Week 8 Blog Prompt

For this week, you may choose any current affairs topic that you feel strongly about and write a 200-word reflection on it. The topic you have chosen may be any article or issue that you have been reading about in Newsweek, Time, The Straits Times or any other platform. Do not limit yourself to the ideas covered in class. Your entry should reflect insights and thoughts to the theme/topic- no superficial glossing over of ideas please.

The current affairs topic which I would like to discuss about would be regarding Kim Jong ll, the North Korean leader's official  one-week visit to Russia. I am interested in this topic as recently, I have been viewing a number of documentaries on Youtube on North Korea and this article has definitely probed my interest, given the background information I have. I believe that world has always had their eyes peeled on the hermit Communist regime for a long time since its establishment sixty years ago, which is well-noted for its constant belligerence and isolation to the world, and above all, its totalitarian political system. Here comes another movement from it.  It must be noted that Soviet Russia had been one of the closest allies of North Korea before the downfall of the communist Soviet Union in 1991. Up till now, about 20% of North Korea's trade comes from its neighbour Russia. Following the development of its nuclear programme, the economic sanction on North Korea by the US has wreaked a long-term famine, or the so-called Arduous March,  in the country , which can be dated back a decade ago and has wiped out a quarter of the population. The North had always visited its allies with a sole objective: To beg for economic assistance, and so is this visit to Russia.I think that the recent massive flood that has exacerbated the plight in the state  had prodded  North Korea's initiative, considering that the last visit to Russia was ten years ago .North Korea is in desperate need for foreign assistance. I would regard the foreign assistance to North Korea in the aspect of both economic and politics.Its isolationist policy has limited both types of assistance only to its allies, most of which are Communist and is from neighbouring China. In response to North Korea's plea, Russia is transporting 50,000 tonnes of grain at the end of September. Above that, I think that North Korea is trying to affirm its rapport and bilateral ties with Russia in the hope that it would receive backing from the latter in the next Six-Party Talks. I hope to continue probing into the mysteries of North Korea and would be alert of future articles like this.