North Korea

This quotation, from an article about South Korea's military posture in the wake of North Korea's recent attack, sums up the two Koreas' position nicely:

“North Korea has nothing to lose, while we have everything to lose,” said Kang Won-taek, a professor of politics at Seoul National University. “[South Korean president] Lee Myung-bak has no choice but to soften his tone to keep this country peaceful. It is not an appealing choice, but it is the only realistic choice.”

South Korea, with one of the world's stronger economies, does have a hell of a lot more to lose. So does China, which faces the ugly possibility of thousands of impoverished, hungry North Koreans fleeing across its border in the event of a crisis.

This reminds me of the gag in Blazing Saddles in which Bart fends off the angry townsfolk by holding a gun to his own head and snarling, "Hold it! Next man makes a move, the n***er gets it!"

North Korea's leadership, by unbelievable skill or equally unbelievable luck, has acquired unparalleled leverage over the rest of the world. It has created a population that, though underfed and increasingly aware of how badly its living standard lags behind its neighbors', is nevertheless just docile enough to remain controllable by the military. That population is the leadership's best strategic weapon, and the leadership skillfully wields the threat of unleashing that weapon to keep China, South Korea, Japan, and the United States all dancing to its tune.

The Browser has a North Korea topic area that predates the current crisis. I found the tourist's POV piece interesting and a history of North Korea's dabbling in a looser monetary policy fascinating.