N.Korea Kim Jong-il sends $500,000 to quake-hit Japan
77 replies, posted
[img]http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Sources/Art/source_Reuters3.gif[/img]
[release]SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has sent half a million dollars to aid Korean expatriates in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, Pyongyang's official news agency said on Thursday.
Decades of tightly controlled economic policy that has seen North Korea channel much of its scarce resources to arms development has left the country acutely short of cash although its leaders continue to live lavishly, according to South Korean news reports. Food is also reportedly scarce.
Japan, formerly Korea's colonial master, is frequently lambasted as a "war monger" in North Korea's state-controlled media along with South Korea and the United States.
"Leader Kim Jong-il sent (a) relief fund of 500,000 U.S. dollars to Korean residents in Japan who suffered from the killer quake and tsunami happened there," KCNA news agency said.
Half a million U.S. dollars is equivalent to the annual average income earned by 520 North Koreans in all of 2009, according to Bank of Korea data.
U.N. sanctions in 2009 imposed for its nuclear and missile tests that defied international warnings have further cut into North Korea's finances, choking off much of its lucrative arms trade.
The North's Red Cross has separately sent $100,000 in disaster relief to Japan, KCNA said.[/release]
[url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42241686]teriyaki[/url]
What has gotten into him?
:unsmith:
I.... have trouble believing this.
Well that is nice, to bad it will be used as backhanded propaganda to the people..
Kims a good guy
Best money from best leader of best Korea?
At least he is infinitely better than those who don't donate money and instead pray.
I wonder whether the people know about the eathquake and tsunami.
Once again, if Japan was a poor country like Haiti they'd need money, but they are not. What they need more than anything are volunteers to help fix up the infrastructure and get Japan on its feet again.
Sure, throw money at it, but without an industry to throw that money into, not much good will come of it.
Definitely a ruse to make him seem more generous than he actually is, especially when that $500,000 would be better suited for feeding his starving people.
There goes the entire countries farmer wage for this year
The money is probably either rigged to blow or has mind controlling subliminal messages.
What a nice guy.
[QUOTE=The mouse;28783167]I wonder whether the people know about the eathquake and tsunami.[/QUOTE]
"Glorious Leader Kim Jong-Il has once again triumphed over the evil nations in the world by using his superpowers to destroy horrible Japan. Praise be to our Glorious Leader."
[QUOTE=ThePutty;28783187]There goes the entire countries farmer wage for this year[/QUOTE]
[quote]Half a million U.S. dollars is equivalent to the annual average income earned by 520 North Koreans in all of 2009, according to Bank of Korea data.[/quote]
I read the title and I thought it meant that he sent a 500000 magnitude earthquake to Japan.
I'm fascinated by how $500,000 really isn't that much money at all compared to what else is probably pouring into japan, and how even though it's not that much, a good number of north korean citizens are probably going to starve to death because of it.
That's not all that much, but still it's a kind donation. From him this makes me feel warm inside. :3:
[QUOTE=locojaws;28783293]That's not all that much, but still it's a kind donation. From him this makes me feel warm inside. :3:[/QUOTE]
he basically took money from a population living in a country where they're so poor that food is literally a state secret
and gave it to expatriated citizens in a country that basically just won the donation lottery
That's probably a lot of money when you look at North Korea's economic situation. So in reality, he may have sent proportionally the same amount as many other countries have.
[QUOTE=The golden;28783279]By robbing his own people and/or most likely executing them?[/QUOTE]
No in that he actually did something. People who pray have absolutely no effect, but cold hard cash does.
All praise our glorious and benevolent leader.
...best korea doing something for friend of worst korea?
Technically, because money is meaningless and they have a largely closed system, he could have created money out of thin air to give to them that he doesn't have, by printing 500k worth of money or just saying he did and nobody would know.
[QUOTE=Treybuchet;28783541]Technically, because money is meaningless and they have a largely closed system, he could have created money out of thin air to give to them that he doesn't have, by printing 500k worth of money or just saying he did and nobody would know.[/QUOTE]
It doesn't work that way, though. It specifically states US dollars because the payment probably was actual US dollars, which are in fact worth something.
Whereas the North Korean won is worth 0.7 cents.
[QUOTE=J Paul;28783590]It doesn't work that way, though. It specifically states US dollars because the payment probably was actual US dollars, which are in fact worth something.
Whereas the North Korean won is worth 0.7 cents.[/QUOTE]
Yes but he can still print a shitload of his own money, and he also is supposed to have some counterfeiting operations running.
[QUOTE=Treybuchet;28783617]Yes but he can still print a shitload of his own money, and he also is supposed to have some counterfeiting operations running.[/QUOTE]
Yes, but, you miss the point.
If just printing money actually did anything, don't you think they would have printed their way out of their crushing and insurmountable poverty and starvation?
Well they're still starving. And the won is still worthless. And printing more of them would just make it worth even less than worthless.
Printing enough won to equal $500k would effectively murder the won and the North Korean people's only chance at any food at all.
Read the article again guys, hes not donating to Japan, he is donating to Koreans living in Japan effected by the Earthquake and Tsunami
Still, it is pretty generous.
NK forms alliance with Japan and builds an army of robots to destroy the evil west.
[QUOTE=JohnEdwards;28782999]Well that is nice, to bad it will be used as backhanded propaganda to the people..[/QUOTE]
Very true, as much as this saves people and is morally correct, this is a man who isn't exactly very moral. However, this is debatable. For all we know, he's investing a way to help get heat off of him, not that I want to sound like a dick or anything, this is Kim Jong-I'll we're talking about.
Also, I wonder if Kim is really alive, I believe I have heard news on him before having cancer back in maybe o9.
/EDIT
[url]http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/13/kim-jong-il-cancer?cat=world&type=article[/url]
Yep, I was right.
/ENDEDIT
[QUOTE=The golden;28783145]That's $500,000 he robbed from his own people.
So in truth, he's helping nobody.
Boeing787 doesn't seem to understand this. Rating me and others dumb won't change this fact.[/QUOTE]
I also agree with this pretty firmly. While this goes to Japan and may be put to good use, he also lacks the care for his own people as a whole to do so much as use the money to help infrastruture. Most of the care goes to his military.
None the less, could be used for "Hey Japan, we helped you out, help you out" in a way which would be undoubtably be bad.
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