Bitcoin Forum

Putin and Kim Jong Un Are Not So Different

It seems that the international community can breathe a sigh of relief after this weekend's standoff on the Korean peninsula. The deadline for the ultimatum that Pyongyang announced has passed without hostilities breaking out. Instead, senior officials from North and South Korea held talks to resolve the confrontation.

As a result, the latest round of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's favorite game — playing on the nerves of the international community — ended in a draw, and the war that he has been threatening to unleash in recent days never materialized.

He had initially accused the United States and South Korea of threatening North Korea with the joint military maneuvers they conduct every year. Recall that those maneuvers — involving 30,000 U.S. and 50,000 South Korean troops — include scenarios for repulsing a hypothetical invasion by Pyongyang.

North Korea even threatened to use a weapon as yet "unknown to the world" if Washington and Seoul did not halt their exercises. South Korea responded by promising to "strongly retaliate" if attacked. Then the conflict escalated when two South Korean soldiers were maimed by a land mine in the demilitarized zone that Seoul claims Pyongyang planted.

That incident prompted South Korea to broadcast anti-North Korean propaganda over huge loudspeakers aimed at the North — a practice it had not employed in more than 10 years. North Korean forces responded with artillery fire that South Korea returned. After that, both sides quickly put their forces on war footing.

The world froze in anticipation. The fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons meant this was not simply another local conflict. Some experts believe that North Korean missiles can even reach Alaska.

As for Russia, North Korea's nuclear test site is only a few hundred kilometers from the Russian border. Any conflict on the Korean peninsula carries an obvious security threat to this country.

The scenarios of almost all military maneuvers that Russia conducts in its eastern regions includes a response to a so-called "ecological catastrophe" and the influx of thousands of refugees in the event of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.

However, Russia's Foreign Ministry — that has not been known for mincing words in recent months — for some reason issued a delicately worded and almost timid statement urging the quarreling parties to remain calm and act responsibly.

And for some reason Moscow was in no hurry to condemn Pyongyang for its willingness to unleash a nuclear war on Russia's borders. Of course, Moscow could not but enjoy the fact that someone was openly defying Washington and even hinting at the possibility of a nuclear conflict with the United States. But that is not the only reason for Russia's restraint. A closer look reveals that Moscow's foreign policy is not so different from Pyongyang's.

The basis of both countries' foreign policies is a belief in their own uniqueness and exclusivity. For the North Korean dictatorship, it is found in the idea of "Juche" as symbolized by the winged horse Chollima. For this country, it is the "Russian soul," Prince Vladimir and so on.

Russia's belief in its exclusivity gives rise to certainty in the country's absolute independence. President Vladimir Putin gladly states that Russia is one of the few countries in the world with an absolute sovereignty, meaning that other countries exert no influence whatsoever over it.

What's more, Russia's own citizens exert no influence on political decision-making. Kremlin officials often complain that Western leaders are too dependent on their voters. Clearly, the members of North Korea's Kim dynasty are not dependent on the will of their unfortunate citizens either. On a whim, the national leader can doom every last North Korean to a life of hunger or plunge the country into a nuclear conflict.

This non-Western value system makes both Moscow and Pyongyang entirely unpredictable. How, in fact, can the world predict the actions of leaders who think nothing of sacrificing not only their citizens' welfare, but their very lives? For such leaders, "pride" — or what some claim is the result of an inferiority complex — takes clear precedence over the well-being of their people.

Putin was offended that the West ignored his interests during the change of power in Ukraine and responded by seizing Crimea and unleashing a war in Ukraine. Kim Jong Un responded to South Korea's propaganda blitz with live artillery fire. Both Moscow and Pyongyang constantly flaunt their nuclear weapons. Both Kim and, to a lesser extent Putin, manage to send a signal to the outside world: "Don't touch me, I'm crazy."

And finally, it remains a mystery as to how the two leaders' inner circles affect the decisions they make. It is very possible that both leaders must consistently demonstrate bravado and fearlessness toward the West in order to keep their closest associates in line — people who will attack like a pack of wolves at the first sign of weakness from their leader.

So what is the difference between the two men? Only that Putin has not ordered artillery fire aimed at the West and its allies?

