NY Philharmonic in North Korea

You may have heard about the New York Philharmonic is headed to North Korea to give a concert and they have some pie in the sky belief that maybe they can change some minds about the west by their visit.

North Korea was tearing down anti-American posters that line the streets of Pyongyang in preparation for the New York Philharmonic's unprecedented visit, the ensemble's president said Sunday on the eve of departure.

The musicians said they hoped personal contacts with North Koreans could help bring the countries closer. But some also worried their performance Tuesday wouldn't change anything, and instead be misused for propaganda in the communist country that technically remains at war with the U.S.

The hard reality on the ground is that I doubt it. The North Koreans have been suffering under their impoverished communist dictatorial regime for so long now that they know no other way of life. To the average North Korean they believe that the rest of the world lives exactly like they do. They know no different. Last week there were reports they had murdered 12 of their citizens for the hideous act of allowing their fishing boat to drift into S. Korean waters. The South Koreans returned them and the NORKS immediately made them the guests of honor at a firing squad.

And there are stories of North Koreans being executed for making international phone calls.

A little info about the picture I used. It is taken at the Joint Security Area (JSA) which is the dividing line between North and South Korea. Those blue buildings are the ones maintained by the UN and it is where all the talks between anybody and the North Koreans take place.

The building in the background is not a real building. It is merely a facade and inside that building is NORKS who are video taping and taking pictures of everything that goes on below. The soldiers with their backs to you are South Koreans and if you look on the ground you see the brown strips, that is the border and those guys on the other side are North Koreans.

Nowhere else in the world can you stand and look directly at an enemy of the United States face to face like this.