To resolve the conflict, the United Nations suggested elections in the country, which were drastically opposed by the communists in North and South Korea. While the United Stated desired to prevent the multiplication of communism; the Soviet Union wanted to extend it as far as possible throughout the world. With Kim II-Sung at the helm of affairs in North Korea supported by the Soviet Union, forces under him attacked South Korea under the anti-communist government of Syngman Rhee on June 25, 1950. China plunged into the war in order to gain mileage against the probability of a US invasion. The war ended on July 27, 1953 due to armistice. However, this was a momentary cease fire without the signing of any long term peace treaties.

One of the most obvious effects of the war as in the case of any conflict was high numbers of causalities. The Korean War widened the gap between the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of communism. The war also propagated animosity between the US and China. As a direct consequence of the fear of the repercussions of communism, the US arbitrated into Vietnam to abolish the possibility of another North Korea. South Korea became a permanent location for the American military troops. Despite the armistice, the actual war has not ceased since then. Korea remains bifurcated with the two sides on constant war readiness. The economic wide between the two sides has also deepened with the passage of time.

While South Korea has progressed economically and technologically; North Korea remains as a poor and immensely militarized country. The nuclear tests and numerous missile tests conducted by North Korea pose a threat to South Korea as well as Japan. The eight point peace agreement signed by the leaders of the two sides of Korea on October 4, 2007 did open avenues of talks, peace, economic cooperation, renewal of highway, air travel and train services. However, the unification of North and South Korea still remains a dream in the hearts of many.

North Korea’s recent history could be symbolized in the history of the Hotel of Doom. In 1993, funding simply ran out, as the nation fought mass food shortages and some International Trade sanctions. The Hotel must of stood there, decaying as millions were hungry, and many people simply died of starvation.

The finished shell sat dominating the hermit republic for 15 years, as Malaysia built the new symbol of its prosperity, the Petronas Tower, and China rose through economic prosperity to build the Shanghai World Financial Center. Both buildings were the tallest in the World, whilst the Ryugyong Hotel became an International joke.

But times have changed in North Korea, and the “Hotel of Doom,” is now being refurbished inside, with a proposed completion date of around 2012. Whilst the Government of this strange land still survive, and have even joined the Nuclear club in late 2008.

Once the building opens it may be late, but the building itself will become an everlasting symbol of the fortunes of North Korea, and the ambitions of its leaders. Many say it is a “white” elephant, but it is destined to become a “great symbol” to the leaders of the Worlds last remaining Stalinist state.

If only we could get his personal email address so the President could contact him directly with his strongly worded message… maybe using ALL CAPS and perhaps even bolding some of the stronger words for emphasis. Then we might be able to get through to Kim Jong-Il, who, wanting to be a good neighbor to us all, will abandon the program.

If this doesn’t work, there is talk of pressuring China to encourage North Korea to put the brakes on their nuclear program. This is an excellent plan as our good friends the Chicoms have always been looking out for our well being and would be happy to help us out by easing world tensions. Some might say we don’t much leverage with China anymore, I’m not sure this is true. The United States has become such a huge customer for Chinese goods and they have bought so much of our debt, we need to approach them in terms of protecting their investment. We need to explain that if the crazy Korean starts lobbing nukes at the US, it would make it much more difficult for us to pay back the loans they have given us.

This pretty well sums up our options in dealing with North Korea… or any other bad actor on the international stage… if a bit facetiously. The country is already isolated. It would be hard to separate it any more from normal nations with goals of peacefully pursuing their own welfare and goals. They do not care what we say or think.

As far as depending on the Chinese – for all we know, they may behind these efforts to destabilize the international scene and show the ineffectiveness of our President through a client state. Washington is not the only capitol that values plausible deniability. They are already doing their best to destroy our economy… a little more pressure will make that job a little easier.

So what do we do? I don’t have access to all the security briefings and wisdom of Vice President Joe Biden, but I certainly hope the Obama brain trust does not come up brilliant plans like sending in the Marines or “surgical” air strikes. Even though it is run by a psychopated leader, North Korea is still a sovereign nation. They perceive the freedom loving people of the west… those of us that remain… as a threat and are arming themselves for a potential conflict. To them this is the truth and a nuclear North Korea may just be a fact of life in the twenty-first century.

Does this mean that the United States must roll over to petty dictators like this? Or even major dictators in China or Russia? With the technology and the finest military personnel in the world, this is not necessary. We can’t relax or become complacent in our international interactions. We can’t foolishly assume that everyone has our live and let live attitude. We need to let any nation that thinks we are a paper tiger understand, actions against us or our friends will have very negative consequences for them. Will this require a brain transplant in the occupant of the White House?

