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    SplatworthyEmma Lantreev
    3/09/16 12:12pm

    A bit off topic, but can we just end the sanctions already? The people they hurt the most are innocent civilians. Sanctions only seem to serve as a continued source of resentment.

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      MagPieNorthSplatworthy
      3/09/16 12:17pm

      The short answer is no. And it’s as simple as the fact that the sanctions are the only thing, short of actual military action, that have any impact on the NK regime.

      Imposing sanctions doesn’t mean we don’t all understand how difficult that makes life for the average person in NK, it’s an unfortunate balancing act wherein the sanctions are likely the lesser of two evils.

      If sanctions are lifted, and NK manages to (more easily) get the materials they need to improve their (already strong) army, what implications does that have for South Korea? Japan? Even the US and Canada who are apparently now within missile reach?

      It sucks. It really fucking sucks that people in NK who have had no say in really any part of their own lives are stuck in the middle, but what other alternative is there?

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      MagicalFairyEeyoreSplatworthy
      3/09/16 12:20pm

      Oh right, so the resentment ends and they’ll elect a new Dictator!

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    Doofenschmirtz, Inc.Emma Lantreev
    3/09/16 11:38am

    Interesting. How long before anybody actually fact checks this story and quietly reports it’s exaggerrated like the Camp 14 gulag guy?

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews…

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      The KappaDoofenschmirtz, Inc.
      3/09/16 11:42am

      Oh good we have a DPRK apologist haven’t seen one of those lately

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      Ichiban1Doofenschmirtz, Inc.
      3/09/16 11:43am

      Yeah, that detail about having family members killed at a different camp. Game changer, dawg.

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    HoldenCashEmma Lantreev
    3/09/16 1:46pm

    Russia is a garbage country. It’s a failed state.

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      MashaHoldenCash
      3/09/16 4:32pm

      Better than North Korea tho.

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      evilfacelessturtle (feat. Preston the Hoonophobic Focus)HoldenCash
      3/09/16 6:59pm

      My friend constantly defends them because he has Russian heritage, despite being pretty liberal so he should be against just about everything Putin stands for. It really confuses and irritates me.

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    raincoasterEmma Lantreev
    3/09/16 11:53pm

    How freaking bad does your country have to be before Siberia looks like an improvement?

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      Hank Scorpioraincoaster
      3/10/16 12:28pm

      Siberia’s not so bad if you haven’t been exiled there. It really just gets a bad rap because of the gulags. It’s big and empty and it can be cold, but parts of it are beautiful:

      The flip side of it being big and empty is you can hide. Overall, think of it like Alaska.

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      raincoasterHank Scorpio
      3/11/16 3:45am

      I’m from Canada, I get that. But you wouldn’t want to move from a temperate region to Alaska with nothing but the clothes on your back, would you? Also, Alaska has better infrastructure.

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    Billie Holiday La Revoila!Emma Lantreev
    3/09/16 12:18pm

    Wait...who are you, and what is this substantive article about important things that don’t involve politicians’ body parts and sizes doing here on the main page?! Oh, not a new employee after all :-(. Well, either way, thank you (Emma and/or? Marina) for this interesting & well written piece!

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      Yotsuba&TochanEmma Lantreev
      3/09/16 11:54am

      As an aside, China also regularly repatriates all DPRK refugees it captures in contravention of international treaties it has signed (agreeing not to repatriate individuals who face significant risk of persecution or torture upon return).

      Seoul Train depicts the “underground railroad” in China that helps refugees escape Chinese police and try to get into the American or South Korean Embassies. It’s pretty heartbreaking.

      And China, unlike Russia, is at least a bit more responsive to international pressure...

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