Or is that Moscow has several thousand nuclear warheads while Pyongyang has only a few? If so, that would explain why Kim Jong Un feels compelled to act even more provocatively than his Russian counterpart.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putin-and-kim-jong-un-are-not-so-different-op-ed/528565.html

The only thing common between the 2 is their disdain for the West.
This actually increases their popularity amongst their own people.

I'm sure that both Kim Jong and Putin have a lot of "penis envy" for South Korea. South Korea has the latest and greatest flat-screen display technology. North Korea and Russia do not.

@panju1 now your list should have 2 things. And when you figure out natural numbers, you can start counting more from the article.

I think that they do not like America and the western countries very much. Putin is a very nice leader, who cares about their people. I would say that if nobody is messing with those two, it would be great. :)))

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin are like the opposite poles. The first one doesn't care about his own citizens, and is ready to sacrifice a few million of them just to satisfy his personal ego. The second one cares about his people, probably more than any other Western leader. Putin rescued Russia from the disaster during the 1990s. On the other hand, Kim and his father destroyed the economy of North Korea.

I wonder if Kim Jong Un (as well as hus father was) is not only a figure for the masses that are trained to worship the symbols- their leaders. I am afraid, that real deciding power in N.Korea is a group of high grade military men ruling country behind the courtains.

But they are. Kim Jong Un is very closed and he doesn`t have so big ambitions like Putin. U can see that in
how much they are care about foreign policy, and how much they are involved in many things around the globe.

Don't agree. Kim Jong Un is a pure dictator and decide himself everything. If it was possible that was a group which lead with him it was not possible that him killed all the mos close old collaborators of his father (including its cousins).

Partly true. The North Koreans are brainwashed to worship their leader. But the media focus on North Korea is solely due to the fact that the DPRK has the courage to stand against the NATO. For example, the people of Saudi Arabia are no better than those in North Korea. But the western media would like us to believe that Saudi Arabia is a paradise.

Exactly, countries like North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria etc are trying to stand against NATO and their leaders are showcased as dictators from the west media because they don't wan to bow over NATO's will.

What is the meaning of the photos of the first ladies of Syria and United States of America in a thread about Kim Jong Un only the author of the post can understand. Me no. Maybe to make some similarity? It is totally improper as for me.

+1

True, but Putin seems more likeable since he doesn't ban western culture. If you go to Russia or whatever, you can find people listening to western music, wearing nike and whatnot. In NK, the fat bastard will probably kill you if you do any of that.

True, but at least Putin doesn't' seem to ban Western culture, as far as I know anyone is free to do anything they want in Russia, they can wear any clothes they like or listen to any music they like. In NK they don't ave this freedom, in NK if they see you listening to rap music and wearing nike you are a dead man walking, that fat bastard doesn't play around.

Both of them are the alterego of each other. The same behavior in and with the power, the same attitude about free media and the opponents, the same vanity about their self and their actions, the same aggressiveness versus the free countries which are in their frontier, the same desire to seems world leader when are little dictators only in their respective country and at the end the same desire for never ending and without margin for the power.

You conveniently forget that Russia is part of the so called "Western culture". Russia is the largest European country, in terms of area and population (I am talking about the European part of Russia and the ethnic Russian people). If you exclude the American Anglos, then the Russians are the largest European ethnic group, numbering almost 50% more than the next ranked ethnic group (Germans).

putin and his clique of mad dogs are mortal enemy of the plant. they are solidified in their perceive righteousness... then I don't know nk. however I know a thing:

koreans = people that don't know how to write chinese and reside somewhere east of the mighty city. when the korean leader, aka great leader, comes to the wall and ask (not request) for a chat, he knows the rule. and ask how is the mood behind the wall?

answer 1: lethargic as a panda... good new for the great leader, he can come with his gift.
answer 2: energetic like a fire panda (Red panda)... he proceeds with caution without gift
answer 3: the dragon is on the path to war... very very bad news, great leader runs back to his people and stay quiet... who cares of the gift, the dragon is in motion.

so in short I find this comparison unfair. putin is like assad... Great leader is a chinese that doesn't know how to read/write properly... where does this korean things come from? but at least the plant is free to live... what would the south do? a systemic genocide on the plant?

Great leader is one of the protector of the plant. but anyway, why interfere in this north/south divide... they can keep their "language"... but the rule is.