TOW #14

North Korea is a joke. And that’s the problem.

Jeffrey Lewis

The Washington Post

            This article was written in response to North Korea’s latest claim that they have detonated a Hydrogen bomb. The world now knows that the explosion was too small to be a hydrogen bomb and that North Korea was just bluffing. This has only furthered our view of North Korea as one big joke. Lewis wants to highlight the most outlandish aspects of this strange piece of the “Evil Empire”. So he poses a series of rhetorical questions in the opening paragraph. Lewis writes, “What other country could prompt U.S. intelligence officials to seriously speculate that a nuclear test was retaliation for disrespecting a state-run all-female pop group? What other country has a state-run all-female pop group?” (Lewis 1). Most Americans find there descriptions to be extremely entertaining (myself included). However Lewis wants to show that while “it is understandable that we would want to deny the North Korean regime any legitimacy” North Korea’s starving population concerned neighbors are nothing to laugh at. The article combines news on the latest development as well as commentary on how this fits into the bigger picture of how North Korea is seen to both the American government and people. At first it seems like Lewis is just going to laugh alongside us and add this fake nuclear weapon to the list of things to make fun of North Korea for. But as the article continues he reveals that while the nuclear weapon is not a hydrogen bomb it is an important step towards getting their nuclear weapons small enough to fit into the warhead of a ballistic missile. Slowly as the article continues the reader finds themselves questioning why they had originally seen this rouge nuclear nation as a big joke and wondering why their government is treating north korea the same way.