The United States has two destroyers that left from South Korea to move closer to North Korea to monitor the launch. South Korea also is sending it’s destroyer to more closely monitor the North Korea activities.

North Korea made warnings to Japan stating that an attempt to intercept the missile will be viewed as an act of war. They also stated that they will use all military force necessary to stop any interceptors from destroying the missile.

Japan state that it does not intend to shoot the missile down but rather to defend it’s territory. This is confirmed in the fact that the missile has the range to carry a nuclear warhead to Japan and North Korea has several nuclear warheads.

The idea that a missile with the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead is being launched by a communist country is troubling for all democratic countries. North Korea has a past of troubling activity and is currently still giving any disruptments to their extreme behavior an extreme reaction.

There is talk that the North has the ability to make a smaller version of nuclear warheads that could be attached to Rodong missiles giving the missiles a much broader range. This information is unconfirmed but troubling at that.

North Korea has claimed that the US has had over 100 flights over the missile area and their territory. Now the North is threatening to shoot down any spy planes that enter their airspace to monitor the rocket launch. This was in reaction to this increase in spy flights by the US.

The North still is planning the missile test between April 4 through the 8th in which the United States says they can do nothing to stop it unless for some reason it looks like it is headed for Hawaii or somewhere threatening. North Korea has already moved the missile onto a launch pad and is preparing for it’s launch.

The current presidential administration has already headed towards the direction of scaling down a missile defense system that was started by President George W. Bush. In addition their is talk of lowering plans for a defense against missiles in Europe.

Additionally, there are many questions that are not being asked, that should be. Namely; why is it that “no one” is addressing the reality that China originally sold all the nuclear technology and long-range missile systems to North Korea in the first place, which North Korea quickly replicated and reverse engineered? China is part of the problem here, and therefore, ought to be expelled from the talks, but agree to “harsh” and even devastating economic sanctions.

Some military intelligence analysts believe that China doesn’t want the North Korean nuclear problem solved any time soon, because they realize it is a thorn in the side of the US military, bogging them down in the region and China doesn’t want any interference from the United States in the future when it tries to take Taiwan back into its arms.

China also doesn’t want to be told what to do, or be bothered in Burma, Tibet, or other areas along its southern border where separatist groups are causing the Chinese government problems. Suffice it to say, China, or much of its military leadership probably would like to see the North Korean standoff with the United States last for a decade or more.

Therefore, they don’t believe it is in their best interest to see any conclusion to this standoff. Thus, in my humble opinion it is completely laughable that China is involved in four party talks, if anything they will work strategically to undermine the negotiation.

It would be fascinating to travel to North Korea to meet its people and learn about its culture. This will not happen unless the current regime changes or unclenches it fist. Even South Korean citizens are not permitted to visit their own relatives who are figuratively imprisoned in North Korea. North Korean leadership understands the political power of travel. If free people of the world were permitted to travel to North Korea, then its citizens would learn how they have been manipulated, exploited and enslaved by their leadership. This could light a long fuse which ultimately could threaten the regime. North Koreans cannot tolerate a free press or an enlightened population.

Travel is not just a leisure or a business experience. It is an opportunity to spread ideas and exchange views. This is why every American university strives to recruit international students and to send its own students abroad.

There will be a time when North Korea will be an international travel destination. After the walls of isolation come down, as occurred in Berlin in 1989, a curious world will want to step inside and look around.

At Travel Clinics of America, we protect travelers against yellow fever, malaria and typhoid. We provide travel vaccinations and travel safety advice to international travelers who are traveling all over the world. When the time comes, and it will, we will protect travelers headed for North Korea. Sadly, its own suppressed people need protection against a force more dangerous than infectious diseases. Regrettably, Travel Clinics of America has no vaccine available against the threat they face.

North Korean typically refer to the Korean language as Chosnmal although it is also called urimal. The standard of North Korea is based on the way it is spoken in the capital P’yngyang while in the south the standard is the way it is spoken in Seoul. The differences between these two forms of the Korean language does not make it impossible for speakers of either group to communicate with each other because the differences are more or less equivalent to the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in Latin America.

