fatvegan

I find it remarkable that I can have so much sympathy for the leadership of North Korea. For instance, they withdrew from the NPT (Nuclear Treaty) before they decided to build (or at least declare) their weapons. They obviously crave legitimacy. Given that all of the nuclear countries have broken the treaty themselves by not disarming (despite having 38 years so far to do it), North Korea withdrawing to develop weapons doesn't seem to unreasonable. Besides, the poor country seems to be so preoccupied with feeding its soldiers that it hardly seems likely to invade anybody. I suspect they're just wanting to deter the US from plonking a bunch of aircraft carriers off their shore.

I wish America would just promise not to invade them. I imagine that if North Korea felt safe it wouldn't feel like it turn 49 of every 1000 people into soldiers. It's the highest rate in the world, slightly beating Switzerland and Eritrea.

On a side note, it's interesting that China has by far the largest active army, but one of the lowest military participation rates. It's also interesting that 17 of the top 20 most troopy countries are developing nations. America is 2, and Germany and France are 19 and 20. If the poor got some better guns, they'd sure give us a run for our money.