Korean Elections

This Sunday, North Korea held parliamentary elections under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.  At first, it seems like a democratic success for Korea, but the actual situation is much more demeaning.There was one candidate for each of the 687 districts of which all deputies were elected with unanimous decision. In these elections, the voters turned up and simply marked their vote on unnamed ballots. Obviously a far cry from any semblance of a democratic process, the elections serve mostly as effective political consensus. Since Kim Jong-un took over in December he has restructured the elite's power. This past December, Kim Jong-un had his uncle, second most powerful man in Korea, executed on charges of corruption and plotting to overthrow him. These elections seem to be related to this execution since they are mostly to reinforce his own position with loyal followers of his own.  As global events progress, it seems like Korea is being pushed to the sidelines while other events such as the ones in Ukraine and Venezeuela bubble to the top. However, as is usual with Korea, might go ahead and continue nuclear pursuits of warheads. As one of the most difficult places to penetrate in the world, how long until it becomes the main focus of the world and must be dealt with directly? Some consider the leader a loose cannon and any action from them is usually negatively directed at the U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/north-korea.html?_r=0

by Sergio Vargas