South Korea this week elected its first female president, Park Geun-hye, in a free and fair vote, while North Korea celebrated the one-year anniversary of the repressive reign of dictator Kim Jong-un.
Talk about a stark — and frightening — contrast.
When Park takes office in February, she’ll take the helm of one of the world’s largest and most-advanced economies, with powerful, civilian-led armed forces — and a democratic polity on par with any.
South Korea is also a strong ally of the United States and a positive contributor to international security, participating in the Afghanistan mission and in peacekeeping around the world.
Then there’s North Korea.
Kim Jong-un took office a year ago in a handpicked dynastic transfer of power when his father, Kim Jong-il (the son of North Korea founder, Kim Il-sung) died, reportedly in his armored train car.
The youngest Kim is the leader of one of the world’s most un-free countries: a police state with zero political freedom, where hunger is commonplace and “crimes” against the state can lead to a trip to a political-prison camp for you and your family.
North Korea is also a source of trouble, near and far. It’s a constant threat to break the armistice (dating from 1953); in recent years, the North sank a South Korean warship, shelled one of the South’s islands (50 dead), plotted to assassinate the South’s defense minister and threatened the South’s president.
Nice neighbors, those North Koreans.
Globally, Pyongyang engages in all sorts of criminal adventures — drug trafficking, smuggling, counterfeiting — to earn hard currency. It has also sold nuclear know-how and missiles and technology to the likes of Iran and Syria.
And it’s no friend of the United States.
Last week’s North Korean ballistic-missile test is a good example. Without question, it’s a big deal for our national security.
On its fifth attempt in about 15 years, Pyongyang finally managed to put a small satellite into orbit using a multistage rocket. (It’s claimed success before, but this time NORAD confirms it.) Satellites are no big threat, but the launch capability is the same as that needed to target an intercontinental ballistic missile — like, say, at the United States.
The next step for Pyongyang is to develop a warhead that could top such a launch vehicle. Some experts expect another nuclear test in the coming months, which could be a step in developing that warhead.
Can you say, “Duck and cover”?
The successful launch had other consequences, too. First, it solidified internal support for Kim’s leadership; he did something his father wasn’t able to do. Score big points for his carefully-crafted personality cult.
Second, it may embolden the regime for more bad behavior. Kim may feel he’s achieved some level of deterrence against the United States based on this latest advance in ballistic missiles.
Basically, no good will come from this launch — other than to the regime. Worse, with Kim only in his late 20s, it’s likely he’ll be trouble for some time.
The good news is that just across the misnamed DMZ is South Korea, a model for what North Korea could become — if it so chose. But, hope springs eternal — sometimes foolishly — this time of year, doesn’t it?
Peter Brookes is a Heritage Foundation senior fellow and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense.
Twitter: @Brookes_Peter