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best way to protect themselves, so much so that they have amended their constitution to make it a national right. The United States and many other nations see North Korea’s nuclear program as one of the greatest threats—if not the greatest threat—to world peace. Attempts to curb North Korea’s nuclear program have totally failed at each step. After first withdrawing from the Nuclear Non- ProliferationTreaty in 2003, six-party talks with China, Russia, the United States, Japan, and both Koreas over the span of five years resulted in no progress. Later attempts to put pressure on North Korea through sanctions and boycotts nearly crippled the nation’s economy yet did not deter North Korean scientists from success- ful weapons tests. Efforts to bring North Korea to the bargaining table, with both carrots and sticks, have yet to see tangible results. All told, it is clear that the government in Pyongyang puts such a high priority on developing a nuclear weapon that nothing short of full-scale war will deter it. Even if the North Korean people have to eat grass and tree bark, Kim Jong-un will not give up the nuclear weapons his scientists have built. Many facets of North Korean life might seem incomprehensible to an outsider. Freedoms of speech, political belief, religion, and government criticisms are totally curtailed throughout North Korea. No one, except KimJong-unhimself, is free to comment on a govern- ment that lets its people starve while building billion-dollar nuclear weapons. North Korea indoctrinates its people into communism and totalitarianism by promoting an ideology that Kim Jong-un, like his father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung, is not only the rightful ruler of Korea but also so powerful as to be practically godlike.All North Koreans must work hard on his behalf, expecting virtually nothing in return. Many North Koreans have little idea of a life outside their borders in which people are free to choose their work, their politics, or their words. Access to information is tightly controlled:As but one example, North Korea’s Internet gives access to only a few dozen websites, none of which is foreign. Being found in possession of foreign media, information, or political works rep- resents a capital crime in North Korea. Some foreigners who visit North Korea end up in prison without trial or representation for political crimes, such as failure to pay respect to a picture of Kim Jong-un or criticism of his government policies.
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