American Held in North Korea

Open Email to:
Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 
Sen. Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Dear Rep. Royce and Sen. Menendez,
The Washington Times says the North Korean Administration has signaled that it will negotiate the release of an American jailed there are on "crimes against the state".
With that signal, it is clear that the North Korean Administration wants financial help. In this attempt to show at compassion, they hope to obtain it from us. Before we fall for this dodge, let's look at a few facts.
North Korea has only two major policies; Excel in atomic weaponry including its delivery by rockets and maintain control of its people. To do that, they need money.
Now let's look back at the Cold War. Pres. Reagan developed a program to force the collapse of the Soviet Union. That program involved forcing the Soviet Union into a competition on atomic weaponry. The US built hydrogen bombs in great quantities and made no secret of its operation. Based on the supposed Mutually Assured Destruction philosophy present at the time, the Soviets were forced to compete. The US built many thousands of unnecessary atomic bombs at great expense, but it could economically afford it without straining the lifestyle of the American people. The Soviets could not. Placing their limited assets in excess atomic weaponry, forced Soviet citizens into semi-privatization, with the potential for revolt. The Soviet Union began collapsing in stages. The well-known fall of the Berlin Wall was only one stage in that collapse.
Similarly, the North Korean Administration has been placing most of its assets on atomic weaponry, and the North Korean people have suffered and continue to suffer from privatization. The North Korean Administration collapse has not occurred, because of strong martial control on its public, but this cannot go on indefinitely. If placed in a complete starvation mode, the North Korean people will revolt, even at great death cost, in order to overthrow their government.
Now comes the US position. If the US government, out of compassion, decides to help the North Korean people by sending money, food, clothing, housing materials, or anything similar, the North Korean Administration will take it from the people and convert it as an asset for continued development of atomic weaponry and delivery. In simple terms, every dollar that the US sends in any form to North Korea will end up in their atomic program against the United States. There is no way that the US can help the North Korean people, other to help them starve to a point of revolt.
However, other countries may desire to come to the aid of the North Korean people through their own compassion. These countries may involve Europe or even other countries in Southeast Asia. Our policy toward these other countries should be to convince them that any aid will only perpetuate an atomic threat not only to the United States but other countries of the world.
The situation with respect to China is somewhat different. The Korean War many years ago came to a stalemate, not because the US was unable to defeat the North Korean military, but rather because it was unable to defeat the combination of Chinese and North Korean military. The Chinese government may still desire to perpetuate North Korea in its present form, including its atomic threat to the world, but it is not all that clear. We need to follow a policy of non-assistance and allow the Chinese government to do whatever it will concerning North Korea. Chances are high that it will give up support.