Why less farm machines used in farming when they were available? A visit to North Korea's largest tractor plant by the UN revealed that production had been shifted to tracked military vehicles, armored personnel carriers, four-wheel drive military vehicles, like scouts. Tractor tires production had shifted to military use tires.

Abandoning its effort to become self-sufficient (juche) in farm implements, NK decided it would express its independence in the military. From ‘84 to ‘92, says Quinones, 1,000 new tanks showed up, along with 2,500 armored personnel carriers, 6,000 mobile artillery pieces and rocket launchers, and a whole lot more.

Not all of this build-up of weaponry was used for the North Korean army. Much was used to pay African and Middle Eastern nations for oil and raw materials. The cash value was something like $700 million in 1998.

So the NK regime takes free food and farm machinery from the West, so that it can invest what capital it has into military products to fortify its own army and the armies of some of the West's enemies. Then it complains about how evil the West, especially America, is, literally biting the hand that feeds it and keeps it alive. What a scheme.

Strangely enough, America keeps its bitten and scarred hand held out within reach of this torment. Many are asking why.

I cannot deal with the answer to that question now, but we know that the Christ in His people is similarly reaching out His wounded hand to this torn nation, begging its leaders to repent, and encouraging His true church to hold on a little while, as He purifies His people and readies them to reign with Him on that glorious day of His return.