North Korea as a Siege State

A military parade in the DPRK. Images such as this are commonly used by Western media in order to portray North Korea as an authoritarian military state (Source: ABC News).

Part of the Liberation and Struggle topic

Western academia has fairly consistently branded current and former communist states as "authoritarian" regimes that resorted to brutal suppression in order to keep their populations under control. One of the few dissenting historians, Michael Parenti, has challenged the common perception of communism and draws attention to the missing historical context surrounding communist states. In Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds, he describes the development of "authoritarian" socialism as a type of "siege socialism" that forms under heavy capitalist encirclement. As Parenti points out, every attempted socialist program initiated by a left-wing government has been ruthlessly attacked by the Western powers. Governments that survive this initial onslaught are then subjected to prolonged political and economic isolation in order to harm their long-term development.

Many nascent socialist movements were strangled in their cradle, with mass killings of left-wing sympathizers preventing the organic rise of socialism in numerous countries. A select few countries, such as Chile under Salvador Allende, did manage a non-violent takeover of power through electoral means. Nonetheless, all of these left-wing governments were eventually crushed by US-backed military coups. The refusal of democratic socialists to embrace any form of armed resistance always resulted in their downfall, as their right-wing counterparts were more than willing to use force to violently wrest power away from the legally-elected government. The socialist regimes that survived for a considerable length of time were able to both secure political legitimacy at home through aggressive popular reforms and protect their state from outside threats by maintaining a strong security apparatus.

History is littered with examples of failed socialist projects that either compromised their revolutionary principles or lowered their guard long enough to be overwhelmed by imperialist assault. The surviving socialist states, regardless of how one rates their contemporary policies, did manage to preserve ideological cohesion and national security. Within this small sample size, Cuba and Vietnam are generally hailed as a more idealized version of "democratic" socialism while China and North Korea are demonized as the worst form of "authoritarian" socialism. The case against China is not surprising due to its controversial free-market reforms, restricted civil liberties, and rising global ambitions. Given China's size and the strong ideological influence of Maoism, there were high hopes that it would provide a true counter against global capitalism.

Conversely, Cuba and Vietnam are seen by many observers as underdogs whose shortcomings were due to their harsh circumstances. It is widely accepted that these countries’ limited resources and lack of ideological allies forced their socialist governments to maintain high internal security and adopt some capitalist reforms. However, the same logic is not applied to North Korea. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is portrayed by both Western liberals and Western "libertarian" socialists as the peak of "authoritarian" socialist corruption. Special attention is brought to the DPRK's militarism, diplomatic isolation, economic underdevelopment, and cult of leadership. What is poorly understood in the West is that all three of these cases, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea, are merely products of their environment.

The dominant liberal idealism of the West eschews any form of material analysis, instead opting to categorize socialist movements based on their perceived level of morality. Cuba is thus more likely to be labeled as "good" form of socialism due to its greater political freedoms and limited military spending. Vietnam earned a lot of sympathy as well because of the brutal national liberation war it was forced to fight against France and the US. The withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam was seen as universal victory against imperialism, which gave the new socialist government the moral high ground. On the other end of the spectrum, North Korea became the "bad" form of socialism that restricts political freedom and maintains a militarized state.

In reality, the differing intensity of imperialist assaults is what shapes a state. Cuba only ever experienced one indirect US attack on its soil during the Bay of Pigs incident. In addition, its revolutionary government greatly benefited from the presence of an established socialist bloc in Eastern Europe. The trade embargo enforced on Cuba by the US was thus partly offset by economic subsidies from the USSR. The USSR also guaranteed Cuba's security by extending Soviet military protection to the island. With these considerable advantages, Cuba fared much better than many other socialist states. The material conditions of Cuba allowed it to develop a softer form of socialist consolidation that is praised by many Western leftists.

Vietnam had a much more tumultuous road to liberation. After having secured independence from their sadistic French colonizers, the Vietnamese found themselves entering a renewed conflict against American occupiers and their fascist puppet government in the south. Nonetheless, there was a resolution to the war that united the country under a single socialist government. The extensive media coverage of the Vietnam War was instrumental in building international support for the national liberation struggle. On several other fronts, conflicts remained frozen and liberation groups were suppressed.

Korea was one of the first battlefields of the Cold War. Unlike Cuba, Korea did not secure significant economic relief nor did it have any military protection from the socialist bloc. When the US invaded Korea in June 1950, 20-30% of the population was exterminated and every major city was reduced to rubble. The intensity of the US killings and war crimes in the Korean War easily dwarfed that of the Vietnam War, yet Western history books continue to portray the former as a virtuous US crusade against tyranny and the latter as a crime against humanity. At the end of the war, Korea remained divided. The northern territory of the DPRK was subjected to countless threats of invasion and economic sanctions. To the present day, a large US military presence occupies the southern part of Korea. The Republic of Korea (ROC) serves as a puppet government in the south, maintaining its legitimacy through subsidized economic growth and Western-style democratic elections.

Of all of the socialist states, North Korea has suffered through one of the most extreme forms of siege socialism. This prolonged assault has greatly affected the psychology of population. Most remain anxious of another US-led holocaust and resolutely support their government despite the hardships they endure under the economic embargo. The structure of North Korea's military was molded by the invasion as well. It boasts a large defensively-orientated arsenal, with fixed anti-air and anti-tank weaponry outnumbering any form of aggressive mobile vehicles. An extensive system of tunnels protects its vital infrastructure against future bombings should another war break out. Above all, the North Korean nuclear missile program provides a cost-effective deterrent against a hypothetical US attack.

While all of these measures might seem extreme, it is worth remembering that all of this posturing comes from lived experience and constant threat of another US invasion. The DPRK has seen what happens to countries that agree to disarmament in exchange for minor economic concessions from the US. Places like Libya and Iraq became targets for invasion immediately after surrendering their arsenals, and the Koreans wish to avoid the same fate. Far from being fanatics, the DPRK has a pragmatic approach to state management and very much desires a rapprochement with the US. Numerous diplomatic overtures have been made to the US, with the express condition that the DPRK will not surrender any of its hard-won national sovereignty.

Suspension of the DPRK's nuclear program was offered in exchange for a pledge of non-aggression against North Korea. The US rejected this proposal and continued to position its own cutting-edge military equipment around the peninsula in preparation for an invasion. Offers of economic co-operation and diplomatic normalization were similarly turned down due to the dogmatic US objection to the DPRK's alternative system of government. The DPRK has also pushed for the path of least resistance when it comes to the frozen conflict between North and South Korea. The war is technically still ongoing, with an armistice currently in place. The DPRK has, at several times, suggested the simple solution of uniting the peninsula under a loose federation that would allow both sides to peacefully pursue their own forms of government.

The proposal for a federal Korean republic is indicative of the true mentality of the DPRK. Their weariness of war and love for their separated family members in the south trumps any political ambition. More than anything, they want the peninsula to heal and for their government to be able step away from an endless state of militarism. They do not seek revenge on the US, nor do they wish to force their model of government upon the south. Many within the ROC leadership share the same sentiments as their siblings in the north, but are forbidden from accepting the federal state proposal by their American handlers.

The US will only allow a reunification that extends their hegemony over the entire peninsula. To this end, the US continues to occupy the south and besiege the north. In Vietnam, the scars of war were allowed to heal when the country was unified. In Cuba, the revolution benefited from early Soviet support and the international sympathy of many left-leaning groups. Korea has none of these advantages. As a state, the DPRK has been subjected to one of the worst cases of siege socialism in history and continues to be the target of unwarranted US aggression.