November 28, 2017--The Highways of North Korea

Recently there were two dramatic attempts to escape from North Korea. One was caught on videotape as the defector raced south along a highway that led to South Korea and freedom.

On the tape we see him chased by North Korea border guards who fired 45 shots at him. Five struck home. Amazingly he was not killed, but rather was rescued by five South Korean soldiers who risked their lives to pull him to safety.

He is apparently resting comfortably in a hospital in the South, watching in fascination a steady stream of CSI reruns.

Doctors treating him reported that like the other escapee, his digestive system was full of parasitical worms. Some as long at 11 or 12 inches! They said this is evidence of how malnourished North Koreans are. They may have nukes and missiles but the regime does not have the resources or inclination to feed or treat its citizens.

The tape went viral. I asked Rona if she had seen it. She hadn't so we found it on YouTube. There it was in real time and slow-motion.

"Amazing," Rona said. "What a brutal situation." 

She leaned closer to the computer screen to get a better look at the escape. "Did you see that highway?"

"Highway?"

"The road he raced down."

"I didn't notice it."

"Take another look." We played the tape again.

"I think I see what you mean."

"How perfect the road surface is."

"I see that now," I said.

"Not a crack in it, no potholes, no bumps, no deterioration."

"Even the left-turn graphic on the surface looks as if it was just painted."

"When you think about the roads in Maine and New York City," Rona said, "it makes me angry that ours and our bridges are collapsing while those in about the poorest country in the world are in perfect shape."

"So when it comes to infrastructure who lives in a Third World country?"

Rona not answering was the answer.