North Korea harbors United States' most wanted

Fenestella

Banned
North Korea arranges passage and transportation for the terrorists and warlords who live underground to avoid American drone strike or capture, provides them with the security and platform they need to continue spewing their anti-American hatred, and treats them to great luxury and pleasure. What could the United States do about it?
 
North Korea would most likely keep these terrorists and warlords on a very short leash, since I doubt they want them mixing with the general population and preaching doctines that are going to be very much at odds with the ruling ideology of the DPRK.

"Kim Jong Il will always be an indifel until he acknowledges the supremacy of Allah and his prophet Muhammed!!"

Nah, just don't see it.

These guys would be locked up in bunkers that would make bin Laden's digs in Abbottabad look like a neighbourhood drop-in centre. They would be allowed to preach religion only to the outside world, and even then, their communiques would be heavily monitored and edited by the North Korean authorities.

And I wonder what pro-DPRK Koreans living in nations with a free press, eg. in Japan, would make of their hero-nation suddenly becoming the voice of radical Islam?

The only way this would be of benefit to the Jihadists would be if their choice was between fleeing to North Korea, or being captured/killed. But I don't think the range of options was that stark for them.

(It might make for an interesting novel ot movie, something in a comedic vein.)
 
North Korea would most likely keep these terrorists and warlords on a very short leash, since I doubt they want them mixing with the general population and preaching doctines that are going to be very much at odds with the ruling ideology of the DPRK.

"Kim Jong Il will always be an indifel until he acknowledges the supremacy of Allah and his prophet Muhammed!!"

Nah, just don't see it.

These guys would be locked up in bunkers that would make bin Laden's digs in Abbottabad look like a neighbourhood drop-in centre. They would be allowed to preach religion only to the outside world, and even then, their communiques would be heavily monitored and edited by the North Korean authorities.

And I wonder what pro-DPRK Koreans living in nations with a free press, eg. in Japan, would make of their hero-nation suddenly becoming the voice of radical Islam?

The only way this would be of benefit to the Jihadists would be if their choice was between fleeing to North Korea, or being captured/killed. But I don't think the range of options was that stark for them.

(It might make for an interesting novel ot movie, something in a comedic vein.)
The Terrorists, I can't see. But white-collar criminals..
 
The Terrorists, I can't see. But white-collar criminals..

White collar criminals have an excellent chance of beating the rap in the United States. But how better to confirm your own guilt than to take refuge in a totalitarian hellhole?
 
The Terrorists, I can't see. But white-collar criminals..

Yeah, if they started making deals with inside-traders and embezzlers, to give them refuge from western law enforcement in exchange for handing most of their loot over to the North Korean government, that would make sense for both parties.

Except that North Korea would have to forego whatever support it was getting from anti-capitalist leftists around the world, except for the most delusional, ready-to-justify-anything sister parties, eg. the Communist Party Of Canada Marxist-Leninist. Then again, that's probably the only support they ARE getting right now.
 
Yeah, if they started making deals with inside-traders and embezzlers, to give them refuge from western law enforcement in exchange for handing most of their loot over to the North Korean government, that would make sense for both parties.

Except that North Korea would have to forego whatever support it was getting from anti-capitalist leftists around the world, except for the most delusional, ready-to-justify-anything sister parties, eg. the Communist Party Of Canada Marxist-Leninist. Then again, that's probably the only support they ARE getting right now.
Collaborating with Mafia is not a bad idea for North Korea, when most of the world embargoes them.
 
White collar criminals have an excellent chance of beating the rap in the United States. But how better to confirm your own guilt than to take refuge in a totalitarian hellhole?

Well, Conrad Black didn't do so well. Though he only ended up serving a few years, so he probably wouldn't have calculated that living in North Korea was a worse punishment than showing up for his court date in Chicago.

You'd really need to find a white-collar criminal who was a) facing life in jail, or b) facing only a small amount of time, but scared to death of that, fot some reason.
 
The Terrorists, I can't see. But white-collar criminals..

Why would they go to North Korea when Switzerland is much easier to get to (see Marc Rich)?

As for terrorists, North Korea actually does I believe have a few ex-members of the Japanese Red Army living there, but why would they harbor Taliban or Al-Qaeda for example? They gain literally nothing from it.
 
Yeah, if they started making deals with inside-traders and embezzlers, to give them refuge from western law enforcement in exchange for handing most of their loot over to the North Korean government, that would make sense for both parties.

Except that North Korea would have to forego whatever support it was getting from anti-capitalist leftists around the world, except for the most delusional, ready-to-justify-anything sister parties, eg. the Communist Party Of Canada Marxist-Leninist. Then again, that's probably the only support they ARE getting right now.

But what is the "pull factor" here?

Remember, white-collar criminals are usually more-or-less ordinary people who cheat others to get ahead. These aren't hardened fanatics with a firm ideology and a willingness to fight and die for it.

North Korea has a justified reputation as a frightening totalitarian state with a cult of personality that Mao's China would have considered to be excessive. It's one thing to flee to a third-party country with a history of resisting extradition to the US but that's not the easiest feat to accomplish.

Frankly, the consequences for making a mistake in North Korea (imprisonment, detention in a labour camp, execution, etc.) would be far more steep than the liable outcome for a white-collar criminal in the US. Between the hard choice and the worse choice, the hard choice usually wins.
 
North Korea has a justified reputation as a frightening totalitarian state with a cult of personality that Mao's China would have considered to be excessive. It's one thing to flee to a third-party country with a history of resisting extradition to the US but that's not the easiest feat to accomplish.

It's funny, but during the actual time Mao was alive the opposite was the case- Kim Il Sung strongly criticized the excesses of the Cultural Revolution (see here: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/114570), and in response Chinese Red Guards burned him in effigy and called him a "fat revisionist pig."
 
Well, Conrad Black didn't do so well. Though he only ended up serving a few years, so he probably wouldn't have calculated that living in North Korea was a worse punishment than showing up for his court date in Chicago.

You'd really need to find a white-collar criminal who was a) facing life in jail, or b) facing only a small amount of time, but scared to death of that, fot some reason.

What about Madoff? If I recall correctly he was ratted by his son or something like that. Which, if he is quick, would give him time to act with his full resources before he is stopped. Given that Madoff was certain to face life in prison or something to that extent given his age, it is not implausible for him to take such an offer. If he still retained access to the whole thing he could pull all the money and give it to NK in exchange of good living conditions and leave him with 1 billion for himself or so.

He is playing with fire here, there is no guarantee Kim won't just turn on him, but facing certain life in prison or the possibility of good living conditions and given his advanced age, I could see latter happening.

NK gets big money from the whole scam and the USA gets angry as fuck about it, but ultimately they can't do anything. If I recall correctly the scam was something like 60 BILLION! We might even see the successful nuclear tests come earlier than usual with this huge boost.

I got carried away now when typing this, now I want to see a timeline when this happens and Madoff becomes a promiment NK figure, maybe a finance minister or even gets given military promotions from Kim just to spite the US when the relationship hits a new low with Trump in office.
 
Last edited:
Madoff didn't benefit much from his scam, as by definition a Ponzi scheme benefits the earlier investors rather than the organizer. And, as North Korea was already under financial sanctions, there was no way such a big transaction could be made without dozens of agencies noticing. This isn't Civ where, after a huge gold boost, you could instantly purchase and upgrade military units and binge-buy new buildings in cities. You can't even instantly buy beakers and culture with gold!
 
Top