Suits said:
If they were going to completely invent a crime, don't you think they would have invented something more impressive?
You could just as easily ask: If Warmbier did in fact commit this relatively minor "crime," why would the NK government sentence him to such outrageously harsh punishment?
The answer to both questions is: Nothing about this is supposed to make sense. This is a show of force, intended to strike (or reinforce) fear in people.
In the clip with Henry Rollins I posted above, Rollins sums up his impression of NK as "poor people who are scared of their government." He likely understates the case.
If you haven't already, I urge you to watch the "press conference" with Warmbier. It is Orwell's
1984 come to life:
At 12:30, after concluding his prepared speech, Warmbier takes "questions" from reporters. His responses are obviously scripted and memorized, written by someone who is both completely committed to the NK regime, and not especially proficient in English.
Incredibly, there seems to be no written transcripts of this "press conference" online. Here then is Warmbier's response to the first question he is asked, about
why the Friendship United Methodist Church assigned him the task of stealing the poster:
Thank you for your question. I will now address why the Friendship United Methodist Church gave me this task.
The Friendship United Methodist Church is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. I have known about this church since my childhood, because I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. You can easily find detailed information on this church from the Internet.
The Friendship United Methodist Church is not a typical church. It is very wealthy, with 42 million dollars. That is why the United States administration has very close ties with this church.
This church made a plan to enter into anti-Christian countries which . . . uh . . . the United States administration dislikes, and it is currently implementing this plan.
Several Democratic congressmen regularly visit this church to collect political fund donations and to assure their continued support of this church's policy.
It is said that in 2008, around ten million dollars — around . . . um . . . two to three percent of President Barack Obama's total election cost — was collected from this church. That is one of the reasons why the United States administration works closely with the Friendship United Methodist Church, and connives at all acts, including my crime.
The United States administration and the politicians use the Friendship United Methodist Church to harm the DPR Korea by all dirty ways and means. The Friendship United Methodist Church gave me my crimetask, which is closely matched to the United States administration's hostile policy against the DPR Korea, in order to spread Christianity in the DPR Korea, and to increase the church's support from the United States administration.
Therefore, my crime is the expected output of the United States administration's consistent hostile policy against the DPR Korea, and its implementation by the Friendship United Methodist Church.
I was easily manipulated because of my family's severe financial difficulties. And because I am a non-believer, the church knew that it could deny its involvement if my crime were to become public news.
I hope that answers your question, and you all now clearly understand The Friendship United Methodist Church's involvement in my crime.
Thank you all for your attention.
Does anyone really believe these are the extemporaneous words of an American college student? Do the North Koreans?
To us, it can seem ludicrous and bizarre, impossible to take seriously. But to those who have grown up with this kind of relentless propaganda, it's one more instance of an omnipotent State flexing its muscle, and announcing itself as the ultimate authority.