Since neither of these two views have been demonstrated decisively, those who do study the language prefer to refer to the Korean language as a language significantly distinct from the aforementioned groups. From a morphological point of view, the Korean language uses agglutination which is the process of adding affixes to the base of a word. Korean maintains a grammatical syntax whose base is Subject-Object-Verb. Japanese, Vietnamese, and the Korean languages are influenced heavily by the Chinese language.

Pyongyang: It is the largest and the capital city of North Korea. It is designed with imposing monuments, monolithic building and wide avenues in addition of some notable landmarks such as the Arch of triumph, Juche Tower, Pyongyang TV tower, Kumsusan Memorial Palace etc…

Namp’o: It is a city and seaport, which is designated as ”Special City” of North Korea. Lying on the Northern shore of Taedong River, it experience continental climate and low rainfall with lack of fresh water. It houses some famous tourists attractions such as sun bathing beach, pleasure ground and other recreational facilities.

Chongjin: It is the third largest city of North Korea. Originally a small fishing village, it is now the administrative centre of the North Hamgyong Province. There is a foreign consulate set up in Chongjin by the People Republic of China and Russia. It is the second largest market for good in the country. It also plays an important role in country’s economy as it is an important steel and fiber industry center.

South Korea, the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, is known as the ‘Land of Morning calm’. Bordered by China, Japan and North Korea, it is a major economic power and one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. Some main cities of South Korea:

Seoul: It is a major global city and the capital of South Korea. Not only this, but it is also the leading international financial centre and second largest metropolitan city in the world. Some of the major modern landmarks of the city are the world Trade center, Korea Finance Building, 63 Buildings and N Seoul Tower.

Incheon: It is a major seaport on the west coast of South Korea, near Seoul. It is regarded as a part of Seoul metropolitan area due to its close proximity to the capital and the fact that Incheon Subway and Seoul metropolitan Subway system are linked.

Kwangju: It is the sixth largest city in South Korea and is designated as one of the metropolitan cities. The city is famous for its rich and diverse cuisine.

Global issues need to be met by the global community. This does not mean that the United States can not lead the way. Obviously, there will always be the need for someone to take the initiative, but it has to be done in a way that does not isolate us from the other global players and delay effective resolution.

First, in a global economy, it is necessary for voters in the upcoming election to cast their votes to bring a more Democratic balance into the make-up of our current govenment. Democrats would be more effective in diplomacy and can speak the international tongue. Whether you agree with their policies and beliefs or not, they are more likely to restore trust and a sense of humanity to our foreign agenda.

Second, if the international community is the channel of tough sanctions, China is the key. The country of China is an emerging dominate player in the Asian region and is also responsible for trade that equates to roughly 50% of North Korea’s energy and food imports. If China does not accept its new international role in a responsible fashion, then the world will continue in its struggle to suppress renegade dictatorships.

Finally, North Korea has already been warned in their efforts to develop nuclear capabilities, but apparently decided not to listen. We should impose the toughest of sanctions and work with our allies to allow for massive refugee transportation out of North Korea. At this point, deadlines should be drawn up for an international force to work together in removing this dictator from power if president Kim Jong-il does not comply and agree to dismantle his nuclear program.

In regards to a potential North Korean attack on South Korea, we already know that underground tunnels have been discovered to be dug deep into South Korean territory. The scary thing to note is that millions of people live in the capital of Seoul, South Korea, which is not very from the border with the north. If it is already assumed that some tunnels have not yet been discovered, what is to stop North Korea from detonating a nuclear weapon right under the heels of a major South Korean city such as Seoul? This would cause millions of people to suffer a horrific death.

There is only one television channel in the country, and only 10% of the population own television sets. The Western world is effectively kept at bay.So an American orchestra being invited into North Korea had huge political implications. There is no doubt that for many people, this was their first experience of Western music. Kim Jong-il rules by an all-pervasive “cult of personality” in North Korea. As far as music is concerned, North Koreans love music, but the only music allowed is that which supports him and Communism. The implications of the symphony’s visit deepen.

North Koreans are forbidden to perform, sing, or listen to any other music, even in the privacy of their own homes. Those who were caught doing so in the past were arrested and, in some cases, tortured and imprisoned for years. Imagine what passed through these people’s minds as they watched the Philharmonic’s performance! Should they show emotion? Would their names be taken down? Defectors from North Korea to other countries watched in amazement.

Korean listeners heard the American National Anthem played. Orchestra members were amazed also. They didn’t know what to expect, and at first the audience was quiet and stone-faced. But soon smiles appeared, and after the finale of a popular Korean folk tune, the audience exploded into smiles, cheers and applause, with audience and orchestra waving to each other.