| Libby Liu of Radio Free Asia has an op-ed in Huffasnuffaguffalus. Pay attention, it isn't often we quote that source. She's talking about getting news into the North Korean people: |
... mounting evidence suggests that there are cracks, through which North Koreans are able to get a glimmer of the world outside their own.
Cell phone use has shot up, especially along the Chinese border where wireless signals are stronger. This also is just one of the means by which many relatives of the 20,000 North Korean defectors in the South keep in touch with their family members.
Restricted technology such as MP3 and MP4 players, DVDs of South Korean soap operas and films, and even USB memory sticks are increasingly making their way into the hands of many North Koreans who get these goods on the black market.
Some of the most sought-after pieces of hardware are shortwave devices to listen to foreign radio.
| She winds up with this observation and plea: |
For the regime of Kim Jong Il, the threat is real. As the cracks widen, more outside information is disseminated within North Korea. This makes it much more difficult, if not impossible, for the country's authoritarian government to be the sole source of information for its people.
The fact remains, despite these cracks, that many North Koreans still are less than fully aware of the perilous position their leaders have placed them in during this current crisis.
This is why it's essential for international powers to consider ways of working together to keep the North Korean people informed. Radio is proving to be one of the answers.
| Radio is indeed one of the answers. The more information we can get to the North Korean people, the sooner the day will come when they decide that their evil masters are idiots. And depose them. |
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