to try and work out this problem? And what are they doing now?

Sorry if I sound completely clueless, but I am. =P

Thanks.

Answer 1

There are definitely 2 versions of why and how US dealt with the N Koreans before and during the Bush administration. DON'T rely on the slanted, partisan answers you get here. They will only confuse you with illogic or inconsistency, and they are mostly not factual..

I suggest the online Britannica as a good starting source. Or the CD ROMs if you have them.

Answer 2

Basically, a couple of months ago, NK developed and tested a rocket capable of hitting Japan. More recently, they've developed and tested a nuclear warhead. Rocket+warhead = they can nuke Japan.

The problem goes back to the first Korean War, in which the democratic South was fighting the communist North. The US intervened on the side of the South to prevent the spread of communism, which was seen as the major threat at the time. North Korea never really got over that, it seems.

Now NK is a dictatorship. Not only that, its a dictatorship with a fairly insane dictator at the helm. A crazy dictatorship with a nuke and an effective means of delivering that nuke.

The average NKan probably doesn't hate the US (more than any other country hates the US) but Kim Jong Il might, and being the dictator in a dictatorship, he's the only one who really matters.

Answer 3

Basically, North Korea is a dictatorship. They don't really hate the US, however, North Korea isn't following the rules the other countries have created about nuclear weapons. The countries are worried because we don't know why North Korea is testing their weapons or what their plans are. That means they have become a threat to us. The United Nations has tried to work with North Korea, but it hasn't done any good. Of course, the problem isn't that basic, as you have discovered through your own research, but that is sort of the story in a nutshell.

Answer 4

North Korea wants Nuclear Weapons so they can Be taken seriously...So people will listen to what they say..and so Countries will give them Aid (money..food) Also..it is good for national pride...Also...I dont think the average North Korean hates us..they probably like us...they hate there government but they cant do anything about it because the government is to powerfull...it controls every aspect of there life...down to how much food they get each day...if your interesed in what life might be like for a north korean read 1984 by George Orwell