A stunt by Kim Jong-uns hi-tech guys has taken the world by surprise.
The capitalist and ultra-developed world is wandering in darkness as to how an impoverished nation-state can turn the tables and steal all the eggs from their nest in such a daredevil manner. The hacking of Sonys infrastructure, which was about to release a film making a mockery of the young leader, has proved the point beyond doubt that Pyongyang and its reclusive establishment has always been underestimated by the West. The hacking has led to serious fears of the regime prevailing over similar sensitive installations in the defence industry, and possibly paralysing the military gear at a strategic time.
The shock and awe are so strong that even China, the all-weather compatriot of the Kim dynasty, has distanced itself from the misadventure, calling for restraint and lecturing on the ethics of technological coexistence. But US President Barack Obama, who castigated Sony for taking a backseat and refusing to release the hacked movie, The Interview, has nonetheless warned of retaliation at a timing of its own choice. Sonys softpedalling of the incident is apparently owing to the skeletons in its cupboard that Pyongyang now is in knowledge of, as it laid hands on private emails and a plethora of business secrets from its erstwhile hardware in the Hollywood studios.
Thus in simple words, Kim who was written off by some Western gurus as a non-starter when he went into oblivion in recent months as he was reportedly indisposed has sent a message of taking his nuclear-obsessive administration seriously, and that means dealing at par with the Stalinist state. The saga is nothing but a call for acknowledging the very existence of an emerging nation-state across the Armistice line, which the West had dumped as one that could either be bombed to Stone Age or only dealt with diplomatically through Beijing.
In a different interpretation, it could be said that it is no less than a paradox for North Korea. Its hi-tech facilities and people at large lack access to Internet, and Kim has to seriously give it a thought. There is no point in keeping it backward, fearing foreign influence as the society is hooked up to the free world of information, and gets talking! Its high time for Kim after having exhibited his bad boy bravado to substitute Intranet with the world wide web. The firewall of distrust has to go and there are no two opinions on it. Pyongyang, rather than concentrating on cyber-espionage warfare, should open itself to the West and let its enterprising society excel in an interdependent world. Kim has a choice to make and that too in real time. –Khaleej Times
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